Case Fan Advice... Noise vs Performance

[n00b]

This has probably been covered many times, but I need to ask. As an avid reader of HardOCP for many years, why I have never joined the Forums I will never know. I am hoping you guys can guide me in the right direction. Since I live in the UK I am limited to what I can source easily, so the items I list here are basically what I have managed to find after hours of researching.

Basically I am moving from a Shuttle (SB75G2v2) to a Midi Tower system. I have settled on the CoolerMaster Centurion 530 as my case, as it offers what I want at the price im willing to pay. Now the case offers 2 x 120mm fan positions, 1 intake and 1 outlet. Since my PC lives in my bedroom I need to make it as quiet as possible, not asking for silence, but quiet would be nice. Now I know i need to sacrifice some performace on the cooling front in trying to attain quietness, so this is what I have come up with.

In the case fan front, I have a couple of fans to choose from. I have whittled them down to 3 different fans. I will list them and their supposed attributes below:

NoiseBlocker SX1 UltraSilent 120mm
Speed(rpm) - 1200
Airflow(cfm) - 38
Noise Level (dba) - 17

NoiseBlocker SX2Pro UltraSilent 120mm
Speed(rpm): 1500
Airflow(cfm): 64
Noise Level (dba): 26

Akasa PaxFan Amber Series Ultra Quiet 120mm
Rated speed: 1400 RPM
Sound: 18.0 dB(A)
Air flow: 44.8 CFM

Now the Akasa is looking the most promising, but as I am not an expert on dB levels, will teh higher CFM NoiseBlocker be that noticble at its rated higher dB level?

Now I have looked at various Heatsinks and Fans. I have settled on the "VapoChill Micro Ultra Low Noise (Socket 478)" (going to be used with a P4 3.2GHz Northwood on an ASUS P4C800-E Deluxe, overclocking is not a necessity, but would be welcomed) and I am planning to replace the stock fan on this. The other cooler I have in mind is the "ThermalRight XP-90C". Someone on here can guide me in the right direction I am sure. Both of these HeatSinks require a 92mm fan. The fan I am looking at is:

Akasa PaxFan Amber Series Ultra Quiet 92mm
Rated speed: 1400 RPM
Sound: 18.0 dB(A)
Air flow: 29 CFM

I cannot find anywhere on the net what the stock fan with the VapoChill comes with, but I am hoping this fans CFM is high enough, as its the highest I have managed to find with a decent dB rating.

Now the plan is to have this box as quiet as possible when idle. It can be as noisy as it wants to be when under load, but while I sleep, quiet is an issue, the girlfriend will moan (and not in a good way, ya understand fella's...) I am not totally nieve and know that silence is not obtainable, but i can at least get the box as quiet as possible. I can use a program like "SpeedFan" to control the fans and wind them down while I sleep (I presume, anyone tell me otherwise?) so hopefully this is a solution to the noise factor. Anyway, enough of my rambelings. Hopefully I have given you all enough to work with, and someone here will have some experiance with some of the kit I have laid out.

Thank you to all that reply, I really appreciate it.

 

[viperdv2k4]

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[Rix2357]

26dB is on par with some of the higher end gaming systems by Dell, HP, Gateway, etc. For the most part it is audible and probably best described as a room where everyone is whispering. Personally, I think that is too loud, even in an office environment. Probably the best way is to get a fan controller of some sort so that you can turn it up when you are awake and gaming, and turn it back down when you don't need it anymore.

 

[linjy2]

26dba is loud at night, but ok while in use, if you get the 26dba, have it speed controlled.
anything above 20dba at night is annoying.

the akasa sounds good.

 

[n00b]

Thanks for all your replys! In terms of the higher dB fans, would a program like "SpeedFan" not work as a software Rheobus? Anyone have experiance with this program? Im just not a fan of Rheobus's is all. Dont ask me why, I cant pinpoint anything, Im just not