Nexus 92mm fan

burcakb · Post by **burcakb** » Tue Aug 10, 2004 8:04 am

I've finally received my Nexus 92mm fans so I'll share my views on this excellent fan.

I looked high and low for a 92mm fan but the only ones I could find locally were the Zalman FM2 and the Vantec Stealth. We all know that the Vantec is absolutely useless in terms of silence, so I'd gone for the Zalman, trusting their reputation. Unfortunately the FM2 is a noisy fan. It's rated as 20 dBA at low settings (6V - 1500 rpm). That may be correct (I still doubt it, it sounded a lot louder) but when placed on top of a SP97 the noise is clearly the most notable noise source in a quiet rig. Obviously I wanted something better.

As a side note, the fan on the Zalman 7000A-Cu has very similar specs and noise characteristics but Zalman says they're different fans. I'm running my Zalman 7000 fan at 3V so the noise simply dissapears, but the FM-2 at 6V on top of a SP97 barely copes with my runaway Palomino (73W)

Now to our Nexus. The correct product number is DF1209SL-3. It's rated DC 12V and 0.25A. I'm guessing that the "SL" part designates sleeve bearings as this fan lacks both the noise and the clicky rotation characteristic of ball bearing fans. The fan is black with both a 3-pin and a 4-pin Molex connections. Mind you this is not an extra adapter like in most fans. The fan tail contains BOTH a 3-pin AND a Molex end.

The box info contains some interesting and useful info: Operating voltage is given as 10.2-13.8 Volts. So, as expected of all Nexus fans, this one also probably will not like undervolting. Rotation speed is given as 1500 rpm, acoustic noise as 19.2 dBA, airflow is 27 CFM. The fan comes with a 3year warranty which is nice considering this is a sleeve bearing fan. Operating temp is -10 to +70C. This is a nice info to have, for those planning to use this inside a PSU.

Running the fan on 12V in free air, the fan has surprisingly low noise. Almost none. So I suppose for the first time I'll trust dBA ratings from the manufacturer - The box prominently displays the "19.2 dB(A)" mark. Placing it on a metal surface produced no annoying vibrations. This is excellent. This fan is as balanced as the 80mm Acoustifan. Airflow isn't super but very adequate.

Now, a lot of fans will be quiet in free air but start making noises when placed against something else - heatsink, grill, etc. So I mounted the fan on my SP97, connected it to the 12V motherboard fan header and turned on the power. INCREDIBLE!!. The extra noise increase from placing it on the heatsink is negligible. Definitely audiable but nothing a normal, undampened steel case cannot contain easily. This fan, at 12V, running on the SP97 produces as much noise as the Zalman 7000A on 3V !!!! There is a low humm present of course but it's very difficult to locate. I had to stop every other fan to identify it. And this with my head right inside the case. Perfect.

Cooling performance wise, it cools just as well as the Zalman @ 6V perhaps even better. There was a 1C drop in temp, nothing concrete.

As I don't have any Panaflo's I won't be able to compare it to everyones favorite, but I can say this fan at 12V is as quiet as the 80mm acoustifan.

92mm fans are rare, this one is a gem. I bought 2 of these, one was to be cut up to go inside the Zalman (before I discovered it could run at 3V). I think I'll just save this and try to do some undervolting to explore possibilities. I'll be back with the results.

Pauli · Post by **Pauli** » Tue Aug 10, 2004 8:11 am

Can this fan be used to replace the fan on a stock 7000a? If so, how difficult is the replacement? Where did you purchase the Nexus?

burcakb · Post by **burcakb** » Tue Aug 10, 2004 8:15 am

I got it from EndPCNoise.com (just look at the banners on this page, odds are they have an add running - supporting SPCR sponsers and all) They shipped it readily enough but it took forever to reach Turkey.

Replacing the fan on the Zalman isn't trivial. There are several posts on this subject, along with photos. You need to cut off the frame and supports, drill tiny holes or device ways to tie it down etc. Use the search, look for decoupling mod for Zalman 7000

Agent420 · Post by **Agent420** » Tue Aug 10, 2004 9:57 am

I put 4 EAR gromets on the bottom side of the fan in the corners then pulled the clips over the ear gromets and onto the top of the fan. I Then put a thin rubber pad on the top of the fan.
Stability with the ear gromets is good and there is no more vibration from the CPU fan with the clips digging into the rubber ear gromets on the bottom of the fan. I didnt notice an improvement with the rubber pad on top so I took it off, Im using the SP94 and a Panalfo 92mm M fan. Im about to try the Panaflo L 92mm because on start up the M fan recieves 12V from Q Fan and is pretty loud and I dont need all the extra rpm/cfm of the M fan. All of my fans are connected to Fanmates and undervolted heavy.
Im using a P4 3.2,Asus P4C800 DLX, Seagate 80gb 7200.7, WD 74gb Raptor, RME 9652, UAD-1. Silenx 120mm intake,120mm Acoustifan rear fan, 92mm Panaflo CPU, Thermalright SP94, Seasonic 460W SS w/ Panaflo 80mm M mod, Antec BQE.