Resolved.

[M76]

Sadly I've reached end of the line with FT02 as modern graphic cards esp AIB designed are too just to large to fit.

I was in the same boat with my FT05 until I found the ASUS Proart series. Marketed as more of a content creator line instead of gaming so it might go under the radar. But these are the "smallest" AIB cards I could find.

 

[ChineseStunna]

Hey everyone,

Hi CS, I just was going to let you know that (with a little bit of modding and a 25mm thick 540 rad), you can fit up to max length of 13.25". Now I know it's not 13.7" that you need with the 4090 cards. BUT, if you guys decided to water block your 4090 cards, it would be waaaaay shorter than even the current AMD Radeon 6900XT card I have on my system (which is 10.5" / 267mm). I mean look at the 4090 Founder Edition with the EKWB on there (pic included below). That thing can't be more than 8" inches in total length. I can't believe that had to use that MASSIVE fan block on there to keep that thing cool. Knowing this now, eliminates TWO major issues... FIRST; the length issue. SECOND; the gravity liquid cooling issue (if the 4090 w/fan cooler was vertically placed in the FT02 case). I was actually SHOCKED at how short the 4090 GPU is when you take off the fan block. I would totally use the 4090, but NVIDIA hasn't been macOS compatible for about 5 years now. So AMD is the only choice. In fact, even the newer AMD Radeon 7900XT isn't compatible with macOS; only the 6900XT.

So, if you're looking to stay with the FT02 case, then it is TOTALLY doable. Just water cool your entire system. It's not that hard. Actually (with some YouTube vid instruction), you 'd be able to do what I did and then some. Just sayin'...

By the way CS, I like the new case! Hope you like mine. Later...

Great points - I did consider taking the watercooling route but as I tinker and adjust the system quite a bit during the initial build out phase, it may be too much hassle and risk. In fact, I actually watercooled back in the homebrew era circa 1999 with my Pentium 2 building a full custom loop and waterblock with parts only from Home Depot, the pump was a garden pond submerge pump and radiators were transmission coolers pulled from junkyard.
In all consideration, I also felt this was an opportunity to move forward with the progression of case design and different requirements of this era in hardware. 5.25 bays were great because of the vibrant ecosystem of adapters/convertors available but in my current build they really are no longer needed. The FT02 is also one of my all time favorite cases and live out in my stack as era appropriate (2010s) HEDT build around X58 platoform

 

[PunkNugget]

Great points - I did consider taking the watercooling route but as I tinker and adjust the system quite a bit during the initial build out phase, it may be too much hassle and risk. In fact, I actually watercooled back in the homebrew era circa 1999 with my Pentium 2 building a full custom loop and waterblock with parts only from Home Depot, the pump was a garden pond submerge pump and radiators were transmission coolers pulled from junkyard.
In all consideration, I also felt this was an opportunity to move forward with the progression of case design and different requirements of this era in hardware. 5.25 bays were great because of the vibrant ecosystem of adapters/convertors available but in my current build they really are no longer needed. The FT02 is also one of my all time favorite cases and live out in my stack as era appropriate (2010s) HEDT build around X58 platoform

That's cool, I understand. Imagine using that same outdoor water cooled set up back in the day and have looped in your house, directly linked up to your new PC to cool your system. Now THAT would be something!!! You'd go viral!!!

 

[PunkNugget]

I was in the same boat with my FT05 until I found the ASUS Proart series. Marketed as more of a content creator line instead of gaming so it might go under the radar. But these are the "smallest" AIB cards I could find.

Hi M76, same thing that I'll say to you. If you were to water block the 4090 GPU and water cool the entire system, then you'd be able to make this work very easily. So it IS possible.

 

[M76]

Hi M76, same thing that I'll say to you. If you were to water block the 4090 GPU and water cool the entire system, then you'd be able to make this work very easily. So it IS possible.

The 4080 proart already works as it is only 300mm.

 

[PunkNugget]

The 4080 proart already works as it is only 300mm.

That’s great! My point was (to anyone reading this), there’s usually a work around to anything. I’m even more amazed and didn’t realize this (until a couple of days ago), that the newer GPUs (specifically the 4090 cards), are actually SMALLER than previous GPUs and have even MORE performance power. In fact, the 4090 could even fit in a smal factor PC case. Just needs to be water blocked and water cool the entire system, that’s all. Just need to learn how to make it happen, or have a friend help you who has that skill set to help you.

 

[M76]

That’s great! My point was (to anyone reading this), there’s usually a work around to anything. I’m even more amazed and didn’t realize this (until a couple of days ago), that the newer GPUs (specifically the 4090 cards), are actually SMALLER than previous GPUs and have even MORE performance power. In fact, the 4090 could even fit in a smal factor PC case. Just needs to be water blocked and water cool the entire system, that’s all. Just need to learn how to make it happen, or have a friend help you who has that skill set to help you.

Cool, I get it. I knew that the actual PCBs are smaller, but I never wanted to build a custom loop, not because I couldn't figure it out. A 4090 is already way more expensive than what I wanted to spend, add the cost of a custom loop. No thanks, I'm perfectly happy with the performance I Got from the 4080, so a 4090 would've been overkill.

 

[Khnick]

im still using my FT02 but i really want to replace it before the 5090 is released so im not hit with the cost of the gpu, case and pcie4 motherboard all at once, any suggestions for an aircooled setup? im thinking of the torrent but its a bit expensive and doesnt have an optical bay. this isnt a deal breaker but modern cases all seem to be setup for righthand placement which really doesnt suit how i have my pc, i can deal with it but its nice to be able to have the case in the corner of my room and just take off the panel and not move the case at all if i need to get access to the inside

 

[EnderW]

Might consider the Lian Li O11 Evo that can be setup in reverse layout

 

[SamuelL421]

im still using my FT02 but i really want to replace it before the 5090 is released so im not hit with the cost of the gpu, case and pcie4 motherboard all at once, any suggestions for an aircooled setup? im thinking of the torrent but its a bit expensive and doesnt have an optical bay. this isnt a deal breaker but modern cases all seem to be setup for righthand placement which really doesnt suit how i have my pc, i can deal with it but its nice to be able to have the case in the corner of my room and just take off the panel and not move the case at all if i need to get access to the inside

It’s a bummer the left hand / inverted layout are so rare anymore, I prefer that layout too. I know the Coolermaster Cosmos c700 (m/p) are still being sold new, but they are very expensive.

 

[ChineseStunna]

im still using my FT02 but i really want to replace it before the 5090 is released so im not hit with the cost of the gpu, case and pcie4 motherboard all at once, any suggestions for an aircooled setup? im thinking of the torrent but its a bit expensive and doesnt have an optical bay. this isnt a deal breaker but modern cases all seem to be setup for righthand placement which really doesnt suit how i have my pc, i can deal with it but its nice to be able to have the case in the corner of my room and just take off the panel and not move the case at all if i need to get access to the inside

I like left hand as well, after going Phanteks Evolv X I had to rotate my entire setup to right hand for the exact reasons you described.
With that said I'm more than impressed with Phanteks EvolvX and it is a worthy successor to FT02. The attention to detail, build quality, and design decisions are the best I've experienced. I now consider Phanteks same if not higher tier as Silverstone

 

[b0uncyfr0]

Did anyone ever mod the HDD area to hold a GPU? That way you could mount the GPU horizontally and have all three fans blowing upwards would certainly be an improvement.

Problem is holding the card upright i that position. I dont see any good way to do it. I even thought about zip ties from the pci-e brackets or even some kind of click mechanism there.

With about 4-5 or so attachments, it would hold my 7800xt in place. HDMI cables become another problem.

 

[Carlyle2020]

I can´t picture it quiet right i think.

Can you give us a scribble?
Something visual please?

 

[b0uncyfr0]

Something like this, forgive my poor skills.

 

[LucidWaker]

Hi all, I'm cleaning out the attic and considering parting ways with some PC hardware I collected over the years.

I own a modded FT02B-W with minor marks of use outside (see my post earlier this thread) and
a near-mint FT02S-W with both closed and windowed side panels.
All have their original 180mm fans still available, and I have a set of 3x AP 184i ARGB's.

Currently I swapped the black and silver outer shells but am in the progress of restoring the FT02S to stock.

Just doing a check for potential interested parties as I'm checking what I can say goodbye to and what I would want to keep for future projects.

Edit: I live in Europe btw

 

[Carlyle2020]

Hi all, I'm cleaning out the attic and considering parting ways with some PC hardware I collected over the years.

I own a modded FT02B-W with minor marks of use outside (see my post earlier this thread) and
a near-mint FT02S-W with both closed and windowed side panels.
All have their original 180mm fans still available, and I have a set of 3x AP 184i ARGB's.

Currently I swapped the black and silver outer shells but am in the progress of restoring the FT02S to stock.

Just doing a check for potential interested parties as I'm checking what I can say goodbye to and what I would want to keep for future projects.

Edit: I live in Europe btw

I have two in the room and one for spare parts in the attic.

... But at 4 o´clock in the morning .... before the birds start to sing and it is eerily quiet ... i hear something whispering ... "But what if you extend it to accept 40 cm cards?" ... I would need just one more case .....

 

[LucidWaker]

I have two in the room and one for spare parts in the attic.

At least I'm not the only one that bought more than one...

I started out with the black one, the silver one I got was new-in-box until about 2 years ago, and I've only used the big aluminium piece for a silver/black mix-and-match build, so the rest of the parts are still mint.
The extra silver windowed panel I managed to get through Silverstone support, how awesome are they?!

 

[Carlyle2020]

Nice of them, respect!

I myself would do something with your cases but i´m over all of the 180mm fans.

I simply can´t set them up so that you can´t hear (or feel) them in idle.

And i´ve tried around 15 years.

So i´m quitting 180mm cases for now.

 

[Carlyle2020]

Interesting. What did you replace the 180mm fans with that had better acoustics?

Bought a big piece of acrylic and went to town on 5x 180 to 140mm adapter plates, since two broke during creation:

Now i have all the choices
Like these dampened BeQuiet ones.

Dampening is something Silvesstones 180mm fans needed in 2014
Now its 2024 and they still don´t have any.

And their fans blades are not optimized for for low rpm.
They push jack sxhit at 350 rpm and leave hotspots, like the GPUs exhaust area, if they run that low.

Overpressuring the case with more noise/rpm in 2024 is NOT THE WAY.

Who ordered 1500rpm 180 fans to be made? -> Not the customer!

 

[Ski]

Insane my thread is still going since 2009!

Just checking in to report that my FT01 is still going strong and is getting an X870E board and 9800X3D this week! The thing is just an absolute tank and a real classic.

I never did get an FT02 because FT01 was just so perfect.

Which mobo you going?

 

[Ski]

That's interesting to know, because I wasn't aware that particular motherboard is ATX and not EATX, which is good for me because I'm looking to upgrade soon and it needs to be compatible with my FT02. With that said, are you aware of the PCIe lane sharing issue in regards to reducing the GPU sloit from16x to 8x with certain M.2 slots?

 

[Ski]

I am not going to find out since i am switching to 140mm fans.

The 180mm case filter has mounting holes for them and due to lack of 180mm fans that can run silent in idle i am going to choose between
noctua, corsair sp140 or be quiets silent wings.

Simply because i've found out that my 3070 from noctua does not really care much if the bottom fans run at low or high speeds.

Due to the dense mesh in the filter simple dust will natually seal all low pressure parts of it after a few weeks.



july 28th edit:
Great results after switching from 180mm to 140mm!

Switching out the silver stone 181 183 and 184pro for beeing far too loud in idle i have finally a System that you can't hear or discern if it is even on if you enter the "AC"less room:

Also: the 180mm fans have dead spots if they don't run fast enough to overpressure the case.

Running the FT02 on low rpm:
Due to the big cpu cooler and gpu my PCH temps went high enough to dry out is thermal pad (91c)
The Mb-temp sensor did hit 58c
All whilst running 180mm fans at 0 or 220 rpm.
So 220rpm don't do diddly squat.

the totally silent 500 rpm of the 140m fans does eliminate those issues 100% now:
View attachment 495653
I've moved the left and right fan more to the middle.
The middle one gets air inbetween the gpu and cpu cooler, which a 180mm fan can't do at its lowest rpm.

13 years of hands-on experience with this case and i can't believe i switch to 140mm fans.
That is a shame on so many levels for silverstone since i've bought 3x new silvestone fans every 3 years or so. That's over 400 bucks. No more !

ps: The 184pro that i only used for a month have been converted to desk fans. One has already a bad ball bearing...

Saw this post and curious to know a little bit more. You went with the Silver Wings 140mm I'm assuming? Are they PWM as well? And what was your final decision to go with Be Quiet and not the other brands including Arctic, even if it wasn't included in your options? Also, it's hard to tell based on the pic but do you have a mount or adapter to get them to screw into the case or what?

 

[Nobu]

Saw this post and curious to know a little bit more. You went with the Silver Wings 140mm I'm assuming? Are they PWM as well? And what was your final decision to go with Be Quiet and not the other brands including Arctic, even if it wasn't included in your options? Also, it's hard to tell based on the pic but do you have a mount or adapter to get them to screw into the case or what?

He cut and drilled some acrylic:

Bought a big piece of acrylic and went to town on 5x 180 to 140mm adapter plates, since two broke during creation:

 

[Carlyle2020]

Saw this post and curious to know a little bit more. You went with the Silver Wings 140mm I'm assuming? Are they PWM as well? And what was your final decision to go with Be Quiet and not the other brands including Arctic, even if it wasn't included in your options? Also, it's hard to tell based on the pic but do you have a mount or adapter to get them to screw into the case or what?

That´s the dampening part of the bequiet fans that i´ve bought them for.

You can connect them either with screws or with:

Keeps vibrations in check better than most doodads.

 

[PunkNugget]

Ironically, I started the thread but never bought the case. My FT01 has been so good to me since 2009 I never made the change!

NICE! Good for you and thanks for starting this thread.

 

[PunkNugget]

Anyone putting a 5090 in this thing? Going to jam one in my FT01!

Well, if you can fit it as it is, great! But if you can't, you may have to remove one of the 180mm fans to make more room for it to fit. I were you, I would wait until EKWB makes a water block for this, as it's going to be a a small square-like sized GPU. Take a look at the pics below that shows how small it is. So far (that I know of), this is the SMALLEST form factor GPU board that I've ever seen, but most powerful GPU yet. I love it! Once EKWB makes a water block for it, you could even fit this is a small-factor PC Carry Lan Case. In the meantime, hope this card fits for ya! If you desire to find out more about this card, go here and watch the Tear-Down & Disassembly of this GPU...


View: https://youtu.be/IyeoVe_8T3A?si=OD-QdrSFVyEuG1e2

 

[Vengance_01]

at 2 slots and pretty average length I have no doubt the 5090FE would fit. partner cards that's another story

 

[SamuelL421]

I’d have to go pop open my case and measure, can’t recall the max length that fits with the 180mm installed. I have think the 5090 is 12”

 

[PunkNugget]

I’d have to go pop open my case and measure, can’t recall the max length that fits with the 180mm installed. I have think the 5090 is 12”

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is 304mm (11.97" inches) long and the FT02 won't fit that. Even with my custom design where I took out all the stock plastic filter holders, filters and fans and and installed my own 180x540x30mm radiator that sits flush on the bottom of the case and New Silverstone Air Penetrator 184i ARGB 180mm x 180mm x 32mm fans it will JUST FIT a 300mm length GPU. So NO GO for the 5090, UNLESS... you take out one of the 180mm fans, like I mentioned before. Again, the best and cleanest way to do this, is to WATER BLOCK and WATER COOL your entire system and it will look much nicer and run cooler and with this new 5090 GPU it will fit ANY big or small form factor PC Case. Just my thoughts. If anyone would like to do this, let me know and I'll help find the right parts and even provide the link to how I gutted and built my FT02, if you're interested. Here's the link that shows you (pic by pic), how I did it.

https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/t...-2013-build-lemon-lime-twist/#comment-1908493

Hope this helps. Later...

 

[Carlyle2020]

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is 304mm (11.97" inches) long and the FT02 won't fit that. Even with my custom design where I took out all the stock plastic filter holders, filters and fans and and installed my own 180x540x30mm radiator that sits flush on the bottom of the case and New Silverstone Air Penetrator 184i ARGB 180mm x 180mm x 32mm fans it will JUST FIT a 300mm length GPU. So NO GO for the 5090, UNLESS... you take out one of the 180mm fans, like I mentioned before. Again, the best and cleanest way to do this, is to WATER BLOCK and WATER COOL your entire system and it will look much nicer and run cooler and with this new 5090 GPU it will fit ANY big or small form factor PC Case. Just my thoughts. If anyone would like to do this, let me know and I'll help find the right parts and even provide the link to how I gutted and built my FT02, if you're interested. Here's the link that shows you (pic by pic), how I did it.

https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/t...-2013-build-lemon-lime-twist/#comment-1908493

Hope this helps. Later...

Past experience and the spec sheet say: It fits

"Limitation of expansion card

Compatible with 12" (304mm) or 12.2" (309mm) (with fan grille removed), width restriction-6.69" (169mm)"


side note:
I´ve sat on one of my 4x FT02s for an extended period. On the bare case without side panels installed.
THAT one now has 6mm less space after measuring. It´s a spare i don´t care.

But i´ve reinfroced the main one because of this:

with struts

 

[Ski]

side note:
I´ve SAT on one of my 4x FT02s for an extended period. On the bare case without side panels installed.
THAT one now has 6mm less space after measuring. It´s a spare i don´t care.

Like Blackstone, I seriously want to know the answer to this question.

 

[SamuelL421]

Past experience and the spec sheet say: It fits

"Limitation of expansion card

Compatible with 12" (304mm) or 12.2" (309mm) (with fan grille removed), width restriction-6.69" (169mm)"


side note:
I´ve sat on one of my 4x FT02s for an extended period. On the bare case without side panels installed.
THAT one now has 6mm less space after measuring. It´s a spare i don´t care.

But i´ve reinfroced the main one because of this:
View attachment 706715
with struts

Like Blackstone, I seriously want to know the answer to this question.

That’s three votes for “please explain FT02 chair scenario”.

No judgement, I’ve just had the FT02 next to my desk for so long and it never occurred to me to use it as an extra seat. Is it even comfortable?

 

[Carlyle2020]

That’s three votes for “please explain FT02 chair scenario”.

No judgement, I’ve just had the FT02 next to my desk for so long and it never occurred to me to use it as an extra seat. Is it even comfortable?

Alright, alright alright

Due to popular request you´ll hear a story of a person who got his apartment flooded.

Only the Case, Card and CPU could be salvaged

So just in case i elevate my you-know-what

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07SM4ZT2L?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1&language=en_GB

And since the case is propped up now i can work on it in quiet comfort whilst sitting/riding on a FT02

which is on the right side, waiting to be missused as a chair/stool

 

[Blackstone]

The 5090 FE is in! It fits perfectly in the FT01 but my case is literally a hot mess! I think I need a case that allows more room for cable management.

 

[PunkNugget]

Hey Blackstone, I know you’ve been a heavy contributor here since 2007 and you helped out quite a few people. I know that I have mentioned this in some of my past comments to others, but the sole reason why you’re having cable issues is I don’t think you’ve embraced water cooling your system. I started doing that 15 years ago as a first time PC builder when I built my first Hackintosh. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with cable issues even back then. Oddly enough my first build was using an FT02 case back in 2010. Of course I’ve built about seven other PCs, but came back to this one to build the system that I currently use. I know you’ve probably seen the pictures that I posted some months ago showing you my most current PC. As you can clearly see in the pictures that I provided, it has a very clean, professional look to it and the only cables that I have that are showing in the case are the ones that go to my GPU. But even those cables are custom made, and actually enhance the look inside the case. It gives this PC a brand new, professional, clean look. Also, nothing in my PC build interferes with the airflow, as I don’t have any other cables in the way, as opposed to what I can see in the picture of your current PC. You can literally find ways of being able to tuck those cables on the back part of your case behind your motherboard (where the cable management is really supposed to happen). I hope that you’ll embrace the challenge and make it happen for yourself to learn how to figure out how to cable manage everything on the backend of your existing FT02 case, or take it a step further and learn how to water cool your system. If you decide to purchase a different type of case, you’re still going to face the same issues, if you don’t embrace learning how to cable manage your system. because it is doable. There are tons of YouTube videos that will show you how to do it. I wish you the best in your cable management journey!

 

[Blackstone]

Hey Blackstone, I know you’ve been a heavy contributor here since 2007 and you helped out quite a few people. I know that I have mentioned this in some of my past comments to others, but the sole reason why you’re having cable issues is I don’t think you’ve embraced water cooling your system. I started doing that 15 years ago as a first time PC builder when I built my first Hackintosh. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with cable issues even back then. Oddly enough my first build was using an FT02 case back in 2010. Of course I’ve built about seven other PCs, but came back to this one to build the system that I currently use. I know you’ve probably seen the pictures that I posted some months ago showing you my most current PC. As you can clearly see in the pictures that I provided, it has a very clean, professional look to it and the only cables that I have that are showing in the case are the ones that go to my GPU. But even those cables are custom made, and actually enhance the look inside the case. It gives this PC a brand new, professional, clean look. Also, nothing in my PC build interferes with the airflow, as I don’t have any other cables in the way, as opposed to what I can see in the picture of your current PC. You can literally find ways of being able to tuck those cables on the back part of your case behind your motherboard (where the cable management is really supposed to happen). I hope that you’ll embrace the challenge and make it happen for yourself to learn how to figure out how to cable manage everything on the backend of your existing FT02 case, or take it a step further and learn how to water cool your system. If you decide to purchase a different type of case, you’re still going to face the same issues, if you don’t embrace learning how to cable manage your system. because it is doable. There are tons of YouTube videos that will show you how to do it. I wish you the best in your cable management journey!

Lol, point well taken. This is a new build in this case, now that ALL the components are in, I will take a crack at cable management. This is an FT01, not an FT02. Also, no windowed side panels, so no reason to really tidy up.

This FT01 has foam lined side panels. There is almost no space for cable management around the back. It is impossible to get the panel on if you have cables along the back side of the mobo. I have actually had the cables better managed than what you see but this is a new build in the FT01 and I knew I was getting a new GPU so I haven't addressed it yet. I just shoved it in there. Thermals are actually good.

The cables never seem to be long enough where I need them or are too long.

I'm probably going to transition to a new case with some built in cable management tools. I may migrate over to Fractal Torrent or a Lian Li dual chamber that ha some actual cable management tools. But yeah I feel ya. I'm an embarrassment to my hobby. I am telling you though, this particular case is a cable management nightmare. There is just no space behind the mobo for these big thick PSU cables.

My guitar pedalboard is also on my list of things that need serious cable management this year!

 

[Blackstone]

Am I nuts or are the 180mm air penetrator fans LOUD when cranked?

 

[SamuelL421]

Also, no windowed side panels, so no reason to really tidy up.

Ah since there's no window, I'd just button it up to the point that all the cables are clean/not tangled and the channels for airflow are clear. If some runs don't reach without blocking airflow, buy some extension cables. Get a roll of velcro, something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Double-Sided-Self-Gripping-Reusable-Multi-Purpose-Fasteners/dp/B0CH8K8VWC. Not expensive and it's easy to make changes in future (vs wire ties or zipties).

Am I nuts or are the 180mm air penetrator fans LOUD when cranked?

Yes and I think mine are worse than they were 15 (yikes!) years ago when new. I may oil them at some point if I don't just replace them. Silverstone makes newer, better 180mm fans now - unfortunately they stopped making their slim variants years ago, if that is something you were interested in (applies more to the FT02). Another reasonable option is making or buying (only costs a few bucks on etsy) 180mm to 140mm fan adapters and mounting up something quieter with similar airflow, like some high end noctuas.

 

[Blackstone]

Ah since there's no window, I'd just button it up to the point that all the cables are clean/not tangled and the channels for airflow are clear. If some runs don't reach without blocking airflow, buy some extension cables. Get a roll of velcro, something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Double-Sided-Self-Gripping-Reusable-Multi-Purpose-Fasteners/dp/B0CH8K8VWC. Not expensive and it's easy to make changes in future (vs wire ties or zipties).


Yes and I think mine are worse than they were 15 (yikes!) years ago when new. I may oil them at some point if I don't just replace them. Silverstone makes newer, better 180mm fans now - unfortunately they stopped making their slim variants years ago, if that is something you were interested in (applies more to the FT02). Another reasonable option is making or buying (only costs a few bucks on etsy) 180mm to 140mm fan adapters and mounting up something quieter with similar airflow, like some high end noctuas.

But I thought the whole point of 180mm was less noise. Larger fan, slower speed. But in fact, I find they are quite loud. Am I wrong? Is 140mm actually quieter? I actually have a 120mm noctua as my exhaust, 140mm and 120 on my CPU cooler, but I feel like the loudest fans of all are the two 180mm air penetrators. When those things spin up, it is like a jet engine.

 

[Nobu]

But I thought the whole point of 180mm was less noise. Larger fan, slower speed. But in fact, I find they are quite loud. Am I wrong? Is 140mm actually quieter? I actually have a 120mm noctua as my exhaust, 140mm and 120 on my CPU cooler, but I feel like the loudest fans of all are the two 180mm air penetrators. When those things spin up, it is like a jet engine.

AP fans are high static pressure, so they'll have more aggressive fan profile and higher RPM, more noise (especially if they're right up against an obstruction).