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November 28, 2006 by Devon
Cooke
May 5, 2008
Our fan airflow measurement system has recently undergone a major
revision to improve accuracy and repeatability. We've updated airflow data
for some but not all fans; only fans that fared well acoustically were retested
with the new system. There will be a new methodology article coming soon. |
Although 120mm fans are now commonplace, it wasn't long ago that 80mm fans
were standard and a case that accepted larger fans was worthy
of note on a sticky in our forums. The advantage of the larger size should
come as no surprise to most: A larger fan produces more airflow. A larger fan
means that hot components can be kept cooler, allowing greater headroom for
overclocking. Or, from a silencing perspective, a larger fan can provide the
same cooling at a lower speed, and thus a lower noise level.
We usually recommend using a 120mm fan if possible — but which one to
choose? Our first fan round-up
was published about two weeks ago, but that only looked at 80mm fans. Now, we've
examined another half dozen (or a dozen, depending on how you count) fans,
a surprising number of which are suitable for a quiet system.
As with the last roundup, we started with the Nexus that has been our fan
of choice for the past two years. We also looked at an Antec Tri-Cool (which
comes stock in many Antec cases), some much hyped fans from Scythe and
Noctua, a highly reputed Papst, and a couple dark horses from ARX.
This roundup is primarily a summary of our test results with a few interesting
tidbits about each fan thrown in. We have kept theory to a minimum, so you do
not need to know how a fan works to get the most out of this article. You need
to know two things:
- Fans are designed to push air — the faster the fan, the more air it
pushes
- Fans produce noise — the faster the fan, the more noise it produces
For our purposes, the best fan is the one that pushes the most air for the
least noise. For users who are interested, a more technical discussion
of fan technologies can be found in our recent article, Anatomy
of A Silent Fan. Users who want to know exactly how the fans were tested
should refer to our test methodology
article. The rest of you: Sit back and enjoy! We hope you find our work
useful.
A large pile of 120mm fans, not all of which made it into this test.
HOW TO USE THIS REVIEW
Each fan in this roundup has its own data table and write-up that summarizes
what we learned about it. Use these to find specific information about the fan
you're looking for. In addition, every fan was recorded four times, according
to our standard Audio Recording
techniques. These recordings can be used to make A/B comparisons between
fans to help illustrate the differences between them. The four recordings are
as follows:
- Alternating ambient noise and the fan running at 5V, 7V, 9V, and 12V,
recorded at a distance of one meter.
- Alternating ambient noise and the fan running at 5V, 7V, 9V, and 12V,
recorded at a distance of one foot (30 cm).
- Five seconds of ambient noise, followed by the fan running in the constant
airflow test, recorded at a distance of one meter.
- Five seconds of ambient noise, followed by the fan running in the constant
airflow test, recorded at a distance of one foot (30 cm).
As always, we recommend that you listen and compare the recordings in a specific way. The green box below describes how we make our recordings and what you're supposed to do with them.
At the end of the roundup is a conclusion that summarizes the best and the
worst that we found. This is where to look if you just want to cut to the chase
and find out which fan we liked best.
HOW TO LISTEN & COMPARE
These recordings were
made with a high resolution, studio quality, digital recording system,
then converted to LAME 128kbps encoded MP3s. We've listened long and
hard to ensure there is no audible degradation from the original WAV
files to these MP3s. They represent a quick snapshot of what we heard
during the review. Two recordings of each noise level were made, one
from a distance of one meter, and another from one
foot away.
The one meter recording
is intended to give you an idea of how the subject of this review
sound in actual use — one meter is a reasonable typical distance
between a computer or computer component and your ear. The recording
contains stretches of ambient noise that you can use to judge the
relative loudness of the subject. For best results, set your volume
control so that the ambient noise is just barely audible. Be aware
that very quiet subjects may not be audible — if we couldn't
hear it from one meter, chances are we couldn't record it either!
The one foot recording
is designed to bring out the fine details of the noise. Use this recording
with caution! Although more detailed, it may not represent how the
subject sounds in actual use. It is best to listen to this recording
after you have listened to the one meter recording.
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THE FANS
The following fans were included in the roundup:
The Conclusion can be found on page 6.
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