Your opinion on using PWM fans for radiators?

[MxPhenom 216]

Later this year Im planning to transfer my rig to a new smaller case, and do a few tweaks to my cooling, which includes using 3 Corsair ML120 PWM fans with the red LEDs, for my 360 radiator, and taking the 240 out, and connecting them to the silverstone PWM hub. I was told that using PWM fans on radiators isnt that great, because by the time the fans spin up the radiator is saturated. What do you guys think?

My reason to doing PWM its id like it to be virtually silent at idle temps, and then i dont really care all that much about load.

 

[dorsetknob]

Try it and if it works the way you want that's Good
if it don't cool because they don't spin up fast enough then route them through a fan controller

 

[Papahyooie]

It's a false idea. The PWM fan will spin up as soon as your motherboard (or whatever temp sensor) tells it to. I would expect any fan capable of being used on an air cooler would be able to increase RPM's fast enough to adjust to increasing heat in a metal heat sink. That same fan will actually have *more* time to spin up on a radiator, because the water has to travel from the water block to the radiator before that fan has any effect on the water temp whatsoever. By the time the hotter water makes it to the radiator, the fan will have already spun up. Whatever settings you use to activate them will have more effect.

 

[jboydgolfer]

I'm using them right now it is perfectly fine. The moment your bios posts i.e. the moment you get the bio splash screen the fans are running and since it's an electric motor it's 0 to 100% In a split second

Or if you have them set to start up at a certain temperature it will.

 

[thesmokingman]

Try it and if it works the way you want that's Good
if it don't cool because they don't spin up fast enough then route them through a fan controller

Nah, you'd simply raise the duty cycle % on them until it works right. Ideally one would balance the pump's DC plot with the fans. It's a little more tricky with PWM DDC pumps like the 35x because you rarely want to run max DC since that pump achieves 95% of its power at 52% DC. And in this case, you'd run the fans off a different header to avoid tying it to the DC of the pump.

**Also using PWM is vitally important if you use special bearing fans like the mag lev fans because you want to feed them full power all the time so the mag lev works, then control the speed via PWM. You don't wanna run mag lev fans off a voltage controller as the mag lev won't work ideally at low voltages.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Also using PWM atm. Bought some Fractal Design Venturi HP-12 fans off amazon that had to be sent from their warehouse in italy. Totally silent up until 1200RPM where you can just about hear it.

I recommend them more than Corsair high static pressure fans.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Nah, you'd simply raise the duty cycle % on them until it works right. Ideally one would balance the pump's DC plot with the fans. It's a little more tricky with PWM DDC pumps like the 35x because you rarely want to run max DC since that pump achieves 95% of its power at 52% DC. And in this case, you'd run the fans off a different header to avoid tying it to the DC of the pump.

**Also using PWM is vitally important if you use special bearing fans like the mag lev fans because you want to feed them full power all the time so the mag lev works, then control the speed via PWM. You don't wanna run mag lev fans off a voltage controller as the mag lev won't work ideally at low voltages.

Yes, the fans i am talking about are mag lev, and from what i have read about them, they are extremely good fans. Pricey, $75 for 3 of them. plus $17 for the silverstone pwm hub.

 

[eidairaman1]

Later this year Im planning to transfer my rig to a new smaller case, and do a few tweaks to my cooling, which includes using 3 Corsair ML120 PWM fans with the red LEDs, for my 360 radiator, and taking the 240 out, and connecting them to the silverstone PWM hub. I was told that using PWM fans on radiators isnt that great, because by the time the fans spin up the radiator is saturated. What do you guys think?

My reason to doing PWM its id like it to be virtually silent at idle temps, and then i dont really care all that much about load.

Are they high static pressure fans?

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Are they high static pressure fans?

yeah.

0.2 - 4.2 mmH20
400 - 2400 RPM
16 - 37 dBA
12 - 75 CFM

 

[eidairaman1]

yeah.

0.2 - 4.2 mmH20
400 - 2400 RPM
16 - 37 dBA
12 - 75 CFM

Ok good, well you should be able to set a temperature threshold on the cpu itself, if there was an external sensor to go to the radiator id use that to trigger the fans, like on a Automobile.

 

[kn00tcn]

does some sort of coloring exist that lets one see water temperature visually?

 

[thesmokingman]

Are they high static pressure fans?

Not really, well that is if we're talking rpm vs rpm. The corsair ML can spin 200-300rpm faster for the same noise as other fans and that faster rpm translates to higher static pressure. If run at the same rpm, they are not great for static pressure compared to the competition. In context these are not GT's, which put out more static pressure at less rpms and noise. But they are interesting and if you ignore the rpm speed and instead quantify them by noise, they are pretty good since they can spin to 2400rpm. At high speeds they can out flow most other fans for less noise.

 

[eidairaman1]

Not really, well that is if we're talking rpm vs rpm. The corsair ML can spin 200-300rpm faster for the same noise as other fans and that faster rpm translates to higher static pressure. If run at the same rpm, they are not great for static pressure compared to the competition. In context these are not GT's, which put out more static pressure at less rpms and noise. But they are interesting and if you ignore the rpm speed and instead quantify them by noise, they are pretty good since they can spin to 2400rpm. At high speeds they can out flow most other fans for less noise.

Ive read that it is best to use high static fans on a rad than high cfm fans is ehy i asked