Nexus vs panaflo vs silenx

[egale]

I fitted my P150 with two Silenx 92mms in the front, one 120mm Silenex in the rear and one 120mm Silenx on my SI-120. The result is a very quiet case for a P4 650. The temps at idle are mb 37 cpu 39.

I was trying to lower the case temps especially so I replaced the rear fan with a panaflo L1a. This lowered the mb temp down to 34 and the cpu to 36. The problem is noise. It makes the case too loud.

I know Silenx's numbers are not true but I am wondering how the Silenex compares to Nexus in noise and airflow. The airflow numbers posted for the nexus seem way too low to keep my case cool but I wonder in real life how it would compare to the Silenx in air flow especially.

I have read through the postings here and I do not see any real alternatives. Either you get airflow or you get noise. Has anyone tried both the Nexus and Silenx and can give a comparison?

[Rusty075]

Has anyone tried both the Nexus and Silenx and can give a comparison?

Yes, just a couple of days ago in fact: ilenX ixtrema pro 92mm (pics)

[egale]

I saw that before but unfortunately, the comparison is not of the same size fans. It makes the comparison sort of pointless.

I have the panaflo L1A and a Silenx. The Panaflo pushes more air but it is very noisy. The Silenx pushes less air but is very quiet. With the Silenx fan, I don't hear my system at all more than a few feet away. With the Panaflo, I can hear it at 25 feet away.

I my real question is will a Nexus 120 at 12v push more or less air than a Silenx. My problem is that I need air flow and putting in a fan that is quiet but doesn't push enough air kind of pointless.

[mathias]

A 12cm nexus is a extra low speed yate loonD12SL, so if you want more speed, you could get a yate loon D12SM. If you need a lot of airflow, you could try a 14cm D14SM, it might work better on your heatsink, similarly to how some people here had success fitting 12cm fans to SI97's.

[ckolivas]

I my real question is will a Nexus 120 at 12v push more or less air than a Silenx. My problem is that I need air flow and putting in a fan that is quiet but doesn't push enough air kind of pointless.

The older Silenx fans with the larger hub put out about the same amount of noise at the same amount of airflow as the Nexus fans. However the Nexus fans are designed for lower flow applications so you can run them at much lower airflow levels and therefore much quieter - of course if you want to blow a gale they will be unable to blow a gale. The recent review on the new Silenx fans indicates to me a much cheaper noisier fan than their old ones and it would appear they put out much more noise at the same airflow as the Nexus.

About the only useful advice I can give you is that most people need far less airflow than they think, and you have quite a few fans there...

[ckolivas]

Actually as a postscript to that previous comment - if you're serious about silencing/quieting, do not pursue lower and lower temperatures. You should pursue lower and lower airflows until you have the lowest airflow that still gives you safe, adequate cooling since any more cooling is just "wasted air". The theoretically shorter component life of higher temperatures just doesn't occur in realistic time frames to be of significance; only stability counts.

[ATWindsor]

I my real question is will a Nexus 120 at 12v push more or less air than a Silenx. My problem is that I need air flow and putting in a fan that is quiet but doesn't push enough air kind of pointless.

The older Silenx fans with the larger hub put out about the same amount of noise at the same amount of airflow as the Nexus fans. However the Nexus fans are designed for lower flow applications so you can run them at much lower airflow levels and therefore much quieter - of course if you want to blow a gale they will be unable to blow a gale. The recent review on the new Silenx fans indicates to me a much cheaper noisier fan than their old ones and it would appear they put out much more noise at the same airflow as the Nexus.

About the only useful advice I can give you is that most people need far less airflow than they think, and you have quite a few fans there...

I recently tested some fans in an anecoic chamber, the nexus and the silenX has comparable noise at same rotational speed, but the silenx has higher rotational speed (especially the new fans), in my test i found little to support the notion that nexus is a much better fan than others, all high quality fans more or less follows the therotical turbulence-noise, which is: noise si proportional with airspeed^6 or a 18 db increase for each doubling of airspeed. The design of the silenx actually looks like a good idea, as the flow in the middle in theory doesn't increase noise at all (the noise comes from the edge between moving and non-moving air) and it should increase flow abit.

AtW

[frostedflakes]

... Either you get airflow or you get noise....

That's about all there is to it.

There's no magical fan that is able to push rediculous amounts of air with little noise, despite what SilenX and Thermaltake might say. At the same RPM and assuming the same airflow, most fans should be producing about the same amount of noise. It'll vary due to bearing type, # of blades, etc., but it shouldn't be a big difference. If anything I'd think these factors would effect the characteristics of the sound more than the sound power.

I think what turns many people off about SilenX is their BS specifications. Not to mention you can get a Yate Loon, which is probably as good or better, for 1/3 the price.

[egale]

Most of the advice I have gotten usually states my temps are too high and their rig idles 10 degrees less and at load never gets above 39 degrees, etc., etc. This is a refreshing change! I know I have a hot CPU (P4 650) and my machine runs stable so far. But, what worries me is that Intel recommends a mb temp not exceeding 38 degrees. With the Silenx fan, the mb temp hovers around 37- 38 degrees. With the Panaflo, the temps are a couple of degrees less. Either way very close to the Intel limit.

[ATWindsor]

Most of the advice I have gotten usually states my temps are too high and their rig idles 10 degrees less and at load never gets above 39 degrees, etc., etc. This is a refreshing change! I know I have a hot CPU (P4 650) and my machine runs stable so far. But, what worries me is that Intel recommends a mb temp not exceeding 38 degrees. With the Silenx fan, the mb temp hovers around 37- 38 degrees. With the Panaflo, the temps are a couple of degrees less. Either way very close to the Intel limit.

I don't think that is a problem, my mobo is around 42-43 (oddly high i must admit, maybe my HD is very close to the sensor), and i have no stbility problems (although my mobo did die the other day but I think that was unrelated, becasue t wouldn't start after beeing off for the first time in weeks). I'm not sure what komponents are most sensitive to high mobo-temp but I would guess the NB?

AtW