How to tell if the fan is quiet

[LuckyTaxi]

I'm in the market for a new CPU fan for my Duron 900. The one that came with the computer is super loud. I'm looking at various website to find some, but not sure what exactly I need to look for.

Any sites worth checking out?

 

[godmare]

Try this.

 

[LuckyTaxi]

will it fit my duron?

 

[OulOat]

Just look for Socket A heatsinks. I've heard great things about the GC68, which convinced me to make a purchase at SVC. However, it's been two weeks, 4 phone calls, and they still haven't shipped my entire order yet. So I would recommend other e-tailers, like directron, frozenCPU, bestbyte, or nexfan. Since it's an old processor, almost all heatsinks with a low RPM fan will cool it nicely. Just look for a hs that can hold an 80mm or bigger fan. For fans, get a panaflo L1A (21 dba) or a quiet NMB (18 dba).

 

[SWScorch]

Yes it will. However, I personally don't find that to be that quiet. When looking for a heatsink fan, look for decibal ratings. Anything under 32dB or so is whisper-quiet.

 

[LuckyTaxi]

damn .. gotta get a HS and a fan?! so i have to consider both DBA?

 

[godmare]

Originally posted by: lilcam
damn .. gotta get a HS and a fan?! so i have to consider both DBA?

Okay, well, if you just want to buy a fan, lets start with which heatsink and fan you currently have.

 

[LuckyTaxi]

No freaking clue. The fan does say Thermaltake on it. When it comes to cooling the PC I am an idiot.

 

[LuckyTaxi]

Found this!

 

[OulOat]

70mm is an odd size to replace if you decide that even that fan is noisy. Best would be 80mm fans.

 

[vegetation]

Depends how sensitive you are to noise. I find 32db to be way too loud for my tastes. I try to stick with 28db and under fans, and even then I find them to be too noisy unless I cut the voltage to 7.

Originally posted by: SWScorch
Yes it will. However, I personally don't find that to be that quiet. When looking for a heatsink fan, look for decibal ratings. Anything under 32dB or so is whisper-quiet.

 

[godmare]

Originally posted by: lilcam
No freaking clue. The fan does say Thermaltake on it. When it comes to cooling the PC I am an idiot.

Okay, do you know what size fan you have on it? Or does it give a model like Volcano 2 or something?
Thermaltake heatsinks aren't generally anything to get excited about, and if your thermaltake fan is loud on top of it, may as well get something else altogether.

Originally posted by: OulOat
70mm is an odd size to replace if you decide that even that fan is noisy. Best would be 80mm fans.

Additonally, a 70mm fan's noise wil not be a lot of improvement over a 60mm fan's noise, which is likely what you have. The larger the fan, the more sonorous the tone, making them more easily tolerable.

 

[LuckyTaxi]

I'll check later tonight

 

[BigBadBiologist]

Your best bet is to look for a stock AMD heatsink. It should work fine for a non OCed duron. The HSF that godmare reccomended should also work well for what you need.

 

[Fallen Kell]

One of the case mod sites has mp3 clips of almost all the fans the sell. Can't remember which site it is, someone linked to it here within the last 2 days. So you can actually listen to most of the major fans. Notable lacking fans were Panaflows and many Ys fans, but it will at least give you an idea, cause people have routinly compaired the sounds of the Panaflows to most other fans out there, and if you can take the word that they are quieter, you can roughly figure out how quiet they really are.

 

[LuckyTaxi]

Link would be helpful. Anyone know which thread it was?

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Its a pretty simple thing to me the faster a fan spins the louder its gonna be PERIOD. My CPU fan whips around at 5600 rpm and its 38db yes its loud. I agree with the 28db and less for the quietest fans. Panaflo and Pabst are quiet so just look at the fan specs if you see them running at 4500 or 5600 rpm they are gonna be loud. You can always just buy any fan that fits and if its to loud then get a Zalman fan mate and slow it down to the noise you can stand.

 

[farmercal]

Hear Their Fans Site

Here is one site where you can hear the fans.