Table of Contents
- 1 Can you put any fan on a CPU radiator?
- 2 Can you use different fans on AIO?
- 3 Is there a difference between case fans and radiator fans?
- 4 Can you change the fans on a liquid cooler?
- 5 How do I know if my CPU cooler will fit in my case?
- 6 Can I use a case fan instead of a radiator fan?
- 7 Does a radiator fan help cool the PC?
Can you put any fan on a CPU radiator?
Radiators can basically use any fan. Any fan will move some air and the water cooling loop will work.
Can you use different fans on AIO?
Yes, you can use any fans, as long as they are the same size, 120mm, because the AIO used the 120mm fans.
Can you use case fans on a CPU cooler?
YES! The CPU cooler will transfer the heat from the CPU itself to the air inside the case, then the case fans will a) suck out the hot air from the case (back/top fans) and b) put new cool air from the outside into the case (front/bottom fans).
Are CPU fans Universal?
Yes but with caveats. A CPU cooler basically transfers heat from the CPU to the air that flows through your case. It can do this regardless of branding on the CPU. A caveat is that the mounting setup can change between CPU brands and sometimes even between generations of hardware.
Is there a difference between case fans and radiator fans?
Radiator fans are the fans attached to your air or water CPU cooler. While CPU coolers generally come with radiator fans built in, sometimes they break or underperform, and need replacing. Unlike case fans, radiator fans need a harder airflow, or “static pressure,” to function in the denser CPU radiator area of a PC.
Can you change the fans on a liquid cooler?
You can use different fans if they are not integrated and if you have an external power source to run the fans.
Can I use a case fan for heatsink?
But to answer your question: as long as the heatsink has screw holes on it that match that fan’s size, you can absolutely interchange the fans.
Is there a difference between case fans?
There are actually two different kinds of PC case fans: static pressure fans, and high airflow fans. Instead, static pressure is about the force with which the air is being pushed. In many scenarios, high static pressure fans will provide much better performance than high airflow fans despite much lower CFM.
How do I know if my CPU cooler will fit in my case?
Somewhere on the box order manual for your motherboard there will be a listing of what socket that motherboard has on it. Once you know the socket you can look up whether or not that cooler fits onto that socket.
Can I use a case fan instead of a radiator fan?
You can, but it would hurt the performance of the liquid cooler. Typically case fans are good for moving air without any obstructions, but not pushing air through an obstruction like a radiator. They will still move some air through the rad, but not as well as the fans that come with it.
Do you need a CPU cooler if you have a case fan?
The CPU cooler’s job, is to take the heat from the CPU die, and blow it out in the computer case. The case fan’s job is to move the hot ambient air from the case, outside into the room. The CPU cooler is crucial in this configuration. You always need a CPU cooler regardless of case fans.
What is a CPU cooler and how does it work?
A CPU cooler might be a heatsink with one or more fans, or just a heatsink with no fan, or a liquid pump and separate radiator with one or more fans. The cooler needs to be attached directly to the CPU package with some type of thermal paste (e.g., Arctic Silver), because air is not a particularly good heat transfer medium.
Does a radiator fan help cool the PC?
My radiator fans push cooler outside air through my radiator into the case.. which raises ambient temps in my case. I use two other fans (top exhaust and rear exhaust) to push the warm air out.. I idle at 23C (+3C from ambient). Does it help cool the PC.. probably not.