Do you overclock your computer often or like lots of RGB lighting? Do you do heavy work with your PC for a long time? If one of the answers is YES, then you definitely need a good CPU cooler for your PC. If you want to go for air coolers among other alternatives, what should you choose, 2 fans vs 1 fan CPU cooler?
1 fan can do its job properly in normal conditions. All a 2nd fan does is make the 1st fan work better at a lower speed. It can also help in better performance. But “more is better” is not real in many cases. Stay with this article to find out how 1 fan and 2 fans can make difference in your PC.
2 Fan vs 1 Fan CPU Cooler
Airflow speed, noise, dust, and price are the main factors to understand the differences between 1 and 2 fan coolers.
Flow
Just adding more fans won’t make your CPU cooler. One of the fans has to run about twice as fast as the other one to get more flow and better performance. They have to run at different speeds or have different designs to get the same pressure differences and make the CPU cooler than the result of 1 fan.
In general theory, fans mounted in ‘series’ double the pressure at the same flow. On the other hand, fans in ‘parallel’ double the airflow at the same pressure in normal cases.
But in reality, adding the second fan won’t increase the overall flow that much, it makes sure that more of the air flows smoothly along the entire part of the radiator. For this reason, most people report that having a 2 fan CPU cooler instead of 1 doesn’t gain many phenomenal results.
Noise
When talking about 1 vs 2 fans cooler, the most important sides are the noise and the RPM or airflow, but not about the cooling performance. When you add a 2nd fan, you can lower the RPM of the fan a bit. Sometimes it lowers the noise or remains the same. But in many cases, the 2nd fan will increase the noise a lot.
There is a magic number that varies with fan size and blade design. If you can make your fans’ speed difference above and below that magic number, 2 fans will make less noise than 1 fan altogether! Also, there is a varying number of RPM below which a fan makes almost no noise. But it’s not easy to find that number.
Price
Usually, the air coolers are much cheaper than the alternatives. Of course, when you will use one fan as a cooler, it will cost less than adding another one. If having two fans doesn’t help much, then no need to spend that money on a second fan. You can try replacing it with a liquid cooler if the CPU isn’t running cool enough.
Dust
When you use 1 fan to cool down your CPU, the amount of air in and out is imbalanced. To make the amount equal, air comes in through the case grilles, which brings dust in, and also the temperature of the air bringing dust will be higher.
If you add another fan, it will slightly pressurize the case interior and force out air through the rear grille and vented slot covers. So, it will help you with the dusting problem. It’s not like dust won’t come inside at all, but the amount will be lesser than before.
Closing Statement
If you read the article thoroughly, you should already know that none of them is the winner between 2 fans vs 1 fan CPU cooler. The companies want to sell more fans to make more profit, but don’t fall for it. Your main goal is to make your CPU run cool, if 1 fan can do enough, let it have the cooling responsibilities.
Leave a Reply