sleeve vs bearing fans

V

viet_Cong

New Member
hey my front intake front is starting to die out...i know becuase when i turn on the computer rumbles and loud and shakes at the same time. sometimes the fan doesnt even turn until i restart...

though now i wanna replace this fan, which fan should i get? sleeve or ball bearing fans? which is better?
 
A sleeve in a sleeve fan is like a bushing. Generally speaking, a ball bearing fan should outlast a sleeve fan due to less friction, but the bearing itself is noisier. Some of the better sleeve fans, though, have a little magnetized lubricating fluid in the sleeve giving them the ability to last as long or longer than a ball bearing while retaining the quietness of a sleeve bearing. Scythe calls it a FDB bearing, or Fluid Dynamic Bearing - Other manufacturers may call them something different.

I like the Scythe S-FLEX line. They come in different sizes and RPM ranges, but they're not cheap.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=s-flex
 
Ball bearing fan is far superior to a sleeve fan any day.
Only reason sleeve fans are abundant are the cheapness of manufacture.
 
MMM said:
Ball bearing fan is far superior to a sleeve fan any day.
Only reason sleeve fans are abundant are the cheapness of manufacture.
Click to expand...

Not always true. Sleeve bearing fans are used in situations in which low noise is preferred, and there are many higher end fans that use sleeve bearings. Ball bearing fans are noisier, however they tend to be rated for longer MTBF's.

For front intake fans, what size of fan are we talking about? As far as 120mm fans it is hard to beat the Yate Loon 120mm fans for price/performance, Scythe makes some decent fans as well as Antec, and Cooler master.
 
I got three High Speed Scythe Slipstream fans and they're working wonders as far as I can tell... if I turn my Ultra Kazes off and leave my Slipstreams on high speed, they actually pull enough air through the radiator to spin the UK's on the other side a bit.
 
True, but they've effectively addressed the weakness of the sleeve bearing - friction and reliability. That's why we've seen the shift from BBs to FDBs on HDD spindles.
 
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