Thinking about maybe some quieter fans

[Heiwashin]

All this talk of fans i've read in the past few days made me once again realize exactly how dumb i may have been for my fans. This guy here posted a video that's reasonably done(in determining the loudness anyway), which shows exactly how loud my fans are. I similarly have an 80 and a 92.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2Y-CZymAyg

When i originally got those, i was thinking of making sure the airflow was great with no possibility of deadzone or lacking ability to move all of the heat. Not only are they louder than a hair dryer, one alone moves so much air that the case temp is never above room temperature anyway. In fact the fans are so powerful someone thought to make a reasonably sized hovercraft using them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZcCuXDB ... re=related

I don't care too much about noise but i must admit, their are times when i'd like to not hear a whine so loud it can be heard through my headphones while watching a movie. I don't want, and can't afford, to sacrifice any tangible change of temperature in the case. With 100 degrees starting to kick ass here i can't afford to have increased case temps. I can guarantee my overclock will start having issues if it does happen.

Now that i'm done marveling at my bad choice and how long i've lived with it, does anyone have recommendations for fans that are quieter than a running car?
Rear exhaust 92 or 120mm
side panel 80
top 80 (i used to use three...)

[Starfalcon]

The day I changed my deltas for panaflos was a happy day, no more headaches from noise. Ive been using http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/pa80hisp.html as my case fan of choice for over 10 years now. There was an insane point in my life when I went cooling crazy and threw 6 of these http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/del80ffb08123.html in my case for a few months...but couldn't stand the noise. Panaflo, whisper quiet and last nearly forever...have some in my case been running 24/7 for 12+ years now.

[UltimateImperative]

Would a 140 that has 120 mm mounting holes work in the back? I really like the Thermalright TY-140.

[just brew it!]

If you can't tolerate any rise in case temps, your options are probably rather limited. I suppose you could take the side off the case an aim a large desk/window fan into it? Yes, it's ghetto; but it is effective (and almost certainly quieter than the armada of case fans you're using now).

Perhaps you should consider backing off your overclock during the summer months...

[NewfieBullet]

The best place I've found to research quieter computer components including fans is http://www.silentpcreview.com

Be warned that silence becomes an obsession for some.

[gbcrush]

The best place I've found to research quieter computer components including fans is http://www.silentpcreview.com

Be warned that silence becomes an obsession for some.

+11ty

I'm nowhere near as silent-obsessed as some of the folks here, but this has become my go-to resource for keeping up with the silent side of things. Since they've steered me towards the Nexus Real Silent fan series (one of their favorites) I haven't had any complaints about the quietness of my systems.

Specifically, this'll interest you:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article63-page1.html

It's there Recommended fan article/list.

(P.S. Don't be afraid to undervolt/run fans through a fan controller, etc).

EDIT: If your fans sound like a truck, I'm going to guess a lot of their recommended ones move less air. Still, it might be worth a look.

[wibeasley]

What's your case? Are you happy with your fan controller (either the hardware or software kind)?

If you're considering buying 3 or 4 fans that are $10-15 with shipping, it may make sense to buy a new case.

[Airmantharp]

What's your case? Are you happy with your fan controller (either the hardware or software kind)?

If you're considering buying 3 or 4 fans that are $10-15 with shipping, it may make sense to buy a new case.

While this is true in many cases, you usually wind up buying more fans for the oncoming case as well. Unless your cooling needs change drastically, as mine did with the move to multi-GPU, it's hard to rationalize changing the enclosure; I would have stayed with my P180- also excepting that I had intended to build another separate system regardless.

[bthylafh]

Back off your OC or switch to liquid cooling.

[wibeasley]

While this is true in many cases, you usually wind up buying more fans for the oncoming case as well.

I agree that's a possibility. When I saw the multiple 80mm fans, I was thinking a small case was likely. A Three Hundred Illusion is $54 w/ free shipping, and comes with four 120+mm fans (although the two LEDs may be a deal-breaker). I think that's a better short- and long-term option than buying $30-$40 of fans for a mediocre case.

And I concede that its tri-cool fans aren't equivalent to some of the other brands mentioned here. But they'd be required to do a lot less work with a better case.

[Airmantharp]

I absolutely abhor Tri-Cools, having replaced the three my P180 came with with S-Flex E's, which are as quiet as the Tri-Cools on Low while moving more air than when they were on Medium. Still, if you had that Three Hundred with all four fans set to Low, I believe it would still move enough air while being very quiet, and at that price, I'd recommend making the jump.

[Heiwashin]

I'm a big fan of having a zero light case. Still that's not a bad looking case. I wasn't exactly planning to have to move everything over so i'll have to think about that while looking at fans.

[wibeasley]

Given the same CFM, I suspect that 120+mm tricools are quieter than high-quality 80mm fans. Thoughts? Data?

I wasn't exactly planning to have to move everything over so i'll have to think about that while looking at fans.

What case are you currently using? Regarding airflow, is there much room for improvement?

[Airmantharp]

Given the same CFM, I suspect that 120+mm tricools are quieter than high-quality 80mm fans. Thoughts? Data?

I wasn't exactly planning to have to move everything over so i'll have to think about that while looking at fans.

What case are you currently using? Regarding airflow, is there much room for improvement?

Considering just the increase in mm^2 available with a 120mm fan over an 80mm fan, I think that you're right, and a new Tri-Cool set to Low should be quieter than an aging 80mm fan.

[wibeasley]

At it's highest speed, looks like the 1500RPM 80mm Nexus ($9 + $2sh) is as quiet than the 120mm TriCool. But it reaches only 18-20 CFM. The TriCools go up to 53 CFM. And that assumes the old and new cases have equivalent airflow.

(Those reviews are 5 years old, so the manufacturing quality may have improved/declined. That's a good point airman, the performance of the TriCools might degrade quicker than the Nexus over time.)

[Heiwashin]

Well i didn't say in the op but i'm using vantec tornado's and they're rated at 84 and 110 cfm with 55dBa. 55 cfm sounds pretty good. I'm using an apevia x-cruiser(lights turned off, they're way to bright, which includes two front 80mm fans, top 80mm, side 80mm, rear 92-120. I've got the rear fan tuned to where there's a slight vacuum. To make it clear how strong they are though, the top fan is being used as an intake, the reason being as that the air it blows reaches the very bottom of the case without any issues. I don't expect to be able to maintain that type of airflow but i believe i went a little overboard and that such drastic flow is factors over what's necessary for the same temperatures in case.

[wibeasley]

To make it clear how strong they are though...

I run two (stock) Q9550 CPUs 100% with no GPU. They're in Antec Three Hundreds with two 1200rpm Slipstream intakes. With the fans on low, the temps rise from 78 to 85 degrees. For my setup, there's not a big advantage increasing the fan speed. Is that increase too large for you?

That Apevia case is so large to have only 80mm fans. Any chance you could dremel a bigger 140mm hole in the top? Are your front 5.25 bays open or closed?

It's hard to tell from the picture. They put a 80mm fan in a 120 mm hole for the rear exhaust? Is that what you meant in the op?

[UltimateImperative]

If I were looking to replace my case on the cheap, I'd be looking at the Antec 100 (make sure your videocard fits), or the upcoming NZXT source 210 and Bitfenix Outlaw/Merc.

[FuturePastNow]

In my P150 case, I have the following:
Two 92MM Scythe Kama Flow intake fans, rated speed 1700 RPM, running silent at ~800 RPM
One 120MM Scythe S-Flex exhaust fan, rated speed 1600 RPM, running silent at ~1000 RPM
The 120MM PWM fan that came with the CM Hyper 212+, silent at its idle speed of ~600 RPM (gets loud when it has to)
The 120MM fan in the Corsair 400CX power supply, which I've never heard make a sound
The rather loud little fan on my Sapphire Radeon HD 5850

Don't worry too much about the rated speed/noise of fans, instead buy high quality fans and slow them down until they're quiet with fan controllers.