Wondering which fan would be most efficient for your Raspberry Pi? And who will be the quietest?
We at LeapMatic have prepared detailed research done with 6 types of fans measured with and without a radiator on the Raspberry Pi 4 at two different room temperatures.
You will find out which fan is best for your project, what is important to know about them and you will be convinced that in most cases SIZE DOES NOT MATTER. It may sound like a cliché (and not just in tech world), but keep reading and you will see the results for yourself.
During the research, the Raspberry Pi 4 will be placed in the innovative MaticBox case – a multifunctional and budget case for Raspberry Pi and Asus ThinkerBoard. It’s many features allow easy implementation of projects in home and industrial environments, with good cooling, mounting anywhere and including the ability to stack server clusters of single-board computers Raspberry Pi.
Learn more about MaticBox here: https://leapmatic.com/maticbox4/
Or you can buy here: https://leapmatic.com/product/maticbox-4-innovative-case-for-raspberry-pi-4/
For easier presentation of the results, we will use the measurement application – MaticControl developed by us . Through it we set the type and time of CPU load. On the graphs you can observe the internal temperature of the processor, as well as the frequencies of the cores. For such studies, we will load the processor 100% for 10 minutes.
The fan noise is measured with a special device designed for this purpose on a dBA scale. As dB is not always a clear unit of measurement for the user, we also provide sound recordings to give you an idea of the type of sound and for comparison. It is important to note that the noise is measured and recorded in an ordinary office room measuring 3.5m x 4.5m, with windows to a relatively quiet part of the city, so the background noise is in the range of 30dBA
Eperiments overview
1. Fan 25x25x7mm – 5000 rpm
1.1. At 26 ° C without heatsink
1.2. At 26 ° C with heatsink
1.3. At 40 ° C without heatsink
1.4. At 40 ° C with heatsink
2. Fan 25x25x10mm – 7000 rpm
2.1 At 26 ° C without heatsink
2.2 At 26 ° C with heatsink
2.3 At 40 ° C without heatsink
2.4 At 40 ° C with heatsink
3. Fan 25x25x7mm – 15000 rpm
3.1 At 26 ° C without heatsink
3.2 At 26 ° C with heatsink
3.3 At 40 ° C without heatsink
3.4 At 40 ° C with heatsink
4. Fan 30x30x10mm – 5000 rpm
4.1 At 26 ° C without heatsink
5. Blower fan 40x40x10mm – 5000 rpm.
5.1 At 26 ° C without heatsink
6. Blower fan 50x50x15mm – 5000 rpm.
6.1 At 26 ° C without heatsink
6.2 At 26 ° C with heatsink
1. Fan 25x25x7mm - 5000 rpm
Link to the Fan: Brushless fan 2507-5
Fans of this size can be snapped directly to the MaticBox or placed on the adapter which comes with the case. In the case of the study, we placed the fan on the adapter. This type of fan also fits under the thin cover of the MaticBox. (as shown on the photos below)
At room temperature 26°C
As can be seen from Studies 1.1 and 1.2, at 10 minutes of 100% load, the CPU temperature remains stable. The presence of a heatsink improves the CPU temperature by about 4°C. Whether with or without a heatsink, it can be seen that the fan cools enough and keeps the processor temperature t° below the critical 85°C.
1.1. At 26°C without heatsink
1.2. At 26°C with heatsink
At room temperature 40°C
Even at extreme 40°C ambient temperatures, this fan continues to cool the CPU well below the critical 85°C. The presence of a heatsink cools the CPU by another 7°C.
Fan noise
The fan is extremely quiet. It’s work is not heard unless you stick your ear to it.
In dB the measurements are as follows:
1.3. At 40°C without heatsink
1.4. At 40°C with heatsink
2. Fan 25х25х10mm – 7000 rpm
Link to the Fan: Brushless fan 2510-7
This fan has typical mid-range features – with a normal degree of cooling and normal noise. It is also compatible with the MaticBox adapter and fits under the thin cover. (as seen on the photos below)
At room temperature 26°C
This fan has 2000 rpm more than the previous one, which, as can be seen in the graphs, lowers the CPU temperature by between 5 ° C and 8 ° C for specific studies.
2.1. At 26°C without heatsink
2.2. At 26°C with heatsink
At room temperature 40°C
At a room temperature of 40°C, the difference between a Raspberry Pi with a heatsink and a fan and one with a fan only becomes more visible – 5°C.
Fan noise
In dB the measurements are as follows:
2.3. At 40°C without heatsink
2.4. At 40°C with heatsink
3. Fan 25х25х7mm – 15000 rpm
Link to the Fan: Brushless fan 2507-15
This fan offers extremely good cooling, but is one of the noisiest from the study. It could work under heavy CPU loads combined with responsible tasks (server applications) or in cases where the Raspberry Pi is installed in rooms, whose temperature can reach high values during the summer months.
At room temperature 26°C
The test fan has 10,000 rpm more than the first one, which, as seen in the graphs, lowers the CPU temperature by as much as 20°C
3.1. At 26°C without heatsink
3.2. At 26°C with heatsink
At room temperature 40°C
At a room temperature of 40°C, the difference between the Raspberry Pi with the radiator and the fan and that with the fan alone also remains 3°C..
Fan noise
The fan is significantly noisier than the previous two.
In dB the measurements are as follows:
3.3. At 40°C without heatsink
3.4. At 40°C with heatsink
4. Fan 30х30х10mm – 5000 rpm
Fans larger than 25x25mm are not compatible with the fan adapter, but there is enough space left in the MaticBox so that larger fans can also be compatible with the case. In our case, we placed the fan on the body frame with double-sided tape. The bonding area is large enough to provide a stable grip. This type of fan also fits under the low cover of the MaticBox.
Figure 4.1 shows that the internal temperature of the Raspberry Pi processor does not rise more than 54.5°C. If we compare this fan with the fan from the first study (2507-5) with the same rpm, a difference of 5°C is observed, in favor of this one. But if we compare it with the fans from studies 2 and 3, we notice that the 3010-5 does not offer better cooling than its smaller counterparts 2510-7 and 2507-15.
When this fan is placed there is no place for a heatsink to the Raspberry Pi 4 processor.
Fan noise
In dB the measurements are as follows:
4.1. At 26°C without heatsink
5. Blower fan 40х40х10mm – 5000 rpm
Link to Fan: Blower fan 4010-5
Blower fans work by blowing warm air directly outside the MaticBox. They are a good choice when you use several attached MaticBox as a modern cluster of boxes.
For this study we use a fan with a larger area than the previous ones. It is attached to the body of the MaticBox with double-sided tape, which also offers very good stability.
Figure 5.1 shows that the internal temperature of the Raspberry Pi processor does not rise more than 55.5 ° C. Note that despite the size of the fan, it is less efficient than the one presented in the previous study (3010-5).
This is due to the fact that the fan does not blow directly on the processor, but actually sucks the heated air around the processor and takes it out of the MaticBox. This means that the airflow passing through the processor is significantly weaker.
This type of fan is not a good choice for self-contained use of the Raspberry Pi, but it is perfect for clusters, when the hot air must be removed to the side, and not up or down as the previous four fans.
When this fan is located, there is no place for a heatsink to the Raspberry Pi 4 processor.
Fan noise.
In dB the measurements are as follows:
5.1. At 26°C without heatsink
6. Blower fan 50х50х10mm – 5000 rpm
Our last study is again with a blower fan, the largest fan of all so far. We have attached it directly to the tall cover for automation as its height is over 10 mm and does not fit under MaticBox’s thin cover. The photos show its opening at the back of the case. For aesthetics, you can use the plate which comes with MaticBox kit to cover unnecessary space.
Figure 6.1 shows that the internal temperature of the Raspberry Pi processor does not rise more than 60°C. However, this makes the fan even less efficient than its smaller counterpart (4010-5).
This is due to the fact that it is placed higher than 4010-5, which further reduces the airflow around the processor. However, this offers another advantage – namely the possibility of a heatsink under the fan.
Fan noise.
6.1. At 26°C without heatsink
6.2. At 26°C with heatsink
Summary:
All tested fans perform their purpose well, namely to cool the processor sufficiently below the critical 85 ° C. Even at an extreme ambient temperature of 40 ° C and without a heatsink, the highest temperature reached at 100% load is 76°C .
Of all the 6 fans, the 2510-15 undoubtedly offers the best cooling, but is accompanied by high noise.
The first four fans work on the principle of directing ambient air into the processor, which makes them significantly more efficient than those that suck it. This also has its drawbacks, as all dust particles from the surrounding atmosphere will be directed to the body of the Raspberry Pi and the board must be cleaned more often.
Blower fans 4010-5 and 5015-5, as we have seen, are less efficient than the first 4, despite their larger size. This is due to the smaller airflow passing through the processor, as they only suck out the heated air. The second reason is their high location above the processor. As mentioned above, their main application is when you have several stacked Raspberry Pi’s and the hot air must be removed outside the cluster.
In the following table we have summarized the temperatures from the measurements of the tenth minute of the load.
Buy MaticBox here: MaticBox 4
Link to the Fan: Brushless fan 2507-5
Link to the Fan: Brushless fan 2510-7
Link to the Fan: Brushless fan 2507-15
Link to Fan: Blower fan 4010-5
