Scythe Kotetsu - Is there a better fan?

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Seketh
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Scythe Kotetsu - Is there a better fan?

Post by Seketh » Tue Apr 07, 2015 8:48 am

Hi guys,

So other than an HDD that idles after a minute, the only thing I can hear when my PC is not under load is the slight hum of the GlideStream 120 PWM that came with the Scythe Kotetsu.

I was thinking on maybe getting the Corsair SP120 PWM double pack to replace the GlideStream and my back exhaust fan, which is a 120 fan that came with the Corsair Obsidian 350D case.

I do love how it would look (it's a windowed case), but wouldn't want to sacrífice quietness or the cooling I already have.

TL;DR: SP120 PWM, yay, nay? What would be a better choice?

Thanks!

CA_Steve
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Re: Scythe Kotetsu - Is there a better fan?

Post by CA_Steve » Tue Apr 07, 2015 2:38 pm

Welcome to SPCR.


Maybe you've already looked into it, but have you checked the fan's rpm profile to see if it's just set too high?

What temps and fan rpm are you seeing at these loads?

quest_for_silence
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Re: Scythe Kotetsu - Is there a better fan?

Post by quest_for_silence » Tue Apr 07, 2015 9:56 pm

Seketh wrote:What would be a better choice?

+1 about reporting the relevant fan speed, however, with reference to that brand IMO/IME the Scythe Slipstream PWM is a better option than the Glidestream PWM (though, it isn't exactly a good looking fan).
About your more specific request, personally I would avoid the Corsair SP120 PWM: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1342-page5.html

Lucky Luciano
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Re: Scythe Kotetsu - Is there a better fan?

Post by Lucky Luciano » Wed Apr 08, 2015 6:24 am

My Kotetsu fan vibrated a lot even at minimum speed.
What I did was to ditch the lower fan clip and loosen the upper one so the fan hangs of it rather than being strongly pressed against the heatsink. Also, I've added some homemade silicone pads as pictured below. The difference is dramatic.

The setup is not super secure, but unless the case does a forward barrel roll I don't see how the fan could fall off.

Image
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Seketh
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Re: Scythe Kotetsu - Is there a better fan?

Post by Seketh » Thu Apr 09, 2015 9:01 am

Thanks for the replies everyone!

My fan profile goes as low as it can get using Fan Expert 2 (~580RPM). I can barely hear it, true, but it's the only fan on my system that does that "clicking" sound with low rpm. For some kind of reference, I have 2 140 Silent Wings at the front and both make as much noise @ about 350 as the Kotetsu fan @ 580RPM. I can't hear or feel any vibration coming from the fan.

I overclock my 4670k, but I use offset and c-states, so core temps when idling go down to 25ºC :lol:

Maybe I'm overreacting a little bit, but my bedroom is very quiet at night, so the PC is the only thing I hear. And I guess the people on these forums are the only ones that understand me. :D

If you guys think I won't get much better with another fan, I'll maybe focus my attention on the HDD instead, that spinning noise when it's not idle really gets to me. I need help, so I'll open a thread in the correct section, is it Cases and Damping?

Thanks!

Abula
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Re: Scythe Kotetsu - Is there a better fan?

Post by Abula » Thu Apr 09, 2015 9:25 am

Personally i never seen the Slipstream (now Glidestream) as a good CPU heatsink fan, some years ago, the Slipstreams were more marketed into case fans, and the Kama Flex were like the high quality fans and worked well on heatsinks, but as soon as the Scythe Tower coolers came out, they used Slipstreams..... and now glidestreams.

To me one of the best heatsink fans are Scythe Gentle Typhoons, reviewed by SPCR on Fan Roundup #6: Scythe, Noiseblocker, Antec, Nexus, Thermalright, but there are no PWM versions, but Asus motherboards are very flexible, specially on the CPU_FAN header, if you enter the bios and change the Q_FAN from AUTO to ADVANCE, it will change from PWM to Voltage control, this will allow you to use a Scythe GT.

There are different models on scythe GT, mostly as the slipstreams, its their top rpms, SPCR tested the 1450 and 800rpms, both performed well for its brackets, i own 1850/1150/800/500 rpms versions, and to me, the Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm Case Fan- 1150RPM is the best for a CPU coolers, as it still dips down to 350rpms under FanXpert2, and you can ramp it to around 1200rpms depending on your needs. I leave you my FanXpert2 test on it,

Image

Now on PWM, SPCR didnt like much the Noctua NF-F12 tonally, and the NF-S12 is more a case fan. Noiseblocker has a pretty good tone fan on the M12-S1/2 but their pwm design is a little complex, specially because the lowest you are able to drop the PLPS is around 800rpms, weather this is audible to you.... only you can say, personally it was a little to high for me for the lowest setting, but it all depends on your conditions and what you want to achieve.

Good luck with your choice,

faugusztin
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Re: Scythe Kotetsu - Is there a better fan?

Post by faugusztin » Thu Apr 09, 2015 10:17 am

Abula wrote:Good luck with your choice,
You should say "Good luck finding Scythe Gentle Typhoons" after their production has stopped for over a year now.

N-K
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Re: Scythe Kotetsu - Is there a better fan?

Post by N-K » Thu Apr 09, 2015 12:39 pm

The best fan I've ever used is the Noiseblocker eLoop PWM.
http://www.blacknoise.com/site/en/produ ... hp?lang=EN

All the Scythe, Corsair, Noctua fans I've tried have had this annoying clicking sound / motor noise on low speeds. The Noiseblocker doesn't seem to have that.
I also has those rubber thingies next to the screw holes so it should be good on heatsinks.
You can go as low as 400rpm on these.

Abula
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Re: Scythe Kotetsu - Is there a better fan?

Post by Abula » Thu Apr 09, 2015 1:11 pm

faugusztin wrote:
Abula wrote:Good luck with your choice,
You should say "Good luck finding Scythe Gentle Typhoons" after their production has stopped for over a year now.
Amazon carries still from a lot of vendors.
N-K wrote:The best fan I've ever used is the Noiseblocker eLoop PWM.
http://www.blacknoise.com/site/en/produ ... hp?lang=EN

You can go as low as 400rpm on these.
This is very interesting, both of my PLPS went down around 800rpms, wondering if Noiseblocker finally did their PWM fans well.

quest_for_silence
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Re: Scythe Kotetsu - Is there a better fan?

Post by quest_for_silence » Thu Apr 09, 2015 1:12 pm

Seketh wrote:If you guys think I won't get much better with another fan

It doesn't matter what we think, but what you "hear". Along with the already quoted Slipstream PWM, personally I'd give a try to something like the NB BlackSilent Pro and Multiframe or, on the cheap side, to the AC F12 PWM.

Seketh wrote:that spinning noise when it's not idle really gets to me.

If you're referring to the airborne spinning noise, you should look to muffling elements (like HDD enclosures), or maybe to slower drives.

Abula wrote:Personally i never seen the Slipstream (now Glidestream) as a good CPU heatsink fan

The Slipstream is in my opinion a rather differently sounding fan than the Glidestream, mate.

N-K wrote:The best fan I've ever used is the Noiseblocker eLoop PWM.
http://www.blacknoise.com/site/en/produ ... hp?lang=EN

All the Scythe, Corsair, Noctua fans I've tried have had this annoying clicking sound / motor noise on low speeds. The Noiseblocker doesn't seem to have that.
I also has those rubber thingies next to the screw holes so it should be good on heatsinks.
You can go as low as 400rpm on these.

Those are rather controversial fans: other sources reported them as "easily the worst sounding fan" or "These fans are catastrophic".
More probably that not, either the BlackSilent Pro or the Multiframe should be much safer options.

N-K
Posts: 54
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Location: Finland

Re: Scythe Kotetsu - Is there a better fan?

Post by N-K » Fri Apr 10, 2015 9:01 am

Those are rather controversial fans
Yeah, I just checked the review and it seems completely different from my experiences. I have 2 of these fans and they have had the least motor noise from all others I've tested.
I've tested other fans from Noiseblocker as well. They didn't sound nearly as good.

But I have to say that I haven't really tried them over 800rpm at all. It mostly runs 400-600rpm on my computer as a heatsink fan. At those levels they are the best.
Might not be so good at higher speeds.

I also have to say that I did quickly try a third eLoop fan at some point and that wasn't quite as good as the ones I currently have. Could be that I just got lucky with these.

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