RealityRipple

I've just had my last two non-light-up case fans go to crap on me, and it's about time I invested a bit of cash in something that'll last. I live at the top of a mountain of dust (literally), and it takes less than a single day for anything in my room to develop a fine layer. I know nothing I do will prevent dust from getting into my computer (even filters fail terribly), but I'm hoping there's some fan/bearing type that won't wear out and die because of the dust. In particular, I'm looking for four 80mm and one 120mm case fans (3 or 4 pin OK) that won't fail me. I don't care about colors or lights, I just want something reliable.

Does anyone have any specific fan or general bearing suggestions?

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Judas

Well the first thing i would recommend is that if you can..... always get the largest fan possible..

I haven't installed or used an 80mm fan in a case for about 5 years now or more...

The advantage of larger case fans is slower rotation and generally i find they are better designed in the end as well. Motors that drive the fans wear and tear like any other, the faster they spin.. the faster they fail, and the more debree that build up on them, the harder the motors have to work to do the job.

I would stick to a good quality Ball bearing fan, none of them other types.

You shouldn't really need anything that turns over any faster then say 2500rpm..... most of my fans stick to the 1200-1600rpm range.... depending on the load.

As for dust issues...... if it's not large debree but just fine fine fine stuff... which i'm quite familare with considering the area in which i live which includes almost every kind of dust you can imagine..... i know what your deeling with most likely...

IF you cannot install 120mm fans..... i would even venture to consider a newer case that can provide that kind of solution. And if your looking at it.... made one that has a relatively simple filter system that embodies the entire case such as coolmaster 690 II advance.

The case fans i'm using are Coolermaster and ThermalTake fans... i'm happier with the coolermaster.... the thermaltake fans i find run on the high side (louder, faster.....)

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RealityRipple

Hmm... A new case is not in my budget range right now, and the case I have only has one 120mm port. The dust I'm dealing with is shale (ocean bed once upon a time). The fan speeds will be controlled with a 5-fan touchscreen controller I bought last year, so the advertised RPM shouldn't be an issue.

What's the difference between ball and 2-ball bearing styles? I've also noticed sleeve/ball, but I'm guessing that's probably as bad as standard sleeve for dust.

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Judas

well this can explain a lot more ... scroll down to the various types of bearing/sleeve/magnetic ..etc..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_fan

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RealityRipple

That doesn't really help a lot with the ball/2-ball differences... I did find a couple lovely deals on newegg, tho.

120: Newegg.com - Rosewill RFX-120 120mm Case Fan
4x80: Newegg.com - MASSCOOL FD08025B1M3/4 80mm Case Fan

With a pack of 50 screws (all mine are getting shredded, stupid soft metal crap), it's only $26 after tax and shipping... I'd really like to know what the difference is between ball and the 2-ball style on the 120mm is before I make a purchase, though.

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synthesis204

Dust builds up when the amount of air being pushed into the case is not equivalent to the amount of air being exhausted from the case. If you want to minimize dust, look at the CFM (cubic feet per minute) of your fans. You want the fans intaking air to have roughly the same total CFM as the fans exhausting air (I have around 260CFM coming in and 180CFM going out...I should fix that at some point...).

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RealityRipple

I don't care about dust in the case; I clean out my case every three weeks or so. My only issue is with the survival time of the fans themselves in dusty conditions. They're nearly impossible to clean.

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mkk

Compressed air in a can - to the rescue. Short bursts only. Inexpensive.

asedsa

My suggestion:
- Scythe GentleTyphoon 120 mm Fan 1150 rpm D1225C12B3AP-13 (or D1225C12B4AP-14 if you want 120 mm Fan with 1450 rpm)
- Noctua NF-R8-1800 (80 mm Fan)

Regards

RealityRipple

@mkk: Compressed air does nothing to help fan internals.
@asedsa: Those Noctua are way too expensive for 80mm case fans. It'd cost $80 for four of em... I might as well buy an entire case for that much. The Scythe looks quite promising, though. Too bad they seem to be discontinued practically everywhere.

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RealityRipple

Ordered four of the ones I mentioned above, as well as this 120mm: Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Turbine Master MACH1.8 R4-TMBB-18FK-R0 120mm 1800 RPM Case Fan

Says the blades are detachable and the bearing system open-able for cleaning, should be exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks for your suggestion for Ball Bearings, Judas, and thanks everyone else for your help.

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Judas

btw i forgot to mention this..

not sure why i didn't clue in on it before about the single vs dual/double ball bearing fans and their differences...

i think it was just super hot that day..


single ball bearing fans use a single ball bearing sleave and row....

where as a double/dual ball bearing fan uses 2 sets.. these tend to last significantly longer and put less stress on the components as well.

The idea is like any bearing system... and some people have compared it to using "pulleys" to lighten the load and make things easier..

Trying to lift an object off the ground with your bear hands is pretty hard on you..... lifting it using a single pully cuts the load by half (provided that your lifting it up through a pulley system that is setup properly). Adding another pulley to lighten the load required to lift cuts that down by half yet again.

It also results in less movement action as well, so while the fan will spin the same speeds... the bearing action is reduced significantly which is how you end up with a longer lasting fan.

There are fans with triple ball bearing designs as well... and even quad if i recall right.. but these are usually limited to very high end system or ones that never stop and are designed to last 10 years.

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BlueMak

I wonder if there is a way to block all dust from entering a PC case. Perhaps surrounding it with another box or case? (I am talking about relatively cheap solutions and no water cooling either). I guess it would have to be airtight or close to that, so that you don't have to worry about dust going inside the case. Would that create issues with the fans? It would get hot pretty fast in there too. Hmm.

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Dyre Straits

Completely off-topic, but, as I was reading about this, and the frequency of how you have to clean out the internals of your PC case, I had to wonder: Do you have any concerns about this amount of dust in the area where you live getting into YOUR internals? Man, if it's that bad, I think I'd be wearing a dust mask every where I went 24-hours of the day.

On topic, however, it is highly advisable to place a PC case off the floor...preferably on the top of your desk or other raised shelf. Dust tends to settle at the lowest level of the area. So, keeping the case off the floor helps to minimize the amount that settles inside the case.

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Judas

actually yes there is a 100% way of producing a containment system that will be dust free.

Is it expensive? hell yes.... even the elcheapo system would make most people roll over before they make it to their grave.

but that's no even including the monthly bill you'd receive for the power consumed to keep this system in place.

It's basically a rather elaborate and expensive filtering system that is large enough to allow "enough" air flow through after the numerous micro fiber filters do their job, because the amount of air going in will be significantly less than the air coming out.

Another altnerative that would be a jerry rigged system is using a 2 stage 80 gal compressor with a filteration system (the same system used by people that do air brush work .. mostly for automotive)....but don't expect it to last long, it definitely doesn't produce the necessary volume

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