What is the best silent 120mm fan

[ehume]

That looks like a pretty good set of recommendations. Speaking as someone who has specimens of all three, I would only add this: The S-Flex and TR-FDB series appear to be identical. I have three S-Flexes and a TR-FDB. I've carefully inspected them. They share the Fluid Dynamic Bearing (FDB), blade shape and performance. The only real difference I see is in the rpm.

So the three groups:

GT's
S-Flexes/TR-FDB's
Nexus Basic

All are fine fins, IMO.

 

[sxr7171]

Great... this settles the displute... According to conclusion Noctua is the best 120mm. It states the following:
"The best fan of the bunch was the Noctua, which overcame our skepticism and lived up to its hype by producing more airflow at lower speeds. Its airflow-to-noise ratio is its best feature"

But that's 4 year old information. Go read the threads where they talk about the Gentle Typhoon. People are nearly shitting their pants about that fan. It has performance that no Noctua could dream of matching.

Besides I can't stand Noctua with their BS specs. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize all manufacturers specs are trumped up but nobody fakes their specs like Noctua. It isn't a bad fan but it is not the best.

 

[aigomorla]

Analyzing comments throughout the web, this is what I got:

For rads: Gentle Typhoon
For horizontal mounting: S-Flex
For internal case cooling (no grids or fins in front): Slipstream
For exhaust (with a grid in front): couldn't reach a conclusion

Not really... you need to define course of direction.

Because if your looking at budget.

$3.30 or 4 @ $12.00 Yate DSH wins all catigories you listed with a hugh margin.
You just cant beat that price to performance ratio.

Also radiator fans need to be paired up with the radiator.
A HW Labs GTX series, and GTS series are very restrictive. Your gonna need a stronger fan like the Ultra Kaze, or my personal favorate, the SanAce to drive some serious air pressure though those fins.

On a Sink, the GT is the best quiet fan, however once again, you throw a san ace on it, things will change.

Also id put a GT horizontal and have it last longer then the Sflex.

 

[Dorkenstein]

Not to de-rail, but I need three front intake fans for my Antec 1200. I'm going to use magnetic filters on them also. Which fan would be best pick for 120x25mm class?

 

[ehume]

I am using an 800rpm Gentle Typhoon on my case. Can't hear it.

OTOH, if a fan draws too much it will make the front grill hiss. I think if I were running three front fans where I wanted that intake, I'd go with a Nexus Real Silent, basic Series. A little touch of the fan controller . . .

I'd also consider 3x800rpm Slip Stream fans. No need for a controller and fairly cheap.

As for cheap, the two low-speed Yate Loons I have click louder than the motor noise, blade noise and wind noise put together. I wouldn't use them where I want quiet.

 

[BadOmen]

Not really... you need to define course of direction.

Because if your looking at budget.

No, I didn't think on budget. I have focused mostly on silence and good functionality.

But of course, that doesn't mean a good suggestion would then be to drop all fans, buy a minibar and use it as a computer case. Budget is not the main concern, but should be reasonable. I think, say, $15 dollars per fan is still acceptable.

 

[aigomorla]

i honestly wouldnt put anything magnetic on my case.

If it sticks to the case, it means it will make the case magnetic.

And last thing i remember when reading something off my friends IT book, it said, NEVER USE A MAGNET NEAR A PC.

Although your hard drives and fans have magnets inside.

 

[Rubycon]

i honestly wouldnt put anything magnetic on my case.

If it sticks to the case, it means it will make the case magnetic.

And last thing i remember when reading something off my friends IT book, it said, NEVER USE A MAGNET NEAR A PC.

Although your hard drives and fans have magnets inside.

:biggrin:

Commutator-less fans have a ceramic ring in the rotor! Yes plenty of magnets around PCs and they do no harm. Do you use floppy disks? Magnets WILL erase them, however!

 

[Anubis]

I like this thread, the GTs are great fans their only issue is their cost, Im running a GT D1225C12B5AP-15 on my VX and its great, its quieter then the S-flex i was previously running on the Ultima 90 and i plan on getting a 2nd on to run push/pull when newegg gets them back in stock

Best bang for your buck for a case fan is most likely the Yate Loon D12SL-12, I just stuck 4 of them in my case replacing the Lian Li Ll121225BL-5s that came with the case

the LL fans were quiet but the YEs are fucking silent and for less then 4$ each they are a steal

 

[Dorkenstein]

I can't find Yates for 4 bucks, but they still look good to me and I might get some for my case whenever I get around to ordering everything.

 

[ehume]

I can't find Yates for 4 bucks, but they still look good to me and I might get some for my case whenever I get around to ordering everything.

Try Jab-Tech (two different links there).

 

[Dorkenstein]

Thanks! Just asking, would spending the bigger bucks on a pricier fan even really be worth it? Also, how do the Yates compare to an Antec 1200's stock fans, if anyone knows? Thanks again.

 

[Anubis]

Try Jab-Tech (two different links there).

yea Jab Tech is great, its where i got my 4 from. Shipped from OK-NY in 3 days

 

[aigomorla]

I can't find Yates for 4 bucks, but they still look good to me and I might get some for my case whenever I get around to ordering everything.

remember how there named when grabing them.

D(size)S(speed)

D12SL = Low speed
D12SM = Medium speed
D12SH = High speed.

 

[Insomniator]

Antec tri cools are damn near silent on low and on high all I hear is air... I'd imagine any decent fan is not gonna be audible besides the air its pushing.

 

[Dorkenstein]

I ended up grabbing some Highs and I'm going to get a fan controller (hopefully).

 

[BadOmen]

I'm definitely not happy with the Tri-Cools that came with my P183 case. Maybe my basement is just too silent, but those fans are really bugging me. Will replace them by a S-Flex and a GT plugged to a fan control. Let`s see what happens. Right now, the rig sounds like an old fridge.

Fridge? Maybe I should really go for the minibar. Magnets included, plus it's time for equal rights: video card and beer deserve the same fair treatment for good services offered.

 

[MrK6]

I'll throw in another vote in for Yate Loons. For <$4 a piece, they pretty much stomp anything else available once you take price into consideration. Simply control them with SpeedFan or a similar program and you're good to go. I've been running this configuration for awhile (using curved D12M's).

 

[ehume]

All of my YL's click when I underclock them. the lowspeed ones click at 12v.

 

[MrK6]

All of my YL's click when I underclock them. the lowspeed ones click at 12v.

Are they curved-blade or straight-blade?