SPCR

I went to a store and compare Antec, Spectre, NZXT, etc. to Noctua. The dB level of Noctua is so much lower than these other brands, and its CFM is much higher than these other brands.

Is the data publish by Noctua accurate? Because they look really good.

I also compare the MTBF of 120 mm fan of all the above brand. Noctua is much higher on its MTBF vs. the other brands.

Now, assuming the data is accurate, Noctua doesn't have 200 mm fan. They use something called SSO technology in their fan. So if I want some quiet 200 mm fan, what are some of the good brand?

Also, looking at 200 mm fan from Spectre and NZXT, their MTBF is very low. We are talking about 20K to 40K hr. only. Why is it so low? Likewise, their 120 mm fan MTBF is also lower than Noctua.

I must say that you do ask some odd questions. There are really no large fans that are aimed purely at silence, they are largely aimed at blowing as much air as possible. Hence why really large fans are popular on the side panels of gaming cases and often have LEDs.

One reason that most manufacturers have steered clear of the large fan designs is that they are of little practical use to the size of most systems. 120 and 140mm fans are a good fit for the other components and some larger cases use 180mm but 200mm already means that you are having to make the case larger than it needs to be, just to fit a larger fan in.

Why do you need to move so much air?

The case c/w those 200 mm fans build in. I compare the spec. and they are not as quiet as some other ones.

Speaking of LED light, I don't like vampire electronics, as I am an environmentalist, is there a way to turn them off? It's a total waste of electricity

Don't buy these cases then. Simple solution to both your problems.

Regardless, why is the MTBF of these 200 mm fans are so much lower than 140 mm fan? We are talking about 40K hr. vs. 100K hr.

I assume they have shorter lifetime because of the lower quality bearings they use. 200mm fans were almost always baked into bling-bling gaming cases, where hearing the stuff you paid that much for seems to be a must.

And mostly you'll need some kind of eye protection to avoid being blinded by all that leds flashing in typical gamer cases.

Happy Hopping wrote:Regardless, why is the MTBF of these 200 mm fans are so much lower than 140 mm fan? We are talking about 40K hr. vs. 100K hr.

In more detail, consider that MTBF is only a rating not a measurement. They are calculated. They are not an industrial type of design so MTBF is less important. It could also be that because of the cheap way they are designed that they use the motor motor from smaller fans as the base, then attach the big bling fan to it. By doing so they will put higher stresses on the motor than intended for long life, hence a shorter MTBF being calculated. ...Or maybe because they're just rubbish as Pappnaas suggests.

Don't buy this kind of case if you want silence. They simply aren't aimed at it, regardless of what manufacturer data there is saying that they might be quiet.

Pappnaas wrote:I assume they have shorter lifetime because of the lower quality bearings they use. 200mm fans were almost always baked into bling-bling gaming cases, where hearing the stuff you paid that much for seems to be a must.

And mostly you'll need some kind of eye protection to avoid being blinded by all that leds flashing in typical gamer cases.

more importantly, it's a waste of vampire electricity