what is the quietest 120mm fan and were can I buy one?

uberdork

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Aug 19, 2003
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The new issue of Maximum PC has an article about silencing your rig. They list the Vantec ThermoFlow Fans as being good 80mm fans. They gave them a 9 out of 10. I don't have much experience with them but I plan on building a new machine this fall and may give them a go.

You can get them at New Egg of course. :)

In the same article they list the Enermax UC-12FAB as an 8 out of 10. It's a 120mm Fan. I saw this at 2CoolTek.

I know the Vantec is only an 80mm fan but I hope that this info was somewhat useful for ya. :)
 

Naruto

Senior member
Jan 5, 2003
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Just get the cheapest 120mm fan you can find and 5 volt mod it. 5 volt mod is safe and will be dead silent. Also the 5 volt mod is pretty easy to do.
 

eshtog

Diamond Member
Jun 7, 2001
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well I have a sonata whic has a special plug for 7 volts, it might be 5v not sure does anyone know?
 

MichaelD

Lifer
Jan 16, 2001
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Originally posted by: Naruto
Just get the cheapest 120mm fan you can find and 5 volt mod it. 5 volt mod is safe and will be dead silent. Also the 5 volt mod is pretty easy to do.

Some fans will not start spinning with only 5 volts. 7 is usually the minimum to get a fan going. FYI.
 

RalfHutter

Diamond Member
Dec 29, 2000
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Originally posted by: ShotgunEd
well I have a sonata whic has a special plug for 7 volts, it might be 5v not sure does anyone know?


The Antec "fan-only" plugs are thermally controlled and start out just a tad under 5V. They go up to a max of just undet 11V.
 

jarsoffart

Golden Member
Jan 11, 2002
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I also think that at stock voltages one of the Pabst fans should be the quietest. They can be found at directron.com.
 

Blooz1

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Jan 14, 2003
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I'd say the Panaflo L1A or the Pabst. The Panaflo is amazingly quiet even at full speed, and damn near silent at 7V.
 

Naruto

Senior member
Jan 5, 2003
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Originally posted by: MichaelD
Originally posted by: Naruto
Just get the cheapest 120mm fan you can find and 5 volt mod it. 5 volt mod is safe and will be dead silent. Also the 5 volt mod is pretty easy to do.

Some fans will not start spinning with only 5 volts. 7 is usually the minimum to get a fan going. FYI.

From my experience, 5 volt is quite enough to squeeze out 1900 rpm on all my 80 mm fans. But for vantec tornados and other loud mofos, they probably need more.
 

Almighty1

Senior member
Oct 1, 2000
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Originally posted by: Richdog
The quietest 120mm fan money can buy.



120mm Vanec Stealth 53CFM @ 28dba :D:beer:

Not as quiet as I posted above...

Specification
Model No. UC-12FAB-B
rpm 1800 2300
Rated Voltage 12V 12V
Rated Current 0.12A 0.20A
Power Input 1.44W 2.4W
Air Flow(max) 63.05CFM 94.92CFM
Noise 24.60dB 30.10dB

63.05CFM@24.6db and 94.92CFM@30.10dB.

 

Evercool aluminum fans 87cfm@29dba at directron.com or compUSA if u cant wait or any hardware site will have it I have 2 in my case. its a tornado in there and i hear only a slight whoosh
 

Richdog

Golden Member
Feb 10, 2003
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Originally posted by: hongsituman
Evercool aluminum fans 87cfm@29dba at directron.com or compUSA if u cant wait or any hardware site will have it I have 2 in my case. its a tornado in there and i hear only a slight whoosh


OOOO i like the sound of those, im gonna look into em! Dont aluminium last longer too? :D
 

Budman

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
10,980
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Originally posted by: Richdog
Originally posted by: hongsituman
Evercool aluminum fans 87cfm@29dba at directron.com or compUSA if u cant wait or any hardware site will have it I have 2 in my case. its a tornado in there and i hear only a slight whoosh


OOOO i like the sound of those, im gonna look into em! Dont aluminium last longer too? :D

I dont know if they last longer but they sure cut fingers better. :p
 

yeah but luckily the fin broke off and jammed the fan so no further cutting of my hand was possible. if my case would accept 120mm as exhaust n intake i would have 6 of those in my case instead of 4 80mm each at 30dba although the evercool 80mm aluminum is pretty good too
 

ethebubbeth

Golden Member
May 2, 2003
1,740
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i'm sorry but 87cfm is not possible at 29db on a 120mm fan... that evercool must be highly overrated. Personally i am amazed by the custom JCM 120mm at coolcases.com It is a standard 25mm thick fan that pushes 61cfm at only 26 dB.