Fans....

[Tim]

Hello all.

I need fan recommendations. I know little to nothing about fans, so any links and detailed explanations of why I'm going to get "x" fan over "y" fan, and links, would be helpful and certainly appreciated.

What I have:
I've got a Fractal Design Define R3 case. What I'm looking for is to replace the two 120mm fans that the case came with for the front of the case, replacements for the two 120mm fans that came with my Corsair H80i, and a 140mm fan for the side panel. I have a NZXT Mesh 5 port 5.25" bay fan controller that all fans are being hooked up to.

Overall goal:
Achieve the best cooling performance and airflow while maintaining lower sound levels.

What I'm looking for:
The two 120mm fans that came with the case are quiet, but I don't think they're moving much air. Recommend something quiet that moves more air.
The two 120mm fans that came with the Corsair H80i seem to move a lot of air, but are way too loud for my taste when they are on high. Recommend something that will work well with the radiator of the H80i, but don't sound like jet turbines on high.
I do not have a 140mm fan, but I would like a quiet one that moves a good amount of air. I will also need a 140mm fan filter that can go on the outside of the case.

Thanks!

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Hello all.

I need fan recommendations. I know little to nothing about fans, so any links and detailed explanations of why I'm going to get "x" fan over "y" fan, and links, would be helpful and certainly appreciated.

What I have:
I've got a Fractal Design Define R3 case. What I'm looking for is to replace the two 120mm fans that the case came with for the front of the case, replacements for the two 120mm fans that came with my Corsair H80i, and a 140mm fan for the side panel. I have a NZXT Mesh 5 port 5.25" bay fan controller that all fans are being hooked up to.

Overall goal:
Achieve the best cooling performance and airflow while maintaining lower sound levels.

What I'm looking for:
The two 120mm fans that came with the case are quiet, but I don't think they're moving much air. Recommend something quiet that moves more air.
The two 120mm fans that came with the Corsair H80i seem to move a lot of air, but are way too loud for my taste when they are on high. Recommend something that will work well with the radiator of the H80i, but don't sound like jet turbines on high.
I do not have a 140mm fan, but I would like a quiet one that moves a good amount of air. I will also need a 140mm fan filter that can go on the outside of the case.

Thanks!

The Define R3 case seems to offer reasonable possibilities, even to me -- an air-cooling and air-flow fanatic.

Nobody ever criticized me for buying "sample" fans just to sate my curiosity. But I've had critics who disparage my reliance on spec ratings -- particularly those for CFM, noise and static pressure. Even so, how else are you going to choose a fan -- even as a "test sample?"

There are many good fans out there -- better for this or that application than others. With the caveat that I've recently tested and used 140mm Akasa Viper fans and 120mm Cougar Vortexes, I'd suggest you look into the Akasa fans for either size. Of course, these are PWM models, but there is a neat solution for thermally controlling all PWM fans in the case, using only one PWM mobo port, and powering all the fans directly from the PSU: a splitter device <=$10 such as the Swiftech 8W-PWM-SPL-SAT. [Something like that . . .]

Also -- the Cougars are quiet, well-designed -- but not notable for airflow.

 

[Essence_of_War]

OP, will you be using the motherboard PWM header for the H80, or will you also be connecting that to your fan controller?

For the rads:

OC3D has done some side-by-side tests of the H80 with stock fans vs. Noctua NF-F12s. They come out to same temps within a degree or two, but the NF-F12s are dramatically more quiet. NF-F12s are quite pricey, though.

You can take a look at the video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o26KOssbDOM&list=PLA3FC27C028CE0DBD&index=8

Somewhat more affordably, Corsair sells twin-packs of their pressure optimized SP fans, in both a performance and a quiet edition. They look nicer than the stock fans, I'd expect the performance versions to be as good or better than the stock fans, and while the quiet edition almost certainly doesn't perform quite as well based on their rated RPMs, they should be much quieter. I believe they also come in PWM and non-PWM options, so you can choose whichever is appropriate if you decide to use the fan controller.

If you can find them, lots of people swear by Scythe's Gentle Typhoon. They come away with top marks in at least one-round-up at SPCR:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1342-page9.html

 

[MongGrel]

I love Noctua fans myself, have several around.

Yeah, they are pricey, but for the air they move they are quiet, wish I had more myself, and the ones I have are older and not PWM, I have some older Arctic Cool PWM's I have for that in some HD bays that are quiet, but do not move as much air.

Have some Gentle Typhoons also, they are good fans.

The Noctuas are very durable and quiet I have to say, even if pricey.

Most do not like the color, but like the reviewer stated, as soon as you see those you know what they are.

There are even black Noctuas out there now, though I've never used them and supposed to be even sturdier, but even a bit more pricey I believe.

http://noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=78&lng=en

http://noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=91&lng=en

 

[Tim]

Can I use Noctua NF-F12's on my fan controller? The Noctua are 4-pin pwm fans, but my fan controller has 3-pin connections. It's a NZXT Sentry 5x30 watt controller, and I really have grown addicted to using it.

Like I said, I know little about fans.

 

[Essence_of_War]

I think you can, but my understanding is that using voltage controls on a PWM fan isn't recommended.

If you'd really much rather voltage control them, you could go for the NF-P12 or NF-A15, the former is 120mm and has a non-pwm version, the latter is technically a 140mm fan, but it uses 120mm mounting holes and also has a non-pwm version. Depending on where you can mount the H80, a pair of non-pwm A15s may be able to fit correctly.

I'd be inclined to try the non-pwm SP120 Quiet Editions, you can see some of their noise/cooling perf at the SPCR link I posted above. Out of the box, you're looking at ~20 dB/fan at max speed, and if you undervolt them down to 1100ish RPM, you can get down to ~14 dB with very little performance loss.