Panaflo: overrated?

haysdb · Post by **haysdb** » Sat Oct 25, 2003 10:56 am

bigred, I am quite impressed with three samples of the Nexus fan. At 1500 RPM they don't move as much air at 12V as the Panaflo, but depending on where you put them, they may not need to be undervolted much if any. They also undervolt well in MY experience - they have no trouble starting when connected to a Zalman FanMate turned all the way down, and they make no bearing noise when undervolted. As others (MikeC for one) have reported, they don't move much air at 5V, but that's really not the fault of the fan. I mean, they are probably only spinning at, like, 800 RPM, or even less, at 5V. Does ANY 8cm fan move much air at 800 RPM?

David

wumpus · Post by **wumpus** » Sat Oct 25, 2003 12:34 pm

I hope you don't mind the side-bar, but your use of words like "beatification," "comically," and "1RPM," make it appear to me that you have a penchant for hyperbole.

I know, you've told me a million times to stop exaggerating.

I'm not sure I would label ~22CFM (the estimated CFM at 5V for a 120mm L1A) as a "comically tiny amount" of air. And no, not all fans are quiet when undervolted (more hyperbole?).

I stand by my original assertion: Panaflo fans are overrated, at least for the samples I own, listed in the first post. And as a specific example of what I mean by "overrated": I own two other commonly available 120mm fans (Enermax and Evercool Al) which move more air than the Panaflo 120mms.. at the same noise level as the panaflo. They're also narrower at 25mm vs 38mm, which is much more convenient.. and they support RPM monitoring, etc etc.

Granted, my conclusion is colored by my distinct preference for larger fans-- and I think the physics support me on this, as the ratio of air movement to noise HAS to be better for larger fans. I'm not terribly interested in 80mm fans these days except where I have no other choice.

Hopefully other people won't blindly assume, as I did, that Panaflo was the alpha and omega of quiet fans in the known universe.

aphonos · Post by **aphonos** » Sat Oct 25, 2003 2:17 pm

wumpus wrote:Granted, my conclusion is colored by my distinct preference for larger fans-- and I think the physics support me on this, as the ratio of air movement to noise HAS to be better for larger fans. I'm not terribly interested in 80mm fans these days except where I have no other choice.

Hopefully other people won't blindly assume, as I did, that Panaflo was the alpha and omega of quiet fans in the known universe.

I should have stated earlier that I agree with you that the L1A is not the only (or even perhaps the best) solution for a 120mm fan (or 92 or 80mm for that matter). It is a viable quiet fan option, though....especially in places (ie. internationally) where other quiet 120mm fans may be scarce.

I think the pro-L1A tenor of the forums here is based on the Panaflos history of being a good (decent?, sufficient?) performer when undervolted--especially in the 80mm fan category.

Your preference for the 120mm fans has been clear.

I appreciate your attempts to offer forum readers a solution other than blindly accepting the L1A as the only option. My intent has been to keep forum readers from blindly rejecting the L1As as an option.

energy · Post by **energy** » Sat Oct 25, 2003 4:38 pm

They're also narrower at 25mm vs 38mm, which is much more convenient..

Perhaps more convenient but lower static pressure which means less CFM in practice.

wumpus · Post by **wumpus** » Sat Oct 25, 2003 6:24 pm

My intent has been to keep forum readers from blindly rejecting the L1As as an option.

That's awfully noble of you, seeing as how everyone is constantly dissing Panaflo

lower static pressure which means less CFM in practice.

Normally I'd agree with you-- when it comes to fans, bigger is better (cfm/noise). But for some reason the additional depth makes the 120mm fans a disproportionate PITA to mount in small/medium cases. I also associate excessive depth with the 80mm delta screamers for some reason.. whenever I see a "deep" fan I think "delta".. and then my ears hurt

SixToes · Post by **SixToes** » Mon Oct 27, 2003 2:26 am

I've been impressed with the 24v M1A running at 12v. According to Dorothy its specs are 17 CFM at 14 dB(A). In my experience its certainly much quieter than an L1A at 12v and still moves a reasonable amount of air. An L1A at 5v seems about as loud but seems to move a bit less air. The 24M1A will also start reliably at about 7 or 8 volts if you need it to.

I've had 3 Panaflo fans, and none of them vibrate or click at any voltage I've run them at. I've only tried a few other manufacturers (A few Antec, One Papst, several cheap and quiet-ish no-brand fans I picked up by accident) and the Panaflo are they are the only ones I can say that for.

Admittedly I don't have the same level of fan experience as some of you who have posted in this thread, but I hope that helps!

aphonos · Post by **aphonos** » Mon Oct 27, 2003 6:23 am

SixToes wrote:I've been impressed with the 24v M1A running at 12v

80, 92, or 120mm??

ez2remember · Post by **ez2remember** » Mon Oct 27, 2003 6:33 am

wumpus wrote: I stand by my original assertion: Panaflo fans are overrated, at least for the samples I own, listed in the first post. And as a specific example of what I mean by "overrated": I own two other commonly available 120mm fans (Enermax and Evercool Al) which move more air than the Panaflo 120mms.. at the same noise level as the panaflo. They're also narrower at 25mm vs 38mm, which is much more convenient.. and they support RPM monitoring, etc etc.

Granted, my conclusion is colored by my distinct preference for larger fans-- and I think the physics support me on this, as the ratio of air movement to noise HAS to be better for larger fans. I'm not terribly interested in 80mm fans these days except where I have no other choice.

Overrated?

If you go through the forums there are very high recommendations and experience about the Panaflo 80mm L1a. This is the reference fan used by MikeC.

You have personally generalised all Panaflo L1a fans to be quiet, which is not the case. Forum discussion clearly shows that 92mm and 120mm L1a's are liked by some and not liked by others. 92mm L1a is quiet, but not the same characteristics/league of the 80mm version.

Only the reference fan is highly commended in the forum discussion, no one ever said the 92mm L1a or 120mm L1a is one of the best. If you search for 92/120mm fans you will find many prefer other brands such as Papst, Enermax, NMB, P&C etc.

So it's your view it's overrated, and given you are strictly talking about 120mm fans, no one ever said the Panaflo's are the best. It's your perception of all the talk (mainly) of the 80mm L1a reference fan which makes you think everyone recommends all L1a's.

frosty · Post by **frosty** » Mon Oct 27, 2003 9:36 am

I am too much a newb to post much other than I am using 5 80 L panaflos from about 8v on the cpu to 5 and 5 elswhere and I am happy happy with them. I can't say enough how silent my pc is almost inaudible. Course I got one of MikeC champ seasonic's too. Also, in ref to someone here's comment, once I mounted the 80 L inside the case, away from the plenum in the front, I seemed to notice no more noise at all below, I also now only noitce a ver very low hum coming from the, I think, vibro's of the 80 L mounted atop the SLK800, I plan to try some foam this way too. I really truly can't hear the Seasonic when it kicks in the psu fan. The rear exhaust fan is at 5v and I really can't hear it. I have painfully tried each fan one at a time so I have a fairly decent idea which is doing what. My temps stay below 40c cpu and under 30c at idle so I am pleased with the 80L's plus they were considerably cheaper than other brands, I bought all mine from frozenpc, 6.00 each.

SixToes · Post by **SixToes** » Tue Oct 28, 2003 2:31 am

aphonos wrote:
SixToes wrote:I've been impressed with the 24v M1A running at 12v
80, 92, or 120mm??

all 80mm, should have said, sorry!

1398342003 · Post by **1398342003** » Tue Oct 28, 2003 10:10 am

A 24V 92mm H1A isn't too bad either.

DougS · Post by **DougS** » Tue Oct 28, 2003 3:54 pm

I was disappointed with the one panaflo 80mm l1a that I bought. The thing clicked noticeably at 12v and I had to back it off substantially before it went away. The PC P&C fans I bought don't have this characteristic and are good performers even when undervolted.

Maybe its simply the luck of the draw no matter what brand of fan you purchase...

Doug

ez2remember · Post by **ez2remember** » Tue Oct 28, 2003 4:02 pm

DougS wrote:I was disappointed with the one panaflo 80mm l1a that I bought. The thing clicked noticeably at 12v and I had to back it off substantially before it went away. The PC P&C fans I bought don't have this characteristic and are good performers even when undervolted.

Maybe its simply the luck of the draw no matter what brand of fan you purchase...

It's a good point, since you are not the first to post how bad some 80L1a's are. I suppose I am lucky that Dorothy sells the Panaflos here are all top notch quality, because she/her husband test them and do not sell bad ones to us.

So I never experience a bad Panaflo yet.

Panaflo: overrated?

quality control issues?

Re: quality control issues?