Looking for quiet fans the move a good amount of air

[CurseTheSky]

I'm looking for something that meets the following criteria:

-As quiet or quieter than Antec Tricools on low WITHOUT using a rheobus
-Moves a good amount of air
-Longevity
-120mm

I know many people recommend Yate Loons, primarily because they're very cheap and usually "good enough." I'm looking for something that's "better" (either moves the same amount of air but with less noise, or moves more air at the same dBA rating). They'll be going into a mATX case, and I have no room to mount a rheobus.

I remember reading about some fans that were excellent a while back, and around $12 each. I can't remember what brand though - Silverstone, Zalman, or Arctic Cooling maybe.

Thanks.

 

[Praxis1452]

Perhaps Noctua?

 

[LOUISSSSS]

yate loon Highs

or buy my Delta 120x38mm fans and put them on a rheobus

 

[Billb2]

Move a lot of air
Quiet
Cheap

Pick any two........

 

[Rifter]

My antec tri-cools are pretty quiet on low i dont think you are going to find something that quiet that moves any large amount of air. The AC fans are quiet you might want to look into them but the low speed models dont move much air.

 

[wwswimming]

silverstone FM-121

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811999344

$17

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: Billb2
Move a lot of air
Quiet
Cheap

Pick any two........

There's always someone in the crowd ready to rain on a young man's parade.
but you are correct

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Originally posted by: Blain

Originally posted by: Billb2
Move a lot of air
Quiet
Cheap

Pick any two........

There's always someone in the crowd ready to rain on a young man's parade.
but you are correct

Too bad he's limited to 120mm units. I'd recommend the 140x25 Sharkoons. There's also the possibility of using 140's with plastic fan adapters for 120mm fan-holes.

The Silverstones (FM-121's) I've also tried, and I find it strange that they're ball-bearing designs, but have a slight high-end whine which disappears when you trim about 300rpm off the top-end speed.

I'd also traditionally favored the Delta EFB1212SHE 120x38mm Triple Blade High Speed . (In fact, I may order a couple of these soon . . . again . . . . ). Noise? Sure! At the top-end 3,700 rpm speed -- or about 51 dBA! It's mostly white-noise from turbulence. But at 1,800 to 2,500 rpm -- pretty quiet. So depending on the deployment, you could thermally control them if possible. I'd used one for a thermally-controlled CPU fan. They're not unreasonably heavy, either. The comparable Panaflo 120x38mm units are -- by comparison -- anvils.

It all depends on HOW you want to deploy, WHERE you want to deploy, and the NUMBER of fans you want to deploy. I'd never choose the same fan for CPU cooling that I'd choose as a case-fan.

 

[videogames101]

Noctua

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: Billb2
Move a lot of air
Quiet
Cheap

Pick any two........

if u want to be greedy and pick all three:

http://www.jab-tech.com/YATE-L...-D12SL-12-pr-3009.html

Pick the closed corner ones as i think there bin'd newer with the curved fan blades. But that is essentially this NEXUS fan.

http://www.jab-tech.com/Nexus-...an-mounts-pr-3857.html


If you want to pick two out of the three,

my favorate:
http://www.jab-tech.com/Zalman...120mm-Fan-pr-3443.html

Next Favorate:
http://www.jab-tech.com/Scythe...an-SFF21E-pr-3256.html

 

[Blain]

Oops, I forgot about the Arctic Cooling line of fans. They're great fans that are very quiet and don't cost a bundle.
* AF12025 PWM
* ACF12PWM

 

[aigomorla]

PWM means your limited to only 1 header on your entire board blain.

 

[CurseTheSky]

I think the Zalman ZM-F3 is the one I was thinking of. I may give those a shot.

Thanks for the replies guys.

 

[aigomorla]

i run 4 of them in my main machine.

there excellent fans.

Cursed is this an open air fan or a sink fan? there are better open air fan solutions.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Open air. I'm looking to use 5 of them in a NZXT Rogue.

The stock fans are VERY quiet, but they don't move a ton of air. I was hoping by spending some extra cash I could find something that pushes a decent amount of air while still being pretty quiet.

 

[zagood]

Scythe S-Flex SFF21E or the new Noctua NF-S12B FLX (both 1200rpm)

Don't buy the 800rpm Scythes (SFF21D) - they have a slight clicking sound. The 800rpm Noctua NF-S12-800 has it as well. I just had one RMA (Noctua) and it sounds the same as my original.

The Noctua comes with inline adapters with which you can set the 1200rpm fan to ~5v or ~7v. Might take care of your space problem - you won't be able to switch it on the fly, but at least you can test dif. speeds.

-z

 

[Red Irish]

Site's in Spanish, but it provides noise and airflow figures for a number of models:

http://www.alternate.es/html/s...aja&Level3=Est%E1ndar&

 

[Fallen Kell]

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
yate loon Highs

or buy my Delta 120x38mm fans and put them on a rheobus

Someone seems to have FAILED reading comprehension....

-As quiet or quieter than Antec Tricools on low WITHOUT using a rheobus

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: Red Irish
Site's in Spanish, but it provides noise and airflow figures for a number of models:

http://www.alternate.es/html/s...aja&Level3=Est%E1ndar&

the best fans on that list is papst.

http://www.alternate.es/html/p...ails.html?artno=TL9P03

 

[Piano Man]

I'll vouch for the Scythe S-Flex "E" version. Running 4 of them in my Cooler Master ATCS 840 along with the three 230mm fans its comes with. I bought the D,E, and F versions of the fans. D's didn't move enough air, F's were too loud, and the E's were just right. I see some Sleeve bearing fans being recommended, but don't those wear down fairly quickly in comparison to Ball Bearing or Fluid Ball Bearing fans?

 

[Nathelion]

Noctua is the way to go, if you are actually prepared to shell out $20 per fan. Yate Loon and some others offer very close to the same performance at a fraction of the price.

 

[1ManArmY]

I just picked up 2 of these Panaflo fans to replace my stock ThermalRight 1600 RPM fan. I plan on putting them in a push/pull configuration this weekend.

 

[aigomorla]

nothing in 25mm and i say NOTHING will beat a papst.

 

[wkwong11]

Originally posted by: aigomorla
PWM means your limited to only 1 header on your entire board blain.

Well if you don't individual control for each fan, you can use this:
PWM Y-Adapter Cable

For the criteria mentioned by the OP, I would also recommend Noctua. I have tested many many fans and they seem pretty solid compared to the rest. The build quality is definitely far better than the trusty Yate Loon, but I guess that is expected for about 3x the price.

 

[zagood]

Originally posted by: aigomorla
nothing in 25mm and i say NOTHING will beat a papst.

Every time I look for new fans I always try to find some, the only ones I can find are the 4412FML-466 at Perf. PCs. Which ones have you used, and for what applications (open-air, heatsink, rad etc.)?