The 120mm dilemma: Panaflo or Papst?

[beatle]

Spring is rapidly approaching, and with it comes higher ambient temperatures. I'm going to put my case under the knife and add a 120mm side intake over the CPU to keep it stable through the summer.

I know both Panaflo and Papst are widely touted brands, and I use Panaflo fans exclusively in my system, but the Papst just has better specs. I feel I can trust Panaflo's specs to be reasonable, but I'm not sure about Papst. They do seem to be in line with the construction (1.25W compared to 2.16W for the Panaflo.) The Papst is also only 25mm thick, which would mean it has shallower blades. Shallower blades = quieter operation at the expense of less static pressure. Since this is a side intake, it won't have to contend with harddrives or a heatsink, so static pressure isn't an issue.

Since money isn't an issue, all signs seem to point to Papst for the intake. I think I'm emotionally attached to Panaflo fans, however and I need reassurance.

 

[sparkyclarky]

I'd personally go for the Panaflo due to price concerns with the Pabst. The noise difference between a 120 L1A and an equivalent Pabst will not be dramatic. Both will push plenty of air for a side intake.

 

[beatle]

We're only talking a difference of $3 ($17.99 vs. $14.99) and the $3 doesn't matter to me. I'd be running the fan @ 7v most of the time off my baybus, FWIW.

The Papst is rated @ 55.3 cfm and the Panaflo is 68.9 cfm, which, like you said is plenty for a side intake.

 

[WobbleWobble]

I've read with the 80mm version of the fans the Papst are not 12dB but were pretty close but quieter than the Panaflo at 21dB.

Anyways, I'd go with the Papst. They're also quality fans, just usually has a price premium

 

[beatle]

Does anyone have personal experience with Papst fans? I know that Vantec Stealth fans have a mild squeal / tick despite being relatively quiet. Do Papst fans have such a flaw?

 

[danwyand]

I cant recommend AGAINST the vantec stealths enough. I have a 92mm stealth on a one of the big hurking copper zalman sinks, and it was good and quiet ... for about two months. new there is an audible clicking from rough bearings clicking through their rotations.

at least through the winter, my case stays pretty cool, and the CPU fan rarely runs at over 1500 or 1600 rpm; so the clicking is a little more pronounced because they come slowly. but, i plugged it into a non-throttled header, and at full juice, it absolutely roars.

i would write this off as a manufacturing defect, but before it went bad, i picked up 3 60mm stealths to pop in a micro case i picked up for a firewall. all three had the same, very loud clicking... the junk global 60mm fans the case came with were quieter at 12V than the stealths were at 12V, 7V and even 5V. fortunately the firewall just has a duron 1.4 and runs fine, and pretty quiet actually, with the globals at 5V on full rubber mounts (the kind that pull through, not the pad). It was still unbearably loud with the stealths in it at 5V.

i actually stumbled on this thread looking for information on replacing the stealth on my cpu, maybe someone can help me out. id like to get a fan that takes advantage of the monitored/throttled fan header on the mobo, just because i imagine pretty much anything with decent bearings is quieter at 1700rpm than a great fan is at 5000rpm. i dont care so much about knowing how fast the fan is turning, but if i can knock off a few dB by slowing down the fan, i definitely want to.

will the 2-wire panaflos and papsts throttle down, despite not reporting their speed? or does papst perhaps make a 3-wire fan? if not, is there something else all together that is a good quiet 3-wire, or am i really just better off getting the papst and letting it go full tilt?

 

[beatle]

Personally I don't trust sensors to change my fan speeds. I like being in control. All of my Panaflos are hooked up to a baybus that allows me to select 12v, 7v, or 0v (off). This works well and allows me to cut them all off if I'm watching a movie (temps go up, but they're still low enough to be stable).

 

[klah]

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=9923

 

[beatle]

Great link, klah! Thanks for the most convincing info yet. I'll see what happens for my birthday in a few weeks.

 

[danwyand]

yeah, ive been stalking around on silentpcreview for a while. im going to take a shot on a acoustifan 92mm... ill let you know how it works out.

oh, and btw... the stock 120mm fan mentioned in that link, in the back of my antec sonata, is definitely the quietest fan ive ever owned -- with the PSU taken out and its fan disconnected, and all other fans in the case finger-stopped, its completely inaudible. might have gotten a lucky sample, but its more likely because it turns reeeeaaal slow... hoping it stays that way when the weather warms up. when i say really slow, i mean you can almost track individual blades with your eyes, but it gives just enough of a tiny breeze to get some air out. so, it really probably isnt much of a feat to be silent at that speed. fwiw, the blade shape is copied directly from a panaflo 120mm L1A.

 

[bub]

BA15834 MWAVE 120mm BALL BEARING FAN FOR CASE W/4PIN CONNECTOR $7.00 + freight.
www.mwave.com

I can't hear em' run and you can buy 2 for the price of one Panaflo or Papst and have enough left over for a Miller Lite!

 

[Gravity]

Originally posted by: beatle
Does anyone have personal experience with Papst fans? I know that Vantec Stealth fans have a mild squeal / tick despite being relatively quiet. Do Papst fans have such a flaw?

Yup, I got three of them. I have two 120 mm in my Sonata and a 92mm on my Thermalright slk900a. Quiet and cool.

 

[pelikan]

The evercool aluminum at 5V is very very quiet. No motor or bearing noise at all. In fact, no noise at all unless you put your ear up to it. This is my favorite fan ever. I like it much better than my 80mm panaflo L1A's.