Silent Fan Suggestions

[TC91]

I am planning to replace the crappy (and loud) stock coolermaster fans in my cosmos 1000 with one of the following fans:

Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm fan; 500rpm, 5dBA
Scythe S-Flex S-FDB 120mm fan (SFF21D); 800rpm, 8.7dBA
Scythe Slip Stream (Kaze-Jyuni) 120mm; 500rpm, 7.5dBA

I am leaning towards grabbing 2 or 3 of the S-Flex fans, but was wondering if they would be noticable noisewise compared to say the Slip Stream running @ 500rpm. I would like super silence so I will only consider the lower rpm case fans. The S-Flex has more airflow and apparently a much longer mtbf rating of 150,000hrs vs only 30,000hrs on the Slip Steams. The Gentle Typhoon has the quietest noise rating but I am not so sure about it.

Any suggestions or recommendations? Thanks.

 

[Zepper]

The only "silent" or "quiet" fan is one that isn't turning...

A: those dB ratings are likely wildly inaccurate in the real world. Have you checked any of the sites where real fan tests have been done? B: They don't push much air at those rpm levels which is why they are low noise (but probably still not as low as claimed).. The noise floor in what is deemed to be a quiet room is higher than those specs - only place those kinds of levels could be measured is in an anechoic chamber.

The Cooler Master (high CFM fans) in my FS/T listing (linked below) are very low noise at around 7V or so, but still move some air. They are even tolerable at 12V while creating a strong breeze.

.bh.

 

[primosavant]

For the slipstreams, they are among the quietest fans for what they do well which is exhaust. The S-Flex is much better served as an intake fan as it provides more static pressue and I must say is quiet in doing so. I would recommend both of these, however, quiet is a personal preference, so some will not agree. Not all of us can hear the same you see. I read of some reliability concerns with the S-Flex when I was doing research on these fans. I have not experienced this though. No problem with mine. If you do have an issue with the noise after you decide and make a purchase, you can always get a fan speed controller and lower the speed to your level of quiet. I would use the search on AT and also search the web. Never hurts to get info from multiple sources.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

Originally posted by: Zepper
The only "silent" or xxx fan is one that isn't turning...

quiet is relative.
silent is 0db.

op, quiet is defined by you, to me, quiet means anything under 1500rpm for a 120mm fan.
but silent cannot be disputed and is the same to everyone which means a fan at 0 rpm

my suggestion would be to get some <1500rpm yate loons

 

[TC91]

Thanks for the replies, the stock coolermaster fans in the cosmos 1000 case are 1200rpm and i find them pretty loud. I have a S-Flex 1600rpm fan as well as a 1300rpm thermaltake fan (the one that comes with the original big typhoon) as well as a panaflo ultra high flow but I think those are all probably a bit too loud for case fans. I don't have a fan controller so I will just run the fans with a molex adapter straight to the psu.

I am planning to replace the 2 fans on the top of the case (both exhaust) and maybe the rear exhaust too.

I will also do a little more research when i get some more time but in the meantime, has anyone ever used both a 500rpm vs 800rpm fan, and would have an idea if the 800rpm fans would be notably more audible? I am probably still leaning towards the ultra low flow 800rpm S-Flex fan since it has a really high mtbf rating, but if the 500rpm fans are a lot quieter I would grab two or three of those.

Thanks again

 

[LOUISSSSS]

wow a 500rpm fan will move SO LITTLE AIR, i dunno if they'd help at all unless u have some sort of wind tunnel set up in ur case.

i think even 800rpm doesn't move enuogh air to cool modern gpu's and cpus that cump hot air into a case. my slowest fan is a 1100rpm nexus 120mm and i don't hear it at all

 

[mosco]

check out silentpcreview.com They have reviews of 2 of those fans with more accurate ratings. Check out the forums for user reviews of the gentle typhoon. "site:silentpcreview.com gentle typhoon" in google.

I am looking for a silent 120mm fan, and I actually think I am going to get a 1200 RPM slipstream fan on a fan controller. Right now I run my e8400 passive with a mini ninja in an antec colo so being able to turn it up while encoding movies when I don't care about noise would be nice.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/...cle832-page3.html#SS-M

 

[Zepper]

I understand that the Scythe "Gentle Typhoon" fans are OEM by Nidec. Nidec is known for long-lasting, ball bearing fans, not necessarily low noise. The blade shape is much like that on the C-M fans I have - looks like a stylized flower. I don't believe their current ratings either - even the strongest one (only 55CFM) is rated at less than (0.1) 1/10th Amp...

The 800rpm one is only 28CFM (assuming their cu.M/hr specs are accurate) - barely useful in a sizable computer case, IMO. I don't see any pressure specs either...

.bh.

 

[rarebear]

I have a eight Aritic Cooling 80mm fans in my case and they are great..
Great price, wires and sound quality.....

Just make sure you get the standard looking style as the fancy open cage type can only be mounted to blow out...

I also have a 120mm Nexus (Quietest Fans on Earth) they say and Also are great but expensive...

I just read an artical that the Yates fans from Petra's Tech Shop are the same as the Nexus fans and that the Yates Jab-Tech fans are a little different so only buy them at Petra's

 

[aigomorla]

IF these are good enough for me, they should be more then good enough for you.

And very quiet as well.

http://www.jab-tech.com/YATE-L...ck-Orange-pr-3851.html

They make good case fans...

if your looking for a sink fan, id go with the scythe kaze ultra.

 

[Zepper]

I see no quieter or quietest available as options in my dictionary (unf. I have only an old "Webster's Collegiate at home) which defines quiet as: absence of noise or motion. Perhaps your dictionary, Louisss, is a liberal one. Quiet is also offered as a synonym for silent - I use both as absolutes.

But now I see that the American Heritage (available online at http://www.bartleby.com - I haven't reinstalled my A.H. on CD since my upgrade to XP Pro) does allow for quieter, quietest and that's my gold standard for American English, so I guess I'll have to liberalize my use of "quiet"...

.bh.

 

[TC91]

Thanks for all the replies. mosco, thanks for that review link, I think I will avoid those 500rpm scythes since they seem to not really move any air. aigo, I think those might be a tad loud since the stock coolermaster fans are 1200rpm, and i find them quite loud, although I do love that price on them . Zepper, thanks for clarifying about those gentle typhoon fans, I really want to quiet down the system so I think I ll avoid those.

One more question, how do you guys think I should arrange the case fans in the cosmos 1000? Right now the two at the top near the back (psu is at bottom of the case so there are two case fans up there) and they were set to exhaust as well as the rear 120mm fan, and there is only one intake fan at the very bottom of the case between the hard drives and the psu (this is how it was "out of the box").

Thanks again.

 

[mosco]

I don't know much about airflow, but as mentioned above, a silent fan is no fan.

To me, 3 120mm fans exhausting seems a little nuts. If it were me, I would try to get away with as few fans as possible and experiment with placement.

What other components are you using? Are they quiet? If you quiet down the fans, you might start finding other noisy components.

 

[Zepper]

Just because they Gentle Typhoon fans are made by Nidec doesn't necessarily mean that they are noisy. My CM fans are ball bearing as well and they are pretty quiet in my book. I do prefer ball bearing fans for orientational tolerance and longevity - the legendary Sanyo Denki H1011 fans are ball bearing and they are low noise for the amount of air they push. Get a wide sample of opinion on the GTs before ruling them out. The French review shows the G.T.s to be some of the lowest noise that they've tested and the two models (500 and 1150 rpm) actually put out more air than spec - the 1150 unit in particular (~ 58% over for the 1150 and ~32% over for the 500, so the 1150 actually puts out what the 1850 rpm unit is rated at). Though static pressures were low probably due to the weak motors, so you won't want to be using them on radiators or CPU heat sinks. The customer reviews on the Egg are invariably high except for the ones where some nerd just posted the cu. M/hr. conversions with only 3-egg ratings (not many reviews yet for any of them so one 3-egg can skew the few 5 ratings to a 4 average. If I didn't have a bunch of the C-Ms here, I might try one. Those measurements are all in free air, actual case mounted performance will probably be degraded somewhat due to resistances on the in and/or out sides.

.bh.

 

[RallyMaster]

In my view, anything over 1200RPM for a 120mm is too loud. I run my Yate Loon D12SL-12s (the ones that aigomorla linked - orange blades, black shroud) at 600-1200RPM. They're quiet, they're reliable, they push a decent amount of air and most of all, they're cheap. YLs are good for almost every application and beats out just about every other fan when you consider performance for price.

LOUISSSS: Your definition of quiet is about where I would start kicking my case and ripping case fans out.

 

[Zepper]

Also, CM offers a supplemental fan bracket for the the top of the drive cage - they were giving them away for free to those who asked. Contact CM Tech Support about it.

.bh.

 

[2dt Drifter]

For those Yate loons that were referenced; what does it mean to have "Open Corners / Closed Corners"? I have an Antec 300 that I would like to get two more fans for my setup. I will have 3 for exhaust (2 120's, 1 psu exhaust ) and 2 new ones for intake.

 

[Zepper]

2dt D,

Open corner means there are no bridges between the flanges of the frame at the corners. The bridge provides strengthening and can help reduce resonances if they are at staggered locations (evenly spaced bridges can actually enhance some resonances). The open corner Yates from jab-tech are less quiet than their closed (or bridged - the standard for Yates are closed (bridged) corners) siblings from jab (only had one sample here to go on). Open corner fans work better with some CPU heat sink or radiator clip mounting arrangements. Screw mounts should make no diff, but you may need longer screws depending on what's provided and which closed-corner fan you have (some bridges fill the whole corner at the mounting holes and some leave access to the holes at either flange). Go to this page http://www.jab-tech.com/YATE-L...-D12SL-12-pr-3009.html and zoom the fan pic - there you have the choice to view the open or closed corner version.


.bh.

 

[2dt Drifter]

Aaaah Thanks Zepper!
I've been cruisin' through these boards looking for the best solution for my 300 regarding new good fans and dust filters. I may start a new thread as I don't want to hijack this one from TC91?

 

[TC91]

eh it's fine with me 2dt Drifter.

I think I may try removing the 2 fans at the top to see if there is a change in temperatures/noise first. Basically the only other devices in my system other than the four 120mm case fans that make noise are my 4870 1gb (reference model), the 1300rpm thermaltake 120mm fan on my big typhoon, and a single western digital caviar 640gb se16 hdd.