80mm quiet fan question

[Tiamat]

Heya, im not sure if this was posted in the past, but I was wondering which one was better? Im looking for system fans for my Lianli PC-65.

Panaflo 80mm (Low, Medium, or High?)

Vantec Stealth 80mm

Also, Im thinking of getting a Thermalright SLK 900A. What fan should I get for it? I want a 92mm, but I also want something quiet. All of the reviews Ive seen use the 92x38 Vantec Tornado, which is quite unbearably noisy. The CPU that this will be cooling is a 1800+ DLT3C @ hopefully greater than 2.53 ghz. My goal is go obtain at least a 1ghz overclock, but I cannot afford a water cooling/electric cooling/phase cooling solution.

 

[Xeese]

One of my systems has a 900A with a Panaflo L1A. Very quiet setup and decent temps as well.

The Vantec stealth fans are pretty quiet, but the pitch of noise it makes is disturbing. I have tinitus so anything that make a high pitched sound is something I avoid.

Papst makes some very quiet fans, but they are tough to get reliably. The ones from so-trick I have had a problem with ticking noises. Of the three brands with nothing else to go for I would go with the Panaflo L1A. Also, on the 900A, you can use a 92mm fan for more airflow while being quiet. As a bonus - a 92mm will typically have enough overlapping airflow that it will help cool a passive northbridge heatsink such as the Zalman ones.

 

[BG4533]

For both 80 and 92mm fans I would go with the L1As or M1As. I run both 92mm L1As and M1As in my case. I think the M1As are superior. At 5V the air is similar to the L1A and the noise is the same if not quieter. Above that they are similar noise with more airflow. My M1As dont seem much louder than the L1As at any voltage. SVC also has them for only $5.99 which is nice.

I also have a few 80mm L1As in my case. At 12V they are a bit whiny but pretty quiet. I have heard the M1As scale down very nicely as well, but I havent tried them. I have tried the H1As as well and they are a bit loud at 12V and don't scale down well.

Papst does make nice fans, but they are too expensive in the US and I have heard many tick a bit. They are little if any better than an undervolted L1A.

I hear mixed reviews about the Vantec Stealths. Usually people who have compared them to other quiet fans do not like them too much, but some do.

 

[pspada]

I got a 80mm 12dBa Pabst from Driectron.com, with a 60mm Vantec Stealth for the processor's heatsink. Could not hear them outside the case.

 

[Tiamat]

K, thanks guys. Ill look into panaflo L1A or the medium version.

 

[Polishwonder74]

I'm using a 80mm x 80mm Vantec Tornado on an Alpha PAL8045 heatsink on my AthlonXP Barton 2500+, and it's &%$# overkill.

I slow it down with a Vantec Nexus and still, my temps are about 48C at rest, and 53C loaded with SETI@Home.

With that monster Alpha heatsink, I could get away with a much slower fan and sell my Nexus. When I've got the tornado up to full speed it sounds like a vacuum cleaner.

I'm thinking about re-fanning my whole system, and selling the Nexus. My case is an old Chieftec (without the side fan & USB connections on the front).

Dragon

It holds 4 80mm fans. Does anyone have any suggestions for nice quiet case fans for me other than the Vantec Stealths and Panaflos that were mentioned earlier? I figure with 4 fans I should be able to get away with low CFM fans, my case temp is 28C right now. The 4 fans I have now are really old ones that I've been re-using on every system I've built since 1999, and they're pretty loud even when they're choked all the way back by the Nexus.