# sleeve vs bearing fans



## viet_Cong (Sep 19, 2010)

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?


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## jevery (Sep 19, 2010)

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


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## MMM (Sep 19, 2010)

Ball bearing fan is far superior to a sleeve fan any day.
Only reason sleeve fans are abundant are the cheapness of manufacture.


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## bomberboysk (Sep 20, 2010)

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.



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.


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## viet_Cong (Sep 20, 2010)

thanks guys for lots of info.

well front intake fan is 120mm, i was thinking to get the cool master red LED 2000rpm. http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4675262&CatId=494


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## MMM (Sep 20, 2010)

What makes a PC fan noisy in reality is the design such as the pitch of the blades and speed.

A good link to read up on ball bearing and sleeve fans.

http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=193


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## bomberboysk (Sep 20, 2010)

viet_Cong said:


> thanks guys for lots of info.
> 
> well front intake fan is 120mm, i was thinking to get the cool master red LED 2000rpm. http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4675262&CatId=494



The r4 fans are not terrible for case fans...not really very good fans though, take a look at the antec tri cool 120mm, pretty decent fans for the price.


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## ScottALot (Sep 20, 2010)

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.


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## jevery (Sep 20, 2010)

MMM said:


> What makes a PC fan noisy in reality is the design such as the pitch of the blades and speed.
> 
> A good link to read up on ball bearing and sleeve fans.
> 
> http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=193



The article doesn't address sleeve fans with fluid dynamic bearing technology such as Scythe uses.

http://www.jarothermal.com/fdb.pdf


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## just a noob (Sep 21, 2010)

jevery said:


> The article doesn't address sleeve fans with fluid dynamic bearing technology such as Scythe uses.
> 
> http://www.jarothermal.com/fdb.pdf



They just sound like they have some extra lube and a seal on them, same basic principle as far as I can tell.


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## bomberboysk (Sep 21, 2010)

Fluid dynamic bearings are more or less just sealed sleeve bearings with a fancy name.


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## jevery (Sep 21, 2010)

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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## viet_Cong (Sep 24, 2010)

oh ok thanks all!

btw is it possible to like lube up the fan with some grease/oil?


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