SPCR

I tried three brand new PAPST 8412 NGL (80mm) and one 3412NGL (92mm) in my computer. They are nowhere near what I expected. They are "quiet" as far as fans go but I get the feeling the NGL model is designed to run with the full 12 volts. At 7 volts, I can barely even feel anything if I put my hand directly in front of the exiting airflow. Unfortunately, I don't find them quiet enough at 12 volts, and the CFM isn't spectacular at 12 anyway. Disappointing considering how much I paid and the history of reviews I have read about PAPST.

So I tried out those funky Antec Trilight fans. I experimented, trying them at lower voltage (5 and 7 volts). I am MUCH happier with both the noise level and performance of these fans at either voltage. My intake fan is set at 5 and the CPU fan is running at 7. I decided to split up the wires so the LEDs get the full 12V and the fans get a lower voltage.

Anyway, to my surprise I give the Antec fans two thumbs up as quiet fans. The PAPST fans are going on eBay.

with the Antec trilight fans does the sticker have the name of the maker of the fan on it? is it actually made by antec or is it rebadged with a different name like the vantac series of fans? Good stuff with the spilting of the wires though, dang and I was going to get me some of the papst fans to replace my Panaflow setup in my case right now

I'm not sure who really makes them. Antec has their own sticker on the back which says nothing more than "ANTEC" on it. As a bonus, they do look very cool lit up...

I've tried Vantec's Stealth fans (80mm), they were trashed long ago. I won't be a repeat customer thanks to their marketing taking advantage of us quiet freaks. GRRR...

Hey joseph,
Care to post some instructions on the wire splitting mod?

Queue

what he's probably trying to say is that when u undervolt the Antec fans it still has a acceptable amount of airflow at 5V and the noise level is still acceptably quiet enuff for his system setup probably louder than the Papst setup though ....

With the PAPST fans, I could hear more of a motor noise. When slowing the PAPST down, the noise was not as continuous, more like a fast clicking sound, although very faint. Still enough to bother me. All four fans had the same characteristic sound. I think this is the "clicking" sound people were talking about in other threads. Still, the CFM at anything less than 12 volts with these NGL fans is so low I might as well try passive cooling.

Switching to the Antec fans (undervolted, 5 and 7 volts as mentioned earlier) provides roughly the same temperatures according to Motherboard Monitor 5 in my system as the NGL fans at 12 volts. The noise level is much more pleasing to my ears.

The LEDs on the Antec fans worked at lower voltage, but I gave them their own 12 volt connection by disconnecting the LED wires from the PCB and extending them with additional wire to their own power connection. Just two quick solders for the extension wire and crimping a new power connector.

Anyway, that's my own experience with four PAPST NGL fans. I was expecting a whole new level of quiet cooling euphoria. I know my finding sounds totally crazy - choosing undervolted Antec over the ultimate: Papst. I've been drooling for Papst over a year now before finally breaking down and ordering.

This is my experience with the papst fans. At the moment I have 2 of them running at 7V. At 12V they were unacceptable for me.

I'll second that airflow at this voltage is very low. I cannot imagine you get any at 5V.

Apart from that, I perceive an ultra-high pitch wine - and it's not the hd (cuda 40gb).

Has anybody else noticed this?

No other fans in the system except the Zalman ZM300 PSU's.

I have to agree here, when comparing papst to panaflo, i have to say that IMO panaflo are the better product. Although i dont have any gear suitable for measuring noise or airflow, this is just my subjective opinion. The clicking of the papsts really doesnt help their case


If you think they click bad when spinning, try them with a voltage just below their startup voltage! Had mine connected to a temp. controlled fan speed controller, and when the voltage is just not enough, they click like anything!

Well, my conversion to the Antec LED fans is now complete. Until now, an 80mm Papst remained in the PSU. Air coming from the PSU feels about the same (scientific measurement) as the Papst at 12V. It might now be higher CFM or my imagination. Temperatures from MBM are about the same - nothing unusual going on.

Most importantly, the system noise is further reduced to what I expected the Papst NGL series fans would do for me.

Now I am running my system with three fans total, all Antec LED fans. Side intake at 5V, CPU at 7V and the PSU at 7V. And of course all LED's are getting their full 12 volts for useless cosmetic value.

Finally, I am happy. FOR NOW.

That's really odd. I have four Papst 80mm NGL in my Coolermaster case, and they are noticeably quiter than the Panaflo L1As I had in another case.

I also don't understand why you'd want to 7v them... they're already *really* quiet - I can't hear them more than a foot away from my case. They also only move ~20cfm already, so undervolting them would only really work if you have a pretty sparse system. I have 3 Western Digital SE 7200rpm drives (2 in a RAID), an XP1800+ and a Radeon 8500, so there is no WAY I could kill the airflow even more.

Running a fan at 7v is hard on them and reduces their lifespan as it is, so I'm not suprised they make noise when that's done.

Huh. Oh well.

schnee

That's the problem - at 12 volts they are too loud. I wouldn't want to undervolt them as they won't push any air below that.

My system is much quieter now with Antec fans.

just curious, are these the Antec fans your tried?

http://www.pccasegear.com.au/category50_1.htm

are the better at 7V than Panaflos at 12V?

Yes, that is the fan (Antec with three LED lights).

I haven't compared them with Panaflo 80mm (I have only tried 120mm L1A Panaflo fans). I'd imagine/expect Panaflo is better...