Phantek f140hp vs noctua s12a

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orangekiwii
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Phantek f140hp vs noctua s12a

Post by orangekiwii » Tue Mar 08, 2016 10:37 am

I'm going to be getting a fractal R5 soon and have been considering replacing the stock fans that come with it. I have a noctua d14 heatsink and wanted to 2 intake fans on the front, an exhaust on the back and then 2 fans on the heatsink. The actual default fans on the heatsink are kind of loud tbh and I've been considering getting 5 noctua s12as or 5 phantek f140hps for cooling.

Anyone have any ideas, tips, experience? Would love to hear from you!

I understand it's 120mm vs 140mm but they have the same mounting holes.

quest_for_silence
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Re: Phantek f140hp vs noctua s12a

Post by quest_for_silence » Tue Mar 08, 2016 1:18 pm

orangekiwii wrote:The actual default fans on the heatsink are kind of loud tbh.
They should not be so: how are you driving them?

orangekiwii
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Re: Phantek f140hp vs noctua s12a

Post by orangekiwii » Wed Mar 09, 2016 3:51 pm

They're attached to a fan controller. I've got them at about 7v I'd say where they're quiet but at full blast they don't exactly whine but it's not just moving air either. It's loud enough that I can clearly tell the computer is on even when things are happening in the room. My gpu is the loudest thing in the system (at load at least at idle it's dead silent as far as I can tell) but am wanting to have everything on one fan controller as the R5 only has one fan controller. Idk why but it seems more attractive to have 5 of the same type rather than 3 + 1 + 1

quest_for_silence
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Re: Phantek f140hp vs noctua s12a

Post by quest_for_silence » Thu Mar 10, 2016 12:58 pm

orangekiwii wrote:They're attached to a fan controller. I've got them at about 7v I'd say where they're quiet but at full blast they don't exactly whine but it's not just moving air either. It's loud enough that I can clearly tell the computer is on even when things are happening in the room.

Obviously: at 12V the only quiet fan is the one which litterally doesn't move air. The best way to have a really quiet system is to rely upon a powerful UEFI monitoring system, or secondly to use a flexible software (SpeedFan, FanXpert and the likes under Windows). A good fan controller comes just third, IMO.

There may be some alternative options, noise-wise, but money-wise it's not that rational getting rid of the stock P12/P14 fans: at any rate the S12A is not well suited for an heatsink, so probably two PH-F140HP should give a better outcome.

orangekiwii wrote:My gpu is the loudest thing in the system (at load at least at idle it's dead silent as far as I can tell) but am wanting to have everything on one fan controller as the R5 only has one fan controller. Idk why but it seems more attractive to have 5 of the same type rather than 3 + 1 + 1
The R5 fan controller is an extremely simple one: I'd say it's not either a fan controller, but just a selectable inline resistor for 3 (IIRC) fans. Frankly I'd get rid of it, and it's apparently not up to your task.

You should decide what to use to drive all fans (mobo, which idk, existing fan controller, which idk, another thing), and then we might think to a possible fans arrangement.

orangekiwii
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Re: Phantek f140hp vs noctua s12a

Post by orangekiwii » Thu Mar 10, 2016 6:40 pm

As I started researching this I learned more about PWM applications. I didn't realize it was so versatile/powerful. I was looking at this motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128841 and PWM is something the stock fans don't support and PWM control seems to be the cleanest way to control fans.

I don't see a way to actually figure out how many fans you could connect to a motherboard via PWM though. If you wanted 5 fans connceted via PWM woudl you need 5 fan headers or would daisy chaining work? Is there a way to tell?

Fire-Flare
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Re: Phantek f140hp vs noctua s12a

Post by Fire-Flare » Fri Mar 11, 2016 9:37 am

orangekiwii wrote:I don't see a way to actually figure out how many fans you could connect to a motherboard via PWM though. If you wanted 5 fans connceted via PWM woudl you need 5 fan headers or would daisy chaining work? Is there a way to tell?
While having a motherboard with 5 headers allows for individual fan control, there are PWM splitters out there.


Phobya makes a device allowing up to 8 fans to connect to one header, but as with any fan splitter only one fan will report its RPM.


Arctic also makes a line of fans with daisy chain connectors. They call it PST. (PWM Sharing Technology)

quest_for_silence
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Re: Phantek f140hp vs noctua s12a

Post by quest_for_silence » Fri Mar 11, 2016 2:08 pm

orangekiwii wrote:As I started researching this I learned more about PWM applications. I didn't realize it was so versatile/powerful. I was looking at this motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128841 and PWM is something the stock fans don't support and PWM control seems to be the cleanest way to control fans.
I'm not sure to have fully understood your thought about: at any rate, check the online manual, often Gigabyte isn't the best at fan monotoring/controlling. An ASUS motherboard might be more versed at taming your difficult NH-D14, even if the stock fans are not PWM (I think that with 3 pin fans a software like Speedfan is a more flexible/sensible choice).
orangekiwii wrote:I don't see a way to actually figure out how many fans you could connect to a motherboard via PWM though. If you wanted 5 fans connceted via PWM woudl you need 5 fan headers or would daisy chaining work? Is there a way to tell?
Fire-Flare already explained well: the PWM splitter is my preferred solution because it let me to not exploit a single header drawing too much current.

Let's go back to your original question.

Among 140mm PWM units I'd consider the already quoted Phanteks, the Thermalright TY-147A, the Noctua Redux P14, maybe the Fractal HP-14. Also I'd consider the be quiet Silent Wings 3 as a very good option, but it's not readily available yet several months after its announce.

Among 120mm PWM fans I still lean towards the Scythe Slipstream PWM over any Noctua.

Depending of your GPU you may decide how many fans to use.

orangekiwii
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Re: Phantek f140hp vs noctua s12a

Post by orangekiwii » Fri Mar 11, 2016 5:53 pm

I've still got about a month and a half before I can physically build the system so hopefully the silent wings 3 will be available for comparison at that time.

From your suggestions it seems like a PWM splitter is the way to go. I don't necessarily need a super versatile PWM system as I'd probably just have it be at half speed during idle and then max under load and that's about it.

Appreciate your responses and knowledge guys. Excited to finally build a new system. I got a 970 g1 with the windforce cooler then upgraded to a 980 ti g1 in hopes that it would be as quiet as the 970. Unfortunately it's not so I'm not sure what to do with with getting a truly quiet system but graduading to an r5 + some 140mm quiet fans sounds ideal (or dosen't sound hopefully :D).

As you noted, I don't particularly need to replace the stock fans but again would just like to have everything be the same as it seems like the reviews of the stock fans vary significantly and would ultimately simplify the build.

I'll definitely be going with the old phanteks f140hp if the time comes and the silent wings 3 aren't out for comparison yet. Thanks again for all your help and suggestions! I'm very appreciative.

Abula
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Re: Phantek f140hp vs noctua s12a

Post by Abula » Fri Mar 11, 2016 9:05 pm

quest_for_silence wrote:Among 120mm PWM fans I still lean towards the Scythe Slipstream PWM over any Noctua.
Hey lucas, over any? like NF-S12A or NF-S12B REDUX?

quest_for_silence
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Re: Phantek f140hp vs noctua s12a

Post by quest_for_silence » Sat Mar 12, 2016 2:56 am

Abula wrote:
quest_for_silence wrote:Among 120mm PWM fans I still lean towards the Scythe Slipstream PWM over any Noctua.
Hey lucas, over any? like NF-S12A or NF-S12B REDUX?

With reference to the noise signature, over any. I'd prefer a Noctua over a Scythe just for build quality/reliability reasons (as well as in horizontal mounting).

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