Hi,

I was out looking for a slim 60mm fan to replace the VERY noisy one that came with my Evga 750i sli FTW Motherboard (I know : why did I buy a mobo with such a tiny fan in the first place... ?). I stumbled upon this one and was quite pleased with it : PAPST SLIM 60 MM FAN - 612F/2L
So here is my first attempt at a mini review.

Manufacturer's data :
Dimensions : 60 mm x 60 mm x 15 mm
Airflow : 11.2 CFM
Speed : 2650 RPM
Noise : 16 dB(A)
Power : 0.4 Watt (0.03 A)
Running voltage : 12 V
Start voltage : 11.5 V
Maximum voltage : 13.2 V
RPM monitoring : Yes
Model n° : 612F/2L

(not sure about the manufacturer's link : http://www.ebmpapst.com/en/products/compact-fans/axial-compact-fans/axial_compact_fans_detail.php?pID=53767)

I don't have a good microphone so I did not try to measure anything ; the noise refered to in this review is only based on what I could hear (makes sense : what can I judge what I can't hear...).
Airflow is ...ahem... "measured"...ahem... using the scientifically proven airflow-on-the-back-of-my-hand method

The fan did not come with any accesories (not even screws).
Build quality is not bad. The plastic is a little thin but taking into account the fact that fan is 15mm thick, it's fine. Too bad the cable isn't sleeved, it would give it a much more professionnal look.

Airflow wise, it's on par with what I would expect from such a small fan. I pushes air, but it feels more like a gentle breeze on your hand raher than a mini tornado.

Silence wise, I was pleasatly surprised.
In free air, with my ear right next to the hub, the fan has a slight buzzing and some airflow noise. You can feel a little bit of vibration when you hold it between your fingers. At hand held distance (40-50 cm), the noise is almost gone and what remains is very smooth.
Inside my case (see signature), you cannot tell the fan is there (runs at full blast all the time). I mounted the fan 2 ways : pushing and pulling air through the Northbridge heatsink. Pulling air through the HS is the weak spot for this fan but it was to be expected, it's a slim fan after all. Pushing air through the heatsink gave slightly better results in airflow, and made no difference in percived noise.


Conclusion : this is a quiet little fan you can use when only a little airflow is needed, and when there isn't much airflow restriction.

Please feel free to comment or ask questions if needed.

Hi frenchie, I realize your post here was written in 2008, but while searching the Forum archives today for a quiet 60mm fan I found your review and I'll give this one a try.

Thanks!

Hi frenchie, I realize your post here was written in 2008, but while searching the Forum archives today for a quiet 60mm fan I found your review and I'll give this one a try.

Thanks!

Hi Scott,
Glad to be of help. Let us know if you agree with my results when you get your fan.

BTW, I wrote this on Wed Jan 06, 2010

I just realized that, LOL! I've been reading a lot of Threads (new and old) and got mixed up on the dates!

Hi frenchie,

I was thinking about getting a "Zalman fan-mate 2" since I can think of a couple places I might use it, and I might even try it with the 60mm Papst fan, but the Zalman fan-mate specs warn against using it with a fan that requires a start-up voltage of more than 5 volts. I checked the specs on the Papst fan at the EndPCNoise website, and it doesn't list start-up voltage.

Do you know what the start-up voltage on the Papst is?

Thanks,
Scott

Hi Scott,
According to the manufacturer's specs, it should be 11.5V. Honestly, I doubt that number but I cannot give you another one. I haven't tried measuring it.
However, this fan doesn't push very much air even at full speed, and I'd say it quiet enough for most systems. I run it at full speed without a noise problem. I suggest you try plugging it directly into a molex connector on your PSU, listen to the noise, and feel the amount of air, before thinking about undervolting.
As for the fan-mate voltage ratings, I have never used one... I don't know how conservative those specs are. I would just imagine that what matters is the power of the fan, or the intensity, more than the voltage. It's just my guess (this fan is 0.4W ; in comparaison, the Noctua P12 is 1.08W).
Try asking the question in the fans section ; maybe someone with hands on experience can be more helpful .

Thanks for the quick reply frenchie, the Papst should be here this week, can't get here soon enough now. The one month old 40x40x20 mini-Kaze just started buzzing about an hour ago. I couldn't figure out what the noise was, until I took the side panel off, then it was obvious. If I pick it up, it gets fairly quiet again, but I can't seem to orient it inside the case in such a way that it aims where I need it to without buzzing. The other little fan I have (mini-Kaze 40x40x10) is working fine, nice and quiet.

On the Papst, I read that it was rated at 11.5volts, but it doesn't say what the required start-up voltage is, and I think that means the amount of voltage required to get it spinning from a dead stop.

Here's the warning on the "Coolerguys" website: "Do not use FAN MATE 2 with fans that have a start up voltage of more than 5V.
Please check the start up voltage in the specifications of the fan."

Since the 60mm Papst is such a small fan, I was guessing that it doesn't require much power to get it started, and might fall under Zalman's 5volt minimum.

Not a big deal, I just hope Papst sends me a good one

Thanks again!

Hi Scott,

Was looking into this fan for an HTPC build, what are your thoughts of the fan? Did you successfully undervolt it?

And thanks to the OP for a great review.

It's hard for me to give it an individual review at this point because I've been throwing the kitchen sink at a problem, as part of an overall cooling effort. Despite being huge, the Northbridge heatsink and the VREG heatsink on the Classified motherboard both run hot, or at least it seems hot to me, but I'm new to this.

At idle, I've been around 65-67°C on the Northbridge (BIOS reading), and around 50°C on the VREG.

The Papst fan is quiet enough that I can't hear it outside my case, and I haven't even tried to undervolt it yet, it's running full speed (16dBA, 11cfm, 2650rpm).

If you need something in a 60x60x15 size and 11cfm is enough to accomplish your goal, then I would recommend this fan. I haven't learned enough about fans yet to really understand 'static pressure', but this fan doesn't seem to have much cooling ability when pressed up flush against the Northbridge heatsink. At the moment, I have it in a push-pull configuration, the Papst 60x60x15 pulling on one side of the NB, and a Sanyo-Denki San Ace 80x80x15 pushing from the other side, like a pair of headphones on either side of the NB.

This combo has the NB temp (idle) down to 61°, but I'm not convinced the Papst is contributing anything to the equation. Previously, I had the Papst by itself pushing air through the NB, and the NB temps were still in the 67° range. When the San Ace arrived, I put it where the Papst had been (in the 'push' side position) and switched the Papst over the to 'pull' side. My next experiment will be to remove the Papst to see if the San Ace maintains those marginally improved temps by itself.


The loudest component of the whole system, by far, is the stock Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 video card. It's not terrible, but if it wasn't there, I don't think I would be able to hear anything else at all. I can't hear anything else over it, anyway.

I think everything else is pretty quiet, but I can't turn the PC on without the video card, and the video card is like a 1967 big-block Corvette with sidepipes at an electric car convention, i.e., I can't hear anything else. I really like old Corvettes (and muscle cars of all kinds), but I don't want my computer to sound like one...

When the MK-13 is available early next month, I'll try to fix that video card noise problem. Then I should be able to better isolate where any other noise is coming from.

Noiseblocker has nice 60mm x 25mm

Size : 60x60x25mm
Weight : 60g
Operating Voltage : 6-12,0 V
Start Voltage : 5 Volt
Input Power : 0,6 Watt
RPM at 12V : 1600 (+/- 10%)
Airflow max. m /h : 18 m³/h
Acoustical Noise (dB/A) : 11 dB/A
MTBF (25°C) : 30 000 Std.

I bought it but have not yet installed it.

Must've missed the Noiseblocker on my search, let us know how you like it.

Any word on the Noiseblocker? I just purchased (currently in transit) a new OrigenAE HTPC case that uses FOUR 60mm fans. I'm a bit concerned that those fans are going to whine (which would be particularly troubling considering the fact that I invested a lot in "silent" components...Seasonic X650, 1.5TB WD Caviar Green, and the Scythe Big Shuriken).

Thanks!

Nathan

Noiseblockers are expensive but as their name suggests, they think noise is important.

Even their small fans cost more than other's full sized fans.

They have long life bearings though.

Here are the specs on their fast 60mm fan:
http://www.noiseblocker.de/en/produkt_l ... an-xr2.php

I'm currently looking into some 60mm fans to have as chassis fans in my chassis.

I have two contenders to choose between. The Scythe Mini Kaze 60x60x20mm or the Fractal Design 60x60x25mm.

I would plan to have them at either 5.5v or 7v. But the question is. Can they function at those voltages.

The Scythe seems to be no go. But the Fractal Design fans could possibly be run at 7v. But I can't really find any good data to say which ever would work the best.

I'm after extra fans for airflow for no extra noise.

Currently I'm running a single 70x70x10or15mm fan, a delta temp sensor one. It runs between 2400-3000rpm at 7v volts. It's a bit noisy and I'm looking to replace it whit 2x 60mm fans as a more quiet alternative probably pushing more or same amount of air.

I forgot, Dorothy Bradbury's 60mm fans are good fans.
http://www.dorothybradbury.co.uk/