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Need a quiet 120 fan that pushes reasonable air

R

RoamDog

Member
Looking for a 120 fan for my Thermalright SI-120. Think that I want a fan that pushes around 50 cfm and does it with about 20 dBA. What are the best choices in this zone? Would like to stay around $10 - $15.
Are there factors other than noise and air flow (and I guess $$) to consider?? If so, what are those factors to consider?? And do any of these factors change your recommendation?
I know that there are fans that push waaaay more air than what I listed above, but they are too loud. And I know that there are some fans that claim to be more quiet, but I am afraid that those fans don't push enough air and am afraid to go with much less air than specified above.
Thanks for your help.
 
No such animal, vegitable or minerail exists to do what you want it to do at the price you are willing to pay.

Panaflo fans.
 
It pushes 45 cfm @ 18 dBA. That would qualify as "around 50 cfm" and "about 20 dBA," unless by "around 50 cfm" he meant >= 50, but that's not what he said. It's also well within his price range.

Lets not debate the efficacy / usefulness of said fan in this thread. I don't think we're gonna get anywhere, and we already did it in my thread. You can leave that for the OP to decide, I'm sure he's perfectly capable of that. I just gave him an example that met his requirements.
 
You're focusing on the cpu cooling fan as the only contributor of cooling performance and low noise.

The close proximity of the rear case vent fan strongly influences the performance of the cpu cooler in both regards.

Consider using two inexpensive high-flow 120mm fans, such as Panaflo M1A, and tuning air-flow and noise combination properties by voltage controller. These fans at 7V provide good combination of air flow with moderate noise at moderate price and long expected service life.

If the thickness of these fans is a bother, the rear vent fan can be mounted outside the case.

Hope this helps!
 
There are dozens of threads both here and in GenHardware (where they don't belong - at least you got that right, congrats!) on this topic - even specific to the XP/SI-120. Please do a good bit of searching before starting yet another fan thread.

.bh.
 
Wow. Great find. The fan you linked me to does indeed look like a good match. Any idea how this model does with respect to the other factors that you have pointed out to consider?
I.e. how does this one compare to others with
- undervolting (although I am not sure I need to undervolt this since it is already quiet enough, right?)
- longevity (the ad does mention "Twin Ball bearing for reliability" and a "Long Life" but I would guess that every manufacturer probably states that)
- rpm monitoring / temp sensors (the ad does mention an RPM wire but I do not know if it does any monitoring and there is no mention of a temp sensor but I may just be missing it)
- LEDs (looks like none but honestly I do not care about these if they are just for decoration)
- connection style (I may be wrong but it looks like it comes with a 3-pin connection and with an adapter for a 4-pin conneciton--which is better to use and why?)

Originally posted by: Seer
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/ak12amseulqu.html

Other factors to consider:
do they undervolt well?
do they last long?
rpm monitoring / temp sensors (ie do they have one)
leds
connection style
Click to expand...

 
45 is close enough to 50 for me (it even rounds up mathematically). 🙂

And the recommended fan is even at the low end of my price target. Nice.



Originally posted by: Luckyboy1
Originally posted by: Seer
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/ak12amseulqu.html

Other factors to consider:
do they undervolt well?
do they last long?
rpm monitoring / temp sensors (ie do they have one)
leds
connection style
Click to expand...


that fan only pushes 40 some cfm.
Click to expand...

 
Thanks for your response.
I am not an expert, but I do understand that there are other fans to consider. However my case already comes with front and rear Antec 120mm fans that seem to have adequate stats (clearly not the absolute best [CFM: 38.94/dB(A): 24.85] but they are already paid for and installed). So, I was mostly interested in optimizing my buying decision for the CPU fan to go with my Thermalright SI-120 (on a separate note--the mechanism to attach the fan to the heatsink still looks flimsy to me but this is apparently a very popular heatsink so the attachment process must be OK).



Originally posted by: dunkster
You're focusing on the cpu cooling fan as the only contributor of cooling performance and low noise.

The close proximity of the rear case vent fan strongly influences the performance of the cpu cooler in both regards.

Consider using two inexpensive high-flow 120mm fans, such as Panaflo M1A, and tuning air-flow and noise combination properties by voltage controller. These fans at 7V provide good combination of air flow with moderate noise at moderate price and long expected service life.

If the thickness of these fans is a bother, the rear vent fan can be mounted outside the case.

Hope this helps!
Click to expand...

 
Another excellent recommendation (at least from the specs). Thanks.
Have you used this fan? They seem to tout the "SONY Fluid Dynamic Bearing" as HUGELY IMPORTANT. Do you know if this is just marketing hype or an actual demonstrable benefit? It does seem to claim to have a life of 150,000 hours (which is even more than the Akasa at 80,000--although even 9 years is still plenty).

Do you have any experience/comment on any other factors to consider when choosing the fan (other than $$)?


Originally posted by: newtekie1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835185005

Closest I could find that matched what he wants. $15, 49CFM, 20db.
Click to expand...

 
I did read through several of the threads prior to posting; however, most seemed to be more centered on discussing case fans (rather than CPU fans) and on discussing what the absolute top-of-the-line fans are. I am more interested in not-quite-top-of-the-line fans. (It is sometimes challenging to find thorough reviews of mid- and mid-high end products as many of the enthusiast sites really focus on the absolute top of the line.)

I even checked some of the vendor sites and read some of the reviews there, but I trust the comments here much more than most of the comments at vendor sites. I appreciate that the users at this site are willing to help beginners and mid-level experienced people as well as the experts.

But I will admit that I could have missed some threads. I was using search terms more related to fans than to the actual SI-120.

Apologies to all, but seriously thanks for all the great advice.


Originally posted by: Zepper
There are dozens of threads both here and in GenHardware (where they don't belong - at least you got that right, congrats!) on this topic - even specific to the XP/SI-120. Please do a good bit of searching before starting yet another fan thread.

.bh.
Click to expand...

 
Originally posted by: RoamDog
[...]
Are there factors other than noise and air flow (and I guess $$) to consider?? If so, what are those factors to consider?? And do any of these factors change your recommendation?
[...]
Click to expand...


The factors I listed are relatively unimportant. Most good fans will be suitable in those areas. I do know that the akasa fan has rpm monitoring (no temp sensor, very few do), they should last long, and that they have connectors already attached.


Also, a caveat:

I have not actually used the akasa fan, so don't take my suggestion as an endorsement. That said, I have heard good things about it and that the listed specs are true.

Do you have any more questions?
 
I'd look hard at the Scythe fans. That particular model comes in 1600 RPM, 1200, RPM, and 800 RPM (three different speed fans of the same model, three fans) instead of undevolting (which can sometimes increase motor noise, just order the 800 RPM fan or the 1200 RPM fan. The 1200 is very, very quiet. I'm currently using two in an Antec P-160, the 1200 RPM version. I wasn't paying attention when I orderd mine or I would have ordered an 800 for the front intake and the 1200 for the rear exhaust. These are heavy fans solidly built. The frames are thicker than usual so i couldn't use my rubbr fan attachers ( the fram is still 25MM but each frame piece is wider.
 
I am also looking to get some nice 120mm fans and I want some high cfm. I know you all dont really like TT but from the ones I have used they work really well for me. What kind of fans can you get that has high CFM and not really loud? And with maybe a rpm controller?
 
Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
is sidewindercomputers.com a trusted site? i'm looking into that akasa amber fan.. anyone recommend it?
Click to expand...

Yes,
Along with Performance-PC's, Jab-tech, and some others I can't name cause it's 2:30 in the fvck'n morning. 😛
 
Yup, Sidewinder is an ATF member (at least this one)-approved site (or not, as I can't speak for others). You can tell I'm pretty awake as I'm already slingin' parentheses...

.bh.
 
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