Quiet PC case fans...

[RockGuitarDude]

I know everyone is gonna say panaflo but can someone enlighten me as to the differences among volumes. I also have been looking at many 120mm fans but they all say that they generate a lot of noise. If I am looking for a quiet setup, am I better off with a 120mm fan in back or 2 x 80mm fans? Are there any good quiet 80mm or 120mm fans that have leds on them?

Thanks for the insight in advance.

 

[Nebor]

120mm Acoustifan or SilenX fans will be some of the quietest fans you will find. Expensive though.

 

[RockGuitarDude]

anything cheaper thats decent? whats better 2 x 80 in the back exhaust or 1 x120mm?

 

[Degrador]

Check the cfm rating (cubic feet per minute) for the fans you're wanting. Usually, you'll find that one 120mm fans will be better than two 80mm fans. And you should find that 120mm fans will make less noise than 80mm ones. At the least, the ratio between noise and cfm will always be better with 120mm fans than 80mm ones.

Edit: Note, cfm is a direct scale - twice the cfm rating, twice the air is being moved. Meanwhile the noise rating (in decibels) is a logarithmic scale. 3dB more makes it twice as loud.

 

[Tostada]

These are very good, very quiet fans:
Arctic Cooling 80mm blue

Cheap fans use sleeve bearings, but there are also good fans that use sleeve bearings and last for a very long time. Sleeve bearings are the quietest. Kingwin makes some decent cheap ball bearing fans that are pretty quiet for $28.90 delivered for ten at newegg. Cooler Master has their rifle bearing, which is supposed to be a compromise, but still isn't really all that quiet.

Antec makes good 120mm fans that are about as quiet as it gets. I haven't found any 120mm fans quieter, but they're a bit expensive. If you want a 120mm fan, you'd almost be better off getting a whole Antec case (like the SLK2700 or Sonata) that comes with the quiet PSU and a quiet 120mm fan. When you consider the price of the case/PSU, you're getting a quality case dirt cheap.

 

[Nebor]

Two 80mm panaflo L1As move more air and make less noise @ 7v than a 120mm fan. This was duked out on SPCR.

Antec doesn't make the quietest 120mm, they're average, but cheaper than the premo fans.

A little known fact is that the Globe 120mm fans are actually the same as 120mm Acoustifans, except the Globes are about $7 and the Acoustifans are $30.

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: Nebor
Two 80mm panaflo L1As move more air and make less noise @ 7v than a 120mm fan. This was duked out on SPCR.

Antec doesn't make the quietest 120mm, they're average, but cheaper than the premo fans.

A little known fact is that the Globe 120mm fans are actually the same as 120mm Acoustifans, except the Globes are about $7 and the Acoustifans are $30.

Do you know of a respectable reseller that sells the globe 120s?

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: Tiamat

Originally posted by: Nebor
Two 80mm panaflo L1As move more air and make less noise @ 7v than a 120mm fan. This was duked out on SPCR.

Antec doesn't make the quietest 120mm, they're average, but cheaper than the premo fans.

A little known fact is that the Globe 120mm fans are actually the same as 120mm Acoustifans, except the Globes are about $7 and the Acoustifans are $30.

Do you know of a respectable reseller that sells the globe 120s?

I'd just go for the cheapest one. Couldn't hurt to check reseller ratings though. You stand to lose $12 or so if it's a really really bad one (fly-by-night.)

 

[WhiteKnight]

I have Silencers from PC Power and Cooling and I can't hear them (4) over my normal case noise (mainly HDs). I think they rate at 27 CFM 20 dB.

 

[xbassman]

Originally posted by: Tiamat

Originally posted by: Nebor
Two 80mm panaflo L1As move more air and make less noise @ 7v than a 120mm fan. This was duked out on SPCR.

Antec doesn't make the quietest 120mm, they're average, but cheaper than the premo fans.

A little known fact is that the Globe 120mm fans are actually the same as 120mm Acoustifans, except the Globes are about $7 and the Acoustifans are $30.

Do you know of a respectable reseller that sells the globe 120s?

I ordered a couple of fan grills here last week. Got here kinda slow but that was the fault of the post office.
They have a Globe 120MM for 6.99!

Best Byte

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: xbassman

Originally posted by: Tiamat

Originally posted by: Nebor
Two 80mm panaflo L1As move more air and make less noise @ 7v than a 120mm fan. This was duked out on SPCR.

Antec doesn't make the quietest 120mm, they're average, but cheaper than the premo fans.

A little known fact is that the Globe 120mm fans are actually the same as 120mm Acoustifans, except the Globes are about $7 and the Acoustifans are $30.

Do you know of a respectable reseller that sells the globe 120s?

I ordered a couple of fan grills here last week. Got here kinda slow but that was the fault of the post office.
They have a Globe 120MM for 6.99!

Best Byte

I found another link with the Globe 120mm, however do any of you know if this place is trustworthy?
http://www.mnpctech.com/Globe.html

 

[mdcrab]

NMB Silent 80mm Fan

mdcrab