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Best 80mm Fan? PLEASE ANSWER!!!!

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Happy with my Vantec Stealths... I have a 92mm Stealth on my XP-90 and it's dead silent!

I also have some CoolerMaster Ultra quiet 120mm fans front and rear in my case... can't even hear my system. :thumbsup:
 
Originally posted by: Sammy911
IMHO, Panaflos are highly overrated. Their CFM to noise ratio is higher than many overlooked fans such as Enermax's.

Just compare

Enermax's 120mm fans
64 cfm
24 db
1500 rpm

or 93 cfm
30 db
2300 rpm

Panaflo's 120mm

86 cfm
35 db
2100 rpm

Both are roughly the same price. Which would you rather have?
Click to expand...

lowest RPM
my coolermaster 120's are much less RPM than even the Enermax's 🙂
 
Point is not lowerest RPM, you can go out and buy a fan controller and make it go even slower. My point is that there are plenty of Fans that pushes more air with less noise than the Panaflo's. Yet, everyone seems to praise panaflo and not look at other fans that are better and at better prices and sometimes even more convenient because you don't have to buy a separate fan connector.
 
My point is that there are plenty of Fans that pushes more air with less noise than the Panaflo's
Click to expand...
Is the basis of your statement form reading published specs, or comparisons you have done yourself?

Many, if not most, exagerate fan specs.
The only true information you can get on fans is from side by side comparisons.
 
That is based on side by side comparsion. I own Panaflo h1, thermaltake smart fan II, enermax, Y & S tech, and generic fans. And my panaflos are pretty loud compared to other fans for the amount of air they move. This is the reason why I believe panaflos' are overrated. My next purchase will be SilenX. From Silenx specs, they seem superior to everything I've owned.
 
I'm sure someone will mention panaflo L1's. But whats the point in a silent fan if it doesn't move enough air? Now if you put 5 of those L1's in your case then you will no longer have a silent case.
 
Also remember Panaflos use Hydro-Wave or Fluid Bearings making them much quieter. Sammy i think there is something wrong with your hearing that Thermaltake should sound like a weedwacker in your computer. As should the Generic fans. Maybe you have some bad fans or are just lying.

-Kevin
 
Originally posted by: Sammy911
That is based on side by side comparsion. I own Panaflo h1, thermaltake smart fan II, enermax, Y & S tech, and generic fans. And my panaflos are pretty loud compared to other fans for the amount of air they move. This is the reason why I believe panaflos' are overrated. My next purchase will be SilenX. From Silenx specs, they seem superior to everything I've owned.
Click to expand...

If your Panaflo H1A is an 80mm you are nuts. On the other hand I have a 92mm H1A that is horribly loud.
As to SilentX I have seen good reviews on them but they shine @ lower voltage and CFM than L1A's

Remember we are talking about 80mm fans and even within the same brand there are differences between different sizes.

And I agree with Gamingfreak, the smart fan II is pretty much a vacuum cleaner!
 
I'm lying? I have a digicam, so should I post pics to prove otherwise? And yes I have 80mm H1A Panaflo and they were loud. I actually had 2 of those Panaflo's and decided to give away one to a friend because I have no use for them. About the Thermaltake Smart Fan II, they are manually or temp contrallable fans. I admit if you run them full blast they are a vacuum cleaner. However, if you slow them down to an inaudible level, they still push a good amount of air compared to the Panaflo's.
 
You have to be very specific when talking about Panaflos. Some of the L1As are made in Japan - these are the ones you want to get. Everything else in the Panaflo line is made in China at a lower grade.

I once came across a retailer that would guarantee their L1As were made in Japan.

 
I have used Chinese and Japanese models and (to me) there isn't a noticable difference.
I have seen discussion that the Chinese models are inferior, but if they are they are still better than most fans.
 
My Panaflos are made in Japan. Maybe they are defective or maybe talking about brand preference is just like talking about AMD vs Intel. Everyone will have their preference and any further discussion will only lead to flamewars. I guess people should be happy with what they have and leave it at that.
 
I have some 80mm Evercool fans that seem to be pretty quiet. I got them for about $7 from a local PC shop I worked for over the summer. I can hear only a slight motor whine from them when I put my ear about 6" from them. I should note that I have a Volcano 9 heatsink/fan (Smart Fan II), so that will overshadow whatever noise these things make. However, like I said, I can only hear a slight whine when I'm 6" from them.

EDIT: I have the single ball-bearing fans. They also make sleeve-bearing fans. In general, go for ball-bearings.
 
For 80mm fans, get Panaflo H1As if you are going to use a fan controller. If you are not using a fan controller, then I would suggest the M1As. L1As are quiet, but they don't push any air.
 
if you don't care about price, and you're not just some panaflo freak, you should try a sample of many different companies. by ethics, i wouldn't deal with silenx, as one of their CReps was faking praise on silentpcreview.com, but i would look into getting nexus, or any low speed yate loon fan. the YStechs are sorta hard to come by in some cases, but they've had good results. you also want to consider making sure that you have a fan controller that accepts 4 pin and 3 pin, instead of just relying on your motherboard. a program that slows fans down with a controller is speedfan, which is helpful if you're lazy. make sure your cabling is good before you invest in low noise fans, as with low noise = low rpm, which means less cfm. unless you're silenx :roll:. good luck.
 
After so much reading and with some expert advice, I believe Nexus 80mm will be the queitest fans. They are also top rated at many sites including Silent PC REview.
 
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