How many fans and where?

[Mangomonkey]

Just looking to see what everyone else does... Building a mid tower build, got a i5 7600k and going to be putting an air CPU Cooler in (something like the 212 Evo unless someone can suggest better) and wondering how many fans to stick in? My mobo only supports two fans but wondering if I should get a fan controller and use more, or use the Molex connectors from my PSU.

What are your thoughts? If I use two, my thoughts were one in the rear roof and one in the front. May get a third to add to the back of the case?

[omega]

Which mobo have you got that's only got two fan headers?

[Mangomonkey]

Which mobo have you got that's only got two fan headers?

Asrock Z270M Pro4 . Has 2 chasis fan headers and 1 CPU fan header.

[BUDFORCE]

Put as many fans as your case supports. Exhaust fans rear and top, inlet fans front and underneath. Keeps your stuff cool, cool stuff lasts longer.

[omega]

Can't find any details on that mobo anywhere, but I'm really surprised you've got a mobo with only two headers...

Anyhoo, my setup is 2x 140mm fans intake at the front, 2x 140mm fans on the CPU cooler, one 140mm exhaust fan in the roof, and one 140mm exhaust on the back.

The two CPU and the rear fans are controlled PWM by the CPU header, the other 3 are on a fan controller and are always at minimum speed. Basically silent until I game, then I've got headphones anyway

[Mangomonkey]

Put as many fans as your case supports. Exhaust fans rear and top, inlet fans front and underneath. Keeps your stuff cool, cool stuff lasts longer.

Yeah that makes sense. My Case supports unto 5 fans in the following format... 2x 120mm on the front, 2x 120mm on the roof and 1x 120mm on the back. I may just put all 5 in then... Do you suggest using a fan controller then?

[Bing]

I think he means the Z270M Pro4: http://www.asrock.com/MB/Intel/Z270M...#Specification

And yeah, apart from 2x CPU fan headers (one DC, one PWM), there are only 2 other fan headers but it is mATX after all.

[Mangomonkey]

Can't find any details on that mobo anywhere, but I'm really surprised you've got a mobo with only two headers...

Anyhoo, my setup is 2x 140mm fans intake at the front, 2x 140mm fans on the CPU cooler, one 140mm exhaust fan in the roof, and one 140mm exhaust on the back.

The two CPU and the rear fans are controlled PWM by the CPU header, the other 3 are on a fan controller and are always at minimum speed. Basically silent until I game, then I've got headphones anyway

Hi there is info at http://www.asrock.com/MB/Intel/Z270M%20Pro4/ . It basically ticked every other box and was on sale for a stupidly low price. I just figured I could add a fan controller if needed. I don't game but do a lot of graphics, photography and video editing. Planning to at least enable turbo boost and eventually start overclocking if need be. Which fan controller do you use?

[Bing]

If you don't game, don't bother with the extra fans then. You won't have the extra heat from a GPU being worked hard, so won't need extra cooling.

Just go with the 2 or 3 available to you now.

[Mangomonkey]

I think he means the Z270M Pro4: http://www.asrock.com/MB/Intel/Z270M...#Specification

And yeah, apart from 2x CPU fan headers (one DC, one PWM), there are only 2 other fan headers but it is mATX after all.

Yep that's the one, no idea where the 720 came from??? May have been predictive text. Should have checked for errors before posting.

[megafail]

2 x CPU Fan Connectors (1 x 4-pin, 1 x 3-pin)
2 x Chassis Fan Connectors (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)

Personally I would get a fan control it makes it easier to cable manage and silence the system ....well it does for me anyway.

I would have got a full size ATX board tho if you wanted more options.

[Mangomonkey]

Thanks I appreciate that. Does anyone have any recommendations for fan controllers or are they all about the same?

[BUDFORCE]

Meh, for the price of fans and a fan controller.

Most computer components of mostly made of metal. Metal contracts and expands as it heats and cools. This contraction and expeansion stretches everything, and the more stretched the more current needs to go through to maintain the connections, more current means more heat, and your expansion and contraction expidites.

Keeping everything cooler reduces this effect. Or in other words, heat is the killer of PC components.

Although to some degree (no pun intended hoho) I do agree with the above post, no gaming or overclocking, you PC wont work as hard and lets face it, most computer components are designed to work for years under certain temperatures wighout being in fancy cases with lots of airflow, so overkill, maybe? But, if it were me, I know I would sleep better at night knowing I did what I could to preserve the longevity of my precious hardware and also that I had options for overclocking etc in the future, if I so desired.

[Mangomonkey]

Meh, for the price of fans and a fan controller.

Most computer components of mostly made of metal. Metal contracts and expands as it heats and cools. This contraction and expeansion stretches everything, and the more stretched the more current needs to go through to maintain the connections, more current means more heat, and your expansion and contraction expidites.

Keeping everything cooler reduces this effect. Or in other words, heat is the killer of PC components.

Although to some degree (no pun intended hoho) I do agree with the above post, no gaming or overclocking, you PC wont work as hard and lets face it, most computer components are designed to work for years under certain temperatures wighout being in fancy cases with lots of airflow, so overkill, maybe? But, if it were me, I know I would sleep better at night knowing I did what I could to preserve the longevity of my precious hardware and also that I had options for overclocking etc in the future, if I so desired.

Yeah that sounds wise to me. With video editing, my current computer gets hot (especially during renders). Any recommendations on fan controllers?

[Spaceboy]

More fans = quieter system... the theory behind that is that to move the same amount of air, more fans can spin slower which makes less noise than less fans spinning faster.

Of course if you have to open up your case to install more fans that may let noise escape - Eg: if your roof mount is currently sealed and you'd need to remove a part of sound-deadening to install a fan, then I'd probably forgo the fan at the roof to keep the sound from escaping