Silent 6cm fans? Akasa amber?

[Strolls]

Hi there,

Are these "silent" or low-noise fans any good? Specifically 6cm ones, a size for which silence is probably a harder to achieve than for the 8cm & larger fans in most PCs.

I've got a Cobalt Qube here and - although I thought these were originally sold as suitable for offices & stuff - its fan is surprisingly noisy.

Assuming it was just dust in the works I replaced the stock fan with a cheapo Akasa, but that's just the same.

Admittedly, I chose the cheapest Akasa in stock (15mm thick FWIW; they also make 20mm), because I figured there really wouldn't be that much difference between that & a "good" one, but I want to put this Qube in a quiet environment & its current hum wouldn't be acceptable.

So are these "silent" or low-noise fans really any good?
Are they noticeably quieter than the cheap ones?

I have absolutely no problem paying a few quid to get the best one for the job, what I don't want to do is waste a tenner only to find the noise is just the same.

Vantec's "stealth" fans get good buyer reviews at this site (https://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=CA-FANS6&show=r), but I can't seem to find them in the UK.

I can readily get hold of the Akasa amber models (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-029-AK&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=818). Are they any good?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

Stroller.

[BlueFireIce]

Rule #1: don't buy a case for "low-noise" that has anything smaller than 120mm (12cm) fans. What RPM are the fans you have? It's hard to suggest a fan if you don't know what you think is "loud", the RPM of the fan has more to do with the noise (and kind of noise) a fan puts out than who makes it. However, your best bet at this point might be to undervolt the fans, because most 60mm fans are going to be 2500rpm+, other than some over priced SilenX fans, which has some down to 1500rpm.

[Breex243]

I say your best bet is to find some temperature-controlled models, possibly designed for CPU coolers. I took a 70mm fan designed for a Cooler Master Aquagate Vivia and mounted that to my 780i NB for the longest time--the temp controller had it operating at a decent noise level--the loudest thing in my case, but not loud like stock GPU cooler loud.

[c1001]

I think that anything under 90mm is difficult to "silence" if it is to push any air at all.
Your best bet might be to check out a maglev fan. These avoid sleeve and bearing noise, so they can spin faster to push air with less noise. As with any fan, you will still have the fan blade noise though. Sunon makes these. I used a swifttech model as a chipset fan and heatsink a few years ago and it was great.

[Strolls]

Thanks for all the responses!

Rule #1: don't buy a case for "low-noise" that has anything smaller than 120mm (12cm) fans.It's a Cobalt Qube (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobalt_Qube), mate! They don't make them in any other sizes! And 12cm is no chance! Sure, I could buy a much larger case & a motherboard & whatnot, but really I need to work with what I have already.

Sure, a big Silverstone media centre case would be quieter, but at the end of the day it is not uncommon to desire both small size & low noise. Compromises must usually be made.

What RPM are the fans you have?No idea. I'm pretty sure the original fan had only 2 wires to it, so I think there's no way to detect RPM using the motherboard.

It's hard to suggest a fan if you don't know what you think is "loud"I guess the best I can do is "describe the loudness" to put it into perspective.

I'm sitting here right now with my DP G5 PowerMac 2' from my ear on one side & the Qube on the floor on the other side (directly measured maybe 3' away from my ear) and they're about as loud as each other. I might even say the Qube is louder! This is despite the fact that the G5 has several fans in it (but at least it slows down their speed) and the Qube only has this one single 6cm fan!! This fan is admittedly a cheap $2 - $3 one.

the RPM of the fan has more to do with the noise (and kind of noise) a fan puts out than who makes it. However, your best bet at this point might be to undervolt the fans, because most 60mm fans are going to be 2500rpm+, other than some over priced SilenX fans, which has some down to 1500rpm.
Someone on another forum has suggested this site (http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/products/60mmfans), as he reckons this supplier is quite honest in their descriptions.

However the "virtually silent" Acousti AcoustiFan fan they offer is like $25 (plus shipping, maybe), and I'm not clear whether it's quiet because the design is much better or because they just slow it down a lot!!

Although, interestingly, QuietPC do give airflow figures in cubic feet per minute in a table on that page (didn't notice it at first). Would 13 cubic feet per minute be enough? It sounds plenty to me.

Someone else suggested simply reducing the fan speed using a cheap variable speed controller (http://www.scan.co.uk/products/Zalman-FAN-MATE-2-Fan-controller). For the price, that does look very tempting.

It looks like it shouldn't be too hard to measure the CPU temperature on this system. This guy (http://braggtown.com/qubuntu.html) gives a one-line Bash script to display it on the LCD, and if I'm reading that right it's simply given by /proc/cobalt/sensors/thermal in ºC.

I'll try to get the machine up & running in the next couple of days & measure some temperatures. I appreciate the other comments, and will continue to consider this matter.

Thanks.

Stroller.

[AVT]

Papst 60mms at EndPCNoise.com are the only 60mms I've ever heard that I'd call silent. Don't know if that'd cool it adequately, though.

[BlueFireIce]

It's a Cobalt Qube (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobalt_Qube), mate! They don't make them in any other sizes! And 12cm is no chance! Sure, I could buy a much larger case & a motherboard & whatnot, but really I need to work with what I have already.

This I know, what I was saying is you should have gotten something else for noise. There are a few very small cases that make use of 120mm fans, and many many more that use atleast 80-92mm fans, which are far better than 60mm fans.


No idea. I'm pretty sure the original fan had only 2 wires to it, so I think there's no way to detect RPM using the motherboard.

Model number + google and you have your answer.


Someone on another forum has suggested this site (http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/products/60mmfans), as he reckons this supplier is quite honest in their descriptions.

Those fans are all 2700rpm+, not quiet...At all, and I really REALLY doubt the "16.9dB(A)" rating at 12V.

[cooter]

please delete