Noctua NF-P12, Scythe S-FLEX, or Scythe Slip-Stream?

[poohbear]

hey all, im looking to replace my old silenx "14DBA" exhaust fan that runs @ 1600RPM & supposedly pushes 58CFM because it is anything BUT silent @ 1600rpm. 14dba my as$, they really need to be sued for false advertising.

Anyways, i'm looking for a silent fan that pushes the most air @ ~1300rpm while remaining quiet (anything higher than 1300rpm is too audible for me). i can buy a Scythe S-FLEX SFF21E for $12, or a Noctua NF-P12 for $18, or a slip stream for $10 here in canada. I'm reading the 9 blades of the noctua nf-p12 & scythe slip stream make them really quiet while pushing lots of air, and heard good things about the scythe S-Flex despite only having 7 blades (something about a special sony patented ball bearing design yea?). Which would you guys choose for a quiet exhaust fan that pushes the most air? would have it running slow while sys is idle and spin up @ its top speed when gaming, all done through the bios.

Cheers and thanks in advance for your advice.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

I would pick up the slipstream 1600rpm. Trust me, I've got quite a few of them and they scale quite a bit nicer than the 1200's and are still very quiet at full speed but, if it is just a little too loud you can just bump up the full speed temperature so it never reaches full speed.

 

[poohbear]

thanks derwen. is the speed for the slip stream manually adjustable? my bios only has 2 settings, fan full on (1600rpm) or fan at low (800rpm). how does the slipstream compare to the noctua, im reading its the quietest fan out due to the notches on its 9 blades. cheers.

edit: also, would anyone know if the slipstream 1200 and the Scythe S-FLEX SFF21E are about the same in noise levels? currently i wouldnt have to pay shipping for the s-flex, so if its the same noise level as the slipstream i'd rather go w/ that. cheers.

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: poohbear
thanks derwen. is the speed for the slip stream manually adjustable? my bios only has 2 settings, fan full on (1600rpm) or fan at low (800rpm). how does the slipstream compare to the noctua, im reading its the quietest fan out due to the notches on its 9 blades. cheers.

edit: also, would anyone know if the slipstream 1200 and the Scythe S-FLEX SFF21E are about the same in noise levels? currently i wouldnt have to pay shipping for the s-flex, so if its the same noise level as the slipstream i'd rather go w/ that. cheers.

fan contollers can be bought relatively cheap now.

i would look for a fan controler so you can manually set your fans as needed. low when your about to sleep, and high when you game.

 

[poohbear]

yes i thought of that but regardless of whether its set to high or low, i want a silent fan. Even when i game i wouldnt want to hear a fan @ 1300rpm unless its a quiet fan.

so, looking for a fan that would still be quiet @ 1300rpm u see.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Originally posted by: poohbear
yes i thought of that but regardless of whether its set to high or low, i want a silent fan. Even when i game i wouldnt want to hear a fan @ 1300rpm unless its a quiet fan.

so, looking for a fan that would still be quiet @ 1300rpm u see.

I would get the 1200rpm slipstream and call it a day. It's quite quiet enough IMHO to leave at full speed 24/7.

The notches in the noctua are designed to cut down the trailing edge noise. The leading edge of a fan blade is what typically causes it to whistle and the trailing edge just causes the whoosh sound. Again IMHO anything below 2Krpm isn't giong to benefit from the notches in the trailing ege. They're designed to cause a disruption in the flow creating a low pressure spot where each of the notches are allowing the air to expand into them which will decrease the whoosh sound but, minimally if at all notably below 2K rpm.

 

[Bluefront]

I'd definitely recommend getting a fan controller of some sort. That way you could get a faster fan, under-volt it for normal usage, and still have the ability to increase airflow on hot days, or when gaming.

A 1600rpm S-Flex and a 1200rpm S-Flex sound the same when running at 1000rpms, using the controller. Actually, the S-Flex, the SlipStream, the Noctua and other better fans, all sound similar at the same lower rpm. There are other things to consider. The Noctua is supposed to blow more air due to it's blade design. I'm not convinced....

Noctua, Scythe, Yate Loon comparison testing.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Originally posted by: Bluefront
I'd definitely recommend getting a fan controller of some sort. That way you could get a faster fan, under-volt it for normal usage, and still have the ability to increase airflow on hot days, or when gaming.

A 1600rpm S-Flex and a 1200rpm S-Flex sound the same when running at 1000rpms, using the controller. Actually, the S-Flex, the SlipStream, the Noctua and other better fans, all sound similar at the same lower rpm. There are other things to consider. The Noctua is supposed to blow more air due to it's blade design. I'm not convinced....

Noctua, Scythe, Yate Loon comparison testing.

Keep in mind though that the slipstreams hiss when laid down and running at 1200rpm or higher. I've been tempted to try and pull the fan wheel off a slipstream and mount it to an sflex or a zm-f3 for fun and see how it performed. I do stupid things for the sake of doing them though.

 

[poohbear]

thanks for the replies folks!

now, i can get the s-flex for cheaper than the slip stream. is the s-flex still a great fan for low noise and high cfm pushed?(@ 1300rpm) it only has 7 blades, but its got that sony ball bearing design if that means anything. Do you guys think it basicly has the same performance/silence ratio, or should i pay the extra cash for the slip stream fan? ultimately, are they both quieter while pushing more air than my silen-x w/ the specs in my OP? If not, should i just hook up my silen-x to a fan controller?(which i already have)

thanks in advance & sorry for all the questions, but i really dont want anymore fans around my house as i've accumalated quite a few over the years!!(3silenx which were a rip off in hindsight, good thermaltake one, and generic 120mm that have a ticking sound @ low rpms )

edit: thanks for the link bluefront, twas very informative

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Well, lets look at it strictly by numbers. The SFF21E is 1200rpm, 20dbA and 49cfm. The slipstream SY1225SL12M is 1200rpm, 24dba and 68.5cfm. In theory that means that the slipstream is going to be a little less than twice as loud and move about half again more air. HOWEVER you have to take into account the ambient noise in your room as well as the number of fans, the amount of restriction and the directionality of the fans. I know you really want me to just say go buy the SFF21E but, fans are way, way too subjective.

 

[poohbear]

Originally posted by: DerwenArtos12
I know you really want me to just say go buy the SFF21E but, fans are way, way too subjective.

lol so true.

well, i cut out the fan grill in my case for the exhaust fan a long time ago so there's no restriction, and my case is an antec p-160 which has rubber mounts for the case fans. there's practically no ambient noise in my room except for my computer, and we live in a small street in a quiet suburb w/ no car trafffic or noise coming in from outside. The only other fans i have are a silenx intake fan that always runs @ 800rpm (through bios) and is virtually silent, and my cpu's Big Typhoon stock fan running @ 1300rpm which is generally quiet. My 8800gt has a accelero w/ the turbo module fans (super silent), and my nb is passively cooled (thermalright HR-05)

w/ that said, the SFF21E seems like my best bet for quietest fan while pushing a very decent amount of air, yea?

 

[Sheninat0r]

For an unrestrictive exhaust, I would recommend the Noctua NF-S12, not the P12 - it has more airflow than the P12 at the same noise level, and was designed to maximise CFM/dBA in open air/low restriction. If you have a restrictive fan grill though, the S12 will explode in your face [not really, it'll just whine and not do much].

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Originally posted by: poohbear

Originally posted by: DerwenArtos12
I know you really want me to just say go buy the SFF21E but, fans are way, way too subjective.

lol so true.

w/ that said, the SFF21E seems like my best bet for quietest fan while pushing a very decent amount of air, yea?

I can agree with that.

 

[poohbear]

fabulous.

sheninator i'm gonna avoid the noctuas cause they're simply too expensive compared to the scythes and seem to provide the same performance.:/

thanks for all the info though folks. cheers.

 

[poohbear]

well i bought the SFF21E and under low setting in the bios it runs @ 425rpm. :0 under high its @ 1200rpm and much much quieter than my silenx 1200mx that ran @ 1600rpm (the silenx one doesnt have a yellow rpm wire so not sure exactly if it was 1600rpm, but definetly more than 1500rpm).

now that i've had a delicious taste of quiet pc gaming i think im gonna get a Noctua NF-P12 to replace the stock fan on my Big Typhoon cpu heatsink!!!(runs @ 1300rpm constant) muwahahhaha!! its the best heatsink fan for quietness/performance ratio yea? it'll be $30 shipped, but price can go out the window, i've become obsessed w/ silence!

these are the specs for the TT big typhoon fan:

Fan Size: 120 x 25mm

Fan Speed: 1300 RPM

Fan Noise: 16 dBA

Air Flow: 54.4 CFM

the fan noise of 16DBA is utter marketing BS, but its still quiet. it does indeed run @ 1300rpm cause speedfan reports that, and i doubt they'd lie about the CFM it pushes. Aside from the noise, the noctua NF-P12 has the same specs for CFM and rpm. Would it make a noticeable difference in noise? i'd always be running it @ 1300rpm just like i am w/ the Big typhoon.

cheers and thanks for any pointers!

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Originally posted by: poohbear
well i bought the SFF21E and under low setting in the bios it runs @ 425rpm. :0 under high its @ 1200rpm and much much quieter than my silenx 1200mx that ran @ 1600rpm (the silenx one doesnt have a yellow rpm wire so not sure exactly if it was 1600rpm, but definetly more than 1500rpm).

now that i've had a delicious taste of quiet pc gaming i think im gonna get a Noctua NF-P12 to replace the stock fan on my Big Typhoon cpu heatsink!!!(runs @ 1300rpm constant) muwahahhaha!! its the best heatsink fan for quietness/performance ratio yea? it'll be $30 shipped, but price can go out the window, i've become obsessed w/ silence!

these are the specs for the TT big typhoon fan:

Fan Size: 120 x 25mm

Fan Speed: 1300 RPM

Fan Noise: 16 dBA

Air Flow: 54.4 CFM

the fan noise of 16DBA is utter marketing BS, but its still quiet. it does indeed run @ 1300rpm cause speedfan reports that, and i doubt they'd lie about the CFM it pushes. Aside from the noise, the noctua NF-P12 has the same specs for CFM and rpm. Would it make a noticeable difference in noise? i'd always be running it @ 1300rpm just like i am w/ the Big typhoon.

cheers and thanks for any pointers!

niet, niet, I would just grab another sff12E if you're happy with it, the noctua will not work as well on your heatsink due to the much higher restriction level! if you want to pick up a noctua to play with then put it on the case and the scythe on the heatsink.

 

[poohbear]

really derwen? i thought the noctua P edition was specifically designed for heatsinks because it has high pressure?

also, do u think if i go w/ the sff12e, the 5cfm drop would effect my overclock?(its 49cfm, the big typhoon's fan is 54cfm )

anyways, thanks a whole lot for all your help, here's a beer for ya!(or if u're not a drinker, here's a cola!)

 

[DerwenArtos12]

I'm definately a drinker but, I don't much like beer. I'm a Jagermiester man. Remember that thermaltake tends to exaggerate their specs a bit, I don't know for sure on the exact fan thats in your system but, I'd say it'll probably be a tie or very close to.

 

[poohbear]

lol yes many good memories w/ jagermiester, tis dangerous though cause u never feel like u're drinking liquor.:0

anyways cheers man, im finding myself a noctua P for this heatsink. coincidentaly, Anandtech just did a review of these fans and they were quite impressed w/ it. 2 fans were apparently the same noise level as one scythe fan on the TRUE! check out the noise page

http://www.anandtech.com/casec...howdoc.aspx?i=3268&p=6

 

[bfdd]

The Noctua NF-P12 is a GREAT fan, I actually like them a lot. I purchased a few to test em out. The packaging is top notch, the components it comes with top notch, the fan build is top notch, it's super quiet and puts out a ton of air. Scythe fans are also really good too, but if you can get past the pink/brown coloring the Noctua is #1 imo.

 

[Slackenerny]

I've just performed a detailed test between the SFF21E and the NF-P12 and posted the results and analysis here:

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au...m-replies.cfm?t=949286

The SFF21E is the definate winner. It cools more efficiently, spins more slowly and is quieter than the NF-P12.