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Quiet 120mm fan?

Mrvile

Mrvile

Lifer
I have a bunch of fans in my case and I was wondering what a good quiet 120mm fan was. I need 2, and I was considering either the Vantec Stealth (58cfm at 28dba) or the Coolermaster Silent Fan (42cfm at 22dba). I can't find the Coolermaster anywhere besides frozencpu.com, and they only come in LED or UV. Any other good >30dba 120mm fans I should know about?
 
Everyone says "Panaflo". There is a 120mm Panaflo at both frozencpu and buyextras which has an 89.5 CFM throughput and a low noise rating in the 30-dB's I think.

It all depends on how much CFM you want. And there are some fans rated above 100 CFM which have 42 or dB rating but very little perceptible motor noise (whine, moan, etc.). So most of the noise is air-turbulence.

And depending on how you deploy such fans, the air-turbulence itself may not be that noticeable.
 
Right now I have the 89cfm Panaflo in the back of my case. I can't use it anywhere else since it's 38mm deep. Sorry for not saying this earlier, I'm looking for a 25mm deep fan, I don't really care how much cfm I get as long as it's under 30dba and the airflow to noise ratio isn't TOO bad.
 
Originally posted by: Mrvile
Right now I have the 89cfm Panaflo in the back of my case. I can't use it anywhere else since it's 38mm deep. Sorry for not saying this earlier, I'm looking for a 25mm deep fan, I don't really care how much cfm I get as long as it's under 30dba and the airflow to noise ratio isn't TOO bad.
Click to expand...

What case and fans are you using now?
 
I have two of the Evercool Aluminums. (120x25mm). They max out at about 2,300 rpm, have something close to 80 CFM throughput. With a controller, you can adjust them over a wide range under that maximum. But at the maximum, the bearings tend to rattle slightly. Hardly noticeable, but you can still get a more quiet fan with more throughput.
 
Am I missing something or does the Globe fan not have a really good cfm/noise ratio? My current fans are:

2x AddA fans, 38dba 66cfm
1x Panaflo, 35dba 89cfm

I really like the Evercool regular fans, 79cfm for 30dba, that's really good.
 
Wow xbassman, Jab-tech is a really cool site. Low prices and lots of selections (I can't find anyone else who sells 10" red floppy cables for $1.69 🙂), I just hope their shipping isn't too bad...
 
Panflo (Panasonic) 120mm do not have RPM control, and you cannot monitor RPM, it is an industrial grade fan used in major appliances. Go to WWW.HEATSINKFACTORY.COM. Enermax makes a UC-FAB-B 120mm which is RPM contrallable and the specs show equally as good a cooling solution a and quiter than Panflo. I have both. I have 7 120mm fans in my case. 1 mounted on a Thermalright XP-120 heatsink and 6 in the case - 1 rear exhaust and 5 intake. I had to drill and make holes in my case to fit them.
 
Originally posted by: Mrvile
Am I missing something or does the Globe fan not have a really good cfm/noise ratio? My current fans are:

2x AddA fans, 38dba 66cfm
1x Panaflo, 35dba 89cfm

I really like the Evercool regular fans, 79cfm for 30dba, that's really good.
Click to expand...

You should take all the db ratings you see with a grain of salt. I really don't think you can compare from one company to the next cause they rate them so differently. Anymore I use recopmmendations for fans I don't have personal experience with.

Yeah, Jab-Tech is a good vendor. They won't kill you on shipping either.
 
Charlie, I can't find the Enermax at Heatsinkfactory.com. It only has two Panaflos and a generic LED fan under 120mm fans.
 
Originally posted by: Mrvile
Am I missing something or does the Globe fan not have a really good cfm/noise ratio? My current fans are:

2x AddA fans, 38dba 66cfm
1x Panaflo, 35dba 89cfm

I really like the Evercool regular fans, 79cfm for 30dba, that's really good.
Click to expand...

Adda makes really good / quiet fans; SilentX uses them just re-badged, so you might want try undervolting and keeping them. As for the Evercool, IDK if I trust those specs....

Originally posted by: CharlieR
Panflo (Panasonic) 120mm do not have RPM control, and you cannot monitor RPM, it is an industrial grade fan used in major appliances. Go to WWW.HEATSINKFACTORY.COM. Enermax makes a UC-FAB-B 120mm which is RPM contrallable and the specs show equally as good a cooling solution a and quiter than Panflo. I have both. I have 7 120mm fans in my case. 1 mounted on a Thermalright XP-120 heatsink and 6 in the case - 1 rear exhaust and 5 intake. I had to drill and make holes in my case to fit them.
Click to expand...

Panaflows are used in all kinds of applications, anything that calls for high quality and reliability PC?s included. Some have RPM output's some don't, you can tell by looking at the model number but I'm not sure what off hand designates RPM output off hand. Either way you don't need it to control the fans, none of my L1A's have RPM output and I can control them just fine with SpeedFan.
 
Papst 4412 FGL is my pick. I have one in my case and it does a pretty good job. If I ever get an XP-120, I'll get a Panaflo for the extra oomph. It won't matter that it's a bit louder, as it will be inside my case. The Papst functions as a side intake in my case.
 
The Papst doesn't look bad, nice airflow for the sound, but it's a bit pricey compared to the rest.

Operandi, how do I change voltages to fans? I only have one of my AddA's connected to the mobo though, the other was a 4-pin. And my Panaflo (the 3-pinner that I use for the CPU) does NOT support RPM control (two settings, on and off 😛), but it does have RPM monitoring (MSI's CoreCenter says about 2900ish). Panaflos are nice fans, but they don't have any 120x25mm ones.
 
Originally posted by: Mrvile
The Papst doesn't look bad, nice airflow for the sound, but it's a bit pricey compared to the rest.

Operandi, how do I change voltages to fans? I only have one of my AddA's connected to the mobo though, the other was a 4-pin. And my Panaflo (the 3-pinner that I use for the CPU) does NOT support RPM control (two settings, on and off 😛), but it does have RPM monitoring (MSI's CoreCenter says about 2900ish). Panaflos are nice fans, but they don't have any 120x25mm ones.
Click to expand...

You?re using SpeedFan or MSI's software? there really is no RPM "control feature" so I don't know why you can't control the speed of your Panaflow, maybe it's some non-standard model. I've been able to control every fan I?ve hooked up to my board RPM regardless of RPM output.

As for the voltages I'm not exactly sure since it doesn?t report that but I'm guessing between 6-7 volts. If the Adda's don't draw too much power (they shouldn't) there shouldn't be a problem re-wiring the other to a 3 pin and hooking them both up to the same MB header.
 
Thought I would post some results with a new fan I mentioned earlier. But before I get there, I have some remarks.

I saw two advertisements for the Panaflo 120x38mm 86.5 CFM fan. One of these feature a three-pin tail with fan-monitoring; the other offered a four-pin Molex without monitoring.

Someone mentioned the Enermax UC-FAB12-B (I think that is the model number, but there is only one model 120mm fan that seems to prevail at web-resellers).

Yes -- this is a quiet fan. I had two of them. They draw 0.30 amps of current. They are supposedly rated at 2,600 rpm, but I have not been able to get either of the two fans to spin faster than 2,200 on either of two computers in two different household electrical environments. They do not live up to the expectations in advertised specs.

As to the rheostat control which comes with these fans. As far as I can tell, the "work", but they are flimsy. And further, on both fans I tried, there is some sort of anomaly in the monitoring circuit. It causes Intel Active Monitor to bounce between 2,000 and 4,000 rpm at top speed (2,200, if you're lucky). This was common to both fans, and to be sure, we reinstalled the SMBus driver and the Intel Active Monitor software. When we removed the Enermax and replaced it with the Silverstone, Active Monitor resumed behaving "normally".

I hate these Enermax fans. I say I hate 'em. I cut the motors out of them and used them to build ducts.

Now -- an update on the YS-Tech 120x38mm, 125.5 CFM, 45 dBA, 2,800 rpm fan with 4-pin Molex and no monitoring capability. It weighs 213 grams.

I wanted to use this this fan as tentative replacement for a SUNON KD1212PMB1-6A -- also 120x38mm, with 108CFM, 42 dBA at 3,100 rpm. The SUNON is QUIET, except for the rather subdued air-turbulence you will hear coming from any air-conditioning vent. It has no perceptible motor noise -- no whine, no bearing rattle -- nothing. But it weighs 326 grams, and I wanted to replace it with something lighter, since I am hanging a plastic duct on my XP120 as well as the fan. ThermalRight told me that the configuration with the SUNON -- including the duct -- should not be a problem. "Just remove the duct and fan when you take the computer for a drive in your car," they said.

The YS-Tech is ALMOST as quiet as the SUNON, but it has a very subdued, almost imperceptible motor whine. This whine is not half as bad as the Silverstone 120x25mm fan, which I regard as reasonably quiet for interior case applications, or where it sits on the heatsink and CPU near the very center of the case.

Here are some caveats. I use Akasa PaxMate noise deadener on my sidepanels, except for the blow-hole vent on the access-panel. My fan-duct includes a FrozenCPU fine-mesh filter, and this may muffle the sound even more.

For the time being, I think the YS-Tech has found a home clipped to my XP120.

Everyone has their own preference or indifference to fan noise. Personally, I will not permit myself to stand pat with a computer that sounds like the wind-tunnel at Edwards AFB during tests. I don't like motor-whine; I don't like a fan that "moans". But I'd rather have higher CFMs than eliminate a little air-turbulence and the mild sound of "shshshshshhhhh."
 
Originally posted by: BonzaiDuck
Thought I would post some results with a new fan I mentioned earlier. But before I get there, I have some remarks.

I saw two advertisements for the Panaflo 120x38mm 86.5 CFM fan. One of these feature a three-pin tail with fan-monitoring; the other offered a four-pin Molex without monitoring.

Someone mentioned the Enermax UC-FAB12-B (I think that is the model number, but there is only one model 120mm fan that seems to prevail at web-resellers).

Yes -- this is a quiet fan. I had two of them. They draw 0.30 amps of current. They are supposedly rated at 2,600 rpm, but I have not been able to get either of the two fans to spin faster than 2,200 on either of two computers in two different household electrical environments. They do not live up to the expectations in advertised specs.

As to the rheostat control which comes with these fans. As far as I can tell, the "work", but they are flimsy. And further, on both fans I tried, there is some sort of anomaly in the monitoring circuit. It causes Intel Active Monitor to bounce between 2,000 and 4,000 rpm at top speed (2,200, if you're lucky). This was common to both fans, and to be sure, we reinstalled the SMBus driver and the Intel Active Monitor software. When we removed the Enermax and replaced it with the Silverstone, Active Monitor resumed behaving "normally".

I hate these Enermax fans. I say I hate 'em. I cut the motors out of them and used them to build ducts.

Now -- an update on the YS-Tech 120x38mm, 125.5 CFM, 45 dBA, 2,800 rpm fan with 4-pin Molex and no monitoring capability. It weighs 213 grams.

I wanted to use this this fan as tentative replacement for a SUNON KD1212PMB1-6A -- also 120x38mm, with 108CFM, 42 dBA at 3,100 rpm. The SUNON is QUIET, except for the rather subdued air-turbulence you will hear coming from any air-conditioning vent. It has no perceptible motor noise -- no whine, no bearing rattle -- nothing. But it weighs 326 grams, and I wanted to replace it with something lighter, since I am hanging a plastic duct on my XP120 as well as the fan. ThermalRight told me that the configuration with the SUNON -- including the duct -- should not be a problem. "Just remove the duct and fan when you take the computer for a drive in your car," they said.

The YS-Tech is ALMOST as quiet as the SUNON, but it has a very subdued, almost imperceptible motor whine. This whine is not half as bad as the Silverstone 120x25mm fan, which I regard as reasonably quiet for interior case applications, or where it sits on the heatsink and CPU near the very center of the case.

Here are some caveats. I use Akasa PaxMate noise deadener on my sidepanels, except for the blow-hole vent on the access-panel. My fan-duct includes a FrozenCPU fine-mesh filter, and this may muffle the sound even more.

For the time being, I think the YS-Tech has found a home clipped to my XP120.

Everyone has their own preference or indifference to fan noise. Personally, I will not permit myself to stand pat with a computer that sounds like the wind-tunnel at Edwards AFB during tests. I don't like motor-whine; I don't like a fan that "moans". But I'd rather have higher CFMs than eliminate a little air-turbulence and the mild sound of "shshshshshhhhh."
Click to expand...

Nice post.

I have two very similar Sunon's (KD1212PTB3-6A) these are 25mm though. These were not very quiet at full speed, and didn't under volt very well at all so I never used them. All the Y.S. Tech fans I've used have been very good, very quiet and undervolt very nicely, is this the one you have?
 
No -- that one is 105 CFM and 120x25mm. Here's the one I have, also from FrozenCPU:

YS Tech 120x38mm, 125.5 CFM

I haven't run the 120x38mm SUNON through a controller -- just ran it full-out on a Molex plug. I have some other, cheaper Sunons in another machine which do not seem very noisy, and I can control them within a range satisfactory to me with my Sunbeam Rheobus. They are 120x25's, good for about 90 CFM, spinning at a 3,100 rpm maximum. They were sold to me as "case 'bracket' fans".

[The muffled motor-whine of that YS-Tech is making me reconsider the uneasy trade-off between CFM's and noise. I think I will try wrapping some PaxMate around the fan-housing and blow-hole duct.!!]

Still -- I've had motor whines and motor groans -- this is not bad . . . .
 
Well I guess we have different tolerances for noise, for me any 120mm fan running more then 2000 RPM is going to be too loud. The Sunon's might have been alright if they would startup on lower voltages.
 
It's the motor-whine that gets me. I don't mind the sound of a breeze, unless it's the roar generated by a Vantec Tornado 92mm at full-throttle 5,000 rpm.
 
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