need quiet 120 mm PWM fan for cpu heatsink, +60 cfm

digicat · Post by **digicat** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 12:45 pm

I picked up an EVGA p55 FTW over the weekend, and found that it's onboard CPU header will only allow fan-speed control with 4 pin fan connections. You can put the standard 3 pin connector on it, but it will run at full blast only.

I'm using the Venomous X heatsink, and had picked up a Scythe S-Flex sff21f to use with it.

Are there any good and quiet fans that I could go with that run 4 wires to the mobo?

Edit: changed the thread title, now that I know these are called PWM fans.

SebRad · Post by **SebRad** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 2:22 pm

Hi, Scythe make a "Karma PWM" 4 wire fan, reports suggest it to be good. I believe Nexus make a PWM fan but not seen much about it. Akasa Apache should be good if user thoughts I've read about it are correct. I'm currently using an Arctic Cooling F12 PWM fan and am happy with it.
Good luck, Seb

digicat · Post by **digicat** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 2:31 pm

PWM, that's the acronym that I didn't know. Thanks. Ok, now I know what to look for. My Scythe s-flex was doing the job well, so I'll need to find something that moves the same ammount of air (63.7 cfm) at the same noise or less (28dba).

I've updated the thread title too.

digicat · Post by **digicat** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 4:42 pm

Has anyone used the Coolink SWiF2-12P 120mm PWM fan? The sepecs I found online say

800-1700 RPM Â±10%
35.5 to 75.1 CFM
8.5 to 27.1 dBA

It uses a "hydro-dynamic" bearing. Is that another way of saying "fluid-dynamic?"

Wayne Redpath · Post by **Wayne Redpath** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 8:49 pm

My ASUS mainboard complained about the KAMA PWM fan that I tried to use with my Scythe Ninja cooler because the rpm went below 600rpm. The CPU fan failure alarm halted booting. I replaced it with a Gelid Silent 12 PWM type which operates from 750 to 1500 rpm. It's very quiet at 750rpm and pushes enough air at 1500rpm for my system under full load.

My Main System is in an Antec P180 spcr_edition Case:
- Upper Chamber: ASUS P5WDG2 WS PRO, Pentium Dual Core E2220, Scythe NINJA, Sapphire HD 3850, Gelid Silent 12 fan on a PWM y-adapter.
- Lower chamber: Corsair VX 450W PS, 3 of WD RE2 500 (RAID1 and a Backup Drive), Gelid Silent 12 fan on a PWM y-adapter.

Kilgore · Post by **Kilgore** » Mon May 31, 2010 8:40 am

Wayne, how's your Gelid fan holding up? Still quietly spinning? I'm thinking of trying a set in a mini P180. What are you using for case fans?

lodestar · Post by **lodestar** » Mon May 31, 2010 11:29 am

You could consider the Scythe Slip Stream variable PWM fan, from a source such as this one http://www.case-mod.com/scythe-sy1225sl ... -4796.html. This comes with a PCI slot bracket with a rotating control. Turn the control to Low and you have a 470 to 1340 rpm range (23.0 ~ 76.53 CFM) or to High and have 740 to 1900 rpm (37.15 ~ 110.31 CFM). You can set it anywhere between the Low and High settings so it is genuinely variable. What it means in practice is that you can dial in the idle speed you want from around 500 rpm upwards, and then just leave it to the PWM.

So you get the benefit of a quiet idle, and as the fan is PWM it will speed up as load on the system increases, and automatically drop down to the idle you have set once the load decreases. It is a nice combination of control and automation. Good value for $16.

Wayne Redpath · Post by **Wayne Redpath** » Mon May 31, 2010 4:35 pm

Kilgore said "What are you using for case fans?".

All 3 fans, 2 case fans and the CPU fan, are the Gelid Silent 12 PWM model and are connected to the CPU fan header with PWM y-adapters.

Wayne Redpath · Post by **Wayne Redpath** » Mon May 31, 2010 5:00 pm

lodestar wrote:a nice combination of control and automation

...thanks for the tip...