120mm Case Fan Recommendations

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beto

Gawd
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Perhaps this should go in the "general hardware" forum but it is case related so I thought I would try here.

What are people recommending these days for best CFM volume/lowest noise ratio 120mm case fans? I have read some reviews and it seems that some of the Noiseblocker fans are really good but to be honest I am not up for paying $25 per fan. Is there a decent, quiet 120mm case fan in the $10 per range? I looked at the Scythe Slipstream and they received some good reviews but they also appear to have a high failure rate. I even looked at some of the 38mm thick fans (the Scythe "Kaze" 2000 version to be specific), anyone have that fan and if so does the 38mm really make that much of a difference? Does a 38mm thick fan push more air (all things considered) than a standard "quiet" 25mm fan going full tilt if you undervolt it or use Speedfan to quiet down the 38mm?

I realize that "quiet" is somewhat subjective but any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
Quiet would be 900-1300 RPM for 120mm and decent CFM. If your motherboard has good PWM control options you can buy any fan speed and tweak it by ear.

Brands:
Delta
NMB
Yate Loon 38 20
Panaflo (now nmb?)
Papst
Antec?
 
beto said:
I looked at the Scythe Slipstream and they received some good reviews but they also appear to have a high failure rate
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Were those failed ones running horizontally or vertically?
Unlike ball bearing which doesn't care about position sleeve bearing fans don't tolerate horizontal running position well and higher airflow per rpm enabling smaller hub size might make SlipStreams particularly sensitive to such abuse.
So unless you know that those happened in normal vertical position you know "what to wipe with those reports".
With SlipStreams nearly 25+% higher airflow per RPM I don't see any way for any standard blade geometry fan to match its airflow/noise performance even if it happened to have as benign bearing noise because need for higher RPM would shift noise to higher frequencies where hearing is more sensitive.

I even looked at some of the 38mm thick fans (the Scythe "Kaze"
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Noisy bearing/motor.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article832-page5.html#ULTRA-2000
Auzner said:
If your motherboard has good PWM control options you can buy any fan speed and tweak it by ear.
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PWM chopped voltage makes many fans to keep nasty noises so better to stay with linear regulators.
nsx241 said:
Scythe Gentle Typhoons - best noise/air flow ratio.
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While SPCR hasn't done accurate measurements for them their hub size is so big that it surely hinders performance compared to SlipStream regardless how benign their bearing noise is.
In high impedance situations (like denser heatsinks/radiators) Gentle Typhoon's blade geometry could surely work better.
 
Sanyo Denki H1011 front/rear on fan controller if money isnt a problem or if you can find them OR YL on the cheap.
 
I'm currently using:
GELID 120mm PWM
GELID 120mm

GELID 120mm PWM
Type Case Fan with Intelligent PWM control
Compatibility Case
Fan Size 120mm
Bearing Type Hydro Dynamic Bearing
RPM 750 - 1500 RPM
Air Flow 58 CFM
Noise Level 12 - 25.5 dBA
Power Connector 4 Pin Molex
Dimensions 120 x 120 x 25mm

GELID 120mm
Type Silent Case Fan
Compatibility Case
Fan Size 120mm
Bearing Type Hydro Dynamic Bearing
RPM 1000 RPM
Air Flow 37 CFM
Noise Level 20.2 dBA
Power Connector 3 Pin Molex
Dimensions 120 x 120 x 25mm
 
You can get Yate Loon fans for about $5 per fan. They are great fans at an amazing price. $20-25 per fan makes me laugh.

Nexus resells Yate Loons for more than 2x the price.
 
THIS is a decent article which tests most major fan brands available. May not give a definitive answer to some, but should be a good jumping point.
 
Thanks for all of the replies so far. They have been very helpful. I had forgotten all about Yate Loons for some crazy reason. And thanks to the person who pointed out that the failure rate on the Scythe Slipstreams might be due to horizontal placement.

The Gelid ones look nice anyway and have the fluid dynamic bearings. I wonder if the PMW one really pushes 58cfm at 25 dBA? For that matter I wonder how many of these fans come close to their advertised CFM and Noise numbers.

I have become interested in this concept of smaller hub size and how that effects the fan's performance. I am still looking but I am thinking of getting at least one Slipstream to see what they are all about.

Thanks again everyone and keep the suggestions coming.
 
not to go offtopic from the op...but can anyone recommend an 140mm fan which would be hooked up to a controller and used for intake. thinking about this one- Scythe "KAZE MARU" 140mm Case Fan - 1900rpm - SY1425SL12H
 
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Ricedaddy said:
Yate Loons are pretty much the cat's meow from what I've heard. Good build quality and super cheap.

I'm about to pick up five of the low speed yate loons for about $15...total. Hard to beat that, especially with everyone raving about these things: http://jab-tech.com/YATE-LOON-120mm-Case-Fan-D12SL-12-pr-3009.html
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I agree that is a fantastic price for what most people consider to be great fans. What's Jab-tech's shipping like? Expensive? Quick? I think I am going to go put some items in a cart and check.
 
beto said:
I agree that is a fantastic price for what most people consider to be great fans. What's Jab-tech's shipping like? Expensive? Quick? I think I am going to go put some items in a cart and check.
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shipping there is fair, not super cheap but you won't get hosed. They charge tax where I am, but they also estimate that fedex will get my stuff to me in 1 day, so I suppose it's a decent trade off. If it's any help, jab-tech's customer service is stellar too.
 
Jab-Tech doesn't sell genuine Yate Loons. Petra's is the only place I know of that sells actual Yates ... the difference in noise and CFM output is pretty noticeable. JT's Yates "buzz," for example. Granted, "quiet" is subjective...
 
JaYp146 said:
Jab-Tech doesn't sell genuine Yate Loons. Petra's is the only place I know of that sells actual Yates ... the difference in noise and CFM output is pretty noticeable. JT's Yates "buzz," for example. Granted, "quiet" is subjective...
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How do you know this? They look the same. The advertised pics look the same between the two shops (though, granted the Jab-tech site does display pictures of open cornered YL's while stating in red that the fan is closed corner in the description, for the medium speed one that I am interested in anyway). Are you saying that Jab-tech is falsely advertising their product line? That would suck if so.
 
beto said:
How do you know this? They look the same. The advertised pics look the same between the two shops (though, granted the Jab-tech site does display pictures of open cornered YL's while stating in red that the fan is closed corner in the description, for the medium speed one that I am interested in anyway). Are you saying that Jab-tech is falsely advertising their product line? That would suck if so.
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I've tested them side by side - they are different fans. XtremeSystems has a multi-page thread dedicated to the differences between genuine and fake Yate Loons ... and no, I don't work for Petra's Tech Shop. ;)
 
I don't think they're selling knockofss from what I read. It's probably just bad quality control or JT got a bad batch.
 
JaYp146 said:
Jab-Tech doesn't sell genuine Yate Loons. Petra's is the only place I know of that sells actual Yates ... the difference in noise and CFM output is pretty noticeable. JT's Yates "buzz," for example. Granted, "quiet" is subjective...
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does this apply also to 140mm yateloon? i got two 140mm from jabtech and notice the plastic is kinda shiny unlike the 120mm yates i got from petra. but the 140mm dont make any high pitch sounds. just noticed the plastic was different
 
antok86 said:
does this apply also to 140mm yateloon? i got two 140mm from jabtech and notice the plastic is kinda shiny unlike the 120mm yates i got from petra. but the 140mm dont make any high pitch sounds. just noticed the plastic was different
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Honestly I do not know. I haven't read anything of the sort.
 
beto said:
The Gelid ones look nice anyway and have the fluid dynamic bearings. I wonder if the PMW one really pushes 58cfm at 25 dBA? For that matter I wonder how many of these fans come close to their advertised CFM and Noise numbers.
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While noise tests aren't definitely even remotely comparable to SPCR's this is what Madshrimps says about Gelids:
Rated at 1500rpm at 12v this PWM fan is not silent out of the box, performance/noise balance at this speed is below average; Undervolting to 7v offers a better efficiency which is still below average...
http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&number=2&artpage=3942&articID=892

And advertised specs are straight lies, only thing they get right is size and RPM, rest is BS.
Transparent plastics have more often resonances so they should be avoided and in general bling bling looks tells maker has been more interested on other things than acoustically good materials.
Design wise big gap between edge of blade and frame lowers pressure and so does wide open gaps between blades... Noctua S12 covers these both so no wonder if it works well only in free air.
Also blade trailing edge paralling hub struts increases airflow turbulence while trailing edge cutting struts in higher angle lowers that by smaller disturbance to airflow separating from blade.

I have become interested in this concept of smaller hub size and how that effects the fan's performance. I am still looking but I am thinking of getting at least one Slipstream to see what they are all about.
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SlipStream at 1200rpm moves same amount of air as Yate Loon at 1600rpm.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article832-page3.html#SS-M
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article739-page2.html#yateloon
And 1000rpm is comparable to other fans around 1300rpm.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article695-page3.html
Naturally airflow caused noise component follows more amount of airflow than RPM but slower speed of fan makes most noise components less disturbing.
SPCR has been little slow on updating their recommended fans page but in end of review they rise SlipStream to top of their ranking.
It's not the bargain basement value price of $3~5 for a Yate Loon 120, but the Scythes are actually a bit quieter, packed for better protection in transit, and come with cable adapters. They will go, at least for now, to the top of SPCR's fan rankings.
I've myself bought eight of them and only one had other than benign nearly nonexistent smooth bearing/motor noise.

If I had horizontal fan positions in my case I would probably get Gentle Typhoon for those.
(S-Flex is just even with sleeve bearing Nexus/YateLoon... expensive Noctuas are overhyped)
 
antok86 said:
heres a pretty looking review of certain fans
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/120-140-fans-roundup.html#sect0
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FWIW - Antok's link was one of many reviews I've spent the last few months reading in earnest to get adjustable fans that were silent at 1/2 speed. At full speed, I still wanted them to be quiet, but they were allowed to make noise - just no annoying whines, or high-pitched (totally subjective: 'unpleasant') sounds or noises.

My personal results from buying and trying:

  1. The NoiseBlockers. Yeah - they're expensive. But these are the best I've ever tried (now I own 5). Nothing beats them.
  2. Noctua. Ugly but 2nd in line for near silent.
  3. Scythe a repsectable 3rd place

The SilenX fans start silent and get noisy (and break) over time. The Yate Loons are a mixed bag. Some are quiet while the exact same model from a different batch can be noisy as heck. All of the Loons make unplesant ticking or whining noises.
 
The best one I've yet used for low noise and decent airflow is the Sanyo Denki 9S1212L40. Ball bearing construction, 55cfm, 17dBA. Sanyo Denki also is very accurate at rating their fans, if anything the ratings are conservative.

My picks for fan manufacturers are:

Sanyo Denki
ebm-Papst
NMB
Delta (I don't think they make any low-noise models, but if tyou need lots of airflow they still build a hell of a fan)
 
+1 for Yate Loons. Cheap, good quality, and quiet. It really doesn't get much better.
 
JaYp146 said:
Jab-Tech doesn't sell genuine Yate Loons. Petra's is the only place I know of that sells actual Yates ... the difference in noise and CFM output is pretty noticeable. JT's Yates "buzz," for example. Granted, "quiet" is subjective...
Click to expand...

I've ordered from both places as well, Petra's build quality on the fans are significantly better. Not sure if Jabtech's are fake or merely b-stock, but it's noticeable.
 
natermeister said:
The best one I've yet used for low noise and decent airflow is the Sanyo Denki 9S1212L40. Ball bearing construction, 55cfm, 17dBA. Sanyo Denki also is very accurate at rating their fans, if anything the ratings are conservative.
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Yeah... conservatively underestimating noise!
That fas in 1500rpm model so noise will be near 30dBA.
 
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I bought mine from jab-tech a year and a half ago. Just over $3 per fan, and great fans for a tight budget. I only suggested Yate Loons because the OP wants performance at a low price. But they are sleeve bearings and can get noisy over time.

If you're looking for better fans on the cheap maybe consider Scythe Kama Flex at about $10ea. or Scythe S-Flex at about $13ea. These are both Sony fluid bearing and should last longer and run quieter. I'm picking up a few of the Kama Flex's to replace my old Yate Loons. I'm all about performance on the cheap...
 
E.T said:
Yeah... conservatively underestimating noise!
That fas in 1500rpm model so noise will be near 30dBA.
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/9S1212l401

The fan is more quiet than my Yate Loon lows (from Petras). It's also quieter than the very quiet EBM-Papst fan whos model number I forget at the moment. Subjectively of course, I don't have a sound pressure meter. Sanyo-Denki always comes on top when anyone compares fans on noise/flow/static pressure.
 
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ok my case uses a 140mm intake fan...i can mod it to use a 120mm intake what would be the ideal 120mm to use in my setup. i have 2 x 140mm medium speed yate and 1 x high speed yate and 1 x Scythe Sflex on my cpu.
 
I am using 2 yate loons in a Antec 182SE. If I didn't have them laying around I would have bought Scythe S-Flex.
 
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