Panaflo Fans

[BiPolar]

I'm looking to put in a rear exhaust and blowhole in my case. I wanted to go with Panaflo 120mm for their superb air movement and low decibel ratings (I'd prefer a quieter case). However, is there a massive sound difference in reality betwee the L1 and M1 (rated at 30 and 35db respectively)? If the M1 is pretty dern quiet, I'd rather go with that for the increased airflow (nevermind I found it for a lot cheaper then the L1).

Thoughts?

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: BiPolar
I'm looking to put in a rear exhaust and blowhole in my case. I wanted to go with Panaflo 120mm for their superb air movement and low decibel ratings (I'd prefer a quieter case). However, is there a massive sound difference in reality betwee the L1 and M1 (rated at 30 and 35db respectively)? If the M1 is pretty dern quiet, I'd rather go with that for the increased airflow (nevermind I found it for a lot cheaper then the L1).

Thoughts?

It will be louder, especially because its noise is not absorbed by anything inside the case. It would probably be good if you bought a fan controller for it and used rubber grommets or something to isolate it from the case.

I have a 92mm Panaflo M1 which rates at 30db and its noticeable. Its not annoyingly loud. My 120mm evercool rated at 29db is very loud and is still annoyingly loud at 7V. At 6V and below its more manageable.

 

[Sokratz]

Originally posted by: Tiamat

Originally posted by: BiPolar
I'm looking to put in a rear exhaust and blowhole in my case. I wanted to go with Panaflo 120mm for their superb air movement and low decibel ratings (I'd prefer a quieter case). However, is there a massive sound difference in reality betwee the L1 and M1 (rated at 30 and 35db respectively)? If the M1 is pretty dern quiet, I'd rather go with that for the increased airflow (nevermind I found it for a lot cheaper then the L1).

Thoughts?

It will be louder, especially because its noise is not absorbed by anything inside the case. It would probably be good if you bought a fan controller for it and used rubber grommets or something to isolate it from the case.

I have a 92mm Panaflo M1 which rates at 30db and its noticeable. Its not annoyingly loud. My 120mm evercool rated at 29db is very loud and is still annoyingly loud at 7V. At 6V and below its more manageable.

I've had nothing but Sh*t luck w/those evercools. aluminum fans specs lie. period.

You can also get the M1 and then do the 7V mod-trick to it. Or get a rheobus (single from rad shack-check wattage on fan to make sure it can handle it) or a fan controller.

There was a pretty decent link comparing the top fans around here somewhere. do some searches on it. I can't find the favorite in my bookmarks-sorry.

 

[Cerb]

It depends on your definition of massive.
Howver, if the M is a bit too loud, you could use a fan controller and easily get it lowered, with the option of going back. I've never used one (L is plenty for me), but I read that Ms undervolt as well as Ls, but that H and U panaflos don't.

 

[Ken90630]

Nothing against Panaflo's (I recently bought one myself), but you might want to check out these fans and also the 92mm fan here.

Both compare favorably (if not better) spec-wise with Panaflo's, and I think you'll find both are rated to be quieter (although decibel ratings for computer fans are notoriously unreliable). I never read anything but positive comments about all three brands. I can tell you that if noise is a concern, you will definitely hear fans running at 30 or 35 dB like the Panaflo's you mention (unless you're in a noisy room). You need to be around 20 dB or less to reach an "inaudible" or "virtually inaudible" threshold.

FYI, Panaflo's and SilenX fans are only warrantied for one year. But then again, I've never heard anyone complain about them failing. PC Power & Cooling told me on the phone that the Silencer is warrantied for 3 years.

Just some food for thought, if you're interested.

 

[HardWarrior]

I've got 2x120mm M's running and compared to other 120's I've used they aren't very noisy at all. But as in most things, it depends on your individual tolerance. One thing that's often left out of fan comparisons is the inherent quality in the fans construction. On paper Evercool 120's fans are less noisy than Panaflo 120 M's but in practice, considering that Evercools are single-bearing, they tend to wobble and make more noise. If you want to move lots of air with a comfortable harmonic Panaflo M's are just fine.

 

[Sokratz]

Originally posted by: Ken90630
Nothing against Panaflo's (I recently bought one myself), but you might want to check out these fans and also the 92mm fan here.

Both compare favorably (if not better) spec-wise with Panaflo's, and I think you'll find both are rated to be quieter (although decibel ratings for computer fans are notoriously unreliable). I never read anything but positive comments about all three brands. I can tell you that if noise is a concern, you will definitely hear fans running at 30 or 35 dB like the Panaflo's you mention (unless you're in a noisy room). You need to be around 20 dB or less to reach an "inaudible" or "virtually inaudible" threshold.

FYI, Panaflo's and SilenX fans are only warrantied for one year. But then again, I've never heard anyone complain about them failing. PC Power & Cooling told me on the phone that the Silencer is warrantied for 3 years.

Just some food for thought, if you're interested.

On that note, I was able to pick up my panaflos for 5 bux a pop, 5x5=25 and i'm happy. 5x15 for those silentx and I wanna cry.

 

[Ken90630]

Cool. Yeah, I know the SilenX fans are a bit on the pricey side. Since you don't mind that the Panaflos are louder, you made a good choice (particularly at $5 each -- you can't beat that). If you don't mind me asking, where'd you find them so cheap?

 

[skinsfan44]

I bought 3 SilenX's for my case. They are indeed silent, but no way they push the air they say they do. You can barely feel a breeze in fron of them. Panaflo was the better choice.

 

[simms]

Originally posted by: skinsfan44
I bought 3 SilenX's for my case. They are indeed silent, but no way they push the air they say they do. You can barely feel a breeze in fron of them. Panaflo was the better choice.

Thank you!