Help me choose one of these fans for the XP-90

[kitt314159]

Hi,

After replacing my previous awful HSF with a Zelman 7000B AlCu from Fry's, my CPU temp dropped an average of 7 degrees. Now I know the root cause of my temperature problems, I want to get the best HSF for my system, which is of course the Thermalright XP-90. However, i still need to choose a fan, and I am pretty much down to these choices:

Panaflo M1A <-- recommended fan by Thermalright, 48CFM, 2450RPM, 30db
Panaflo H1A <-- stronger version of the above, 56CFM, 2850RPM, 35db
Thermaltake UFO <-- Adjustable speed and poewr (26-80CFM, 1300-3600RPM, 17-47db)
and Vantec Tornado <- strongest and loudest, 119CFM, 4800RPM, 56.4db

Before I make a choice, I'd like to find out whether all of these fans can be mounted in either direction. I know the first two can since I saw a review that used them in both orientations, but I am not sure about the last two. Also, I like the Thermaltake's adjustable speed, however all fans speed can be adjusted via external controllers so it's not a big deal.

Also, frozen PC's page for the XP-90 shows there is a stock fan included with the heatsink. Anyone have any knowledge of this "stock fan?"

If anyone knows more about these fans, I would very much like to hear your opinion.

Thanks,

Yan

 

[CraigRT]

I would honestly get the lowest db fan, but that's just me.
I have a Vantec stealth on mine, which is pretty well just about silent, and it keeps my CPU in the mid 40's under load. a low temp. by almost anyone's standards.

the XP-90 does not need a beefy fan to cool well, it just needs A fan, any fan, it seems.

Anyways if you don't care too much about noise, i STILL would not get something like the Tornado.. it's just unncessary.. I'd get the M1A.

 

[Tiamat]

Panaflo 92mm BX L1A. This will give you quiet with decent airflow.

 

[Thor86]

Originally posted by: Tiamat
Panaflo 92mm BX L1A. This will give you quiet with decent airflow.

Hmm, I though only the H1As came with BX rpm monitoring.

 

[lobadobadingdong]

Thermaltake UFO <-- Adjustable speed and poewr (26-80CFM, 1300-3600RPM, 17-47db)

my choice so you can dial in what you want.

that or the h1a and get a fan controller to adjust the speed to what you want.

 

[Nickel020]

Originally posted by: Thor86

Originally posted by: Tiamat
Panaflo 92mm BX L1A. This will give you quiet with decent airflow.

Hmm, I though only the H1As came with BX rpm monitoring.

That's the 80mm L1. Can't get that one in the US with rpm monitoring.

Which fan to get depends on what you want to do. If you want to overclock as high as possible get the Tornado, if you want to overclock, but to the limit, get one of the Panaflos. If you only want to moderately overclock (or not at all), get a 92mm L1 Panaflo, or even better, a ~2000 rpm Y.S. Tech 92mm fan, these are less noisy than Panaflo 92mm fans.

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: Nickel020

Originally posted by: Thor86

Originally posted by: Tiamat
Panaflo 92mm BX L1A. This will give you quiet with decent airflow.

Hmm, I though only the H1As came with BX rpm monitoring.

That's the 80mm L1. Can't get that one in the US with rpm monitoring.

Which fan to get depends on what you want to do. If you want to overclock as high as possible get the Tornado, if you want to overclock, but to the limit, get one of the Panaflos. If you only want to moderately overclock (or not at all), get a 92mm L1 Panaflo, or even better, a ~2000 rpm Y.S. Tech 92mm fan, these are less noisy than Panaflo 92mm fans.

Trust me, I have a M1 BX Panaflo 92mm. I got it here in the US. If you want an L1 or M1 with rpm sensing, go to www.jab-tech.com. They had plenty last I checked.

If you do not believe me, here is a direct link for 8$.

http://www.jab-tech.com/custom...tid=2608&cat=80&page=1

Make no mistake, even with this airflow and low noise, you can overclock as high as your motherboard will go. The XP90 is efficient enough that it doesnt require high-flow. This are made even easier if you have a case with rear 120mm fan.

 

[Operandi]

The XP-90 doesn?t come with a fan, they do recommend a Panaflow, the L1BX.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I won't question most of the advice here. It's good advice.

If you want a range of throughput similar to the Vantec Tornado, try a different manufacturer and model. Sunon makes a 92mm fan similar to the Tornado, and I think also so does Delta.

The problem with the Vantec is that you don't get a reduction of the irritating component of noise -- the motor moan -- by trimming the rpms. If you did, the range of speeds and throughputs provided by the fan would offer much more to more users in terms of possibilities.

If it were me, I'd pick a Panaflo "H1" in a 92mm size so that I could run it at speeds ranging from "L1" through "M1" and between that the top-end.

But that's just me.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

ONe more --

The ThermalTake UFO can only be mounted to blow down on the heatsink.

Further, it has a motor-whine at the top-end. Since I haven't tried to lubricate my UFO fan (waiting for a "home"), I can't guarantee that it would help, but there is a good chance that it would kill some of the whine.

On the "up" side, the UFO fan has an 80,000 MTBF if you believe the TT-people. The RPM and throughput are as reported.

Since the UFO has a throughput of about 81 CFM, and since you needn't run it full-out-throttle all the time anyway, the TT BLue LED 92mm is probably the better choice. It either has significantly less motor noise at the same speed, or I guarantee that the whine disappears with a dab of teflon grease. It runs at top-end 4,000 rpm, and exhibits mostly air-turbulence noise at 3,500, which is not going to be heard much in a case enclosure.

But again -- the better choice is probably a Panaflo. I forget what sort of bearings the UFO uses, but the Blue LED TT fan uses a combination ball and sleeve bearing; MTBF is more like 50,000 hours.

And Panaflo has (whoopitydoo-da) "Hydro-wave" bearings!