Are AIO Water cooler fans "special"?

The fan went out on Cheetah's NZXT Kraken X41. It's a 140mm, so I went to Fry's and just got one off the shelf. Popped it in...and...it works, but not nearly as well as whatever NZXT had on there. Temps are just tolerable under load, but a good 6 - 8 degrees higher, and nothing changed but the fan. So I guess I kinda wasted some money here, and before I get a different one to try, should I just order a replacement from NZXT or is there some other 140mm fan that's real good for a water cooler radiator that I should look at?
Thanks for any tips.

I have replace the fans on my AIO with "off the shelf" fans without problems. I just grab one of my spares and put it in.

Sometimes i never use the fans that come with AIOs if i have something better nearby. It's possible, and maybe even likely that the new fan you got has lower airflow and/or lower static pressure than NZXT's fans. If you only have 1 fan mounted to that radiator though, trying adding a 2nd one on the opposite side. That would help.

Also, how often do you check the temps? Some projects just run hotter and if you changed projects since you last checked it could be just a hotter running project.

Thanks for the suggestions. This one is a little quieter, so guessing less airflow maybe. Not sure about the static pressure thing. That might be it too. Maybe I'll just get s replacement from them and see if the temps go back down.
@Al - it was higher on both Asteroids and now LHC, so guessing it's the fan?

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Originally Posted by DrPop

@Al - it was higher on both Asteroids and now LHC, so guessing it's the fan?

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That's why JPM is JPM...and I'm me.

You might like to read this:

http://www.watercooled.ch/140mm-fan-charts/

It could give you a feel for performance on a rad where higher static pressure is a requirement

I sponsored a test fan (Delta) back a few years when Martin was doing the testing. The info is now old and the pics don't seem to load but you might find it interesting:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...diator-Round-7

and the original 120mm testing:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...diator-Round-6

Fans characteristics, particularly the noise level measurement, never seem to use the same baseline across manufacturers. Another thing is that noise has a quality as well as a loudness and THAT is very subjective

Do you have room for a 2nd fan on the other side of the radiator for push/pull config? I'm assuming you got the 4-pin PWM fan, right? NZXT Cam controller doesn't work with 3-pin, as far as I know.

Who sold you that junk fan, anyway :D

This is what I usually put on radiators, after the factory fans crap out:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DrPop

The fan went out on Cheetah's NZXT Kraken X41. It's a 140mm, so I went to Fry's and just got one off the shelf. Popped it in...and...it works, but not nearly as well as whatever NZXT had on there. Temps are just tolerable under load, but a good 6 - 8 degrees higher, and nothing changed but the fan. So I guess I kinda wasted some money here, and before I get a different one to try, should I just order a replacement from NZXT or is there some other 140mm fan that's real good for a water cooler radiator that I should look at?
Thanks for any tips.

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Thanks guys! I'll look at both of those links as soon as I get a chance, at work right now and I can hear the whip cracking over my head already. :D haha I think I have some time, the 3930K is stabe in there at 65-ish to 70 degrees as long as I don't run the GPU with the current replacement fan, so...

Akasa AK-FN063 Viper 140mm Fan

*Great Static Pressure
*Fairly quite at lower RPMs
*4-Pin PWM that works well with most digital and analog speed controllers. (That cannot be said for many PWM fans on the market)

I've never had one fail on me and I've used them in several builds.