Are the Vantec Stealth fans any good?

fyleow · Post by **fyleow** » Sun Sep 11, 2005 4:25 pm

I have an older Lian Li case with 5 80mm Vantec Stealth fans running at 5V. I was wondering if it is worth replacing with Nexus or Panaflo 80mm ones. If the noise difference isn't too great I might just save the money on upgrading until I get a better case that uses 120mm fans.

mathias · Post by **mathias** » Sun Sep 11, 2005 4:36 pm

It would be worth it to replace them with prety much anything recomended here. If you want to save money, you should look into some cheaper fans, like yate loons, or some of the other fans in frankgehry's recent 8cm fan roundup in the user reviews section. You should also be able to save money and reduce noise by getting rid of a few of those fans, eg by replacing two vantec stealths @5v with a single nexus @12v.

Do you actually have 5 case fans? If so, you need to cut that back, just because there's a slot for a fan, doesn't mean you have to use it.

ronrem · Post by **ronrem** » Sun Sep 11, 2005 6:09 pm

The knock on stealths is that running at 12v they are not so low rpm as to be stealty or even pretty quiet. There is only a mild diff in sound between ANY 2 fans you can persuade to run at ,say,800 rpm. 5??? What you got in there a toaster oven and a Prescott?

If you NEED any more than 3 fans you really need to think about other components in the system,airflow strategy etc. Without hardcore tricks a Venice 3000 can run with a lone 120 fan in the whole system. Map out how the air comes in-is sent out. Eliminate the 2 fans closest to your ears-and maybe one more too. If 2 80s blow hot case air out-air WILL come in by whatever unobstructed opening. I assume there's also a PSU with a fan that moves some air? Think first-spend money second is a rule of thumb I find has some merits.

Shadowknight · Post by **Shadowknight** » Sun Sep 11, 2005 7:21 pm

The 80mm fans are somewhat comparable to Panaflos, going by the one I have. The rest of the line should be outlawed by the Geneva Convention, though.

mathias · Post by **mathias** » Sun Sep 11, 2005 7:24 pm

Shadowknight wrote:The 80mm fans are somewhat comparable to Panaflos, going by the one I have.

Must be really lousy panaflos. The two vantec stealths I've had were much worse than a zalman.

BrianE · Post by **BrianE** » Mon Sep 12, 2005 1:27 am

Shadowknight wrote:The 80mm fans are somewhat comparable to Panaflos, going by the one I have. The rest of the line should be outlawed by the Geneva Convention, though.

LOL

Not to hijack the thread or anything, but I've always been curious what other fans the "Stealth" range compares to. I know they have a horrid reputation here, but was giving them a passing thought because I was considering the differences between their ball bearing construction (better for higher heat applications) over other bearing designs... not that Panaflo Hydrowave fans aren't suitable either of course.

So, any other comparitive comments? Just curious.

patord · Post by **patord** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 11:20 am

fyleow wrote:I have an older Lian Li case with 5 80mm Vantec Stealth fans running at 5V. I was wondering if it is worth replacing with Nexus or Panaflo 80mm ones. If the noise difference isn't too great I might just save the money on upgrading until I get a better case that uses 120mm fans.

The major issue I've seen in my experience with 80,92,and 120mm versions of those vantecs has been the horrible motor noise/chatter at any reasonable SPCR voltage. If you havent been annoyed the motor/bearing chatter at 5v by now then I'd say just wait until you get a new case and use SCPR recommended 120mm fans (eg, nexus/yate loons).

fyleow · Post by **fyleow** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 12:09 pm

I've been holding off replying to this thread because there isn't an audible difference between having all 5 fans on (at 5v) or off. I suspect it's the old heatsink I have on my Athlon 64 that's causing all the noise (70mm Thermaltake), so once I replace that with the SI-120 I have coming I'll post an update. The only other fans in my system is the PSU (Coolermaster 450 which should be ~23 db when idling based on SPCR). Video card and north bridge are both passively cooled.

nici · Post by **nici** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 7:45 am

Just unplug the CPU fan for a while, it wont hurt anything and youll see how loud it really is. 70mm, thermaltake, and cpu-cooler fan makes me think its one incredidly loud and fast fan, so i wouldnt forcefully stop it as it might break..

Kwiet · Post by **Kwiet** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 7:12 am

I have two Vantec Stealths,
The 80mm version runs at 12 volts on my sons computer and you can hear it but it does not bother them. My second one is a 60mm Stealth that operates off the cool and quiet fan connector on my motherboard. Since it blows out at 1,033 RPM... it is quiet enough for me. My computer sits on a shelf with the rear fans blowing out over a meter from my ears.
Panaflo 7 volt level 80mm case fans for the front sides and Panaflo 92mm at 1107 RPM on the heat sink rounds out my case. It all depends on what sound level or signiture bothers you. Since you can't tell if the fans are on or off... I would not replace them.

GHz · Post by **GHz** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 8:46 am

If you're happy with what you have, then stick with it. I personally have tested 80mm 92mm and 120mm Vantec Stealth fans prior to finding SPCR. The Vantec Stealth is very noisy in comparison to other fans recommended here... mostly because of bearing/motor noise. It makes a loud (by my standard) ticking sound even at very low RPM.

If you decide to replace your fans anyway, and you want something cheap and widely available, try the Coolermaster SUF-82-EB UV fan. I bought one based on a recommendation here (thanks FG) to replace a noisy power supply fan. It's quiet, smooth, and very cheap $3.49 @ SVC:

http://www.svc.com/suf-s82-eb-19.html

HTH!

fyleow · Post by **fyleow** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 6:08 pm

I received my SI-120 today with my Panalfo L1A. I have all my case fans and my CPU fan hooked up to a single molex running on 5v and I honestly can't hear a huge difference between all 6 fans on and off. The major noisemaker in my computer right now is my Coolermaster 450 PSU reviewed here.

Of course there's some whooshing air flow noise when the fans are on but they are easily drowned out by the PSU.

People here say the Panaflo is noisy even at 5v and I can see what they mean when I stick my head in my case with my ear next to the fan but I think I should look into replacing the fan in my PSU first.

Can I just replace the fan in there with a Nexus 120mm?

fyleow · Post by **fyleow** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 6:12 pm

GHz wrote:If you're happy with what you have, then stick with it. I personally have tested 80mm 92mm and 120mm Vantec Stealth fans prior to finding SPCR. The Vantec Stealth is very noisy in comparison to other fans recommended here... mostly because of bearing/motor noise. It makes a loud (by my standard) ticking sound even at very low RPM.

If you decide to replace your fans anyway, and you want something cheap and widely available, try the Coolermaster SUF-82-EB UV fan. I bought one based on a recommendation here (thanks FG) to replace a noisy power supply fan. It's quiet, smooth, and very cheap $3.49 @ SVC:

http://www.svc.com/suf-s82-eb-19.html

HTH!

Thanks for the link, SVC is actually right where I live so I can do local pickup. Are there any 120mm fans recommended that are relatively quiet and cheaper than the Nexus at SVC?

Are the Vantec Stealth fans any good?

Are the Vantec Stealth fans any good?

Re: Are the Vantec Stealth fans any good?