Which fans are the best?

yensteel · Post by **yensteel** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 7:34 am

I was browsing the computer center a couple of days ago, and I saw these fans. I don't know which ones have good sound/noise ratio for low noise operations.

Zalman ZM-F3
http://www.zalman.co.kr/ENG/product/Pro ... sp?idx=200

Arctic cooling 12L
http://www.arctic-cooling.com/fans2.php?idx=101
Arctic cooling AF12025L
http://www.arctic-cooling.com/fans2.php?idx=103

Silverstone FM122
http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/ ... 2&area=usa

Silverstone FM123
http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/ ... 3&area=usa

Zaward Golf fan
http://www.zaward.com/products_detail.php?Pid=2211

I would like to buy a panaflo, or Noctua fan,or something that's popular for low-noise solutions, but these are the only ones available that seem good.

My current 2 fans are the ones that came with my NZXT Hush case. They're pretty good, but I'm not sure if the ones I saw are better. Are they? Thanks.

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 10:00 am

Hello,

Have you run across Yate Loon, or Scythe Slipstream of S-Flex, or GlobalWin NCB fans?

yamahaSHO · Post by **yamahaSHO** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 11:47 am

I would recommend looking at the articles here on SPCR as they have tested many fans. I would highly recommend against Noctua as they aren't that quiet and you pay a lot of money for the let-down.

LodeHacker · Post by **LodeHacker** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 12:47 pm

I have a couple of ZALMAN ZM-F3 fans. They are nice and with the supplied adapter (which makes 12V into 7V) they are great. If fed with 12V they are like monsters and obviously make out loads of noise. At 7V with the supplied adapter they get in a lot of air while still being quiet, however, putting them at 5V with a fan controller or something then they are even more quiet but take in air much less. They are not silent at 5V, but they are very quiet. However I have since my purchase of a new PC case bought Nexus fans and I highly recommend them against the ZALMAN, because at 5V the Nexus is even more quiet than the ZALMAN (as in nearly silent) and they get in as much air as the ZALMAN at 7V. All said here is subjective, but I can say that the Nexus fans are better. However, Nexus has placed a Molex passthrough and a 3-pin connector on each of their fans except the PWM series (which are 4-pin PWM obviously), so Nexus fans aren't the best for keeping your PC inside clean unless you go and chop the fan's cable. Also, the ZALMAN comes with some kind of adapter to lower the noise level, with the Nexus fans you are set on your own to have a fan controller or other stuff to make them quiet. Both come with soft silicone mounts though, which is great and reduces case vibration a LOT!

yensteel · Post by **yensteel** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 8:56 pm

NeilBlanchard wrote:Hello,

Have you run across Yate Loon, or Scythe Slipstream of S-Flex, or GlobalWin NCB fans?

yamahaSHO wrote:I would recommend looking at the articles here on SPCR as they have tested many fans.

Sorry, but those fans that I listed are the only ones I can find and buy. I've checked the reviews and forums and compiled a list of fans to look out for before I went out to find some case fans, but I came out empty-handed.

I have my own fan controller bay, so I don't need a fan that's throttle-able.

Thanks for the help.

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Tue Dec 23, 2008 2:35 am

the FM123's blades look quite similar to a Yate Loon, however bearing noise is also a factor. zaward golf fan is also probably good.

yensteel · Post by **yensteel** » Tue Dec 23, 2008 10:37 am

so, I should get the zaward golf fans?

The arctic cooling fans have fluid bearing. Does it make a big difference?

STi · Post by **STi** » Fri Dec 26, 2008 1:36 pm

Yate loons are hit or miss for me with most ticking at low RPM.

Noctua NF-P12 so far are the most Silent. I do have some slipstreams and s-flex to test.

Xuestor · Post by **Xuestor** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 4:08 am

yamahaSHO wrote:I would recommend looking at the articles here on SPCR as they have tested many fans. I would highly recommend against Noctua as they aren't that quiet and you pay a lot of money for the let-down.

They are less noisy than Scythe/Yate Loon. The adapter for 600rpm operation is also a nice feature. Noctua is the one fan I've gotten dead silent, at about 500 rpm, cause, I can't imagine anyone in here are running their fans at full rpm? If thats the case, any fan is noisy, even the 800rpm scythe.

yensteel · Post by **yensteel** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 9:27 am

My main question is, which fan can give me the highest airflow/decibel ratio out of the fans that are in the list?

I'm still considering the golf fans, but I'm not sure if it's dimples give it a real advantage and I don't know whether it's loud or quiet. I don't trust the numbers that they give.

I would buy a scythe, Yate Loon, GlobalWin or any fans listed in the guides if I could, but I can't.

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 10:39 am

Hi,

My guesstimate of your list is to try the Arctic Cooling and the Zaward Golf fans. The Silverstone fans are next, but they are a bit rough, and the maker has a reputation of low(er) quality bearings so they wear out relatively quickly. Zalman has never had quiet fans.

yensteel · Post by **yensteel** » Sun Dec 28, 2008 2:08 am

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll buy the Zaward Golf fans and try them out then.

yensteel · Post by **yensteel** » Wed Dec 31, 2008 6:38 am

I just bought the Zaward fans and I compared them with my current fans that came with my Hush case. The airflow of the zaward fans were a bit higher, but it's surprisingly just as quiet.

I highly recommend these now. I hope there's a proper review for these fans, as well as the other ones I've mentioned in SilentPCReview.

Thanks for your help guys!