Hey, All,
I haven't kept up with case fans for the last several years, and I was wondering if you guys could bring me up to date on which 80mm case fans are considered the best nowadays (if there is any consensus). I'm looking for reliability and decent airflow without a lot of noise. I don't need to create a typhoon, but the fans don't need to be completely inaudible either. Just quiet, with decent airflow. I don't need UV reflectivity or rpm monitoring. As for reliability, I prefer fans that last at least five years before they fail or start chattering.
When I had my head in the game from about 2004-2010, I liked the Panaflo L1A (Hydro-Wave bearings) and Cooler Master sleeve-bearing fans. Then I remember the Panaflos started getting produced in China rather than Japan, and there was some debate over whether or not the mfg. quality decreased.
I see that the Chinese Panaflos (with the BX suffix) are still available at SVC. And I see fans made by Gelid getting high ratings on Newegg. Gelid wasn't around several years ago, so I don't know anything about them. I formed a negative opinion about SilenX back then, so I'll avoid them.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Basically, I'm looking for the closest thing to the old Japanese-made Panaflo L1As, I guess.
I haven't kept up with case fans for the last several years, and I was wondering if you guys could bring me up to date on which 80mm case fans are considered the best nowadays (if there is any consensus). I'm looking for reliability and decent airflow without a lot of noise. I don't need to create a typhoon, but the fans don't need to be completely inaudible either. Just quiet, with decent airflow. I don't need UV reflectivity or rpm monitoring. As for reliability, I prefer fans that last at least five years before they fail or start chattering.
When I had my head in the game from about 2004-2010, I liked the Panaflo L1A (Hydro-Wave bearings) and Cooler Master sleeve-bearing fans. Then I remember the Panaflos started getting produced in China rather than Japan, and there was some debate over whether or not the mfg. quality decreased.
I see that the Chinese Panaflos (with the BX suffix) are still available at SVC. And I see fans made by Gelid getting high ratings on Newegg. Gelid wasn't around several years ago, so I don't know anything about them. I formed a negative opinion about SilenX back then, so I'll avoid them.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Basically, I'm looking for the closest thing to the old Japanese-made Panaflo L1As, I guess.
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