Do I really need a case fan?

[hhh8785]

Me and Joel (jl123) just did some work on my computer. Now I am running two Hd's, one with 5400 rpms, the other is unknown, a 40x cdrom, and of course a 3.5 floppy. Anyways, I am thinking I need a case fan, since I don't already have one. Do I really need one? Is my computer in danger without one? Or is it just one of those things that "it is better" to have one?

And also, would it be better to have it hook up like a 5 1/4 floppy drive or use a 3 pin connector to the mobo? Is one better than the other?

[Brydon]

I would recommend that every case should have one case fan drawing cool air in at the lower front as heat is a killer and your hardware will thank you for it http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif.

[LiLRiceBoi]

"It is better"

[Wiz]

It cannot hurt, and is nothing but pure goodness.

[jl123]

Thanks for backing me up on this one. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif When he said 5-1/4 drive connector he meant the 4-pin(power supply connector). You see, there are 3 3-1/2 inch bays.I put the 13.6gb(5400rpm) in the bottom bay, floppy drive in the middle, and the other 4.3gb hard drive on top of the floppy. If I had a 5-1/4 inch to 3-1/2 inch converter(to allow 3-1/2 inch drives to fit in 5-1/4) I would of used one to space the drives out a little. But i didn't have one. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif What type do you think he should get? 4-pin or 3-pin? Is there really any advantage over having the 3 pin instead of a 4-pin. His CPU fan is a 4 pin so his 3-pin plug on his motherboard is free. What do you think?

~Joel

[This message has been edited by jl123 (edited 07-06-2000).]

[wtp]

get a 4 pin case fan as i heard 3 pin draws lots of power from the mobo. I say, leave the 3 pin only for the CPU fan.

wtp

[This message has been edited by wtp (edited 07-07-2000).]

[jl123]

Good point there wtp! http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

~Joel

[wtp]

Oh yeah, that's if your planning to get the 120mm case fans that blow about 115.3 CFM, DO NOT PLUG that in to your mobo. I'm not sure about regular case fans, but DON'T plug those kinds in your mobo. Why? It just draws too much power, (that's the case fan i meant in my first post). If you have only 1 three pin connector on your mobo, then use that for the CPU fan. Then use a dedicated PS cable for the other case fans, and etc... Hope that helps Joel.

wtp http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by wtp (edited 07-07-2000).]

[Inferior]

Since you have two hardrives, I'd advise to get a fan for the lower front of the case that sucks air into the case.

The reason for you to get it in my mind is because of the two hd's, they produce a lot of heat!!!!

And use a plug from the power supply, not from the mobo, because what wtp pointed is true.

[jl123]

Yeah that does help. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif I'll probably be helping him with it or something. Yeah i understand about the 3 pin connector.

4-pin it is
http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif
~Joel

[DrCorvette]

It depends upin your ambient temperature, if your tower is in a 70 degree F environment all the time I kinda doubt it, but , why ask why, just stick one in there. I was given a "BAD" Pentium 100 tower with like six pci and six isa slots, mobo capable of 266mhz for FREE, cause it did the BSOD thing all the time. I added a front 3" case fan, removed the pitiful P100 fan and added one off a AMD 333 and the cpu temp went from 130.2 F to 88.0 F, these temps taken after a full hour of full cpu load, AND no-mo BSODs.. DrVette

[Fingers]

Heat will reduce component life and cause your system to be less stable.
As a minimum, you should have a fan to cool your processor and one near the top of the case to exhaust warm air (power supply fan will do this). Adding an intake fan to the lower front of the case will improve air-flow through to case.

Also, on some motherboards, you can monitor the status of the 3-pin fans that are plugged into the mobo.