Good 120mm Fans.

MC FLMJIG said:
They are pretty quiet and like dtess said they do hum a bit. I have a fan controller and at the highest level they put out a hum... not unbearable and i just bring them down 1 level and they push pretty much the same amount without the hum...

overall yate loons are the quietest, hands down, out of all the fans ive used. Then I would put the Silverstones next.

Silverstones fn 120mm
Coolermaster 120 led
Scythe f worst of the bunch
Thermaltake blue led.... about same noise as scythe but at least pushes more air!

and a couple others... i dont remember

This is how I would rate 120mm fans:
Among the very quietest you have a solid round up for best:
Yate Loon - (28dBA)
Scythe S-Flex - (8.7 - 28dBA)
Nexus 120mm - (22.8 dBA)
Coolink Swif-1201 Fans - (9 - 17dBA)
Noiseblocker SX1 - (17dBA)
ThermalTake BigWheel (140mm) - (16dBA)

Those are by far the best on the market right now. Coolink and Noiseblocker are imports from over-seas. The Coolinks are associated with Alphacool normally. Schooner (Golf-Ball) fans are also very good however don't come in 120mm.
 
This thread running this long with this many responses should really be stickied. It simply has too much valuable information for it not to be a sticky.
 
i, too have purchased the S-FLEX version F (1600rpm) and they hum too loud to me. even the stock fans at came with my lian li pc-7 II are quieter then they are! they were even on a fan controller and when turned down to 5v, they were still audiable. i might try the Yate Loons...
 
qdemn7 said:
This thread running this long with this many responses should really be stickied. It simply has too much valuable information for it not to be a sticky.

Once i get a day where i'm not ultra busy i think i might go through this thread and take note of everything and make a new thread. Make it more organized, perhaps make it kind of a guide to quiet 120mm fans or something.

i dunno, i just started it because i got into the whole quiet computer thing, and wanted to share what i had learned from various builds and many fans that i just buy to hear their noise level

the problem is, i haven't had too many people asking me for new computers as of late ( guess i built em right the first time) so i'm starting to get a little stock of extra stuff, and it's getting expensive to just keep buying fans.

I wonder if someone else might be able to help me if i decide on a new thread, maybe even pick up a few fans themself every so often?
 
Well, every fan that I have mentioned I've had or have. I don't remember all but if that helps. I always buy stuuf and then sell... so if I get anything I'll post.

I was thinking of getting a new 120mm, the AC but I think the Lian-Li case I'm getting (maybe) has 2 already... we'll see.
 
dtess17 said:
Once i get a day where i'm not ultra busy i think i might go through this thread and take note of everything and make a new thread. Make it more organized, perhaps make it kind of a guide to quiet 120mm fans or something.

I wonder if someone else might be able to help me if i decide on a new thread, maybe even pick up a few fans themself every so often?
If you do that the only recommendation I can make is to put it into a spreadsheet form. I've got Office 2003, so I could do that. The only problem I could see would be bandwidth issues since you would have to host it yourself or depend on one of the free hosting services.
 
i got my artic fans in today, they were here all day, i just didn't know...i just hooked them up. So here is my "review" of them

I find the fans to be fairly well made, and my cable was a nice black one, looks like it might have been sleeved. It's a three pin connector. The housing seems to be a nice heavy plastic, and seems like it shouldn't vibrate too much, i also got some neat gromets to attach with the fan to futher reduce noise.

i don't have any other real quiet fans to test it against, so i'm going to have to use the antec tri cool i have sitting here...the tri cool is a 38 thick fan, so i don't know how valid this test is. Most of my other stuff is packed up at the moment, as i am in the process moving back home.

The fan pushes a pretty fair amount of air. i think their claim in the 50's is pretty close, but i did notice a quick drop off once i mounted it inside a case, once i closed the case keeping my hand behind the fan, i noticed another drop in cfms. It leads me to believe this fan really lacks any back pressure. I would say it makes it a poor choice for water cooling rads.

As for noise...i am a little torn on this fan. The first fan i tested was letting a very high pitched grumble from the motor, it wasn't a normal noise either. I think this fan may have been banged and maybe damaged in shipping. I'm not sure what happend but the whine was so loud i needed to take it out within a matter of ten or so minutes.
The second fan i put in did not have that weird high pitch, but still had a pretty fair amount of motor noise. I wouldn't call it "loud" per se, but it is also far from quiet. I know that kinda doesn't help much. The fan was kinda hard to judge.

i'd say maybe a little louder than the tri cool on medium. with pretty similar airflow, but it felt like the tri cool had a lot more pressure...this is likely due to the fact it was a 38 thick fan. The tri cool had a much lower hum to it than the artic fan and that was running on medium. On low the tri cool seemed to be overall a lot quieter.

I have liked the fact that the Antec fans have the ability to be very quiet, and still have some good airflow or be pushing a lot of air, at a reasonable noise level. Really i still like these fans a lot.

As for the Atric Cooling fan, It's not the quietest fan i have ever used and it seemed to really drop in airflow once installed with a case door closed, but it wasn't annoyingly loud either, and it still pushed a fair amount of air. if i had to "rate" it, maybe 3 out of 5 stars.

I think there are far better fans out there for your money. I picked these up for $11 shipped from a guy on ebay, and i think the money could be better spent elsewhere.
 
r these the 38mm or 25mm? Shame... I believe the 25mm are spose to use the sflex tech.

So far not impressed by SFLEx...
 
MC FLMJIG said:
r these the 38mm or 25mm? Shame... I believe the 25mm are spose to use the sflex tech.

So far not impressed by SFLEx...

It was indeed the 25mm fan. I know that it seems the Scythe fans have gone down hill quickly, but to be honest, i think they might have been better that this fan i just tested.

It is a shame, fans that start to really show some promise are starting to really let me down. I was so happy with my first Scythe fan, and in the last month or so everyone seems to be unhappy with them.
The Cooler Master LED fans are pretty quiet, but one of the LED's went out on me, and it started to have some more motor noise.

I know not everyone is a big fan of the Antec Tri cool fans, but i have liked them since i started using them, and they have yet to let me down. And i've used them in at least 6-7 builds for people.
 
I've looked for them and a few ppl have mentioned them... Have a linky? I couldn't find them on egg a while ago.

It really is a great thread.
 
What we really need is a 120mm x 38mm fan with 9 blades curved to a very radical sweep. Sort of like the screw on a nuclear submarine. But they would probably be too expensive to manufacture.

I may pick up a pair of those Mechatronics fans. Coolerguys has them on sale for $6.95.
 
Geo Fry said:
Ok so I want to ask a favor of you... I have been using this site as a way to compare 120mm fans to each other as it has sound clips of each fan. After studying it for some time, the GlobalWin fan turned up some very competitive numbers especially for its sound level. It also kept the CPU in the test cooler than any other fan with its low dBa. The reviewer said that he could hear absolutely no motor noise and just air movement.

Well I decided to find this fan and found it here . It's cheap!! It uses a "nanometer ceramic bearing" and is rated for 80,000 hours... For its price and performance it seems like a much better deal than the S-flex E series but idk. So I ordered 2 and will let you all know how I like it... Sadly I only have a few 120mm fans to compare it too so maybe dtess you could get 1 and compare it to your S-flex E and any other you have :D.

IMO this fan seems quite promising for its price

I don't get as to how they come up w/ such huge difference of the dBA on the fans such as ARctic Cooling vs. their 'measured' dBA from 10 cm.

http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&articID=421

So does this mean ALL these manufacturers are lying their ass off? We are talking about in virtually all cases, the dBA is double or more than the listed spec. from all these manufacturers.

How can all these manufacturer all be lying?
 
Jodiuh said:
Lol! I know what you mean. I like to have a quiet machine too, but I'm in AZ and the apt complex I'm in currently has the loudest AC. It overpowers absolutely everything. And I complain about a small fan, lol!.

Here's my take. Currently, it's not the fans that is making the noise. It's the hard drives. It seems when the hard drives (I got 3) is running, the noise is quite loud. I fixed some of it by putting foam around the PC when it makes contact w/ the metal rack that holds the PC.

But once it power down (idle after 5 min) the PC is very quiet. Now at this stage, then we should talk about quiet fans, as I can still hear the noise of the fans but nothing else.

So for me, I need to fix the hard drives by cutting down to 2, or get a noise dampening box for one hard drive, and switch the other one to Solid State device.

Then once "stage 1" noise is gone, it's time to shop for some quiet fans.
 
Happy Hopping said:
I don't get as to how they come up w/ such huge difference of the dBA on the fans such as ARctic Cooling vs. their 'measured' dBA from 10 cm.

http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&articID=421

So does this mean ALL these manufacturers are lying their ass off? We are talking about in virtually all cases, the dBA is double or more than the listed spec. from all these manufacturers.

How can all these manufacturer all be lying?

Hi, I'm the author of the piece, to answer you question, not all the manufacturers are lying, but their method for recording the noise for each fan is articificial; if they follow ISO standards the noise recording is done in a sound proof booth, which has the fan suspended in the middle and a dBA meter is placed at 1 meter at a 45° angle from the side of the fan. that's the official method to get a noise reading.

back in the real world nobody will ever use a fan in that way, so those numbers are not correct, ever, most homes have 30-36dBA ambient noise (at best) firing up any of those fans in mid air will add noise to the ambient, I recorded at 10cm to measure the difference, that's quite close, but does allow to show the diffference between the fans better. also with the fan mounted onto a case/CPU heatsink you will have to deal with extra noise from vibration as well as the air moving through the HSF fins or case rear.

the noise also bounces back/around in small areas changing the noise characteristics, in the end the numbers I get are only comparable with each other, those results are only valid for that specific setup and no other, it does allow you to compare the noise level of the different fans and you can get an idea how noisy they are.

hope this reply helps, greetings from sunny Belgium
 
Happy Hopping said:
I don't get as to how they come up w/ such huge difference of the dBA on the fans such as ARctic Cooling vs. their 'measured' dBA from 10 cm.

http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&articID=421

So does this mean ALL these manufacturers are lying their ass off? We are talking about in virtually all cases, the dBA is double or more than the listed spec. from all these manufacturers.

How can all these manufacturer all be lying?

It's not that the various companies are lying. It's more a difference in testing. As it was stated in the article, they do not have a sound proof room, and they did not suspend the fan in mid air.

You could say that the review was a "real world" test...although there are alot of variables that could impact your own results with a given fan.
 
JMke said:
Hi, I'm the author of the piece, to answer you question, not all the manufacturers are lying, but their method for recording the noise for each fan is articificial; if they follow ISO standards the noise recording is done in a sound proof booth, which has the fan suspended in the middle and a dBA meter is placed at 1 meter at a 45° angle from the side of the fan. that's the official method to get a noise reading.

back in the real world nobody will ever use a fan in that way, so those numbers are not correct, ever, most homes have 30-36dBA ambient noise (at best) firing up any of those fans in mid air will add noise to the ambient, I recorded at 10cm to measure the difference, that's quite close, but does allow to show the diffference between the fans better. also with the fan mounted onto a case/CPU heatsink you will have to deal with extra noise from vibration as well as the air moving through the HSF fins or case rear.

the noise also bounces back/around in small areas changing the noise characteristics, in the end the numbers I get are only comparable with each other, those results are only valid for that specific setup and no other, it does allow you to compare the noise level of the different fans and you can get an idea how noisy they are.

hope this reply helps, greetings from sunny Belgium

Thank you for checking in, and that was a fine article. If you have any suggestions please let me know.
 
JMke said:
Hi, I'm the author of the piece

Hello JMke... thanks for that awesome review... I continually go back to it for its extensive info it gives.

I wanted to ask you a question. Your review led me to go out and get two of the GlobalWin fans. One is awesome and the other has lots of bearing rub... is there an easy way to fix this? (take off the fan and clean the bearing) or is it just a dud?

Thx
 
Don't remember where I heard it form but... the numbers are not true. It was such a long time ago that I don't remember where i heard. Could have been a bad sample though.

i remebmer them saying it was kind of loud... but my loud could be ur quiet...
 
I just got 2 Scythe S-FLEX SFF21D (800rpm) 120mm S-FDB fans and they are very quiet. They don't move a massive amount of air but it works for me. They are also expensive.
 
JMke said:
the noise also bounces back/around in small areas changing the noise characteristics, in the end the numbers I get are only comparable with each other, those results are only valid for that specific setup and no other, it does allow you to compare the noise level of the different fans and you can get an idea how noisy they are.

hope this reply helps, greetings from sunny Belgium

Thank you. It's a great review. There was one question after I read thru the review: what causes the spec. speed RPM to be quite different, by easily 100 rpm when you do the test? Because a 100 rpm, even on a 1500 rpm fan makes quite a difference.

Is it just manufacturer uneven quality? I mean, if I pay for a 1500 rpm fan, I expect that fan to be 1500 not 1400 or lower.
 
Happy Hopping said:
Thank you. It's a great review. There was one question after I read thru the review: what causes the spec. speed RPM to be quite different, by easily 100 rpm when you do the test? Because a 100 rpm, even on a 1500 rpm fan makes quite a difference.

Is it just manufacturer uneven quality? I mean, if I pay for a 1500 rpm fan, I expect that fan to be 1500 not 1400 or lower.

Fans have their RPM rated in free air with nothing near the fan on either side. Most fan companies state this on their websites even. Once a fan is put into a case or mounted on a heatsink, the nearby objects (especially dense radiators and heatsinks) cause back pressure and will lower the RPM.

Fans with a higher rated static pressure will be less prone to losing their RPM. Smaller 80mm and 92mm fans have higher static pressure which is why they can be better on heatsinks ;)
 
Geo Fry said:
Fans have their RPM rated in free air with nothing near the fan on either side. Most fan companies state this on their websites even. Once a fan is put into a case or mounted on a heatsink, the nearby objects (especially dense radiators and heatsinks) cause back pressure and will lower the RPM.

Fans with a higher rated static pressure will be less prone to losing their RPM. Smaller 80mm and 92mm fans have higher static pressure which is why they can be better on heatsinks ;)

indeed, the air is much more focused. 92mm fans seem to be the sweet spot for some of the "older" heatsinks such as the X0-90. 120mm fans just didn't work as well on that cooler, the smaller fan with the higher pressure worked better in that case.

With the newer generation of heat sinks...such as the ninja, and other tower heatsinks they can use larger fans because the fins are not as tightly packed. They also do not require as much airflow, which = less noise.
 
Jordan1 said:
I just got 2 Scythe S-FLEX SFF21D (800rpm) 120mm S-FDB fans and they are very quiet. They don't move a massive amount of air but it works for me. They are also expensive.
They are dead silent. The only way I can hear the two that I have is if I press my ear against the case itself.

Just ordered 5 for an Aerocool Masstige. (Two in the back (With modding, cutting it close so maybe one) and 3 in the front via the Scythe Kama Bay) I've always wanted to pack a case full of 120mm fans.
 
GlobalFear said:
They are dead silent. The only way I can hear the two that I have is if I press my ear against the case itself.

Just ordered 5 for an Aerocool Masstige. (Two in the back (With modding, cutting it close so maybe one) and 3 in the front via the Scythe Kama Bay) I've always wanted to pack a case full of 120mm fans.

what case is this?
 
The one with two S-flex 800rpm's is a custom setup that houses a cable STB and other HTPC stuff.

I also have one in an Antec Aria. Only audible thing is the HDD, (Need to be within 7-8 inches to hear that) I am sure it is the hdd because I disconnected the S-Flex and removed the GFX card and the noise level was identical. (To my ears anyway. I have pretty good hearing though.)
 
dtess17 said:
do you have any pics of everything all set up...i'm interested in that case.

yea that is pretty neat... it'd be awesome to see 3 very slow moving 120mm fans behind that grill... especially behind 3 kama bays :cool:
It'd be like some plane waiting to take off :p

yea post pics please... i guess here (so i dont miss'em)
 
At my friend's workplace, there is a 120 mm system rear cooling fan (measured from edge to edge of the black square is 125 mm). It's not extremely noisy, but clearly you can easily hear the fan noise.

The brand name is called NMB,

http://www.nmbtech.com/index_f.html

and I believe the motor is from this link.

https://www.minebea.co.jp/english/product/electronics/1181993_2092.html

The printing on the back states:

NMB-MAT
Model 4715KL-04W-B46
12V DC, 0.9A
Minebea-Matsushita Motor Corporation

http://www.trademoon.com/Product368308.aspx

http://www.codemicro.com/store/check_price.php?partid=731132

The fan seems to sell for new at $210.6, or refurb for $86

I have a few questions:

why is this fan so expensive?

What is equivalent that is silent?
 
the nearby objects (especially dense radiators and heatsinks) cause back pressure and will lower the RPM.

When you kiss a fan back to back w/ a heatsink, you only block air of that fan. Are you saying by blocking that air, it creates back pressure and the rpm reduce?

Well then the rpm listed in any fan by manufacturer is never true--because any fan is meant to kiss right behind a heatsink.

We don't use those cooling fan as air conditioner.
 
Geo Fry said:
yea that is pretty neat... it'd be awesome to see 3 very slow moving 120mm fans behind that grill... especially behind 3 kama bays :cool:
It'd be like some plane waiting to take off :p

yea post pics please... i guess here (so i dont miss'em)
I'll have pics in about a week and a half. If everything goes as planned I'll get the parts on
Thursday, Modding will be done by Saturday, and wiring by the middle of the week.
 
Happy Hopping said:
When you kiss a fan back to back w/ a heatsink, you only block air of that fan. Are you saying by blocking that air, it creates back pressure and the rpm reduce?

Well then the rpm listed in any fan by manufacturer is never true--because any fan is meant to kiss right behind a heatsink.

We don't use those cooling fan as air conditioner.

It's just a standard that the companies use (to test the fan in free air) to be fair. Everyone's setup is different and it's the only way to compare by a fan per fan basis
 
Happy Hopping said:
http://www.directron.com/tnpcs12.html

One other thing, speaking of slient 120 fan, has anyone try out the above?

It's called a

Directron TN-PCS12 Shakeproof Washer / Grommet, for 120mm Case Fan

does it work?

yes those do work, but they can be found cheaper...it just helps reduce the resonance in the case.

they make them for power supplies too.
 
GlobalFear said:
I'll have pics in about a week and a half. If everything goes as planned I'll get the parts on
Thursday, Modding will be done by Saturday, and wiring by the middle of the week.

i'll be looking forward to seein them.
 
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