Your gaming PC needs to be quiet and cool, we are here to tell you all about PC fans and their cooling capabilities

It's easy to think that the CPU or graphics card is the beating heart of your gaming PC, but if you don't have enough cooling, they won't go too far-unless you want a very expensive and inefficient oven. This is where your PC fan comes in. It creates enough ventilation to keep the system cool and high frame rate. Unfortunately, not all fans have the same construction. They can achieve a delicate balance between airflow, noise and aesthetics, so we are here to help you find the direction.

Fans are the basis to prevent hardware from overheating. Before removing it from the PC case, blow cold air onto your working parts. If you have ever wondered why your room gets hotter after a game, it’s because your fans are doing well.

If your rig becomes a little too hot and exceeds its "shutdown temperature", don't worry, because modern safety measures will start and shut down your system before any damage occurs. This limit varies by configuration, but is usually located near the 100°C (212°F) mark of the processor. Even if you don't reach this magical number, hovering your mouse anywhere near it will see that your processor and GPU performance is limited, usually resulting in stuttering and lag. Therefore, if you don't do things well the first time, it is not completely harmful to your components, but we cannot say that making your PC difficult to run is very practical.

Don't let the jargon fool you. Once you know your air pressure through CFM, dB, RPM and through static pressure, creating good airflow in the entire PC case is very simple. You only need to consider these factors first:

Although 120 mm and 140 mm are the two most common sizes, the fan can range from 40 mm to 200 mm. Before purchasing, you need to check the compatibility with your PC case and CPU cooler.

The size of a fan is directly related to the amount of air it can push (in cubic feet per minute; CFM), the noise it produces (in decibels; dB), and the speed at which the blades rotate (in units). Revolutions per minute; RPM). Larger fans have a larger surface area, which means they can push more air while spinning at a lower speed, which also makes them quieter. Of course, it needs to be noted that you need a larger case or cooler to connect them, which makes them unsuitable for small systems. However, if you can make it bigger, we recommend that you do so.

When choosing a PC fan, you may face the question of choosing a silent system or a high-efficiency system. Faster fans push more air and help you cool your equipment better, but this sometimes makes them easier to hear because the fans spin faster and the motors work harder. Thankfully, there are several manufacturers working on creating performance-driven fans that aim to balance these two elements-even when it comes to quietness!

If this does not solve the problem, you can use the fan controller to get the best of both worlds.

Unlike regular three-pin fans that are fixed to a fixed RPM-unless you are lucky enough to have a motherboard that supports voltage-based regulation-PWM fans have an additional fourth pin that is used to send and receive signals to rotate at a controlled speed. Pairing it with a fan controller allows you to manually adjust the fan's speed or set certain parameters so that the PWM fan will automatically change its speed based on your hardware temperature. This makes you slower when browsing the web and faster when you launch the latest game.

Note: You can plug a three-pin fan into the four-pin socket and vice versa, but unless you connect all four pins to a compatible fan, you won't get the additional PWM advantage.

Most modern motherboards support PWM fans out of the box, allowing you to change the fan curve in the BIOS. Some PC cases even have a built-in fan controller. Generally speaking, PWM fans are quieter because they adjust the speed according to your PC usage, but you may also hear the PWM signal itself.

You can place the fan in two ways: as an air inlet to draw air into the chassis, or as an air outlet to exhaust air. Since the air passes through the fans in one way, it is very important to install them correctly to guide the airflow seamlessly.

Note: Look at the shape of the blades to understand how the fan pushes the air. It enters from the circular side of the blade and moves outward through the concave portion. Depending on the brand, you might even find a label indicating the direction of airflow.

It is usually best to place the intake fan on the front and bottom of the case, and the exhaust fan on the back and top. This is because the hot air rises, leaving a more natural airflow. Side-mounted fans are not common, but they should be used as air inlets if they are used.

Any intake fans, no matter where they are located, should be equipped with filters to prevent dust accumulation. Dust can insulate, and it is difficult to reduce the temperature-and no one likes to maintain their computers more frequently.

Airflow can be divided into three types, depending on the CFM of the intake fan and exhaust fan:

It is almost always worth avoiding any type of negative pressure because it attracts more dust, and more dust means more cleaning work to avoid temperature rise. Neutral or slightly positive pressure is ideal to avoid dust accumulation.

Surprisingly, the fan on the AIO cooler radiator is actually different from the fan designed to connect to the chassis. These are called high static pressure fans, but have many different names in the wild, such as Quiet! High-speed fan.

Fans designed for static pressure carry extra power, so they can better pull air out or push over restricted surfaces, such as the radiator of a water cooler. Although they tend to spin faster, their CFM is not always better than a standard fan built for airflow, and may not be worth the noise tax in a purely air-cooled build.

Most fans are swamp-standard black, brown, or gray squares designed to be placed inconspicuously in your system, but occasionally you will find some fans designed to draw attention through illuminated LEDs. It is safe to say that these lights will not affect the performance of your PC, but they usually carry a high price tag, so you think the value of adding a little talent depends on you.

They come in three variants: monochrome, RGB, and addressable RGB. Regular RGB puts millions of colors at your fingertips, but you can only choose one color at a time. ARGB is the best of its kind because it allows you to mix and match when you are in a good mood to create a multi-color pattern throughout the box.

However, if you want to synchronize the lights with RAM, CPU coolers, and peripherals, you need to pay attention to different ecosystems, because not all RGB components work perfectly with other devices. It is best to use a system-independent method, such as quiet Light Wings, because these fans will not be locked in a walled garden and can work with most other brands.

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