What are the best case fans?

J

JCD3ntonX

n00b
Joined
Mar 2, 2017
Messages
19
I am running SLI 2080 Ti cards in a Corsair 750D case and the top card is just getting way too hot. I know the open-air coolers are not the best for SLI, but it's what I'm working with. I believe I could knock the temps down a lot if I got better airflow in my case.

I'm thinking I want to do the following

-Replace front 2 intake fans and rear exhaust with something more powerful

-Add 1-2 intake fans on the bottom

-Add 1-2 exhaust fans on the top

I just need to know the strongest fans that won't be extremely noisy. I don't expect to run a silent PC so as long as the noise isn't egregious it's fine.
 
Got a budget? Seven fans can cost you anywhere from $30 to $210. How much would you be willing to spend?
 
I don't want to waste money for no real-world benefit, but I'll spend if it's justified. There is stagnant air in my case with the top card basically sucking hot air right off the bottom card. If $200 fans are going to move noticeably more air than $100 fans I'll get them, but I probably wouldn't spend the extra $100 for a .5 degree difference or something like that.
 
I never though I would recommend a $30 fan but the new Noctua NF-A12 is literally the best fan I've ever seen in my years of doing high end PC stuff. I don't even care that its brown. Its quieter at its full 2000RPM than any other fan I have (I have two boxes with about 150 different 120 and 140mm fans in them) and moves a generous amount of air. Excellent static pressure for rads as well. They really hit it out of the park with this one if you can stomach the price. I've been switching all my fans over to them 1 at a time.

I put one of them on my NH-U12S to replace two Fractal Venturis which are already extremely quiet and it actually reduced my temps even more. After that I was sold.
 
Other fans that are worth looking at in that price range from my experience are Corsair's ML fans, and Blacknoise NB eLoops. Haven't used the Noctuas mentioned above, but given that they're basically souped up versions of the venerable Gentle Typhoons, I believe every word of LigTasm 's post.
 
VanGoghComplex said:
Other fans that are worth looking at in that price range from my experience are Corsair's ML fans, and Blacknoise NB eLoops. Haven't used the Noctuas mentioned above, but given that they're basically souped up versions of the venerable Gentle Typhoons, I believe every word of LigTasm 's post.
Click to expand...

I didn't believe they would be that good so I got just 1 at first, and yeah they're basically a much better GT. They're very heavy but apparently the blades are fragile. I like the fractal venturis and eloops as well, good fans for a much more reasonable price.
 
Ill second Noctua. I've always used Corsair fans thought and they've always worked great. Reasonable prices and push plenty of air with very little noise.
 
xnikx said:
Noctua hands down are the best. Super quiet and push a lot of air.
Click to expand...

A few models are alright, but by no means is the brand "the best." Their Redux line is hot garbage floating on a puddle of dogshit.

Nidec's Gentle Typhoons are excellent, and cost less than Noctua's higher end fans while offering much better performance.
 
viivo said:
A few models are alright, but by no means is the brand "the best." Their Redux line is hot garbage floating on a puddle of dogshit.

Nidec's Gentle Typhoons are excellent, and cost less than Noctua's higher end fans while offering much better performance.
Click to expand...

from what ive seen theres nothing wrong with the redux line. gentle typhoons are solid but ill take noctuas 6yr warranty and sleeved cables every day of the week. why so jaded viivo?
 
I'm happy with my Phanteks and Fractal fans (retail fans, not the ones included with cases). Next time I'm probably going to try out Arctic because they are cheap and I'd be interested to see how they compare.
 
I've had good luck with the Corsair fans. They look great and seem to do the job.
 
or get one of these,
IMG_0864.JPG

or just swap cases where the cards sit vertically,
https://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-...e=UTF8&qid=1542604214&sr=8-2&keywords=core+x5
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
LigTasm said:
I never though I would recommend a $30 fan but the new Noctua NF-A12 is literally the best fan I've ever seen in my years of doing high end PC stuff. I don't even care that its brown. Its quieter at its full 2000RPM than any other fan I have (I have two boxes with about 150 different 120 and 140mm fans in them) and moves a generous amount of air. Excellent static pressure for rads as well. They really hit it out of the park with this one if you can stomach the price. I've been switching all my fans over to them 1 at a time.

I put one of them on my NH-U12S to replace two Fractal Venturis which are already extremely quiet and it actually reduced my temps even more. After that I was sold.
Click to expand...

They are more or less the GT v2. They have a number of improvements, and have the normal Noctua quality. They also have that heft in hand that the GTs do, and massive motor hub. I would say motor/bearing noise is improved with them over the GT, but they are more expensive by a few bucks, worth it to me however. Probably top of my list for rad/HS fans.
 
BlueFireIce said:
They are more or less the GT v2. They have a number of improvements, and have the normal Noctua quality. They also have that heft in hand that the GTs do, and massive motor hub. I would say motor/bearing noise is improved with them over the GT, but they are more expensive by a few bucks, worth it to me however. Probably top of my list for rad/HS fans.
Click to expand...

Yeah they are really good. Expensive as hell but worth it to me as well. I've been buying one every few weeks to slowly replace all my fans. Definitely took some design cues from the GT with the blade design but its effective and works well so no harm there.
 
LigTasm said:
Yeah they are really good. Expensive as hell but worth it to me as well. I've been buying one every few weeks to slowly replace all my fans. Definitely took some design cues from the GT with the blade design but its effective and works well so no harm there.
Click to expand...

Hey, it was a game changer when the GT came out, why go with something else? Expensive yes, but if they hold up like the GT, it doesn't matter. I have had lots of other fans, many over time end up making noise or going out, the GT have been running in my server 24/7 for God, I don't even remember now, since the GT were released, many MANY years. The Noctua also comes with accessories the GT doesn't, comes factory sleeved and can be had in PWM, which in it self is a huge selling point for me, it's very hard to find PWM GT fans and great warranty. I also love Noctua, how invested they are in performance above all, the kind of testing and ideas they come out with for fractions of a percent improvements. They are one of the few, if not only that still take this hard line approach to aftermarket cooling.
 
+1 on the sterrox or whatever its called 120mm, hope they come out in other sizes soon.

Was already all in on noctua kit anyways, but these are definitely a step up in the air flow vs sound annoyance ratio. Can't really tell them apart from their brethren running at 1/2 ~ 2/3rd the RPM.
 
Picked up 2 140mm Corsair ML's for my build. Only needed one, but for like $5 more for the 2nd compared to the single fan price it was smarter to get both.
 
To me the best budget case fan is Arctic F12 value pack. You get 5 PWN fans for $26 on amazon.
 
I've been running numerous Corsair ML's (140mm) in several different rigs since they came out, nevanottaproblemo from day 1 :D

But I have used Cougars too and they were great, but had to get rid of them since they did not match any of my color schemes....
 
From what most reviewers will tell you the Noctua NF-A12 or NF-A14 are best fans on the market if budget isn't an issue.

Purchased ~7 for my case, two of them had issues, but that may have been a fluke. One was DOA, the other made a clicking noise as though it was impacting the fan's housing. The ones that do work are silent until the cpu gets around 70 degrees, at which point they do become audible.
 
I have four Corsair ML-140's and a single Corsair ML-120pro. The ML-140s are dead silent at 20% and nearly inaudible at 30%, they become audible at 40% but it's never unpleasant, just a steady whoosh of airflow all the way up to full speed. The ML-120pro however is a different story as it is significantly louder than the 140's at every speed and makes a rather unpleasing hum at 50%, and this is all the way at the back of my case! The 140's are in the top and front so theoretically they should drown out the 120pro... but they don't! I could have a bad 120pro so keep that in mind.

I did receive one bum ML-140 in which the blade was scraping the housing and needed to be replaced.
 
Last edited:
I'm using mostly the Corsair MLs. I don't really notice much noise. It's a little but not bothersome.
 
These days I tend to buy either Noctua (in my case, I get the black colored variants ) or Corsair's ML. Both have proven really performant and great as far as noise is concerned. They're both on the pricier side but worth it as far as I've found. At the time I bought my MLs they only had no-lighting or single-color (ie mine are white), but they now offer RGB addressable variants and I'm pretty sure they're the best RGB fan on can buy to my knowledge.
 
RanceJustice said:
These days I tend to buy either Noctua (in my case, I get the black colored variants ) or Corsair's ML. Both have proven really performant and great as far as noise is concerned. They're both on the pricier side but worth it as far as I've found. At the time I bought my MLs they only had no-lighting or single-color (ie mine are white), but they now offer RGB addressable variants and I'm pretty sure they're the best RGB fan on can buy to my knowledge.
Click to expand...
The frosted rotors and hub-centric lighting really make the MLs the only fans I like in terms of lighting. Most other lighting methods look... well they look like LED lighting. The MLs look more aglow than alight.
 
I found the Corsair AF series fans to be a great fan for the price. Quiet, move a lot of air, and priced well. Been running them for years and none have failed or gotten noisy.
 
Anything out of this list worth a buy:
Thermalright X-Silent 120 [XSLNT120]
Scythe SlipStream 120 [SY1225SL12L]
Scythe Kaze Flex 120 [SU1225FD12M-RH]
Corsair Air AF120 LED Red Quiet Edition [CO-9050015-RLED]
Corsair Air AF120 LED Blue Quiet Edition [CO-9050015-BLED]
Scythe Grand Flex [SM1225GF12L]
Scythe Kaze Flex 120 RGB [SU1225FD12MR-RH]
Noctua NF-S12B [NF-S12B-REDUX-700]
Noctua NF-P12 (900-1300)
be quiet! Shadow Wings SW1 120mm Low-Speed


Looking for a quiet (but powerful when needed) cooler. I use Scyte Kazemaster Pro to control them.
 
I'm 100% sold on Noctua. I had a Cryorig C1 low profile cooler with a 140mm fan on it and replaced it with a slim 15mm/120mm Noctua fan when it started clicking. No joke, temps dropped 10 degrees and the system was way quieter than the stock fan.

They're ugly, but I prefer function over form.
 
I would have to add a +1 to the Noctua fan fanclub. They aren't cheap but they're effective and durable. I tried a couple of the Cougar Vortex fans and they seem to do a good job as far as air movement, noise and durability. They tend to be pricey like Noctua but they can be found discounted or with a MIR more often.
By durable I mean these fans don't start getting clicky or otherwise noisy after 6 months. Right now there are either Noctua or Cougar fans in my case, plus one Corsair fan that came with the case. It's probably the ugliest computer in town, but it stays cool and is quiet....
The fan making alot of noise lately is the Corsair - and I'll probably be replacing it with a Noctua, unless I find a half-price deal on the Cougars.
 
Another on the Noctua fan train.

I always buy Noctua fans for my cases; I'm currently building a new setup with the Noctua chromax stuff.

Noctua fans are the only fans I've never had to replace. I still have Noctua fans from nearly a decade ago that work like they did when I got them, regardless of the environment they were operating in.

The only other fans I've had good luck with are NZXT and Scythe fans. Every other fan brand I've used had some sort of issue with chattering, or weird noises, or just outright failing.
 
Noctua or Nidec Servo GT's are pretty much the cream of the crop when it comes to quality/performance/lifespan in PC fans. They are simply incredibly well engineered/designed fans and are very well built. You can't go wrong with either of them. Yes, they are a bit spendy, but very worth the investment IMHO.

I run GT's as my case fans and in my watercooling setup. I have two large radiators fully decked out in a push/pull config using them. Bought the GT's 9 years ago and have had ZERO fan failures. They are quiet as hell and simply work.
 
Supercharged_Z06 said:
Noctua or Nidec Servo GT's are pretty much the cream of the crop when it comes to quality/performance/lifespan in PC fans. They are simply incredibly well engineered/designed fans and are very well built. You can't go wrong with either of them. Yes, they are a bit spendy, but very worth the investment IMHO.

I run GT's as my case fans and in my watercooling setup. I have two large radiators fully decked out in a push/pull config using them. Bought the GT's 9 years ago and have had ZERO fan failures. They are quiet as hell and simply work.
Click to expand...

The Noctua NF-A12x25 that just came out is more or less a GT V2, improvements everywhere. Less noise, less motor noise and better cooling. I have started replacing all my GTs with them, but not cheap for sure.
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
ShogoXT said:
Arctic released new series of static pressure fans called the p12 and p14. They are pretty cheap.

https://www.overclock.net/forum/246...optimized-fans-reviews-discussion-thread.html
Click to expand...

those look solid. price to performance looks very nice. the ten year warranty is also really impressive. i wont be replacing my noctuas with them but they will definitely be added to my short list. they have to add the static pressure ratings to their website listings tho. thats the first thing i look for when buying an unknown fan model. if i cant find h20 i move on. the sone levels look a little to good to be true as well. not that i care much, just an observation.
 
I had a hard time confirming exactly what the warranty length is on those Arctic fans. I was under the impression it is 6 years not 10, but I was having a hard time finding anything definitive from Arctic. To be fair I only gave it a half-assed effort then moved on.

The 5 packs both PWM and 3-pin seem to be a particularly good value.

I replaced my rattly 140mm Corsair fan with a Noctua Redux 900 and I am satisfied with it so far.
 
the specs that are posted up at overclock seem to be complete. the 10yr warranty i saw were from the bionix 140 and 120 4packs. from what ive seen all of the pwm versions have a 10yr warranty but i didnt check any of the other models. i think arctic has a winner on their hands from the little ive seen of their new fans.
ive had good luck with the redux line as well. really good value fans from the few ive used so far. ive also had good luck with the corsair ml rgb 140s and 120s ive used. the 120s are pretty loud at full blast but they tone down nicely. the 140s arent loud at any speed but they also dont move much air even at full rpm (hand test).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top