Help with 120mm fan choice

J

jnick

2[H]4U
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Sep 25, 2004
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Being I'm going to be getting the SI-120, I need to pick a 120mm fan (obviously). At the time I implement this cooler, I'll have 4xCooler Master LED 80mm fan running at 32CFM/25dbA.

After DAYS of researching, it's come down to 3 fans. I'd like to know which one you think would be best, or better yet, if the results would be much different depending on the fan I get. I'm assuming my average CFM in the case, as a whole, will be in the 30's, as 4 case fans will have CFM of 32, therefore I'm not sure if such a high CFM 120 will be beneficial, then again the fan will be delivering the air to the cooler and not to the general air flow of the case. In any event, here are the fans:

120 Cooler Master LED - 22dbA/42CFM
120 Yate Loon - 28dbA/47CFM
120 Panaflo L1A - 30dbA/69CFM

Right now, I can BARELY hear my current setup. I'm running 4xADA 80mm fans (Stock Lian Li) and a Zalman 7000B AlCu. I'd like to try and keep in inaudible, and I'm not using a fan controller, though I may start . . .

However, if cooling difference will be significant from the CM to the Panaflo, I'll take the better cooling over the sound. I'm sure the ambient noise in the room will wash 30dbAs out anyway. The only issue I have with the panaflo is it's 38mm . . . Thinking it may obstruct air flow.

The cool part to the CM is it'll match the rest of my case fans, and it's quiet . . . but I rather the better cooling, if it's a significant jump.

With all that said, please post your opinions on this matter. I need to make a decision within this week, so I'm *kind* of pressed on time.

Thanks all :)
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, in order to undervolt, I would need a fan controller, right?
 
jnick said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, in order to undervolt, I would need a fan controller, right?
Click to expand...

Not really, fan controller will give you a wider range of fan speeds, but you can do some wire splicing (with caution) to volt mod the fan: for 5v you just wire the fan to the 5v wire and gnd, for 7v you wire the fan between the 12v and 5v wire and for 12 volt you leave it as is
 
If you care about noise at all, avoid the panaflo and get the Nexus or Yate loon. Also good is the Globe S1202512L-3M, noisier than the Nexus and Yate loon because it spins faster at 12V (and also moves more air at 12V) but you can turn it down with a fan controller. You'll get about the same Noise vs Airflow out of all the above fans. You can get the little inline Zalman Fanmate speed controllers for about $4 and just dial the speed down to whatever you want. It's not worth messing with the wiring to get you a 7V tap.
 
The Panaflo... and undervolt it.

Why would it obstruct airflow? The 38mm thickness means thicker blades which in turn means more airflow.
 
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