I am keeping both the side and top panels on to prevent the most sound leakage i possibly can. So I want the highest cfm for the lowest dba in the fans i do use. I will use the 2x 120mm front intake fans, 1x 140mm rear exhaust fan, and finally 1x 140mm bottom intake fan (the cutout next to the psu fan cut out.). I really want the maximum performance for the lowest db money is no object if it was 50 a fan I'd still do it. Also decided I'm going with the Noctua C-14 cpu cooler with the 2x 140mm p14 fans, can I get better performance changing those fans or are those already pretty high quality and not worth changing?

1. For 120mm fans, you can't go wrong with Nexus.

2. I would take a look at the SPCR test of the C14. My recollection iw that SPCR swapped out the Noctua for the Nexus fans, and the Nexus fans did well. Take a look at it your self.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1138-page5.html

3. I would experiment with both the Noctua and the Nexus fans.

well i see the 140mm noctua fan fits the same holes as a standard 120mm fan. So I think I'm going to go with 2x 140mm noctua fans in front intake 1x 140mm noctua bottom intake and 1x 140mm rear exhaust fan and than the nh c14 with 2 more 140mm noctua fans for a total of 6x 140mm noctua fans in the build. I'll be using ASUS Z77 Sabertooth mobo it has 2x 4pin cpu fan controls and 4x 4 pin case fan controls on motherboard + 2x 3 pin fan controls for the 2 included mini thermal armor fans. This way I can control every single fan through ASUS's superb fan control. Will have all SSD storage and the very quiet seasonic x650. Also plan on the infamous asus triple slot design for the gtx 680 when it comes out, they are usually quieter than 2 slot cards. I think all this together should be a very powerful yet quiet pc.

laststop, I don't know exactly what is going to work best for you, but I can assure you that if you don't experiment you will not get the best result. This is an area in which logic is not a good guide.

If you look at the front fans in the SPCR review there are 2 120mm jammed next to each other. 140mm wont fit. Also the C-12 still comes with non pwm fans as far as I know and for the cpu fan header i think that asus boards still only accept a PWM fan. You would be better off going with a tower cooler anyways for more direct front-back flow (such as the U12 or a thermalright (archon would be a nice choice with the good PWM 140cm fans, noctua does not have a 140cm PWM)). Also why the Sabertooth with the mini fans? These are usually loud and I would say totally unnecessary for this chipset. I would probably go one of the base P8Z77 models like the pro or regular (well actually i would go for a m-atx because it seems like you have no need for atx but that is another deal entirely).

my 2c

I just ordered a 550D and I'm also decided on what fans to get.

I was thinking gentle typhoons for the fronts since they're be starved for air, though there are conflicting reports that the newer batches of these aren't as quiet as they used to be.

laststop & Dephcon: I was wondering what fans you guys ended up getting. I also just recently bought a 550D and have been thinking about replacing the fans since they aren't PWM. I have a P8Z77-V, so I can control each 4-pin fan port in the UEFI independently from each other. I agree with Dephcon that the fans in the front seem to be a bit starved for air, so something that has high static air pressure with a low noise profile.

The Scythe Gentle Typhoon is unfortunately not a candidate since it only has 3-pins. Does anyone think a Scythe SY1225SL12LM-P will be able to pull in enough air or would the GELID Solutions FN-PX12-15 be better?

The Scythe SY1225SL12LM-P has a nominal top speed of 1200, but in practice runs at around 1350 rpm max. More importantly under low load conditions it can drop down to around 400 rpm or less, so can give a very quiet idle. With this fan and Asus motherboards you need to go into the BIOS where you will find that the minimum speed for both CPU and chassis fans is set to 600 rpm, set this to Ignore.

Vote against the slipstream here (intake at least). Airflow at the front of the 550D is incredibly restrictive (side vents on the door are too slight) and slipstream fans perform poorly under such circumstances. A fan with more pressure can probably pull in more CFM and give you the same temps with lower noise.

Personally, I don't like the noise characteristic of the slipstreams either, but that might be just me. I find them irritating at any speed above 750, whereas I am ok with fans such as S-Flex at 900-1,000.

Your mobo might support PWM control on 3-pin headers. Just something to think about.

Noctua fans are fine. I like Thermalright TY-140 better, not worth the swap though. You might want to consider for rear exhaust and bottom intake.

Blood, do you have any particular suggestions for intake fans for this case? I plan on plugging up the bottom intake and just rely on the front two.

Ah just read your 2nd post. I actually like the TY-140, I have a Thermalright True Spirit 140 for my CPU cooler. I know that the TY-140 can mount into 120mm holes, but I have to wonder if the front area has enough clearance for two 140mm fans. It doesn't look like it from what I can see.


I will look into it thanks. Though I believe that only FanExpert2 can control 3-pin fans rather than BIOS/UEFI.

There is PWM very similar to the Sflex, Scythe Kama Flex 120mm PWM Fan SA1225FDB12H-P, i own and used 3 on HTPCMI build and you can drop them, as the slipstreams PWM, to 250rpm.

Thanks for the suggestion. However, I think the RPM of the Kama Flex is way too high (1600-3000).

Blood, do you have any thoughts on or experience with Akasa's Apache Black?
57.53 CFM
2.64mm H2O
6.9-16.05 dBA
600-1300 RPM

I just don't know it's acoustic characteristics. This fan is fairly affordable at ~$15, so I'm leaning towards it. Just wondering if anyone knows anything horrible with it.

I think its a typo on the website, i own some (check my sig HTPCMI), and the its 300-1600rpm, even though i have manage to drop them below that, around 250rpm. Newegg also have the same rating, 300 (±50%) - 1,600 (±10%) RPM, and Scythe EU, 300 rpm (±50%) ~ 1,600 rpm (±10%). Personally i think its a typo on the description, but i never bought from them so i cant say for sure.

I also got a 550D today, and planning to replace the fans.

However, I have an older motherboard, and thus gonna need a PWM controller.

Anyways, shall I get the PWM controller + 4xThermalright TY-140?? They are for intakes from the 1x bottom, 2x front and 1x exhaust at the rear.

Ideas? or are there any better alternatives?

1 fan in the front at minimum rpm (5V?) for HDD/SDD, 1 back, anotherone at the top, set to max rpm (7V?) that you can stand accustically. Block other case openings with cardboard as you see fit.

Imho i like my fans set to fix voltages or being controlled by bios. Wouldn't like to cook my pc because of a fan regulating software screwing up or me forgetting to up rpms or turn a controller knob.

Pappnaas

So you don't recommend those external controller?

That just reflects my personal opinion. If the controller has some kind of automatism to raise rpm according to certain temps, then i'm fine with it.

On the other hand i'm pretty convinced of me not being perfect

So in my opinion, i'd rather not rely on some software or manual fan controller. Murphy's law , you know?

replaced the stock fans with five gentle typhoon 1850 @ ~900rpm with "KAZE MASTER Pro Ace" Fan Controller. The machine now runs much quieter than before! I haven't done any measurements yet, but seems the GT generates more air flow than my old slip steams.

(NB, Nexus, TR fans are very hard to find in hk)