Best Fans...battle of the 120mm fans!

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SignalSoldier

Gawd
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Oct 9, 2002
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I searched and read through a ton of different opinions and such about the best performance/audibility when it comes to 120mm fans. I have a shrouded setup over a Bonne heatercore.

In one or two sentences hands down who has the best 120mm when its sound over performance...let the debate begin
 
Vantec Stealth!
speaking of 120mm fans. anyone know of a 120mm fan mount for 5.25 bays? I don't really want to cut up my p2100 face plates
 
I picked up 3 120mm panaflo U1A's off ebay for 15 bucks shipped :D . Sure, they are loud at 12V, but they push a lot of air and are fairly quiet at 7V.
 
Igg said:
Vantec Stealth!
speaking of 120mm fans. anyone know of a 120mm fan mount for 5.25 bays? I don't really want to cut up my p2100 face plates
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I had to build my own, since I couldn't find one anywhere.
I used a 1/2" wide piece of aluminum, bent it to fit my drive opening then screwed the fan and plastic shell over it. Then I used a dremel to cut out the opening in the plastic shell and trim down the aluminum (uncover the fan a little more.

Slid it in the slots, and plugged it in.
About 45 minutes total time and it works awesome.
 
mobiux said:
I had to build my own, since I couldn't find one anywhere.
I used a 1/2" wide piece of aluminum, bent it to fit my drive opening then screwed the fan and plastic shell over it. Then I used a dremel to cut out the opening in the plastic shell and trim down the aluminum (uncover the fan a little more.

Slid it in the slots, and plugged it in.
About 45 minutes total time and it works awesome.
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Ah ok, metal shops around here are kinda rare. I'm going total WC but I'd like to have some airflow left for the case, 2 choices are for top or front mounted 120mm
 
uhhhh "sound over performance" i think that throws out just about all the fans listed

silentx fans are rebranded adda fans... but i don't think u can find the adda ones anywhere so your still stuck with high silentx prices.. they're nice fans but kinda expensive

nexus's 120mm fan is by far the best out for quietness.. it undervolts and u can use pwm on it with no odd noises.. its $20 but your guarenteed a nice fan

yateloon makes the nexus fan, sometimes u can find good deals on yateloon fans that are VERY similar yet much cheaper, i got a 10 pack for $40 = $4/fan they're harder to find now I think.

papst are hit and miss many end up with clicking noises, some are fine tho- also hard to buy and expensive.

acoustifans look real nice but usually click... most clear frame fans are poor. i actually bought a bunch of acoustifans when they went outa business in the us and ended up giving most away cause they're not what i expected

panaflo's 120 is expensive for its avg quality, the 80mm panaflo is real nice but 120 isn't special

antec sometimes has nice fans with no motor noises and undervolt well but its hard to know which to get.. actually i don't know how nice their 120s are, i used some 80s before that were nice.

I currently use 2 NMB fans, they're slightly loud at 12v but they undervolt/pwm down very nicely...... at least until i finish my next case and can use yateloon fans ( too lazy to redo current)

anyways www.silentpcreview.com check their fan forums for 120s if sound matters at all. they're just gonna recommend nexus tho.. and with reason. @12v its 20/21dba (verified) its 1000rpm@12v.. if you want a little more cfm yateloons are slighly faster at 1200rpm i believe. Whatever fan you do get, u can also buy a tbalancer $40-50 now probably, i put a temp probe on my rad and keep the water at 32C.. when teh computer is mostly idle this means the fans barely need to be on.. ~300rpm or so.
 
Let me take back the "sound over performance" statement in general. I was really saying to focus on the both sound and perfomance. Not one to overshine the other. I want to best balance of both. This is good information thanks to all!!!
 
freddiepm61 said:
silenx led are very good fans, 58cfm 14db (slightly lied specs, but still v.good)
f
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thermaltake, easy to adjust fan speed controller as well
 
Honestly, I am surprised no one has done a dB vs CFM shootout for fans. You don't need an anechoic chamber...just consistent testing methods. I guess the main problem is measuring CFM. Airflow meters aren't cheap. The reality of all this is higher CFM means higher dB. So nexus will generally win when it comes to noise because of its low CFM output. I, personally, have had good experience with Papst (or ebm, or ebmpapst), but I have also heard that these fans click sometimes. If you don't mount the fan at the external mounting points (but rather inside the case), the noise from fans decreases dramatically (more so than the differences in noise between manufacturers)--that, however, takes some ingenuity and internal modding.
 
Tricod Science / Yate-Loon / Nexus fans are the way to go.

Their only issue is that at 12v they are rather weak, but when over-volted push more air-flow for less noise than any other fan I've heard.

I guess what really begs the question is this:

What do you intend to use these fans on? What are they for? When it comes to fans and noise, really the issue you're trying to solve is not the fans at all, but rather the issue is actually the limitations of the thing you're using them on.
 
For that radiator, you won't need the mega grunty fans 'cos it's so big.

Will get C/W's down around 0.02 through even low-noise fan use.

I'd say go with a pair of the Yate-Loons as recommended above which would be perfect for it. Low noise and high cooling performance.

Because you're not using a small radiator you won't need more powerful fans to push air through it.
 
darn_it said:
Check this page out for a direct comparison of all fans. The Ratio tab is what your looking for. It rates the fans by CFM divided by noise. There is also 80 and 92mm tables available.

http://www.gizzo.8m.com/fans/fan120.html
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Wow...didn't know a database existed like this. But these are manufacturer's specs, right? Manufacturer's specs are sketchy at best.
 
I have three M1As and they all have this buzzing sound. I assume it's normal, so I'm about to try some L1As.
 
Screw all fans, they are all over rated and over priced. :D Get a Aqua Computer Airplex Evo 1800 radiator and just use it passively :cool:
 
no... i do beleive the ones that are the 'best' :rolleyes: Papst are the 'FGL' named ones... those are hard to come by.
DangerDen has been waiting since February to get Papst fans at all. They used to have the FGL ones link, out of stock though
 
we use EBM/papst blowers in some of the the waterheaters that i build at work during the summer.

although the blowers are probably made a a different facility than the fans, we have been noticing realy quality problems for more than a year now. they used to be good, but they seem to have gone down hill. i don't know if the same trend will apply to the fans.

@ugly_jim: in my own experience with my U1A panaflo fans, when i dial them right down to 5V (slightly lower performance than a L1A) the only noise that they make is the whoosh of air in my ear if i stick my head beside them. at slightly higher settings, they usually still have more of a sound from the moving air than hum or buzz from the motor.
 
DFI Daishi said:
we use EBM/papst blowers in some of the the waterheaters that i build at work during the summer.

although the blowers are probably made a a different facility than the fans, we have been noticing realy quality problems for more than a year now. they used to be good, but they seem to have gone down hill. i don't know if the same trend will apply to the fans.

@ugly_jim: in my own experience with my U1A panaflo fans, when i dial them right down to 5V (slightly lower performance than a L1A) the only noise that they make is the whoosh of air in my ear if i stick my head beside them. at slightly higher settings, they usually still have more of a sound from the moving air than hum or buzz from the motor.
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Would you recommend a L1A at 12v or a U1A at 5v for the best noise/CFM ratio?
 
No, this is not a vote on my part... yet :)

Just hooked up all three of my M1A's to my rad/grille ... it's sitting out, on the floor... so i'm not sure how accurate the sound representation is as compared to in my modded stacker.

But, i've got to admit: when the fan dial(s) are turned down to below... i'd say around 2:00, maybe a touch more, around 2:12-2:14 ... the motors in these things really are noticable. High pitched motor sound starts. The airflow noise @ the level (around 3:00) seems relatively loud ... I dont think i'm going to end up sticking with these fans, unfortunately.

I reserve my official vote in this thread untill I have my stacker modded, water loop installed (and stock GPU HSF fans replaced) with these fans running (from _inside_ the stacker)... to see how the whole thing REALLY sounds.

I've got an L1A for my current Heatsink. Perhaps i'll try hooking it up to the fan controller, see how it undervolts... what can I expect ?
 
bump for some opinion on input on L1A's ...

would three L1A's provide enough flow to cool a BIX-3 ?

how are they for motor noise?

ordering stuff from Dangerden, considering Papst 4312L's ...
Panaflo L1A 120mm fan @ 1700rpm = 68.9cfm @ 30dba
Papst 4412L 120mm fan @ ????rpm = 55.9cfm @ 30dba

somebody fibbing here or what? ;) guess it's probably in how they measure the sound ...

anyhow, has anyone tried these specific Papst fans?
I would assume that they can provide enough pressure to use with a BIX-3 ... just wondering if there's signifigant motor noise when undervolting, or how loud they really are at full RMP(12v).
 
Ugly_Jim said:
Would you recommend a L1A at 12v or a U1A at 5v for the best noise/CFM ratio?
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different people have had different experiences with these fans. some people find that they do the same thing that momo describes.

maybe H1A fans on a controller? use a rheobus if silence is very important, since some controllers whine on their own when dialed low. also: in my own case, there are certain speeds where the PWM frequency and the fan motor switching frequency hit a node and the speed suddenly jumps, instead of varying smoothly.
 
Momo said:
bump for some opinion on input on L1A's ...

would three L1A's provide enough flow to cool a BIX-3 ?

how are they for motor noise?

ordering stuff from Dangerden, considering Papst 4312L's ...
Panaflo L1A 120mm fan @ 1700rpm = 68.9cfm @ 30dba
Papst 4412L 120mm fan @ ????rpm = 55.9cfm @ 30dba

somebody fibbing here or what? ;) guess it's probably in how they measure the sound.
Click to expand...
you are also comparing a 32mm thick fan to a 38 mm thick fan. the panaflo has big paddle blades on it that can move a relatively large volume of air at comparitively low RPM.
 
Top Nurse said:
So who won?
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Nobody seems to know.

I ordered two 120mm fans just now, H1A and L1A. I'll report back with my results. I've already owned three M1As, as said.
 
somewhat on-topic...
are these the rebadged Yate-Loons? link

Would three of those pulling be enough for a BIX3 ?
if not, would three on either side pushing/pulling do the trick?

... i've never heard one of these. Would it be comparible with the Coolermaster 120mm that comes with a CM stacker?
 
those are re-branded yate loons. check out the nexus web site for info.

can you get a black ice pro III instead? better still, a thermochill 120.3? they are a much better match for use with low noise fans.
 
Already have the BlackIce Extreme 3, Daishi ... unfortunately.

I really really should have gotten the Pro, for my needs :(

Unfortunately, this Rad has a few bent fins (no biggie, can straighten) and what not. wouldn't want to be so rude as to ask DangerDen to take that back, after how good they've been to me :)

Maybe i'll get all crazy about it, buy a BlackIce Pro 3, run it with some Yate-Loons (those nexus ones i linked) and run this BIX3 passively, at the bottom of the case (well, internal case airflow would help a little) ...

Anyhow, that's for later :) ...

Daishi, do ya think 6 x Nexus (yate loons) pushing & pulling would do the trick, with this Rad ?
 
pretty much any three fans at all will work with that rad to obtain adequate cooling. i was more focused on what would be ideal.

if you go push pull with those fans, then you should probably put them on a controller.

three nexus fans should give almost as good performance as two L1A fans, and two L1Aa on a double rad have enough capacity that they can usually be dialed down somewhat without greatly affecting temps in a normal system.

there is absolutely no need to get a second big rad for your loop, unless you want to go more-or less passive.
 
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