PC CPU Fans and Case fans question

[Flaren89]

So, 2 months ago I purchased parts for a new gaming PC. Built ok, but after 1 month I got the USB Over Current Status nightmare and had to return the MOBO. I now received a new one, but thinking of doing a few changes, I'd like to ask you an opinion on them.

First, I got as CPU cooler an Arctic 33 Freezer eSports Edition, which is the double fan version. In first installation I used the given Y-splitter to put bith fans on a single cable and connect them into CPU_FAN. Here the question is, better keep like this or better to not use the splitter and put the second fan into the CPU_OPT?

Second, as case I have a Silverstone RL06, which comes with 1 rear fan + 3 front fans, and an integrated HUB connected to PSU via molex. Connecting all fans like that is quite noisy, so I was thinking on using fan headers on my MOBO. It is an ASUS ROG STRIX Z370-E, which has a CHA_FAN on the rear and one on the front, the above mentioned 2 CPU fan headers, an AIO_PUMP and an M.2 fan header. Rear fan would be simply put on the rear CHA_FAN, while the middle front on the front one. Lower front fan into M.2 fan as I have no M.2 drive, so to keep it slow and quiet, and that lower fan pushes air on PSU and HDD, which don't really need airflow. About the upper front fan was thinking on putting it on either CPU_OPT if not picked by second cooler fan, because it pushes the air directly to CPU cooler, or the AIO_PUMP. And then everything automatically optimized by UEFI software afterward. Would it work or is better to stick them noisy but not plugged into MOBO fan headers?

Thanks for answers.

 

[Whitestar]

I have similar fan headers on my ASROCK Z370 Extreme4. In my Fractal Define R5 though there is only 1 front fan and 1 exhaust fan.
I have all 4 fans connected to their own fan header. But I don't really see any problem if you use an Y-splitter for the CPU fans, because you'll probably have them at the same speed I reckon?

I would probably just use one of the intake fans though, because it'll be noisy with all 3 I guess. Mine is placed in the middle, so it blows towards somewhere between the graphics card and the CPU fans.

I use the fan tool in BIOS to set the fan speed at different temps.

Btw, what is "the USB over current" thing?

 

[Flaren89]

I have similar fan headers on my ASROCK Z370 Extreme4. In my Fractal Define R5 though there is only 1 front fan and 1 exhaust fan.
I have all 4 fans connected to their own fan header. But I don't really see any problem if you use an Y-splitter for the CPU fans, because you'll probably have them at the same speed I reckon?

I would probably just use one of the intake fans though, because it'll be noisy with all 3 I guess. Mine is placed in the middle, so it blows towards somewhere between the graphics card and the CPU fans.

I use the fan tool in BIOS to set the fan speed at different temps.

Btw, what is "the USB over current" thing?

USB over current thing is when system detects a problem with USBs. This will cause a forced shut down of the system as protection, where you are unable even to go to the BIOS.
Usually is MOBO not accepting case ports (front panel), sometimes might be a faulty USB device, or a faulty USB plug (also on back I/O shield). What I got (probably, not sure 100% even after many tries), is that USB controller on the MOBO fried out, so faulty. In rare cases also a faulty PSU or RAMs.

I picked the Silverstone RL06 right because it has many fans, which means is noisy, sure, but also give great airflow for the price. My hope was to be able to tune it, but I find it quite difficult to do, mostly because cables are stock fold together and I should unfold and stretch before knowing which wire is which fan, and then operate. So I'll just stick on the molex.

About CPU cooler fans, I think I'll put them one on CPU_FAN while the other on CPU_OPT. This because as someone suggested, if while working I get an error or a fault on CPU_FAN, using Y splitter both will turn off causing CPU to iverheat. If they are devided, at least the pull-fan will keep working giving sort of thermal performance. Also in rare occasions, using Y-splitter might give RPM delivery by the MOBO issues.

 

[sesselpupser]

1. Makes no practical difference, use whichever lets you route the cables more cleanly. You're probably only getting about 2-3 degrees benefit from the second fan anyway though.

2. Connect one front fan and a rear fan to the motherboard, disconnect the other two front fans because they're not worth the noise and additional dust ingress. If you want them to spin for aesthetics I guess get a PCIe slot fan speed controller and put them on the lowest setting. I don't think I've ever seen a PC measurably benefit from having a ton of fans, not without a water cooler at least.

 

[Flaren89]

1. Makes no practical difference, use whichever lets you route the cables more cleanly. You're probably only getting about 2-3 degrees benefit from the second fan anyway though.

2. Connect one front fan and a rear fan to the motherboard, disconnect the other two front fans because they're not worth the noise and additional dust ingress. If you want them to spin for aesthetics I guess get a PCIe slot fan speed controller and put them on the lowest setting. I don't think I've ever seen a PC measurably benefit from having a ton of fans, not without a water cooler at least.

I know, push-pull configuration is not ideal for the price, for 10€ more of the second fan I could get a better single-fan cooler and gg. And the end I opted for the divided configuration, as I read in other forums, if I'm unfortunate enough that the CPU_FAN breaks while I operate on the PC, both fans will be shut down, so having no airflow on the cooler apart for case fans. Divided, if I get a break on CPU_FAN header, the pull-fan will still work, pushing away some of the heat.

Asked because as done by Gamersnexus on their review of the case, they didn't use the HUB at all. They put the rear fan on the CPU_OPT reader and the 3 front fans in the 3 SYS_FAN their MOBO had.

Spoiler

At the end, considering they used a different MOBO (MSI Z170 while I have ASUS Z370), and not knowing which tweaks they used on the UEFI, I decided to go for the configuration I had before, so with all 4 fans on the HUB linked then to PSU by molex.

As for the thermals, having them on molex (1400rpm) doesn't do much compared to the MOBO configuration (1000rpm), but unlike you said, it has effects on temperatures, as shown by this comparison test graphs.

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

[sesselpupser]

@Flaren89 how likely is it that you're going to snap a fan header off your motherboard, though?

Those graphs don't mean much without context, what's "case" CPU/GPU temperature (specifically, how is that being measured? Thermocouple near the relevant heatsink? IR camera? On-board temperature sensors?) and are they referenced against ambient temperature?

The way I see it, if you're worrying about how many fans you have you either have a legitimate problem with your PC build (such as that you've overclocked it too far on air and should get a water cooler or back off a bit) or you're being too fussy. My PC has an 8700K with a big cooler (so more of the heat it puts out is being transferred to the case) and a Zotac Amp Extreme GTX 1080, which is the highest factory overclocked card you can get and also has a huge cooler, but neither one ever gets hot enough that I've ever thought "Uh oh, better get more case fans" than the two that came with my case.

Bigger, better heatsinks dissipate more heat into the case so if your processors are too hot you need to address their direct cooling first, then if the additional heat in the case is affecting your motherboard or storage then I suppose you need more fans. If you're not running into problems, stop worrying about it - believe me, my first PC was packed with fans because I thought maybe it should be and it just wasn't worth it. Haven't worried since, haven't had any trouble either.

 

[Flaren89]

@Flaren89 how likely is it that you're going to snap a fan header off your motherboard, though?

Those graphs don't mean much without context, what's "case" CPU/GPU temperature (specifically, how is that being measured? Thermocouple near the relevant heatsink? IR camera? On-board temperature sensors?) and are they referenced against ambient temperature?

The way I see it, if you're worrying about how many fans you have you either have a legitimate problem with your PC build (such as that you've overclocked it too far on air and should get a water cooler or back off a bit) or you're being too fussy. My PC has an 8700K with a big cooler (so more of the heat it puts out is being transferred to the case) and a Zotac Amp Extreme GTX 1080, which is the highest factory overclocked card you can get and also has a huge cooler, but neither one ever gets hot enough that I've ever thought "Uh oh, better get more case fans" than the two that came with my case.

Bigger, better heatsinks dissipate more heat into the case so if your processors are too hot you need to address their direct cooling first, then if the additional heat in the case is affecting your motherboard or storage then I suppose you need more fans. If you're not running into problems, stop worrying about it - believe me, my first PC was packed with fans because I thought maybe it should be and it just wasn't worth it. Haven't worried since, haven't had any trouble either.

Review with methods used is here: https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/2904-silverstone-redline-rl06-case-review
Is delta to ambient temperature (this is why idle is just 2°C).

This new PC is an ASUS ROG STRIX Z370-E, i5 8600k with stock clock (3.6GHz), Arctic 33 eSports Edition, 2x 8GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000MHz, ASUS Dual GTX 1070 O8G (atm stock Gaming-clock profile but with custom fan curve to boot fans up at 20% on low temps without wait 55°C), Corsair RM650x as PSU, a 250GB SSD and 1TB HDD. In the above mentioned case.
MY worry is to keep it cold with the limited budget I had, but maybe I am just worrying on a thing that is non-existant. About the number of case fans, is because the case itself already came with all those fans, what I was trying to do is to get the best out of them without being too noisy, but maybe the effort to do that isn't worth, I just rebuilt it after MOBO return (the first was faulty, as said) as I did first time, on the molex HUB.