quietest fans?

[iskim86]

hi i'm building myself a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) and i need the quiestest fans.

where can i find them? and up to what dB rating is it considered "qiuet"?

thanks

 

[PurdueRy]

People will probably say panaflo. Although you should probably ask in "Cases and Cooling" and not "general hardware"

Also, the problem with dB is its a relative scale. Unless you know how far they are measuring from the computer, where the fan is...and all that it really doesn't mean much. That said usually anything under 25 dB should be "kinda" quiet

 

[InlineFour]

nexus for 120mm
panaflo L1A for 80mm

 

[Operandi]

Quiet is a relative term. Most peoples quiet would probably be loud to me. Personally I look for low to sub 20 dBAs for case fans, CPU fans can be slightly louder since they are inside the case.

As far as the fans themselves go, for 80-92mm I think Panaflo is one of the best and very reliable. For 120mm the Panaflo's seem to have some motor noise, Yate Loon is a very good sleeve bearing fan, Delta makes some very quiet tri-blade ball bearing fans.

 

[iskim86]

thanks

if i add some insulating foam to the sides of case and use gromets between all contact points, it should be near silent, right?

I think i'll put it on carpet too or something....

 

[InlineFour]

with slower spinning fans, you'll need bigger and more efficient heatsinks.

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: iskim86
thanks

if i add some insulating foam to the sides of case and use gromets between all contact points, it should be near silent, right?

I think i'll put it on carpet too or something....

That will help but only if your system is already very quiet.

 

[Ionizer86]

Papst has a ~12dBa 80x80x25 fan. Panaflo L1A is just a really good balance of price / quietness / performance in a 80x80x25 fan: around $3 when you get a good sale, is 21dBa and delivers 24CFM airflow.

 

[iskim86]

by quiet, I mean VERY quiet......... you can't hear it when it's on. you can't even hear them turn when you boot your computer.

I know it's hard to achieve, but it's not impossible, right? what if i put a wide tube of sound insulating foam around the outlet of the fans on the back?

 

[InlineFour]

another tip: limit the number of fans inside the case. get a very efficient case so you don't need a lot of fans to move air.

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: iskim86
by quiet, I mean VERY quiet......... you can't hear it when it's on. you can't even hear them turn when you boot your computer.

I know it's hard to achieve, but it's not impossible, right? what if i put a wide tube of sound insulating foam around the outlet of the fans on the back?

Undervolt Nexus 120mm fans.

Try it yourself and see what happens. The hard drives will likely be louder than quiet fans, though.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

http://www.silentpcreview.com/ those folks know. Go there and read. 😉


...Galvanized

 

[iskim86]

Originally posted by: InlineFour
another tip: limit the number of fans inside the case. get a very efficient case so you don't need a lot of fans to move air.

so that means I should cover up all unnecessary holes and gaps, right?

 

[iskim86]

does anyone know what frequencies most fans emit? I'm gonna so look up the best material to contain fan noise....

thanks

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: iskim86
by quiet, I mean VERY quiet......... you can't hear it when it's on. you can't even hear them turn when you boot your computer.

I know it's hard to achieve, but it's not impossible, right? what if i put a wide tube of sound insulating foam around the outlet of the fans on the back?

Yes, that is possible but it takes very careful planning, I think my system is at or very near that level.

The key is having low to moderate heat output and very low noise sources to begin with, damping is mostly useful for getting rid of vibrations and resonance. Trying to mask sound is largely ineffective unless you intend to make a air tight box which obviously isn't practical.

I would recommend you check out the SPCR forums.