PC Fan Bearings - Sleeve vs Ball vs Others as Fast As Possible
Techquickie
·Techquickie
·2015-05-07
·
1,017 words · ~5 min read
0:00
In general terms, a bearing is a machine element that constrains relative motion
0:04
and reduces friction between moving parts. In cooling fans specifically, the
0:08
purpose of a bearing is to allow the blades to spin around inside the frame
0:12
as efficiently and reliably as possible. But there are so many kinds of them. And
0:18
the PMM bearing hasn't been invented yet. So until that happens, how do we
0:21
know the pros and cons of each kind? Let's kick it off with sleeve bearings.
0:25
The most common bearing type in PC cooling fans. The main advantages are
0:28
easy. They are inexpensive and quiet, especially at first, but they should
0:33
only be mounted vertically for best results. And compared to other bearing types, their performance, especially
0:37
over long periods of time, is unexceptional. A sleeve bearing is what
0:40
is known as a line contact bearing, which means that the contact surface
0:44
area between its moving parts, is actually quite large. This isn't
0:48
inherently a catastrophic problem, but it makes them more susceptible to
0:52
failure due to changes in lubricant viscosity from higher ambient
0:56
temperatures and from lubricant loss over time. This combined with the way
1:00
that they often die quite suddenly makes them less suitable for industrial or
1:04
missionritical environments, which leads us nicely into the second most common PC
1:08
fan bearing type, ball bearings. They're more expensive than sleeve bearings and
1:13
louder at the beginning of their lives, but they make up for it because their
1:17
point contact design reduces friction and allows them to last longer,
1:22
especially in hotter environments, like say for example in a server or oftus
1:25
used gaming PC and they stay closer to their out ofthe-box performance over a
1:31
longer period of time. Like sleeve bearings, the main cause of failure of a
1:34
ball bearing is lubricant loss. But because of the way they operate and the
1:38
fact that they tend to be found in better designed products that are manufactured with tighter tolerances
1:43
overall, this will take longer to occur. Add to that that a ball bearing fan will
1:48
fail in a slower, more graceful manner, and you've got yourself a fan that's
1:52
much more suitable for cooling a component that won't take kindly to a
1:56
sudden lack of cooling, like a CPU or power supply. But not all ball bearing
2:00
fans are created equal. Cheaper single ball bearing designs will use one ball
2:05
bearing and one sleeve bearing at each end of the shaft. While more expensive
2:10
dual ball bearing designs use ball bearings throughout for improved
2:13
longevity and performance consistency. So depending on how much reliability you
2:17
need, you can plan your budget accordingly. Now, I don't want this
2:20
video to come off as a PSA about the dangers of sleeve bearing fans. In
2:25
non-demanding environments or where extreme silence or longevity aren't
2:28
really needed, a traditional sleeve bearing may be perfectly adequate. And
2:31
on top of that, not all sleeves are necessarily inferior. Fluid dynamic or
2:36
hydro bearings are the last common bearing type and are fundamentally a
2:41
modified sleeve bearing. Compared to normal sleeve bearings and even ball
2:44
bearing designs, they are the most expensive due to the Matsushida
2:47
licensing fees that they must pay in order to sell them, the genuine ones
2:51
anyway. But the way that they use the fan's own rotation to create a pressure
2:56
field that stabilizes the fan and dramatically improves lubrication
2:59
performance results in an extremely quiet bearing that generally lasts
3:03
longer than either of the first two that I talked about. The thing to watch out
3:07
here though for is that the fluid dynamic bearing name isn't trademarked.
3:11
So many manufacturers have created their own, sometimes inferior variants that
3:16
sell under the same name, buyer beware. Our last bearing type is the other
3:22
category. I mean, you see, hydro bearings aren't the only enhanced sleeve
3:25
bearings. Rifle, hydraulic, and SSO are
3:28
a few more examples with each taking a different approach to the goal of
3:32
improving sleeve bearing performance. I'll use SSO bearings as my example. The
3:36
main problem with sleeves is that if they're not adequately lubricated, they wear out extremely quickly. This
3:41
proprietary design, among other changes, adds magnetic stabilization and fluid
3:46
dynamic bearing design elements to improve stability, longevity, and
3:50
silence, especially at lower speeds. And they can be mounted in any orientation
3:54
to boot. Not bad, eh? So, that's pretty much it. Or wait, there's two more
3:58
things actually. First, factor into everything I just said that the design
4:01
and quality of the construction of the rest of the fan plays a major role in
4:06
its performance and its reliability regardless of bearing type. And second,
4:10
here's a handy little fan maintenance tip. It's never a bad idea to consult
4:14
the manufacturer for the best possible method, but using a drop or two of a
4:18
high-grade synthetic lubricant under the sticker on the back will improve the
4:21
lifetime of even the worst sleeve bearing fan in the world. So, give that
4:25
a try if you want to save a couple of bucks and keep your fans out of the
4:28
local landfill. Speaking of saving a couple bucks, if you enjoyed this video about fan bearings, be sure to check out
4:32
the fans from today's episode sponsor, Cooler Master. They produce a wide
4:36
variety of PC cooling components. I mean, it's right there in the company
4:40
name with everything from CPU, air, and liquid coolers to standalone fan
4:44
upgrades for your case that range from plain Jane black ones to fancy LED ones.
4:49
Show them some love for supporting Techquicki by checking out the link in
4:52
the video description. Thank you very much guys for watching. Like it if you
4:55
liked it, dislike it if you dislike this video. Leave a comment if you have any feedback on the video or if you have
5:00
suggestions for future fast puzzles. And as always, don't forget to subscribe to
5:04
TechWiki for more videos just like this