abdulhamid
Enthusiast
Has anyone had any experience of changing the fan of this cooler. I am thinking of installing 2 x NF-P12 in push/pull, would this work and how easy is it to change?
Coolit ECO ALC - changing stock fan
- Thread starter abdulhamid
- Start date
pengipete
Rising Star
No personal experience but it's fairly a common practice - the radiator even has the required mounting holes for the second fan. NF-P12s should be ideal as they have good static pressure - vital for pushing through tightly packed radiator fins - without being too loud. Whether or not it will make a significant difference to temperatures is arguable - most reports suggest only 1-3C reduction but a few people have claimed 5C+
abdulhamid
Enthusiast
Thanks pengipete, I am just looking to get my temps as low as possible and keep the system quiet. Do you know of any other 120MM fans that will perform better than the NF-P12's?
pengipete
Rising Star
It's difficult to say that one fan is better than another - faster, more powerful fans are noisier which has to be taken into consideration. It's not just the measurable level of noise - there's the more subjective element of the pitch and tone of the noise. At the top end of cooling you're looking at the likes of Delta and Panaflo (both hard to find in the UK) but they are ridiculously loud and someof them can't even be connected to the motherboard headers because they draw too much power. At the other end of the scale there are fans that are almost innaudible but move less air.
It's really one of those questions where the only "right" answer is - "it depends". If you are already sailing close to overheating then you either need a much more powerful fan or a better cooler (possibly going completely wet) - if you're already fairly "safe" but want a bit more headroom (maybe to add a touch more ot your overclocks) then you only need a relatively small improvement.
I won;t recommend any particular fan - I haven't tried them - but I've been looking at a load of round-ups of 120mm fans recently and these are definitely worth reading...
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cooling/2009/09/28/what-s-the-best-case-fan/5
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/120mm-fan-roundup-2_16.html#sect0
The important figures for you are the static pressure (not the CFMs) and the noise levels.
Like I say, I don't like to recommend something I haven't tried but based on what I've read, if I was buying a pair of fans tomorrow for that cooler - I'd be leaning towards the NF-P12's or Scyths - either Kaze or Gentle Typhoons (just double check that you get the right version as they come with different top speeds).
It's really one of those questions where the only "right" answer is - "it depends". If you are already sailing close to overheating then you either need a much more powerful fan or a better cooler (possibly going completely wet) - if you're already fairly "safe" but want a bit more headroom (maybe to add a touch more ot your overclocks) then you only need a relatively small improvement.
I won;t recommend any particular fan - I haven't tried them - but I've been looking at a load of round-ups of 120mm fans recently and these are definitely worth reading...
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cooling/2009/09/28/what-s-the-best-case-fan/5
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/120mm-fan-roundup-2_16.html#sect0
The important figures for you are the static pressure (not the CFMs) and the noise levels.
Like I say, I don't like to recommend something I haven't tried but based on what I've read, if I was buying a pair of fans tomorrow for that cooler - I'd be leaning towards the NF-P12's or Scyths - either Kaze or Gentle Typhoons (just double check that you get the right version as they come with different top speeds).
abdulhamid
Enthusiast
Quite an interesting read. I am now thinking the Gentle Typhoons 1400 rpm will be a better choice than the NF-P12's. Pengipete, can I ask what you are using to cool your CPU?
abdulhamid
Enthusiast
This is probably a silly question, but I'll ask anyway before I decide to buy them. With the NF-P12's, does anyone know which way round to fit the fans to the eco alc to get the push/pull configuration. I tried youtube but found nothing on setting up push/pull.
abdulhamid
Enthusiast
Thanks Pengi, there was me thinking the front was the side with the label.
Last edited:
pengipete
Rising Star
I should add that some people using radiators have them the other way around - pushing air into the case - the logic being that they will be getting the coldest air from outside of the case. It sounds a bit "off" to me - unless they have a lot of extractor fans to remove that heat from the passively cooled components - but it's safe enough to try as long as you're not already pushing your temperatures to the limit.
Gorman
Author Level
I push the air from the outside of the case down through my radiator on my setup as Pete describes. This is common for large 360 radiators and probably wouldnt be so good for a standard eco 120 rad, i would consider it for the eco 240.
The idea is that in a watercooled system like mine you have limited airflow front to back so rather than pushing hot air up into the radiator you push ambient temp air down from outside the case. As the radiator is cooling the loop which cools my CPU and GPU as long as it is cold the system is fine.
The bridges on the motherboard never really get hot anymore as in the I7 series most of it was moved to the CPU anyway. Hope that helps.
The idea is that in a watercooled system like mine you have limited airflow front to back so rather than pushing hot air up into the radiator you push ambient temp air down from outside the case. As the radiator is cooling the loop which cools my CPU and GPU as long as it is cold the system is fine.
The bridges on the motherboard never really get hot anymore as in the I7 series most of it was moved to the CPU anyway. Hope that helps.
abdulhamid
Enthusiast
Thanks Gorman and Pengi, I will set it up to push air outside the case and see what happens. Seems like a simple enough procedure to change the stock fan (famous last words). I have ordered 2 x NF-P12's for £34 incl delivery, seemed like a good deal. Hope to have them by end of the week.
abdulhamid
Enthusiast
I will deffo do that, here's hoping my money doesn't go to waste and I get at least 4-5C reduction in temps.
abdulhamid
Enthusiast
The 2 fans were delivered today, it was a pain installing the fan taking air from inside the case. The thread on the ECO were not playing ball with the screws that came with the fan. Had to rummage through my toolbox and find some that had a slightly pointy tip.
Pengi, as requested mate I have done some not so thorough temp benches. I will leave you to draw your own conclusions. To my ears they are however significantly quiter than the stock fan at full load. The temps were taken using RealTemp 3.60.
Pengi, as requested mate I have done some not so thorough temp benches. I will leave you to draw your own conclusions. To my ears they are however significantly quiter than the stock fan at full load. The temps were taken using RealTemp 3.60.
Last edited:
abdulhamid
Enthusiast
I agree, the temps are not bad at all. I had a few quid to spare so thought, what the heck it will be fun to see and hear them in action.
pengipete
Rising Star
Thanks Abdul.
Those results match what I've read elsewhere and are pretty much as you expected - 3-4C is definitely worth having. Depending on what thermal paste you used, those temps may even drop a little more after a few hours use.
I just bought an Akasa Viper to try on my Titan Fenrir - not expecting a huge difference but I grabbed it for a tenner on ebay - bargain. I'm not too worried if it doesn't do much as a heatsink fan - it can always be used as a case fan.
Those results match what I've read elsewhere and are pretty much as you expected - 3-4C is definitely worth having. Depending on what thermal paste you used, those temps may even drop a little more after a few hours use.
I just bought an Akasa Viper to try on my Titan Fenrir - not expecting a huge difference but I grabbed it for a tenner on ebay - bargain. I'm not too worried if it doesn't do much as a heatsink fan - it can always be used as a case fan.
abdulhamid
Enthusiast
I haven't reseated the eco just swapped the fan. Cannot remember what thermal paste was used by PCS, I am sure I can find it on my order status.
