Change and control h100i GTX fans?

Hi, I would like to replace the stock h100i gtx fans with 2 ML120 pro. They are compatible? Can i control the new fans with "Corsair Link"?

Thanks.

Duplicate of http://forum.corsair.com/forums/showthread.php?t=160349

Ok, so I can replace them and use Corsair Link to change the speed, if i've understood correctly.

Another question: The 2 fans from the h100i could be used to replace the stock fans (2x front intake) of my Corsair C70 Vengeance? Or it will be better change them with AF 120?

Thanks.

Ok, so I can replace them and use Corsair Link to change the speed, if i've understood correctly.

As long as it is a 4 pin PWM fan. The ML120 as listed as a PWM fan.

Another question: The 2 fans from the h100i could be used to replace the stock fans (2x front intake) of my Corsair C70 Vengeance? Or it will be better change them with AF 120?

Yes, you can place the SP120L in front as long as you have a way to power and control them, presumably your motherboard. Whether you will gain anything from it is another matter. Fans like the SP120 series are designed to direct their airflow in a tighter conical shape. The flat blade is able to move more air in restricted spaces as lower fan speeds than a fan like an AF120. But nothing is free and the trade-off for this is a reduced airflow volume at higher speeds. The SP120 will be better at directly cooling hardware in its path (like drives or pushing through tight spaces). The AF120 will move more air into the case and do so with less noise. This is more helpful for overall internal case temperatures and not one specific piece of hardware.

So the question is, do you have something on the other side of your intake fans that requires direct cooling? If not, stick with the AF120. However, since this is such a painless thing to switch around and you have both fans, why not try it for yourself and make your own observations? Real world use is always better than theory.

As long as it is a 4 pin PWM fan. The ML120 as listed as a PWM fan.

 

 

 

 

Yes, you can place the SP120L in front as long as you have a way to power and control them, presumably your motherboard. Whether you will gain anything from it is another matter. Fans like the SP120 series are designed to direct their airflow in a tighter conical shape. The flat blade is able to move more air in restricted spaces as lower fan speeds than a fan like an AF120. But nothing is free and the trade-off for this is a reduced airflow volume at higher speeds. The SP120 will be better at directly cooling hardware in its path (like drives or pushing through tight spaces). The AF120 will move more air into the case and do so with less noise. This is more helpful for overall internal case temperatures and not one specific piece of hardware.

 

So the question is, do you have something on the other side of your intake fans that requires direct cooling? If not, stick with the AF120. However, since this is such a painless thing to switch around and you have both fans, why not try it for yourself and make your own observations? Real world use is always better than theory.

Thanks for the reply. In front of the 2 intake fans I have nothing so the AF should work better; but the stock fans of the case are SP version i think, because the shape of the blades are similar to the SP of the h100i, and from the pictures the AF looks different...

Sorry, I was in a rush this morning and did not go double check the C70 page -- where no photographs can be found anyway. Looking elsewhere, it looks like the fans that come with the C70 are a hybrid airflow/pressure design, in between an SP120 and AF120. If you look closely, the case fan should have slightly more angle to the blade. This is the most common design for 120mm fans and offers a compromise between the two ends of the spectrum. You are welcome to swap the radiator fans in, but I would be very surprised if there are any improvements. The stock fans should move more air at the same RPM, with a reasonably focused flow, and are likely to be slightly less noisy at that same RPM. Again, it is harmless to try and sometimes you get surprised.

I've bought 2 ML120 pro and one AF120 (exhaust) quiet and so I'll try them. The cooler stock fans are noisy also at low RPM and I hope that the ML120 noise result lower. The h100i's fans could be reused on the front? Better but noisier I think...

I've bought 2 ML120 pro and one AF120 (exhaust) quiet and so I'll try them. The cooler stock fans are noisy also at low RPM and I hope that the ML120 noise result lower. The h100i's fans could be reused on the front? Better but noisier I think...

Update: I've installed the ML120 pro on the h100i and the noise is much better now, the performance seems to be basically the same (difference of only 200rpm in the various configuration profiles). The bad things is that i mounted the AF120 on the back (exhaust) and seems to perform worse than the stock fan: the airflow seems to be lower (maybe because of the mash structure of the case) and the noise at same rpm is pretty much the same. The spare stock fan from the back could be used on the bottom of the case in front of the psu? Is it worth it even if half of it is blocked by the cables?

How are you assessing performance? it is probable the mesh slows the velocity of air coming through the back (by the feeling of your hand). However, the AF120 should also draw air into the fan from a wider conical area than a fan with a flatter blade. It's also possible all of the openings on the C70 have sufficient resistance that a hybrid style blade is the better solution and this is why the stock case fans are of that design.

Performance of the h100i fans by looking at the temperature of the cpu and the radiator with Corsair Link, hearing the noise and feeling flow with hand so nothing scientific. For the exhaust fan if you tell me that even if the flow from the back seems to be lower the AF fan is good for extract more hot air from inside i'll use it. Thanks.

Performance of the h100i fans by looking at the temperature of the cpu and the radiator with Corsair Link, hearing the noise and feeling flow with hand so nothing scientific. For the exhaust fan if you tell me that even if the flow from the back seems to be lower the AF fan is good for extract more hot air from inside i'll use it. Thanks.

The radiator fans are easy to compare. No issue there. The rear exhaust fan is hard. To accurately measure airflow, you need an anemometer or something similar and no has one just lying around. You can try and look at temp readings from the motherboard or VRM and see if they are higher or lower. After that it gets a little hard without doing silly things like tying a tiny piece of string to the H100i hoses and watching it drift. So my advice is use the fan you prefer. You system does not go into crisis mode if the exhaust flow drops by 10cfm and your daily variance in room temperature has a stronger effect on case temperature than that. I suspect the honeycomb mesh all over the C70 will make the hybrid designed 120mm fans the better choice for most things. The ML series 120mm fan is in that category, so perhaps returning the AF120 and adding more ML (as they become more readily available) would be a pleasing choice.

The radiator fans are easy to compare. No issue there. The rear exhaust fan is hard. To accurately measure airflow, you need an anemometer or something similar and no has one just lying around. You can try and look at temp readings from the motherboard or VRM and see if they are higher or lower. After that it gets a little hard without doing silly things like tying a tiny piece of string to the H100i hoses and watching it drift. So my advice is use the fan you prefer. You system does not go into crisis mode if the exhaust flow drops by 10cfm and your daily variance in room temperature has a stronger effect on case temperature than that. I suspect the honeycomb mesh all over the C70 will make the hybrid designed 120mm fans the better choice for most things. The ML series 120mm fan is in that category, so perhaps returning the AF120 and adding more ML (as they become more readily available) would be a pleasing choice.

Ok, thanks. On the exhaust i could also try to use one of the SP previously mounted on the h100i.

You can try and I need to encourage people to experiment on their own more often. However, if you look at the specifications for the two fans an SP120(L) needs 2350 rpm to move 62 cfm of air and at 35db. An AF120 will move the same 63cfm at 700 less rpm (1650) and at 5db less. That is a substantial difference in loudness. The original case fan likely splits the difference in terms of airflow per RPM. I can't say anything about the noise since there are no specifications listed. The honeycomb restriction is not going be enough to offset that kind of flow disadvantage. It would need to be denser (like a radiator) or have a need for decent low rpm air flow. That has a benefit on the radiator, but not really on a free exhaust port.

My AF120 is the quiet edition so the max rpm are lower. I had to chose the performance edition instead. I'll make some experiments once at home.