Quiet but great cfm intake fan ie; thermaltake

xboxhaxorz · Post by **xboxhaxorz** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 7:48 am

Spend alot of time researching 120mm quiet fans so much information so many different opinions and reviews its hard to choose.

Using a Sonata III with the stock antec tricool which is pretty much unoticeable at low speed setting even medium isnt noisy at all but high is definately LOUD.

Right now im looking for an intake fan which in the sonata goes in front of the hdd and behind the mobo instead of directly in front of the front lol.

http://www.svc.com/a2329.html I came across this supposedly being a great intake fan. Great cfm 62 and extremely quiet 16dba, but as mentioned manufacturer specs are useless and must ask spcr users.

Also at which dba is something considered to be unaudible?

I was going to go with the http://www.svc.com/d12sl-12-or.html but it has less cfm and more dba

http://www.svc.com/sy-1225sl12sh.html Wow, impressive airflow 100+ cfm geez but has a whopping 37dba

LG is noisy · Post by **LG is noisy** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 8:22 am

it depends on the ambient noise...

i.e. 20dbA is almost unaudible at 2pm, but would be quite noisy at 2am in the silent night

eit412 · Post by **eit412** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 8:35 am

Most thermaltake nubers for dba are very unrealistic. Many people have highly recomended the yate loon fans. The scythe fan will be loud at full speed, but can be undervloted to be very quiet. Scythe also sells many versions of that same fan ranging from 500rpm to the one you saw at 1900 rpm.

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 9:03 am

I was going to go with the http://www.svc.com/d12sl-12-or.html but it has less cfm and more dba

that's because the specs are actually realistic. more CFM = more dBA, always. do you really need so much CFM? as others mentioned, both Yate Loon and Scythe Slipstream are superb fans. Thermaltake are junk.

Modo · Post by **Modo** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 9:37 am

The Silent Cat fan is supposedly pretty good (yes, even though it comes from Thermaltake, everyone has a fluke once in a while

). However, I wouldn't bet on the manfacturer's noise ratings, as that's way too much CFM for just 16dBA.

You can't really compare the CFM and noise ratings for fans from different manufacturers, as they are taken under different conditions, often with marketing in mind.

120mm fans usually become inaudible between 500rpm and 1000rpm, depending on what the ambient noise level is. At the very low speed a fan moves so little air, that only the bearing makes sounds (rattling, if it is a bad one). Smaller fans move less air, so they can be silent at slightly higher rpms.

Blood · Post by **Blood** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 12:07 pm

The Thermaltake's frameless design would not be good for an intake fan. The 16dBa rating is definitely inaccurate.

dhanson865 · Post by **dhanson865** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 1:23 pm

The only 120mm fans I consider are Yate Loon for about $3+S&H, Scythe Slipstream for about $8+S&H, or Scythe S-Flex for about $13+S&H.

The yate loon is about 1300 RPM at 12v and is the best sounding $3 fan you'll ever lay your hands on.

The Scythes come in several flavors. They might be worth paying the extra for.

If you are going to use the 5v or 7v trick or have plans to use a fan controller you probably want to choose one that has a top RPM in the 800 to 1350 RPM range (I'm thinking the 1200 RPM scythes or the 1350 RPM Yate Loon). Using 5volts on a Slipstream will take RPMs to about 65% of max. Using 5v on the Yate Loon might take it closer to 50% of max RPM.

If you aren't going to do anything special you'll want to avoid the Yate Loon and go for one of the Scythes at 800 RPM.

I'm not sure why you choose SVC but you might consider Jab-tech as a second source for the Yate Loon or Scythe Slipstream. I don't have a recommendation on a source for the Scythe SFlex so you might as well use SVC if they are your preferred source.

Don't be afraid to order one of each between the Yate Loon and the two scythes. If you buy from a good vendor adding the Yate Loon to the order isn't going to cost you more than $5 and then you can compare for yourself with fan in hand.

OH and here are some comparisons on noise/RPMs as measured by SPCR

Tricool 120mm on Medium 27dBA 1430RPM
Slipstream M 1200 12V 28dBA 1210RPM

Tricool 120mm on Low 20dBA 870 RPM
Slipstream M 1200 7V 21dBA 890RPM
Slipstream M 1200 5V 18dBA 720RPM

Slipstream L 800 12V 19dBA 770RPM

However it's worth noting that the Slipstream moves more air per RPM and has a smoother sound than the TriCool.

The SFLEX will sound better than the TriCool as well but it and 90% of the other fans on the market will move about the same amount of air per RPM. The SFLEX claim to fame is that it will last longer, handles high heat better, and doesn't care as much what direction it is facing.

Each of the 3 fans has it's advantages. Each of the 3 fans has its disadvantages. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Get a fan or two in your hands and try them out. Nothing beats hands on experience with the fan in the system you have.