How loud is the Papst fan clicking/ticking?

ez2remember · Post by **ez2remember** » Thu Jan 16, 2003 5:27 am

I would like to know how loud the Papst clicking is? I mean If it is put inside my reasonably damped case and is fairly quiet, can I really hear it say from 1 metre away?

At what distance in free air can you still here the Papst clicks/ticks?

Any experieces would be greatly appreciated.

I have the panaflo L1A fan which is very good, but before buying a whole batch of them, I am split between the two fans. I am looking for the quietest fan possible before going ahead with my mods.

ChiefWeasel · Post by **ChiefWeasel** » Thu Jan 16, 2003 8:00 am

Ill have another listen tonite, but i think if its inside your case and you're a metre away you wouldnt hear the clicking.

Spike · Post by **Spike** » Thu Jan 16, 2003 10:05 am

my cheap ass heatsink on my amd k6/3 400Mhz is cooled
by a papst fan (40x40) @ 19dB and it's really inaudible,
i can't hear any clicking sounds, but that can be a result
of other (read: loud) noise-makers (my psu and hd)...

ChiefWeasel · Post by **ChiefWeasel** » Thu Jan 16, 2003 11:58 am

Jus had a listen, and i cant hear any clicking at all, and i have 4 papsts in my comp. They are all undervolted between 5 and 9V. They definetley used to click, but even when new the clicking wasnt really audible with the rest of the computer fired up.

They are fine i think, altho i really dont think there is anything between panaflo and papst...

Edit: Should have said that i couldnt hear them with the side off, and listening right up next to the fans.

Gandalf · Post by **Gandalf** » Thu Jan 16, 2003 12:17 pm

What clicking?

I have 4 papsts here right next to me and they don't click ..

Post by **Rusty075** » Thu Jan 16, 2003 2:49 pm

I own 2 Papst fans, an 80mm and a 92. They both click, although the 80mm is much quieter. It's inaudible unless running at 5 volts or lower. The 92's clicking I can at almost any speed short of a full 12v. The 92mm is mounted inside my PSU, and it running at 7 volts. Even with the elastometric mounts on it and the PSU shell and my case's 3/4" MDF walls I can still hear it. It's usually the loudest part of my system.

But it not be the same for your fan. The consesus is that the clicking noise may be more of a quality control problem then a design problem. Some don't have it at all, but some have it to varying degrees.

ChiefWeasel · Post by **ChiefWeasel** » Thu Jan 16, 2003 3:16 pm

I also found that the clicking is louder when the fans are undervolted, but like i said before, the clicking seems to have disappeared now... very strange...

Post by **Rusty075** » Thu Jan 16, 2003 9:40 pm

Do you think it's louder, or is it just covered by other noise at higher voltages?

With my fans I'm honestly not sure which it is. Perhaps its a flaw in the electronics that occurs when the voltage is dropped below the default.

Post by **MikeC** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 12:03 am

The cause of clicking -- and why it increases at slower RPM, accoding to JMC:

In traditional [DC] fans, the most dominant acoustic noise is due to the fan's motor switching noise. The stator motion is a square wave that is switched on and off before and after the peak torque position. This motion causes a small amount of undulation in motor torque, producing an audible noise caused by the lower frequency commutation operation. Each small torque causes a minute contracting of the entire fan structure and results in an audible clicking noise while the fan is operating.

Iam guessing that the stator motion has to operate at some multiple of fan RPM. Take 2X. this means for a 2000 rpm fan the clicking would be at 4000 Hz -- and likely masked by turbulence and blade edge whine.

Slow the fan to 800 rpm, and now the clicking is smack dab in the midrange (1.6 KHz) and there is less noise to mask it. Plus each noise can be heard more easily as a discrete click.

Perhaps with the Papst, there 's some particular component in the circuit that is prone to -- whatever qualitiy makes the clicking more prominent.

Just hypothesis until some fan engineers I have been begging for info tell me something.

ChiefWeasel · Post by **ChiefWeasel** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 3:10 am

Rusty, do you have a variable fan speed controller you can use to control the voltage to the fan? If so, try supplying it with a voltage just below the startup voltage, i think you'll find it will click like crazy! Im pretty sure this clicking is definetly louder than when it is at 12V.

Mirar · Post by **Mirar** » Sun Jan 19, 2003 12:02 am

The Papst clicking varies a lot between production batches, it seems.
I have three 120mm that doesn't click at all, and 5 80mm of which 4 have a click and one doesn't. Inside a case (not as case fan) my click is inaudible, but the use might be limited

(I've undervolted all of them.)

I think the click has lessened over time. But I can't swear on it.

pingu666 · Post by **pingu666** » Sun Jan 19, 2003 2:35 pm

mine clicked when new aswell
at 5v was noticable
they may have clicked all the time
at 12v there fine, cant hear em in ma case
dont think i can at 7v, (i can hear my annoyin whiny hd at 7v :[[) so i use 12v

pingu666 · Post by **pingu666** » Mon Jan 20, 2003 6:28 am

oh yeah at 5v they only just move, and hardly move air

jojo4u · Post by **jojo4u** » Tue Jan 21, 2003 5:23 am

in de.comp.hardware.kuehlung+laermdaemmung, a german newsgroup, there is a consens, that the quality of papst fans has decreased the last years. They seem to use stronger magnets now, wich leads to more vibrating. Also the general noise wenn undervolting has increased. I also hat these experiences. My Papst NGL 92x92 and 80x80 are inaudible from 1 meter only at 5V. The members of this group now consider Sunon, Yate-Loon and Panaflo for low rotation speeds.