Hi-flow and quiet 90/92mm fan?

[Krusher]

I put a new CPU cooler on my computer, and apparently picked the wrong 80mm fan. At high RPM it not only sounds like a jet engine but vibrates too. (Not good for a CPU.)

Can someone recommend a high flow 90/92mm fan that is also quiet? Most important is that it doesn't vibrate more than anything--it won't be running at full speed all of the time anyway.

Maybe I go for my electronics catalog and find a Papst or Ball Bearing Panasonic for example. Something not made in China.

Thanks!

 

[NYHoustonman]

The Panasonic Panaflos are great. I have only seen them online, but they are supposedly quiet and move alot of air.

 

[Krusher]

I'll check out the Panasonic fans, I found an expensive alternative so far...Papst 3412NHH, 60CFM, 39dBa, $30.25 (ouch). Back in a few minutes.

 

[Krusher]

In the Panasonic line, at a popular site with 'egg' in the name I found a $7.00 model with 68.8CFM, 43.0dBA. There's also an $11.00 model, 56.8CFM, 35dBA. (That's getting quiet, no?) The mobo adapter pigtail is only $2.00.

Anyone use either of these Panasonic fans? Odd how the faster/louder fan is cheaper. Not sure if I need that much air on a high-performance CPU cooler.

 

[NYHoustonman]

Which cooler do you have? I am running a Zalman flower HS, the Quiet Maxx 6000 from PCToys, with the default fan
(2500 RPM, 32 db-I may be looking into a panaflo myself, I've seen ones with sub-30 db and 45+ CFM-sounds nice). Depending on your temps, a more quiet fan may be in order, or you may need the higher RPM version.

 

[Krusher]

I put on a Swiftech MCX4000 yesterday. Seems like a good choice, except for the fan I picked.

 

[Jhhnn]

Let me guess- your fan is a delta, or a ystech, right? Definitely look into the panaflos. At any airflow range, they're some of the best balanced and quietest fans on the market. Google "panaflo industrial" to find their site w/ specs & model #'s, then google the model # to find a vendor...

Their hydrowave bearing fans are unique, and extremely quiet, no bearing noise at all. They normally don't have rpm monitoring, so you'll need to allow for that in the bios on some boards, otherwise they shut down when no signal is detected...

After a little googling of my own, it seems as though your sink is designed for 80mm fans, so a 80mm H1a would be an excellent choice, from these guys, for example...

http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/fan-42.html?id=xmXofQAQ

They also have the U1a model, if you think you'll need it...

 

[Texun]

I'll be representing the minority here.

I use the Antec 92mm Smart Fan on my SLK800. It spins in the range of 2250, is smooth and actually quiet. One of the quietest fans I own. I would buy another in a minute if I needed a second. The 92 with two 80's on each end for intake and exhaust keeps my XP2400 in the 30's all the time.

 

[Krusher]

Actually, the loud fan I bought was a Thermaltake Case Fan II. At heatsinkfactory, they were the #3 selling item. I'll use it for something else eventually, so no loss there.

I was looking for a ball bearing fan, as the sleeve fans always seem to wear out after awhile and then you get more vibration/noise.

I'm not sure what the hydrowave bearing is exactly, maybe it's like the fluid dynamic bearings in hard drives? Those work really well. (All my drives are FDB.)

 

[Krusher]

And I should have added for Jhhnn that the ones on egghead show the 3-wire connector, so it looks like the sense wire is there. Also the reason why the faster fan was cheaper is that shipping was not included. With shipping, it's $1 more.

So far the best bet to me looks like that ~57CFM fan at only 35dBA. The extra 12mm fan size cuts down on the RPM needed, and the noise I'd assume.

I just discovered that you can edit your posts; I've never seen that before. (So no more double replies.)

 

[Krusher]

I thought that I'd report what I finally did after a lot of research.

I ended up getting the Panasonic Panaflo FBA09A12H in the -1BX suffix, which is with the Tach on the third wire. It's 57CFM, and draws .01A more than the stock Intel fan. I'm running it at full speed now, and there isn't that much of a difference than when I use the QFan feature.

The 80MM Thermaltake I used to swap out the stock whimpy case fan that came with my case, and use the thermal sensor feature. Now it's only as loud as it needs to be.

I ordered the fan from www.digikey.com if anyone is interested, part # P11042-ND. Their shipping is cheap, but there is a handling fee if your order is under $25. The fan goes for $8.75, but goes down in price for 5+. This comes with a 3-wire lead, but since this is an electronics parts store, it does not come with a connector for your motherboard on the other end. You'd have to go to newegg.com if you didn't want to cut/splice from another fan.

 

[Grimp]

Originally posted by: Krusher
I thought that I'd report what I finally did after a lot of research.

I ended up getting the Panasonic Panaflo FBA09A12H in the -1BX suffix, which is with the Tach on the third wire. It's 57CFM, and draws .01A more than the stock Intel fan. I'm running it at full speed now, and there isn't that much of a difference than when I use the QFan feature.

The 80MM Thermaltake I used to swap out the stock whimpy case fan that came with my case, and use the thermal sensor feature. Now it's only as loud as it needs to be.

I ordered the fan from www.digikey.com if anyone is interested, part # P11042-ND. Their shipping is cheap, but there is a handling fee if your order is under $25. The fan goes for $8.75, but goes down in price for 5+. This comes with a 3-wire lead, but since this is an electronics parts store, it does not come with a connector for your motherboard on the other end. You'd have to go to newegg.com if you didn't want to cut/splice from another fan.

On Panaflos, the Tach part that is usually missing is on the fan, right? So I wouldn't need to get any special 3-pin wire, just the normal (and overpriced) 3-pin Panaflo tails everywhere?

 

[Krusher]

Yes, exactly. I tried using that QFan feature on the Asus mobo, and the 2850RPM fan is at ~1928RPM right now. The only Panasonic I'd stay away from is the "U" series (maximum airflow, but loud.)

You'd either have to get that overpriced 3-wire tail with the mobo plug on the end, or cut off and re-splice an existing fan plug that you removed. If you do that, make sure you have some heat shrink tubing handy, as a short could be bad.