A few 120mm fans compared

jmke · Post by **jmke** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 1:51 pm

I spend the last few months with a handful of 120mm fans to find out which one offers the best performance/noise level, in total 35 fan tested from AcoustFan, Aerocool, Arctic-Cooling, Cooler Master, Coolink, CoolJag, Delta, Gelid, GlobalWin, mCubed, Nexus, Noctua, NoiseBlocker, Papst, Revoltec, Scythe, Sharkoon, SilenX and Xthermal;

http://www.madshrimps.be/gotoartik.php?articID=892

Yes I threw in a Delta 120mm monster just to see how it would compare

any and all feedback is much appreciated; I know it's not up to standards with â‚¬10.000 material used by SPCR, hope it still offers some useful data though

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 2:19 pm

Sweet, thank you for very big task you've done ^^ The new noiseblockers seem to be very good fans.

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:39 pm

Hiya,

Did you use a PWM controller on the PWM fans?

You might want to include the 1200RPM Scythe Slipstream.

Did you notice a correlation between noise and the angle the trailing edges of the blades form with the support struts? The Slipstreams have these nearly perpendicular, while many fans have them nearly parallel. When they are parallel (or close to parallel) there is a large "shadow" that interrupts the air flow, which adds a frequency to the sound of the fan.

jmke · Post by **jmke** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 1:37 am

Hey Neil, I didn't use a PWM fan controller for the PWM fans, might count for their lesser performance at lower voltage, 4 out of 35 fans were PWM.

Scythe Slipstream 1200rpm is Scythe SY1225SL12M right? Only tested it at 12v where it did ok (MER 128.6), above average, but had to limit the selection to get the review out before the end of the century

each fan had a distinctive noise frequency but will need a high end mic to record those;

vertigo · Post by **vertigo** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 8:40 am

Thanks jmke, it's nice too see all those fans lined up like that. I think we can say that blade shape has an effect on noise, the quieter fans seem to have similar blades (spaced proportionately, convex shape, forms an angle with the struts, small hubs). Bearing noise one can't predict but this review nicely shows which fans have bearing noise.