Sorry Noctua, I've found another....

[UsandThem]

Nah, I am still am a Noctua fanboy (especially their air coolers which ooze quality and performance). However, for whatever reason I wanted to personally try some case fans that I had never had in my hand before (I've also tried Corsair, Cooler Master, and Rosewill fans over the years).

The first fans I tried were Nanoxia Deep Silence 140mm 1800 RPM. The claimed specs were:

Airflow: 12v: 98.3 CFM (7v: 64.8 CFM)
Noise: 12v: 20.8 dBA (7v: 12.3)

I ordered two of them from Amazon, and when I received them, I manually spun them with my hand. One was defective out the box and its bearing made a clicking noise. The other one was silent. However, the fans were very light and just didn't scream "premium" with their overall build quality.

The working fan was ok with it's airflow and noise, but the bearing just makes a very odd noise. I can't really describe it, but it stands out from every other fan in my PC. So I decided they weren't a viable option for my needs (even though the price was good at $14 per fan).

The next fans I purchased were the Phanteks PH-F140XP. The claimed specs were:

Airflow: 85.19 CFM (with QSA adapter: 49.14 CFM)
Noise : 19 dBA (with QSA adapter 17 dBA)

I ordered two of them from Amazon, and when they arrived, I was immediately impressed. They were heavy (probably weigh more than my comparable Noctua fans). They oozed "premium" in their overall build quality. Just like I did with the Nanoxia fans, I manually spun the blades with my hand. They both were absolutely silent, and with that one spin, they just kept spinning for a good amount of time. I have never seen any fan spin that long with me doing it by hand. The bearings in these things must be perfectly balanced and very high end (magnetic brushless).

So after installing them as front intake fans on my PC, I was blown away how quiet they are (ran them at 1000 RPM). My case temps (and GPU temps) dropped by 2-3c compared to the Noctua NF-A14 FLX fans I previously had there (which were also quiet and good performers).

So if you are in the market for some great case fans, give the Phanteks a try. I bought them for $17 per fan, and I am truly impressed by the two I bought. There is no way I am not keeping these fans.

 

[ao_ika_red]

Phanteks fans are good for rads and case fan, but they're quite tricky to mount on tower heatsink as most of them only have shorter wire clip that won't able to hook in phanteks fans.

 

[aigomorla]

The only noctua fan i will ever consider buying is the IPC industrial.
Sure they are loud at full blast, but what fan isnt loud at 3k rpm.

My favorate fan tho is the Nidac Gentle Typhoon.
It has one of the best fan curves for a 25mm fan.

My All time favorate tho, is straight from the enterprise line, Sanyo Denki San Ace.
They are used in many enterprise setups, and Supermicro cases especially have kept using them.
They arent quiet either, but nothing will beat it in static, except possibly a Panasonic Panflo.

But again, i think the fan needs to be paired with application.
There is no 1 stop uber fan.
The fan needs to picked on location, because of blade geometry.
There are different blade geometry which will give you higher CFM at lower Static, which is more ideal for an open fan.

Its all about balance and determining what you need.

 

[UsandThem]

I actually removed the other Nanoxia fan (the one that wasn't defective out of the box). I tried to tolerate it, and while it was technically silent, the bearing just made a very odd noise that seemed to reverberate throughout my entire case. I tried to give it a few days to see if I would adjust to it's sound, but I just couldn't. It was like nails on a chalkboard to me. So I yanked it out and replaced with an extra tried-and-true NF-A14 FLX. Now my case is back to being silent again.

Such a shame really, because if Nanoxia would use better bearings, it would be a killer fan at $14.

 

[ao_ika_red]

My All time favorate tho, is straight from the enterprise line, Sanyo Denki San Ace.

That thing is such a blast. Still remember playing one with 240v version from dad's office years ago. I forget the speed rating, but one of the employee came and he though I was cleaning my dad's room with a vacuum cleaner.

 

[UsandThem]

That thing is such a blast. Still remember playing one with 240v version from dad's office years ago. I forget the speed rating, but one of the employee came and he though I was cleaning my dad's room with a vacuum cleaner.

I've never seen one of those, but I did buy a Delta fan back in the early 2000's (from 1CoolPC which was a really cool site for cooling back in the day), and it honestly sounded like a vacuum cleaner was running as well. I left it in the PC for about 10 seconds before pulling it out. Way too loud for my taste.

 

[bfun_x1]

I like Noctua but it seems like the Blacknoise fans I use perform better and can be found for about the same price.

 

[ao_ika_red]

I've never seen one of those, but I did buy a Delta fan back in the early 2000's (from 1CoolPC which was a really cool site for cooling back in the day), and it honestly sounded like a vacuum cleaner was running as well. I left it in the PC for about 10 seconds before pulling it out. Way too loud for my tastes.

Can't blame you. Those are industrial OEMs where noise is the least priority, as in my dad's case, I believe it's from one of the CNC power box.

 

[dlerious]

The only noctua fan i will ever consider buying is the IPC industrial.
Sure they are loud at full blast, but what fan isnt loud at 3k rpm.

My favorate fan tho is the Nidac Gentle Typhoon.
It has one of the best fan curves for a 25mm fan.

My All time favorate tho, is straight from the enterprise line, Sanyo Denki San Ace.
They are used in many enterprise setups, and Supermicro cases especially have kept using them.
They arent quiet either, but nothing will beat it in static, except possibly a Panasonic Panflo.

But again, i think the fan needs to be paired with application.
There is no 1 stop uber fan.
The fan needs to picked on location, because of blade geometry.
There are different blade geometry which will give you higher CFM at lower Static, which is more ideal for an open fan.

Its all about balance and determining what you need.

Have you tried the Bequiet Silent Wings 3 fans?

 

[UsandThem]

Have you tried the Bequiet Silent Wings 3 fans?

I haven't. If I didn't like the Phanteks, that was going to be the next ones I would have tried. They were just more expensive than the Phanteks, so I went with those first. Although from what I've read, they are a quality fan as well.

 

[dlerious]

I haven't. If I didn't like the Phanteks, that was going to be the next ones I would have tried. They were just more expensive than the Phanteks, so I went with those first. Although from what I've read, they are a quality fan as well.

I've been reading good things too, with one exception - the PWM fans have some problems with the Aquaero I use

 

[UsandThem]

I've been reading good things too, with one exception - the PWM fans have some problems with the Aquaero I use

I did read one negative review where a user was complaining about one of their PWM fans here:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA68V46Y1208

Pros: - Quiet
- No weird noises at low rpm

Cons: - The pull up logic is messed up, this makes controlling them smoothly from an Aquaero impossible. At 97% the rpm is 1000, 98% = 1250, 99% = 1500, 100% = 1575. The 1000-1600 rpm range is controlled in the last 3%?

- Requires a mod cable to fix the broken pull up logic.

- be quiet support is non existent. I emailed them about this issue and they responded once and have since ignored my messages.

Other Thoughts: - If you want this fan get the regular voltage controlled version.

Was that you?

 

[dlerious]

I did read one negative review where a user was complaining about one of their PWM fans here:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA68V46Y1208

Was that you?

Not me, but that's what I was talking about.

 

[UsandThem]

Not me, but that's what I was talking about.

If you're looking for a couple great fans that shouldn't give you any problems controlling via PWM, is the Phanteks PH-F140XP and the Noctua NF-A12x25. I've played around with both of them lately, and they are great fans although the Noctua is a little on the pricey side at $30, but the Phanteks can be had for $17 (or lower if on sale).

Edit:

You can also take a look at the Noctua Redux line, as they have several good PWM choices that are only in the $14 range.

 

[dlerious]

If you're looking for a couple great fans that shouldn't give you any problems controlling via PWM, is the Phanteks PH-F140XP and the Noctua NF-A12x25. I've played around with both of them lately, and they are great fans although the Noctua is a little on the pricey side at $30, but the Phanteks can be had for $17 (or lower if on sale).

Edit:

You can also take a look at the Noctua Redux line, as they have several good PWM choices that are only in the $14 range.

I have EK Vardar and Gentle Typhoon here right now with a few Noctua and Thermalright fans laying around. I'll keep an eye out for the Phanteks - usually like to wait for some kind of sale.

 

[dlerious]

I check this site out quite a bit. http://thermalbench.com/category/fans/

 

[UsandThem]

Here's one I've used quite a bit, but it's a couple years old, so it doesn't include some of the more recently released fans (like the Silent Wings 3).

http://www.overclockers.com/15-case-fans-tested-ultimate-140-mm-roundup/

 

[dlerious]

I think I've checked that out before. There's a couple nice threads running over at OCN as well.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I've never seen one of those, but I did buy a Delta fan back in the early 2000's (from 1CoolPC which was a really cool site for cooling back in the day), and it honestly sounded like a vacuum cleaner was running as well. I left it in the PC for about 10 seconds before pulling it out. Way too loud for my taste.

Was it the tri-blade Delta? Or was it the 1.5A Delta that had to be connected directly to the PSU for fear it would draw too much power from the motherboard?

 

[UsandThem]

Was it the tri-blade Delta? Or was it the 1.5A Delta that had to be connected directly to the PSU for fear it would draw too much power from the motherboard?

I don't remember much about it, but I had to connect it to the PSU with a molex adapter, and the site I bought it from (1CoolPC) specifically warned that it was a loud fan, and sounded like a vacuum. I thought they were exaggerating the noise level and ordered it. I was wrong.

 

[bfun_x1]

Harware.info has one of the largest collections of fan reviews and tests results I've seen. Some of the info is kind of old but still good.

https://us.hardware.info/reviews/5770/103-12cm-case-fans-review

 

[thecoolnessrune]

The only noctua fan i will ever consider buying is the IPC industrial.
Sure they are loud at full blast, but what fan isnt loud at 3k rpm.

My favorate fan tho is the Nidac Gentle Typhoon.
It has one of the best fan curves for a 25mm fan.

My All time favorate tho, is straight from the enterprise line, Sanyo Denki San Ace.
They are used in many enterprise setups, and Supermicro cases especially have kept using them.
They arent quiet either, but nothing will beat it in static, except possibly a Panasonic Panflo.

But again, i think the fan needs to be paired with application.
There is no 1 stop uber fan.
The fan needs to picked on location, because of blade geometry.
There are different blade geometry which will give you higher CFM at lower Static, which is more ideal for an open fan.

Its all about balance and determining what you need.

Agreed, I have a case with Noctua Industrials. At minimum RPM they make very little noise but still manage to push a decent amount of air. I honestly don't think under normal operation I've ever seen them go about 50%. They push all the air they need to at about 1500 RPM.

I also have those Sanyo Denki Ace fans in my Supermicro boxes and my Eaton 9130 UPS units. Never had to worry about any of that stuff overheating even when the AC in my home failed, but they are insufferable in the same room with them. Even my under-desk 9130 is the loudest thing in the living room since they don't go below 4K RPM. That's more of the low-temp over everything focus of that sort of equipment though.

 

[ElFenix]

I've never seen one of those, but I did buy a Delta fan back in the early 2000's (from 1CoolPC which was a really cool site for cooling back in the day), and it honestly sounded like a vacuum cleaner was running as well. I left it in the PC for about 10 seconds before pulling it out. Way too loud for my taste.

my main computer's name is still "screamer" because of the noise a delta 60mm fan made way back in the day.

 

[Ranulf]

Good ol' delta fans, louder than a hairdryer.

 

[UsandThem]

Good ol' delta fans, louder than a hairdryer.

They're not that bad.

https://youtu.be/aNrPzJ7ykXY?t=1m8s

I know some people don't mind noisy fans, but holy crap are those things LOUD!