quietest 80mm fan?
- Thread starter swtethan
- Start date
GlacialTech SilentBlade 80mm
19dB
Though Papst makes some very quiet fans too, if it's available where you live.
19dB
Though Papst makes some very quiet fans too, if it's available where you live.
14dB? I'm calling bullsh!t. That, or it has no airflow. I found the SilentBlade fans to be a great compromise between noise and airflow. Can't vouch for Papst in that aspect, but it has generally good reviews overall.
SilenX iXtrema 80mm 14dBA Case Fan
Fan Dimensions: 80 x 80 x 25mm
Fan Input: 12V/1.0W
Fan Speed: 1900 RPM +/- 15%
Air Flow: 28 CFM
Noise Level: 14 dBA
Connectors: Three Pin Connector, Four Pin Connector
theres even a 21cfm fan that does 11db
Fan Dimensions: 80 x 80 x 25mm
Fan Input: 12V/1.0W
Fan Speed: 1900 RPM +/- 15%
Air Flow: 28 CFM
Noise Level: 14 dBA
Connectors: Three Pin Connector, Four Pin Connector
theres even a 21cfm fan that does 11db
JBDan
Platinum Member
- Dec 7, 2004
- 2,333
- 0
- 0
I have several of their fans. I also have some pannies, vantecs, coolermasters, & TT's. My Silenx 80mm is the quietest fan I (and SPCR for that matter) have ever not heard. BUT their cfm specs are a blatant lie. Their dba ratings are not accurate as well, but they spoof more on their cfm ratings IMO. Their 120mm's are very quiet as well (not near as quiet as their 80mm's though), BUT again move no where near the cfm's they are reported to move. They are expensive so if ya got the $$ and dont mind the "lower cfm than what they say," then go for it. I fell for all their "false spec" marketing hoopla & just wanted ta give ya a heads up from a user. g-luck
The news and reviews on the SilenX site seem to be quite old, not sure what that means but just a thought.
BGC
BGC
I'll agree with JBDan fully in saying that Silenx fans are quiet but move little air. I have a 14db 80mm fan intake on my case side panel and it just moves enough air for me to keep it there
Everything SilentX says about the db ratings of all their fans is a lie. There is no standard for db rating fans, universally used. So when they measure their fans with a microphone across the street.....wow 14 db.....maybe they do sound quiet.
Don't use mfg specs concerning noise levels when you consider fans. Almost everybody lies. SilentX is the worst offender.
I'd like to see a link to SPCR where they call SilentX fans "the quietest".
Me? I'm a big supporter of Yate Loon (Nexus) fans.....in most tests they come out #1.
Don't use mfg specs concerning noise levels when you consider fans. Almost everybody lies. SilentX is the worst offender.
I'd like to see a link to SPCR where they call SilentX fans "the quietest".
Me? I'm a big supporter of Yate Loon (Nexus) fans.....in most tests they come out #1.
JBDan
Platinum Member
- Dec 7, 2004
- 2,333
- 0
- 0
http://silentpcreview.com/article28-page7.html
This is it. (SilenX by the way) Quoted by SPCR themselves--> "quietest 80mm fan ever encountered." Its their 80mm 14dba fan in that psu. I bought this psu (although I don't use it) and its the same fan as their single 80mm 14dba fan they retail. It is truly silent, BUT as I said b4, moves no where near the cfm's that they claim.
Okay, I'm a long time member of SPCR, and I registered just to correct JBDan here. The link he is referring to is a list of retired PSUs. Models that are no longer available, generally. Notice that at the end of each description is the date of the review. The SilenX review was back in June of 2003. There's a comment from April indicating that due to the length of time since the review, things may or may not be the same, so the review might not even apply to that particular model. Moreover, the noise rating (N) indicates on a scale of 1-10 how quiet a PSU is. A 10 is completely silent. As yet, NO passive PSU has received a 10. The highest rating was for a passive Silverstone that received a 9 (on the previous review page, page 6).
The Silenx received a 3.
For the most part SPCR mostly sticks with 120mm fans nowadays, so there's generally not any talk about the quietest 80mm fans. At last check, the Panaflo L1A was still the reference. Nexus has a good track record with their 92mm and 120mm. I have an 80mm I haven't tested yet. I put it in the VGA duct for my P180, but it won't fit due to the placement of my CPU on the motherboard, as well as the size of my heatsink. If you like, I can post an opinion on it tomorrow.
To my knowledge, Nexus is the only fan company that is known to report accurate dbs on their fans. The official testing method requires placing the fan in an anecrobic chamber (oh, I can't spell it) and mesuring the sound at 1 meter, the same distance used by SPCR in testing equipment for their reviews. Note that Nexus doesn't make the fans. they buy fans from other manufacturers, cherry pick the ones with the least vibrations and bearing noise, then apply an in-line resistor to slow it down (ex: rebadged Yate Loons at 1300rpm slowed down to 1000rpm). Still, they DO test their fans for noise in the official standards for determining fan noise, something the vast majority of fan makers don't do.
Also, there's a long thread on the dishonest marketing methods of SilenX: http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=4504 Given their blantantly exagerrated specs, as well as the ethics of the owner, I will never do business with them.
The Silenx received a 3.
For the most part SPCR mostly sticks with 120mm fans nowadays, so there's generally not any talk about the quietest 80mm fans. At last check, the Panaflo L1A was still the reference. Nexus has a good track record with their 92mm and 120mm. I have an 80mm I haven't tested yet. I put it in the VGA duct for my P180, but it won't fit due to the placement of my CPU on the motherboard, as well as the size of my heatsink. If you like, I can post an opinion on it tomorrow.
To my knowledge, Nexus is the only fan company that is known to report accurate dbs on their fans. The official testing method requires placing the fan in an anecrobic chamber (oh, I can't spell it) and mesuring the sound at 1 meter, the same distance used by SPCR in testing equipment for their reviews. Note that Nexus doesn't make the fans. they buy fans from other manufacturers, cherry pick the ones with the least vibrations and bearing noise, then apply an in-line resistor to slow it down (ex: rebadged Yate Loons at 1300rpm slowed down to 1000rpm). Still, they DO test their fans for noise in the official standards for determining fan noise, something the vast majority of fan makers don't do.
Also, there's a long thread on the dishonest marketing methods of SilenX: http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=4504 Given their blantantly exagerrated specs, as well as the ethics of the owner, I will never do business with them.
Will the VGA duct, itself, without a fan fit? If so, and you really need the fan, you can take the VGA duct apart and install the fan completely inside the duct.
Ron
No no. It's not the fan that's the problem, the fan was placed inside the duct from the getgo. It's the heatsink that's keeping me from installing the VGA duct period.
JBDan
Platinum Member
- Dec 7, 2004
- 2,333
- 0
- 0
Thanks? for correcting me? You have used their fans? Anyways if you read what I said, I stated a simple fact. SPCR states and I reiterate "the quietest 80mm ever encountered." You can't say anything else. Its there, they can edit it out if they want, but they haven't. I had the $ to blow so I bought their "false spec" products. I know better now. I do not in any way what-so-ever support SilenX any longer by buying their products and I will not, but I can confidently say that their 80mm's are the quietest fans, bar none, I have ever come across. Why? Because they push very little cfm's.
It WAS the quietest 80mm fan... in the 2003 article. Generally, they're not going to update old reviews, because they're just that. Old reviews. The SilenX are actually rebadged ADDA fans with a big markup. If you can find out the appropriate model number, you can get the same fan for far less. Panaflos still tend to be the reference fan, though the overall quality seems to have dropped since they shifted manufacturing from Japan to China. Looking at the recommended fan page I found this quote in regards to the 80mm Nexus: "At 12V, the smoothest and quietest 80mm fan I've heard, better than the best Panaflo samples". Anyway, I have to admit I haven't actually heard a SilenX fan in person. I've heard mixed things on SPCR (even ignoring their reputation for dishonesty). I spent an hour searching, but I can't find anyone who's had experience with an 80mm Nexus vs. SilenX. I'm pretty sure the site owner isn't going to spend any money to purchase SilenX products for review, and that SilenX isn't going to ever send anymore review samples. Short of someone donating equpment for review, there's really no way to know for certain how SilenX compares to other products. I've heard that their 120mms don't compare that well to other SPCR favorites, though I've heard good things about their 40mm fans.
You're right that slower fans = less air = less noise. I read somewhere that the SilenX PSU is the quietest at idle, but gets significantly louder when it ramps up, that probably explains why it only gets a rating of 3.
Anyway, didn't mean to come off as hostile, it's just that SPCR members (such as myself) tend to hold a grudge against SilenX due to their tactics on the forums, as well as the history Peter Kim has in trying to screw his old bosses.
Wwith the exception of the Nexus company, I don't know of ANY fan companies that post accurate specs. Either it's because they're not following the established standards for the industry, or it's because marketing makes up numbers for their products (claim higher cfm and lower noise than in reality).
I did a quick search and here's some threads on opinions of SilenX fans and the quieter 80mms in general.
http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto...hp?t=19271&highlight=quietest+80mm+fan
http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto...hp?t=21858&highlight=quietest+80mm+fan
You're right that slower fans = less air = less noise. I read somewhere that the SilenX PSU is the quietest at idle, but gets significantly louder when it ramps up, that probably explains why it only gets a rating of 3.
Anyway, didn't mean to come off as hostile, it's just that SPCR members (such as myself) tend to hold a grudge against SilenX due to their tactics on the forums, as well as the history Peter Kim has in trying to screw his old bosses.
Wwith the exception of the Nexus company, I don't know of ANY fan companies that post accurate specs. Either it's because they're not following the established standards for the industry, or it's because marketing makes up numbers for their products (claim higher cfm and lower noise than in reality).
I did a quick search and here's some threads on opinions of SilenX fans and the quieter 80mms in general.
http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto...hp?t=19271&highlight=quietest+80mm+fan
http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto...hp?t=21858&highlight=quietest+80mm+fan
JBDan
Platinum Member
- Dec 7, 2004
- 2,333
- 0
- 0
You do not sound hostile at all my friend. I hope I didn't sound that way as well.
I know SilenX's reputation very well as I have been visiting SPCR for quite some time & unfortunately, spent some $$ on their products, but on a positive note, am able to speak with experience on their products. I am a silence "fanatic" (IMO as you are) as well. SPCR's threads are very bias against SilenX as they SHOULD be. Just stating MY experiences with their fans and psu so the OP could be better informed. I agree w/ you on Nexus's dba and cfm ratings. IMO they are tops for "honest" specs. Off topic, but tell me; Great review on the ninja @ SPCR. How do you like it? and what are your temps w/ it fanless?Quick summary on my experiences with the Ninja;
Positive
1. Silent!
2. Gives me about the same/better temps as before. In a 70F room, my idle temp is around 40C and on load is about 60C.... that's with the Nexus exhaust at a measly 650rpm and next to a 9800 Pro (cooled with an undervolted 92mm Nexus), With the rear Nexus cranked up to 12v, max temp is around 53C while playing games. Oh, I forgot to mention; the last time I took notice of my temps before installing the Ninja, I had my 9800 Pro swapped with a Geforce 2 (runs cooler, I think) and had a Thermalright 900U with a 6v 92mm Nexus. Max temp there was 70C. So with a hotter system I got at my worst temps at 60C and with less noise, a 10C drop over an actively cooled heatsink, and if the case fan cranked up, at total drop of 17C. So, it's EXCELLENT for a passive heatsink.
3. Note; following is unsubstantiated opinion; I have yet to find a good head-to-head comparison of the Sonic Tower vs. the Ninja. I would assume the Ninja is better simply due to the excessive fin density of the Sonic Tower. Too high a density can potentially cause more turbulance noise (well, mostly if a fan is direct mounted to it). Almost every picture I've seen looks like "towers" are rolls of quarters, and airflow wise that's a bad thing. Madshrimps last A64 roundup showed the Ninja as performing better but he didn't test either in a passive method (with case airflow, anyone who tries to use it passive passive with no airflow is insane with a modern system). Overclockers love the Tower, but they're usually using 1, 2, sometimes ever 3 fans. Which is in reality the best product? I don't know. But I assume from the design that the Scythe is better from both an active cooled method as well as passive.
The negative.
1. Pain to install - You have to take into account that every other aftermarket 'sink I've bought was bolt-through. This made it easier to mount and install, as well as decreasing the chancee of applying too much pressure and cracking the CPU core. I had to use a fair amount of force on the clips. Granted, I was using my fingers instead of a screwdriver, but I was forced to use a screwdriver to get the last clip in. I've never installed a 478 heatsink using the standard clip method, so I have no basis of comparison to say if this is normal or not.
2. The size; the ONLY issue I've had with the size of the heatsink is that the placement of the CPU on my particular motherboard precludes the use of the VGA duct. I wanted to at least test it out as I stuffed with with acoustipack, placed a Nexus fan inside the duct to prevent possible interference with a full width card, AND decoupled it to reduce vibrations. I had wanted to see if the VGA duct was as noisy as some claimed providing a little forethought was used; unfortunately unless I replace the motherboard and insure that the CPU is at the very edge of the motherboard, I'm not going to know in the near future.
Positive
1. Silent!
2. Gives me about the same/better temps as before. In a 70F room, my idle temp is around 40C and on load is about 60C.... that's with the Nexus exhaust at a measly 650rpm and next to a 9800 Pro (cooled with an undervolted 92mm Nexus), With the rear Nexus cranked up to 12v, max temp is around 53C while playing games. Oh, I forgot to mention; the last time I took notice of my temps before installing the Ninja, I had my 9800 Pro swapped with a Geforce 2 (runs cooler, I think) and had a Thermalright 900U with a 6v 92mm Nexus. Max temp there was 70C. So with a hotter system I got at my worst temps at 60C and with less noise, a 10C drop over an actively cooled heatsink, and if the case fan cranked up, at total drop of 17C. So, it's EXCELLENT for a passive heatsink.
3. Note; following is unsubstantiated opinion; I have yet to find a good head-to-head comparison of the Sonic Tower vs. the Ninja. I would assume the Ninja is better simply due to the excessive fin density of the Sonic Tower. Too high a density can potentially cause more turbulance noise (well, mostly if a fan is direct mounted to it). Almost every picture I've seen looks like "towers" are rolls of quarters, and airflow wise that's a bad thing. Madshrimps last A64 roundup showed the Ninja as performing better but he didn't test either in a passive method (with case airflow, anyone who tries to use it passive passive with no airflow is insane with a modern system). Overclockers love the Tower, but they're usually using 1, 2, sometimes ever 3 fans. Which is in reality the best product? I don't know. But I assume from the design that the Scythe is better from both an active cooled method as well as passive.
The negative.
1. Pain to install - You have to take into account that every other aftermarket 'sink I've bought was bolt-through. This made it easier to mount and install, as well as decreasing the chancee of applying too much pressure and cracking the CPU core. I had to use a fair amount of force on the clips. Granted, I was using my fingers instead of a screwdriver, but I was forced to use a screwdriver to get the last clip in. I've never installed a 478 heatsink using the standard clip method, so I have no basis of comparison to say if this is normal or not.
2. The size; the ONLY issue I've had with the size of the heatsink is that the placement of the CPU on my particular motherboard precludes the use of the VGA duct. I wanted to at least test it out as I stuffed with with acoustipack, placed a Nexus fan inside the duct to prevent possible interference with a full width card, AND decoupled it to reduce vibrations. I had wanted to see if the VGA duct was as noisy as some claimed providing a little forethought was used; unfortunately unless I replace the motherboard and insure that the CPU is at the very edge of the motherboard, I'm not going to know in the near future.
JBDan
Platinum Member
- Dec 7, 2004
- 2,333
- 0
- 0
Very nice! I have the xp120 w/ a 1100 rpm coolermaster cheapo sleeve bearing fan. Its very quiet and does well for me, but just like oc'ing IMO, silence is just as addicting. Tx for your info on the ninja. You could have written the review for it IMO lol. ttys.
TRENDING THREADS
-
Discussion Zen 5 Speculation (EPYC Turin and Strix Point/Granite Ridge - Ryzen 9000)- Started by DisEnchantment
- Replies: 25K
-
Discussion Intel Meteor, Arrow, Lunar & Panther Lakes + WCL Discussion Threads
- Started by Tigerick
- Replies: 22K
-
Discussion Intel current and future Lakes & Rapids thread- Started by TheF34RChannel
- Replies: 23K
-
News NVIDIA and Intel to Develop AI Infrastructure and Personal Computing Products- Started by poke01
- Replies: 409
-
Facebook
Twitter