Nexus Real Silent case fan vs. Yate Loon D12SL-12

sipitai · Post by **sipitai** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 11:11 am

Hi everyone,

In my research on this topic so far, I have gathered the following information:

The Nexus Real Silent case fan (120mm) and the Yate Loon D12SL-12 (120mm) are exactly the same fan, made by the same manufacturer, with the only difference being that the Nexus has an added inline resistor to reduce the fan speed from 1350RPM to 1000RPM.

The upside of this resistor is that it reduces the amount of noise the fan makes, although the downside is that it reduces the airflow from 47CFM to 37CFM. It can also cause problems when attempting to start the fan at lower voltages (e.g. 5V or 7V).

Its also worth noting that the Nexus fans go through additional quality control and have a 3 year warranty, while the Yate Loon fans are substantially cheaper.

Based on this information I have made the following assumptions:

- At the same voltage, the Nexus fan would make slightly less noise than the Yate Loon fan.

- At the same fan speed (RPM), both fans would make the same amount of noise and create the same amount of airflow (CFM).

Can anyone tell me if I am right or wrong here?

Thanks!

frankgehry · Post by **frankgehry** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 11:30 am

You are correct sir. The only downside to the yate loon is sample to sample variation - you could end up with a fan that's marginally, moderately, or much noisier than a nexus. - FG

The extra noise, if any, would be low speed bearing noise usually under 800rpm.

niels007 · Post by **niels007** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 12:01 pm

Has anyone tried to access this alledged inline resistor and get rid of it? I have one SL and it starts at lower speeds which would be nice for my Nexus fans as well!

automatic jack · Post by **automatic jack** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 1:26 pm

niels007 wrote:Has anyone tried to access this alledged inline resistor and get rid of it? I have one SL and it starts at lower speeds which would be nice for my Nexus fans as well!

up

nici · Post by **nici** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 2:15 pm

Actually i think its not a resistor but a diode or two.. anyway, i would be ineteested to know how to disassemble a fan.

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 3:49 pm

Well I can tell you how they are assembled....most anyway.

The shaft is a press fit into the hub (blades).....it may be in position as the blade part is cast. In any case it won't come loose from the hub without breaking it.

This shaft/blade assy is then slipped into the motor part, through the bearings, fairly loose fit.....it will come right out, except.....

There is a one-way clip pushed onto the end of the shaft, up against the rear bearing. Once installed, this clip is on for good, and virtually impossible to remove. So these cheap computer fans are not meant to be dis-assembled or worked on. You just replace them.....

ozdoc · Post by **ozdoc** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 5:18 pm

The upside of this resistor is that it reduces the amount of noise the fan makes, although the downside is that it reduces the airflow from 47CFM to 37CFM. It can also cause problems when attempting to start the fan at lower voltages (e.g. 5V or 7V).

I can't recall anyone reporting problems with the Nexus starting at 7v, at which it is very quiet. Mine started at 5v also, but are fairly new fans. Maybe time will tell on this. I went back to 7v because the fan noise was already below the ambient noise level, and thought a bit more air movement would be better.

Post by **Rusty075** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 5:40 pm

I'm not even sure it is a resistor or a diode. Max rpm's can be easily adjusted in fan design by just adjusting the wrapping of the motors. Adding a resistor would be a more expensive, and inelegant solution. Granted, I've never felt to inclined to destroy a perfectly good fan to find out for sure though. Reduced windings also reduces startup torque, which explains the reduced low-voltage starting.

Nexus orders in big enough bulk to be able to spec a custom color, so there's no reason they couldn't spec a custom motor winding as well. The D12SL-12 is a stock component, but any of the OES's like Yate Loon will build anything you want so long as you order enough of them.

According to Dorothy, a 4000 piece order will get you anything you want from Yate, while it takes 1000 minimum to get the same service from Panasonic. (the high minimum order is also why you so rarely see Yate Loons in retail distribution channels)

Shadowknight · Post by **Shadowknight** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 5:55 pm

My Nexus fans have no problem starting at about 650rpm. They won't start at 5v and they don't sound any quieter when undervolted any more than 650rpm.

Ackelind · Post by **Ackelind** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 4:48 am

I also found 650rpm to be around where I start to hear the fan (and thus making it to noisy for my taste).

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 5:00 am

I find some of these posts interesting/funny. A Yate Loon/Nexus 120mm sounds noisy at 650rpms? You got a problem......

Are you like holding it against your ear?

Installed in any decent case, these fans are inaudable to me at 3 feet, at 1000 rpms. My hearing was tested normal recently.

You want airflow from your fan.....you need rpms.

Shadowknight · Post by **Shadowknight** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 6:06 am

But lot of us are a lot closer to our cases than 3 feet away. I tend to have an extremely low noise floor when my A/C and fridge aren't running. Even in my P180 with acoustipack and decoupling the fans, they are audible above the 650-700rpm range.

Some of use may have more sensitive ears than others. You really don't need that much airflow/CFMs. I need to crank up the 92mm Nexus on my video card when gaming, I don't need to increase my PSU chamber and rear exhaust fans at all.

JBDan · Post by **JBDan** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 12:01 am

Shadowknight wrote:But lot of us are a lot closer to our cases than 3 feet away. I tend to have an extremely low noise floor when my A/C and fridge aren't running. Even in my P180 with acoustipack and decoupling the fans, they are audible above the 650-700rpm range.

Some of use may have more sensitive ears than others. You really don't need that much airflow/CFMs. I need to crank up the 92mm Nexus on my video card when gaming, I don't need to increase my PSU chamber and rear exhaust fans at all.

I concur w/ Shadow. My ears are what I call "anal." I must say though that while hearing the rear exhaust fan for me is possible in my P180 @ 700 rpm, it is far from too noisy. I can just hear it and it is only the rear exhaust I hear at this rpm. I have to crank the intake up to 800 to hear it and the one mounted to my XP120 must hit 900rpm before I can hear it. The bottem mounted one is inaudible up to around 700rpm.Therefore I keep all 4 Nexus's running at ~650-700 rpm. All 4 are controlled w/ SpeedFan.

nici · Post by **nici** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 1:45 am

My case is so close to my head that when im tired i can lean against it and fall asleep.. The front panel is half a foot from my head.

mrochester · Post by **mrochester** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 6:14 am

My Nexus 120mm starts just fine at 5volts, which is around 420rpm.

sipitai · Post by **sipitai** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 12:01 am

One more question / point of curiosity...

According to the SPCR recommended fans page, the Yate Loon D12BL-12 (ball bearing) has a noise rating of 35dB.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article63-page2.html

And according to the Yate Loon website, the Yate Loon D12SL-12 (sleeve bearing) has a higher noise rating than the D12BL-12, which are 28dB and 24dB respectively (I am assuming that the difference between the two D12BL-12 noise ratings is due to the differences in the testing procedures used by SPCR and Yate Loon).

http://www.yateloon.com/dcfan-2.htm#120x120x25

So going by the noise ratings from the Yate Loon website, one would assume that, if measured by SPCR, the D12SL-12 would have a noise rating greater than 35dB (the SPCR noise rating of the D12BL-12).

But that would appear to conflict with the general assertion that the Yate Loon D12SL-12 and the 120mm Nexus Real Silent case fan are basically the same fan (or produce basically the same amount of noise), given that the 120mm Nexus Real Silent case fan has a noise rating of 23dB (which is over 12dB less than the assumed D12SL-12 noise rating).

I would assume that the added inline resistor (or what ever modifications are made to the Nexus fans), lower RPM, lower CFM, etc. would make a bit of a difference, but not that much of a difference.

Or perhaps there's just a mistake in my logic.

All in all, I'm confused

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 3:57 am

OK.....I have both versions of the Yate Loon. D12BL-12 and the D12SL-12. The BL version came in my PSU. I took out the fan and compared it to an orange Yate Loon.

No question the SL model is quieter at any voltage. I don't pay attention to mfg db ratings. You might be seeing mis-prints on numbers, or bending of the facts. Probably it's best to go by what you read on reliable hardware sites....like SPCR.

There are differences of opinion here.....but when it comes to fan noise, you can't do much better than a Nexus/Yate Loon sleeve bearing model.

djnotepad · Post by **djnotepad** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 11:59 am

sorry to dig up an old thread but I am in the same boat as the OP. Whether to get a Yate Loon or a nexus. both are plentiful here in the US it seems like but price is an issue for me. it looks like Yate Loons go for ~9 and the nexuses ~18 before shipping. I plan on using this as a case fan for the P180, most likely the front fan and if i like it maybe getting another for the rear. is the manufacturing of the nexus THAT much better than the yate loons? has anyone experienced degredation of quality of the yate loons as time has gone on?

on a side note, when you guys are saying undervolting to 5V and 7V how are you guys doing this? Is this an exact thing? i.e. set a value in program to 5V?

I have the antec tri-cool so I just flip the switch to L (5V?) , M (7V?) , H (12V? )

I use Smart Guardian to control my HSF and my chipset fan, is there an option in the to go EXACTLY to 5V?

Aleksi · Post by **Aleksi** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 12:18 pm

The manufacturing process for the Nexus and Yate Loon fans are the same by all indications. (Obviously disregarding the change in the fan electronics to lower the RPM and sticking the Nexus sticker on it). They are basicly the same fan. Life time and bearing noise increase during that period are practically identical. I have a hard time believing the "Nexus are cherry-picked Yate Loons", simply because the cost of labour for doing that would not be very economical.

Some people say go for the Nexus, I say go for the Loonies. The difference is very small to non-existing atleast with the Nexus and Yate Loon fans I've had. Especially when undervolted.

Undervolting can be done through software (like Speedfan), possibly from BIOS, using a fan controller like a Fan Mate etc etc etc. If you search for "undervolting" you will get all the info and methods you need.

mrochester · Post by **mrochester** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 12:38 pm

Does anyone know where Yate Loon fans be can bought from in the UK? I've checked all 20 or so online suppliers in my favourites list and none stock any Yate Loon fans. Thanks!

Aleksi · Post by **Aleksi** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 12:55 pm

Atleast some SPCR members from the UK have ordered from Silencio. He usually gives a SPCR discount and has low cost shipping.

hofffam · Post by **hofffam** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 1:31 pm

I can only say that the 3 Orange YL I bought from Tekgems are identical and very quiet. I was surprised how much quieter they were than the Enermax 120mm fan I had.

A bargain at the price.

dfrost · Post by **dfrost** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 4:30 pm

djnotepad asked:

on a side note, when you guys are saying undervolting to 5V and 7V how are you guys doing this? Is this an exact thing? i.e. set a value in program to 5V?

Here's how to make 5v and 7V fan adapters that mate to standard Molex connectors.