how loud is 46db? 30db?

[eLiu]

how loud is a decibal? i mean, on the fan ratings, i see all sorts of 35db, 46db, etc etc...but how loud is that?

You get more performance on a big ol' 7000rpm fan...puttin out a 46db whine...and a smaller 4800 gives off some 35db...

anyway- how loud is this?

thanks,
-eric

 

[Muerto]

46db is quite loud. Most people compare the 7000RPM Delta fan to a hair dryer, and they're not exagerating. 30db is fairly quiet, most 80mm case fans are in the mid to low 30s. For case fans I'd suggest going with Panaflo fans. They are EXTREMELY quiet, usually less than 30db, and still move a decent amount of air.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

dumb question, but for general cooling (like not a fan on a heatsink) is it just as efficient to have 3 quit fans rather than 1 loud one? (meaning 3 fans@2000rpm just as effective as 1@6000)

 

[Shmorq]

When I was shopping for 'quiet' stuff, I learned that 28 dBA is considered the typical noise level in a quiet room.

Also, the 46dB seems kind of high for a hard drive. I had one of the loudest ones ever, the Quantum fireball LM, and it was rated at about 35dB.

 

[jamison]

Shmorq - He said 7000rpm fan, not hard drive, just some clarification

The Panaflo Ultra-Quiet Fans are 21dba and I think move 23CFM - those are the best.

 

[Noriaki]

Approximately 28dbA is average ambient noise level in a room.

You have to keep in mind decibels are not a linear scale, 46dbA is more than twice the noise of 28dbA. I can't remember I think it's around 5dbA = a doubling of loudness. I could be wrong on that scale though. But it's something like that, for every X dbA you increase, the loudness doubles. It's not like 50 is double the noise of 25.


Also you have to keep in mind, that 7000rpm 60mm Delta @ 46dbA is going to be much more annoying than a 120mm @ 46dbA, becuase the Delta is very high pitched, the 120 would be a fairly low pitched thrum...just airflow noise.

Loudness is only one factor, Frequency (Pitch?) of the sound is what really makes those Deltas intolerable.

IMO 45dbA is much to loud anyways, but just remember pure loudness isn't the only factor.

 

[dowxp]

db is rated on the ! scale. i forgot what it was called. exponential scale or osmething like that..

 

[Noriaki]

Decibels are a Logrithmic scale.

 

[rickn]

46dba is LOUD. I have a 120mm YS Tech that is around that, and it is loud. Luckily I am able to tune it out like I do nagging women

 

[Rand]

I can't stand fans that are above 40db WAY too loud IMHO.
Personally I won't even buy a fan that's louder then roughly 33-35db.

 

[eLiu]

what about for a HSF unit? does the fact that it's "deep" inside the case lower the dbs?

 

[SXMP]

I have myself a beautiful Panaflow H1A 120mm fan. When I saw beautiful, I really mean it. Its a piece of art. You could never imagine it being so big till you actually hold it in your hand, even comparing it to a 92mm, especially to a 80mm. Case's Etc has the Panaflo's in stock all the time, and they have even in the past came with a fan grill. For the most part they don't come with the grill, and with bare leads (for bay bus') You can get a really good bay bus from Pcmods.com (i think is the site?) If you are worring about sound, definatley pick up a bay bus (like 40$?) Its great. You have 3 settings: off (duh) ; low power (fan gets less voltage than normal and thus is quieter) ; high power [full power] (fan spins at default speed and is loud as hell depending on the brand/size/specs.) Hope this helps!

[Edit]Oh yeah, forgot to mention, my Panaflo H1A moves 103.8 CFM with a sound rating of 41.5 dB-A.