Thermalright SP-94 good for silent cooling?

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emorphien

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Is the thermalright SP-94 good for moderate or low noise cooling with something like a Panaflow 92mm medium level fan. I don't need absolute silence (and I could put it on a fan controller) but 30db isn't too bad.

This would be used for the second system in my sig, I'm just debating if this would be better than a Zalman 7000.
 
Any other good combinations of fan with this heatsink would be good to hear about. I've been searching the web but our internet has been so slow, and the information is so spotty to begin with I can't draw a conclusion. So I'm looking for some first hand experience.
 
I use the SP-97 (comparable to the 94) with a Thermaltake 80mm smart fan. I use the fan bus to keep it around 3000 rpm when not gaming. At that speed it is practically silent and cools very well.
 
you can go with a low cfm fan with the SP-94 or switch to a Zalman 7000 for even lower noise.
 
you have the right combo. Look at my sig. that sp-94 and panaflo la1 took me to 3.9ghz stable. Rock stable. Can't even hear it. Something to keep in mind...while panaflos are rated 30Db, they are actually comparable to a lower noise level fan since they emit a MUCH lower pitch noise than many other fans...for example, my old TT smartfan II was rated at 17db when turned all the way down, and let me tell you something, this panaflo at full blast is definetley quieter than that tt turned all the way down. The thermaltake had a whine to the motor, panaflos do not. Plus, they are among the most well built fans out there. Go panaflo/sp-94 and you will not be dissapointed.
 
Originally posted by computerpro3
you have the right combo. Look at my sig. that sp-94 and panaflo la1 took me to 3.9ghz stable. Rock stable. Can't even hear it. Something to keep in mind...while panaflos are rated 30Db, they are actually comparable to a lower noise level fan since they emit a MUCH lower pitch noise than many other fans...for example, my old TT smartfan II was rated at 17db when turned all the way down, and let me tell you something, this panaflo at full blast is definetley quieter than that tt turned all the way down. The thermaltake had a whine to the motor, panaflos do not. Plus, they are among the most well built fans out there. Go panaflo/sp-94 and you will not be dissapointed.
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Awesome information, I am considering the Panaflo M fan, at 30db (3 more than the L fan) I think I can handle it, plus i can always crank it down.

What are your CPU temps like, particularly OC'd since I plan to do some OCing once I get a decent HSF sitting on there.

My system temp is always only a few degrees above ambient (system temp is 27 right now and doesn't rise much under load) as I have pretty good ventilation in my case, but my processor is 10 or 11 C above that with the Aero 4. I'm hoping to close that gap considerably with this combination if I can.
 
Originally posted by Bmr4life
which of those 2 cools best? Zalman 7000 or SP-94 with a low cfm fan?
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I'd like to know this as well. Would the SP-94 with a 92mm Medium Panaflo be better than the Zalman? And since i would consider turning down the fan at times, would it still be better? :p I wouldn't intend to turn it down much, but just a little should one day I want lower noise.


HardOCP hasn't done any comprehensive HSF reviews in a couple years really so there's no good information here about the new coolers.
 
I have one rig, P4, 2.8c in an Abit IC7-Max3 with the Thermalright SP-94 and 92mm fan. The second a P4 2.6c in an Abit IS7 with a Zalman 7000alcu. They both are effectively cooled. The Zalman is more quiet.
 
Originally posted by MontyAC
I have one rig, P4, 2.8c in an Abit IC7-Max3 with the Thermalright SP-94 and 92mm fan. The second a P4 2.6c in an Abit IS7 with a Zalman 7000alcu. They both are effectively cooled. The Zalman is more quiet.
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Well, what fan... and I bet you can probably push the 2.8 with the SP-94 further without the temps going as high as they might with the Zalman right? As I understand the SP-94 handles higher loads better.
 
I suggest combining the two worlds. Zalman has a wicked good fan, and Thermalright has a wicked good heatsink. Why not buy both, and use the fan for another heatsink??
 
Originally posted by M4d-K10wN
I suggest combining the two worlds. Zalman has a wicked good fan, and Thermalright has a wicked good heatsink. Why not buy both, and use the fan for another heatsink??
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I noticed the ZM-F2 fan, 38db with 58ish cfm and 20db with 38cfm. Pretty good, but I like the 30db with 48cfm Panaflo medium fan, can put that on a controller if need be. In the end I can always swap fans, that's not as big a deal, I just don't want to screw up getting the SP-94 when the Zalman is better. Although I like that it secures through the mobo considering its weight, where the Zalman doesn't.

On the other hand I'm not looking forward to pulling my mobo out of the case either. Aye, ya can't win.
 
I'm not talking about the zalman fan that you can buy separately, i'm talking about the one that comes with the Zalman 7000A heatsink. That one generates 26dB at full RPM.
 
SilenX owns Panaflo in terms of noise. I switched my panaflo for a SilenX and I will NEVER go back. The noise:air ratio is so much better. They have fans at 9, 11, and 14 dBa

Zalman is rebadged Sunon (or so I'm told). Sunon's are not too bad but I find that they emit an annoying whine.

Anyways, if you want quiet, I suggested SilenX.
Noiseblockers are good as well, but they vibrate a bit, so you'd probably need some shock mounts or vibration dampeners. Sharkoons aren't as quiet as they are rated to be, though they still are quite quiet and move good air.

Anyways, SilenX, Noiseblockers, and Sharkoons are the quietest fans around.
 
Originally posted by dotZIP
SilenX owns Panaflo in terms of noise. I switched my panaflo for a SilenX and I will NEVER go back. The noise:air ratio is so much better. They have fans at 9, 11, and 14 dBa

Zalman is rebadged Sunon (or so I'm told). Sunon's are not too bad but I find that they emit an annoying whine.

Anyways, if you want quiet, I suggested SilenX.
Noiseblockers are good as well, but they vibrate a bit, so you'd probably need some shock mounts or vibration dampeners. Sharkoons aren't as quiet as they are rated to be, though they still are quite quiet and move good air.

Anyways, SilenX, Noiseblockers, and Sharkoons are the quietest fans around.
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I just saw SilenX last night, I'm going to check them out again. They're quieter than the rest of my case fans though. Gotta see if they report RPMs.

edit: I just looked again. Damn, if only they had a 20db model that put out mid 40 cfm.
 
I'm telling you, go with the L1a/sp-94 combo. I run 3.92ghz 1.725v in bios, 1.8v windows, and NEVER GO ABOVE 44C no matter how man ytorture test programs I run at once, including prime, 3dmark, far cry, etc. And case temp is always 23C because I have great airflow (ambient room is 20C). When I run 3.75 stock volts, I idle in the high twenties and load in the mid thirties. It is the absolute most badass air cooling system available, and dead silent too.
 
Hmm, what's your case? My case temp is higher than yours (although some of my fresh air comes in over the 2 hdds). I wonder if Abit reports higher case temps too (I know they report higher CPU temps).
 
Originally posted by computerpro3
I'm telling you, go with the L1a/sp-94 combo. I run 3.92ghz 1.725v in bios, 1.8v windows, and NEVER GO ABOVE 44C no matter how man ytorture test programs I run at once, including prime, 3dmark, far cry, etc. And case temp is always 23C because I have great airflow (ambient room is 20C). When I run 3.75 stock volts, I idle in the high twenties and load in the mid thirties. It is the absolute most badass air cooling system available, and dead silent too.
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doesn't the L1a only blow 24 CFM?
 
Originally posted by M4d-K10wN
I'm not talking about the zalman fan that you can buy separately, i'm talking about the one that comes with the Zalman 7000A heatsink. That one generates 26dB at full RPM.
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Buying both the SP-94 and the Zalman would be expensive for air cooling.
 
If they're quieter than the rest of your fans, then replace them :D

I don't believe the guy that so adamently pushing the panaflo has actually used the SilenX before. Having used both, I can affirm that the SilenX is way better in terms of noise:air.

Panaflo is by no means dead silent. Though it is quiet, there is an annoying clicking noise that is present in all panaflo fans if you pay close attention to it. I usually don't have much music on while I'm at the computer and I also sleep with my computer on. The SilenX is a lot more liveable than my Panaflo ever was. Don't get me wrong, for the price, Panaflo is a great fan (though not so much here in Canada), I think that SilenX is a better purchase.
 
Get a 92mm tornado and use a rheobus to crank it down to halfspeed. It pushes more cfm at half speed than most full speed fans. It also is very quiet.
 
I hear the tornados whine at reduced output. Not interested in that.

I have two panaflo 80mm front fans (The High model) and I'm actually living with the noise until I get a fan controller. No clicking from them either. The reason I still think I want to go with a Panaflo 92mm medium fan over a SilenX is because they still push more air than the SilenX.

As far as noise at night, I don't want a whine but a nice white noise/air sound is good. Before I even had computers somewhere I got in to the habit of needing a fan on to fall asleep, so a computer is far from being an issue.
 
I don't hear a whine, it sounds quiet to me. Maybe thats because I'm used to a 60db computer. I lived with a 60mm delta blacklabel for 3 years :p .
 
You're right, I have never used a silenx. BUT first of all, my panaflo does not click. I used it with only my antec psu running out of the case (jump started it) with no other load to make sure the psu worked when i was vmodding it. It simply does not click. No matter how you look at it though, while the silenx may be 6db or whatever it is quieter, the panaflos push a LOT more air. The silenx is not designed to be used as a heatsink fan, I'm pretty sure of that. It is designed as a super quiet case fan for those who value silence more than temps. THe panaflo is the perfect compromise.
 
Originally posted by computerpro3
You're right, I have never used a silenx. BUT first of all, my panaflo does not click. I used it with only my antec psu running out of the case (jump started it) with no other load to make sure the psu worked when i was vmodding it. It simply does not click. No matter how you look at it though, while the silenx may be 6db or whatever it is quieter, the panaflos push a LOT more air. The silenx is not designed to be used as a heatsink fan, I'm pretty sure of that. It is designed as a super quiet case fan for those who value silence more than temps. THe panaflo is the perfect compromise.
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I think I have to agree with that. SilenX doesn't push a lot of air, so it has its limitations in uses like heatsinks or performance PC cooling (unless you had a lot of em).
 
I have a zalman 92mm fan and a SP94 on my p4 3.2C.... Keeps things very cool, not that loud at all. I can hear it if I turn all my case fans down.
I also have the Zalman your talking about.. but no P4 bracket so never got to try it out. One of these days I will do it. I'm getting faster at taking everthing apart and putting it back together :)
 
Well, the SilenX is good enough for my shuttle ICE cooler. Keeps my temps at 42 with 2500+ oced to 3200+.

I guess you just have to figure out your priorities when you are buying a fan.
 
I just looked around, I have an SL6WJ 2.8C with D1 stepping, which are supposedly good for overclocking. I'll be getting the new HSF soon and I'll see how it goes. :D
 
- buy a Zalman 7000.
- remove wussy Zalman fan.
- attach almost any 120x38mm fan. something around 40dB/100CFM. twistie ties and a couple scotch tape spools may be needed. HHe.
- if you like silent, try a Sunbeam Rheobus.
- enjoy a cheap, reasonably quiet ~10 degree-above-ambient load temp. looks pretty badass too.

really, it works. i thought of it when i was just sittin here lookin at my huge ass Zalman. and for weeks id been wondering what to do with the 120mm Papst Variofan i spent $30 on.

in the system below at 2500MHz 1.90v, my "Zalman 120" keeps 35-37C load in 25-30C ambient.

note: you will need about half an inch clearance between the Zalman and PSU unless you want to cut away the 120mm fan housing/frame. weight is no problem. ive got the full copper 7000Cu with a 120x38 and temp is no different with the case on its side or standing (ie. the assembly stays perfectly secure).
 
You don't have to remove the original fan the Zalman 7000 comes with, just strap the 120 on top of it.
 
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