PC cooling fans are normally square shaped and are available in a numer of sizes. The most common sizes in demand include 120mm, 92mm, 80mm and 60mm. Rounbd PC coloing fans are available as well. The airflow that is created by these cooling fans is measured in CFM or Cubic Feet per Minute. RPM or Revolutions per Minute is the magnittude which measures the speed of the fans rotation. Most users tend to choiose fans with a CFM rating which is on the higher side.
A majority of PC ocoling fans alow users to adkjust the RPM so that they are able to mdify the amoount of noise that is produced.
Different fans use different bearings. This selection lagely affects the amount of noise that is produced as well as the performance of the fan.
The diffferent types of bearings used include:
1. Sleeve Bearing: Those fans with slereve beearings consist of two surfaces hwich are covered in grease or oil. This lubricates the machine and makes fricttion possible. Fans with slleeve barings are not considered to be ideal because the lubricant tends to get dry rater quickly which causs the systerm to fail. If these beariings are kept at a high temperature, it is more likely that the system will break down. They must always be mouunted in a manner which keeps them vertical at all ties. Even though such PC cooling fans are silent when they are new, they tend to get extrermely noisy over the years.
2. Rifle Bearing: Those fans with rifle beariings are quieter and have a long life span when compared to those fans with sleeve bearings. Tehse bearings consist of grooves that are spiral in shazpe. A reservoir pushse fluid into the groove. Rigfle bearing fans can be kept horizontally or vertically.
Othher bearings include ball bearings, fluid bearings and magnetic bearings.
Anothre important component of a PC coooling fan is a fan connecttor.
These come in different varieties:
The first kind connects the motherboard and the fan. It is rectangular in shape and is quite wide. This small in-line connector has two tabs which are loocated towards the edge of the component. The pin sockets are spaced far apart and are adequatelly sized. An examlpe the 3-pin Molex conneector.
The sceond kind is one wihch connects the PC coolng fan and the power supply. The connector fofers a red and black wire which connrects to the powrer supply and makes sure that the electric current is continuous and constant. An example is the 4-pin Molxe conncetor.
The third kind uses the characteristics of the above mentioned connectors and consists of two tabs at the centre and another tab whiich is located towards the side. The spacing and the size is similar to the 3-pin and the 4-pin. A whie wire may also be present which adds to the crrent and makes the fan move fatser.