Seriously, are SilenX fans terrible?

Control: management of fans, temp/rpm monitoring via soft/hardware

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Devonavar
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Post by Devonavar » Fri Apr 27, 2007 12:04 pm

andyb wrote:As no such body exists we have to rely on SPCR's measurements, and alas SPCR dont have any SilenX fans to test.
Untrue. We've seen the SilenX fans (see my first post in this topic). We haven't done an official review yet, but that's mostly because we've been trying to sort through some issues with airflow measurement that affect our fan testing. Don't expect the official SPCR review to differ much from what I've already said though.

andyb
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Post by andyb » Fri Apr 27, 2007 4:28 pm

Let me describe a hypothetical situation. A company measures the sound level of its fans at three distances: one meter, ten meters, and 100 meters. They then average the three readings, and report that single number as the noise level of the fan. Then they put a description of their measurement technique in every fan box with the installation instructions, print the technique on every brochure, and make the brochure available on their website. There is no question that the single number describing the fan noise will be lower than that of some other fan makers. The question is (and this is a technical question) "are you being lied to?" considering the widespread description of the measurement technique?
Felger, I read most of you fan reviews, as, and when you post them, and generallay accept them as on-par for information and accuracy.

I do honestly respect the work that you post at SPCR, but I wont pay £15 for an OK fan when I can get a great fan for £13, therefore I believe that I should persuade the vulnerable that spending more doesent always mean that you will get the best.

Therefore I hope that people will put a price of performance and not just ignore price.

If in such a contest the SilenX fans would come at the bottom of the pack purely because the fans are so expensive, and they may or may not underperform.
Untrue. We've seen the SilenX fans (see my first post in this topic). We haven't done an official review yet, but that's mostly because we've been trying to sort through some issues with airflow measurement that affect our fan testing. Don't expect the official SPCR review to differ much from what I've already said though.
I will look forward to the official tests :)


Andy

alfred
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Post by alfred » Thu May 03, 2007 4:00 am

As I'm using several quiet computers for my work I've been comparing some 120mm fans lately :

Nexus D12SL-12 black & white (1000rpm), 8 samples (including some one-year old ones), €9.50 @ http://www.silentpcshop.nl
Scythe S-Flex SFF21E (1200rpm), 4 samples, €12.98 @ http://www.pcsilent.de
Noctua NF-S12-1200 (1200rpm), 2 samples, €19.00 @ http://www.alternate.de
SilenX iXtrema Pro 120/25 (1100rpm), IXP-74-11, 2 samples, €18.50 @ http://www.pcsilent.de
SilenX iXtrema Pro 120/38 (1200rpm), IXP-76-14, 2 samples, €19.50 @ http://www.pcsilent.de
Noiseblocker UltraSilentFan SX2pro (1550rpm), 1 sample, €19.50 @ http://www.pcsilent.de

[I'm living in Belgium; prices may vary a lot.]

Testing each of them at ±800rpm gave me the feeling the cooling efficiencies were roughly equal, however noise signatures were not.

First let's say my sample of the Noiseblocker has a very disturbing 'turbine' noise somewhere in the 2600-2800Hz range; also I'm confident it would measure at least 6 dB/A @1m higher at ±800rpm compared to all others.

One of my Noctua samples was dead on arrival. The other one was a nightmare noise-wise, the motor sounded like it was fighting against a knife. Packaging and shipping didn't seem to be in cause. The shop is sending me two new fans without asking me to send anything back.

Both SilenX 25mm samples were unexceptional in noise signature, somewhat more intrusive than the Scythe fans and probably 1~2 dB/A higher, too.
Both SilenX 38mm samples gave a very smooth, nice noise signature and seemed about as quiet as the Scythe fans; also they don't vibrate easily when hard-mounted inside a case. Currently using one on a daily basis inside my second quietest PC and I'm happy with it; now I'll have to see if it succeeds in the long-term.

The Nexus good samples provide a really pleasant noise signature that you easily forget; but 3 out of 8 samples were behaving badly. Such a high sample variance may not be to the taste of someone buying only 1 or 2 fans. I'm using the 5 good ones on a daily basis; 3 of them are one-year old and after having used them almost 24/7 I can't detect any deterioration noise-wise, compared to the fresh new ones.

The Scythe gives about the same noise signature as the best Nexus samples but all four Scythe samples behave the same, so it's my current choice for any further buy.

Obviously I'm looking forward for any future SPCR proper reviews too :)

wutang
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Post by wutang » Thu May 03, 2007 6:13 am

my silenx 80mm was silent enough for me, small motor noise. noisier then a panaflo80l but better then a vantec stealth

NeilBlanchard
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Post by NeilBlanchard » Thu May 03, 2007 9:08 am

Greetings,
wutang wrote:my silenx 80mm was silent enough for me, small motor noise. noisier then a panaflo80l but better then a vantec stealth
Did it have a thermistor controlling the speed? If so, then it is made by Globe, and you can get (virtually) the same fan for about $4-5, with the Enermax brand on it.... :o

colm
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Post by colm » Tue Apr 15, 2008 4:03 pm

Felger Carbon wrote:
Maelwys wrote:
Deusfaux wrote:"We also ran brief test results comparing the cooling efficiency and noise of the Scythe SFLEX SFF21F 64cfm/28 dB-A fan that was used in Thermalright reviews and the SilenX fan used in several of the most recent reviews. Cooling results were similar with either fan on the Noctua heatsink, with the SilenX providing better cooling on some overclocks. Both fans were quiet and came in below the noise floor of our test system, but the SilenX was subjectively quieter than the SFLEX.
Note which of the Scythe fans they tested with: The SFF21F rated at 28 dB. Scythe also has the E and D versions of that fan which are rated at 20 and 18 dB respectively. So for the SilenX fan to be subjectively rated only slightly quieter than a fan running at 28 dB isn't saying much, at least not in SPCR terms.
Please note that the SilenX provided better cooling than the SFF21F on some overclocks. This proves that both fans were pushing about the same CFMs on the HS. Also, the noise level of the Scythe is specified conventionally, and the SilenX highly unconventionally - the two numbers cannot reasonably be compared at all.

I also own a SilenX 120 and a Scythe S-Flex 120, in my case the "11dBA" SilenX and the SFF21E. I think my SilenX is quieter for the same airflow, but it's not so much that the SilenX is so quiet as it is that the S-Flex is so noisy. The S-Flex fans are widely reported to be quiet fans, so my one sample must be bad. My SilenX has about the same noise level as my ~6 GW NCBs and one YL D12SL-12. It starts at a lower voltage than the other fans and the fan blades come closer to the case "duct" - two factors that make me favor the SilenX for very low RPM applications.

A fan is a fan is a fan. Putting a high, low, or indifferent noise specification on it does not change the fan in any way. The folks who criticize the SilenX fans seem to do so because they don't like somebody associated with the SilenX company, or they don't like the specification. None of this has anything to do with the fan itself.
Upon a search about the silenX and going as far as reading about political problems..and unconventional means to achieve rated noise decibals..I am one who has had about every silently advetised fan known to man, all the way to a hefty Nidec.
This is the best answer upon my forum search. I am going for my countless numbered silent fan for my unconventional reverse cooled cpu 80mm fan with ductwork...and it will be the silenx IXP-54-14
Now If someone can inform me of greater than antique 3 speeds when hooked up to my 8speed capable pwm for cpu...How is throttle changes? is the fan resisting enough on its own to be unnoticable?

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