Confusion between 120mm and 200mm fans and CPUs for cooling systems
Confusion between 120mm and 200mm fans and CPUs for cooling systems
This project includes a 200mm fan at the front, a 120mm rear exhaust, and a 120mm rear top exhaust. Consider lowering the RPM of those two exhausts or modding them to 7v. The side fan isn't necessary—it would be a waste of time, noisy, and could interfere with a tower cooler. Airflow should maintain a consistent stream from front to back at a steady speed. Which country are you from? The prices on those Noctua units are quite high. There are many cheaper alternatives that can perform well. I’m thinking about the same setup but adding an extra 120mm fan at the top exhaust. That sounds good, I’ll go with it. Everyone seems to agree there’s no need for a side fan, so I’m considering all options for the best balance of performance and cost.
CountMike shared his thoughts on cooler TDP ratings without official specs, noting that 212 suits 120-125W and 612 works for around 160W. He suggests choosing any from Noctua to Hyper 212 except D92, mentioning he’s removing D92 due to less favorable reviews.
Don't add exhaust fans, just rear and top rear mounts.
A front exhaust pulls air away from a tower heatsink before it can use it.
The 212 Evo handles your CPU well, but honestly the mounting system is quite tricky.
The Deepcool Gamma X 400 is available at a reasonable price?
It's a solid, budget-friendly cooler with a straightforward mounting setup, and it outperforms the 212 by 3-5°C.
CountMike suggests a dual-core or ITX processor would likely appreciate a cooler with a 92mm fan, though he believes that's all that's needed. He also mentions he decided to drop the D92.