silent 120mm fans (2000+rpm) ?

[you2]

I never really followed fans but now that I need to pick one up I have no clue which brand makes silent fans with good cooling. Is there a general model/brand that folks flock towards as reliable, silent and with good cooling (120mm size) I'm not really sure if I need 2000rpm; but somehow I think that is the standard rpm for a case fan....

 

[jackstar7]

Gentle Typhoon and Noise Blocker are the two I suggest taking a look at. Just depends on your needs.

In general, you may want to check out Silent PC Review (SPCR), as I'm sure they have models/brands that might work for you.

 

[_Rick_]

There is no such thing as "standard rpm".

There's many things to consider, when going for a fan, the most important of which is the cfm/db(a) curve, indepent of rpm.

Additionally, I would claim there is a slight difference, whether you use a fan as an intake or exhaust. An intake fan can benefit from a more directed stream of air, and slightly higher static pressure, while an exhaust fan benefits more from a dense blade surface - means that little sound escapes from inside the case.

That said, Scythe Gentle Typhoons, Noctuas and Noise Blockers multiframes are probably the pick of the bunch, if you really care about noise. Otherwise, you can get 75% of the performance at 50% of the price.

 

[dma0991]

2 kRPM makes for a noisy fan. I don't even run my Noiseblocker XLPs at 2 kRPM unless I'm at constant 100% load and overclocked to 4.5GHz. They're manually capped to 700-800 RPM and they're dead silent.

If you're not looking in spending a lot of money on fans, 1.3 kRPM fans should give you the best balance of noise and performance. Decent ones are Arctic Cooling F12, Aerocool Shark, Silverstone Air Penetrator series and Noiseblocker BlackSilentFan series.

 

[you2]

I need one intake and one out-take
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Ok then I might be wrong the on the 2krpm; just vaguely I thought that was what the motherboard monitor reported as the fan speed (or maybe i mixed it up with the cpu fan).

 

[dma0991]

Stock CPU heatsinks typically run about 2-3 kRPM. They're usually smaller than 120mm which means that they would have to spin a lot faster(more noise) to push the same amount of air.

If you have no problem with asymmetry, get Arctic Cooling F12 as exhaust and Silverstone AP121/AP122/AP123 as the front intake as they have a more column focused airflow. If you prefer uniform look and spend less, a pair of Arctic Cooling F12s would work almost the same considering that case fans have less impact in temperature reduction than upgrading your CPU heatsink.

 

[DSF]

What are the system specs?

 

[Subyman]

Its mostly about RPM. IMO just get some Yate Loons and call it a day. For a case fan, you can't get much better than those. If you want to spend 4x as much on fancy fans, go for it.

 

[you2]

This is in a very large full tower case (rocketfish - lian clone - can't find the model # - alumnium but not as well made).
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The system is 2500k not overclocked; no dedicated gpu - using hd300 off the cpu); 8gb ram - 6 hard disks - 2 opticals - 400watt psu - typically 1 core is used when I'm home other wise 1/4 of a core - but now and hten i run some stuff that use all cores @ 100% - maybe once a week for 6 hours.
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during the winter my apartment is around 70-72 and during the summer 76-82.
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I think that covers all the critical specs but let me know if you need something else - btw the fan are not visible from outside - so no fancy led or other issues - the case is all black - nice finish sort of like the pc-7

What are the system specs?

 

[Subyman]

Again, get some Yate Loons. Its all you need. You can get them for $3.99 each if you look around.

 

[BrightCandle]

90% of the noise of a fan is directly related to the rotation speed. A fan can be badly made and make additional noise but in general they mostly follow more RPM = more noise proportionally. 800rpm is near silent, 1200rpm is definitely audible and 2000rpm is very loud. Doesn't matter who makes it or what model.

So instead of looking for some magic engineered solution instead buy a solid fan and run it at an RPM that fits the noise profile of your machine, likely around 800-1200.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Again, get some Yate Loons. Its all you need. You can get them for $3.99 each if you look around.

Theyre amazing

 

[Zorander]

I second the SPCR recommendation. Lots of good fans suggestions over there.

I will also add that 2000rpm is definitely very audible (air turbulence). Given your specs, you will do fine with 1200rpm fans (speed controlled further down at idle). Just make sure your HDDs get some airflow from the intake fan.

 

[Socio]

Again, get some Yate Loons. Its all you need. You can get them for $3.99 each if you look around.

Yate Loons are ok, I have them in my rig but you can get higher CFM with lower dB's

Yate Loon D12SL-12: CFM:47 dB:28
Noctua NF-P12 : CFM:54.3 dB:19.8
Noiseblocker NB-BlackSilentFan XL2: CFM:58 dB:21

I am probably going to upgrade mine to the Noiseblockers.

 

[BrightCandle]

Yate Loons are ok, I have them in my rig but you can get higher CFM with lower dB's

Yate Loon D12SL-12: CFM:47 dB:28
Noctua NF-P12 : CFM:54.3 dB:19.8
Noiseblocker NB-BlackSilentFan XL2: CFM:58 dB:21

I am probably going to upgrade mine to the Noiseblockers.

Where are you getting these numbers from? The problem is the manufacturers all measure volume in very different ways, and so the numbers aren't comparable, nor are they necessarily accurate.

There is a difference, some fans definitely are slightly better than others at a given airflow/rpm but for the most part its not a massive difference, certainly not as much as those numbers.

 

[Socio]

Where are you getting these numbers from? The problem is the manufacturers all measure volume in very different ways, and so the numbers aren't comparable, nor are they necessarily accurate.

There is a difference, some fans definitely are slightly better than others at a given airflow/rpm but for the most part its not a massive difference, certainly not as much as those numbers.

Got them from retail sites but here is the official sites, the dB was off at the retail site I got the number on for the Noiseblocker 24dB instead of 21dB;

Yate Loon D12SL-12: CFM:47 dB:28 http://www.yateloon.com/style/conte...tomer_id=1356&name_id=31277&rid=8511&id=38837

Noctua NF-P12 : CFM:54.3 dB:19.8 http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=12&lng=en&set=1

Noiseblocker NB-BlackSilentFan XL2: CFM:58 dB:24 http://www.blacknoise.com/en/products/it/17/Noiseblocker-NB_BlackSilentFan_120mm

 

[you2]

If I'm reading SPSC correctly the Sythe gentle typhoon is not bad; it is CFM 48 with DBA 9 but it is in teh same price range as the noiselocker.

The Yate Loon (nexus) I'm seeing CFM 38 DB 18 (SPSC) but it is around $6 shipped vs the others which are round CFM 48-52 @ DB 19 but cost is around +$20. Now I don't really know if it is worth $14 for 12 CFM that is the question . Maybe a CFM 38 in front (intake) and 52 CFM outtake in the rear ?
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The Noctua NF-P12 had a couple of negative threads over at SPSC.
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The noiseblocker is pretty expensive - almost $30 shipped;

 

[coffeejunkee]

With your setup, just get the Nexus. Unless ultimate silence is mandatory, in that case get the Noiseblocker Multiframe fans but be prepared to pay up.

 

[you2]

Any clue how the cooler master R4-S2S-124K-GP compare to the nexus ?

 

[jackstar7]

You're the only one who can decide the value of the experience you're trying to get. We can't really help you spend your money...

 

[coffeejunkee]

Any clue how the cooler master R4-S2S-124K-GP compare to the nexus ?

Pretty sure the Nexus are better, Coolermaster fans aren't that good. That said, if you turn the speed down enough they will be quiet too, but there might still be some crackling/weird noises.

 

[you2]

Ok. I got tired of this - and decied to go with the yates. They are cheap enough that I won't cry if I have to turn around and buy something else. The problem with the other fans is that the noisebreaker were like $30 with shipping; I couldn't find the slower typhoon people were recommending - only the 1450rpm version; was unsure about the noctua. The yates were a little more than I expected - $19 for the pair shipped.

 

[Socio]

The Cougar VORTEX 120 look real good specs wise as well, uses a focused air flow design;

http://www.cougar-world.com/products/fans/vortex.html

CFM: 60.4 dB: 17.7

Anyone here familiar with these?

I was going to pull the trigger on the Noiseblockers, now leaning toward these.

 

[C2bcool]

The Cougar VORTEX 120 look real good specs wise as well, uses a focused air flow design;

http://www.cougar-world.com/products/fans/vortex.html

CFM: 60.4 dB: 17.7

Anyone here familiar with these?

I was going to pull the trigger on the Noiseblockers, now leaning toward these.

I added 2 cougar 140s to my Corsair 300r. Very nice fans...super silent even at high speeds. All you hear is air moving w/no wine or buzz.

 

[you2]

Sigh. Ok so I cancel the order on the yats since they turned out not to be that cheap (9.50) and went with the cougar 12s which are (13.50 shipped @ newegg). Hum. Seems like a lot. However, I can no longer cancel that order
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You should read the reviews at newegg; folks say that at cerrtain low rpms the fans can end up creating a bit of noise - harmonics or something.