Advice on best fan?...

[AlienALX]

Ohhh boy... you didn't say that... just waiting for the reply from someone who will question this :lol:

Well it doesn't take Higgs Boson logic to figure out, does it?

Corsair AF - about £7 each.
Notcua - about £20 each.

So at least you get what you pay for in that regard. Corsair could not make fans to Noctua standards and sell them for £7 each so what you're getting is the most basic cheap fan you can that's been tarted up. Note they don't show their motors or bearings nor do they give you the unpacked weight.

I just see a rig as something I depend and rely upon, and when you use cheap parts they're unreliable. Just to show that I'm not full of crap here.





My entire rig is full of them and they were all fitted new in August of last year. Here I am about six months later having to replace them because they started to fail.

Not good really. I knew when I fitted them that they felt cheap and they are. Black cabling is a cheat's*way to do it. Decent fans are properly braided.

Oh, and also ...



Just to prove it and I hate it. So much I got about half way through building it and gave up.

 

[Doomslayer]

Corsair are good at brain washing. They're very en vogue and a very fashionable brand. However, take those fans and inspect them closely next to a real fan like a Noctua?

Put it this way, the Arctic F12 has about the same build quality as a Corsair fan and they're about three quid each.

They look OK but that's where it ends. Same goes for their massively over rated cases. Honestly, get a AF 120 on the scales, then weigh a Noctua.

I bought a 250D and it's awful. All thin steel with a 1mm slither of alu on the front. If you take the sides off it actually contorts and twists due to the chassis being so thin.

I've had three Raptor mice break on me too.

The AF is what it is, a nice looking poorly made flimsy fan there's simply no getting around it.



Because they're built like crap.

I'm not being horrible, just being honest. I own 15 of them and they're the most cheaply made fans I've ever used..

Before I get lynched let me explain something. I own five gaming rigs. I've owned practically every high end product there is to own and when you've done that you get to know a good product from a bad one.

The 250D was absolutely raved about. Sadly I've had some proper chassis over the years and it simply felt light cheap and flimsy.

I'm not a reviewer. I was once but my opinions and rightful findings were not welcome so I gave it up, but the industry doesn't like people who are not afraid to tell the truth.

Apparently the 900D is far more substantial and better quality. I sure hope so.

Mind you maybe if I wasn't so spoilt (I've had a good few all Noctua cooled rigs) then I would be a bit happier with cheaper stuff.

Sorry but i will call BS on that, IMHO Corsair are the best fans i have had apart from the Noctua, Have you ever watched TTL's reviews of the Corsair fans

Are you calling Corsair fans basic, there are cheaper fans than Corsair, there are what i call basic

 

[AlienALX]

Sorry but i will call BS on that, IMHO Corsair are the best fans i have had apart from the Noctua, Have you ever watched TTL's reviews of the Corsair fans

Are you calling Corsair fans basic, there are cheaper fans than Corsair, there are what i call basic

I stopped watching reviews if I'm honest.

If you're truly honest about these products you don't get very far. IE - you need to be a yes man like Linus.

Look what happened to Tom here on this site. First up was the review of the Kingston ram that was atrocious, he calls it out, the review is pulled two hours later.

Then there was the time he gave NZXT a roasting and got struck off for months.

I know full well how it all works, thanks. Please, don't mistake me for some noob who doesn't know what a bag of onions looks like I'm 42 years old and have spent 35 of them building computers.

I know cheap when I see it dude. Sorry if you disagree but as I said, weight test. Look how small the centre of the fan is, that says it all about the motor.

The two fans in the hard drive bay at the bottom of the rig failed. They made that horrible farty dead bearing sound. You can't even take them apart because they're factory glued and sealed.

But then my words won't count for crap any way because people always want what they believe looks the best and the Corsairs, like a lot of their other products, do look nice. However, looks and build quality come at a cost and £7 per fan says it all. It's a £3 fan with 4 LEDs in and the Corsair branding.

If you like them? that's awesome. Knock yourself out dude. I didn't come here to argue I came here to be me, and that means being honest and speaking as I find.

 

[Davva2004]

Okay, so we've established that £7 fans aren't as good as £21 fans.

Let's move on and discuss which fans offer the best balance between noise, airflow, long life span and cost. Please?

 

[AlienALX]

Okay, so we've established that £7 fans aren't as good as £21 fans.

Let's move on and discuss which fans offer the best balance between noise, airflow, long life span and cost. Please?

That's what we were doing the last time I looked dude.

Some say Corsair, some say Noctua, Noiseblocker, Cougar, Lepa etc.

Surely that's good for some one who asked for advice on the best fan? now we've established the best and the best looking but poorly made.

Any one else?

 

[Wraith]

How about Enermax Twisters?

 

[AlienALX]

How about Enermax Twisters?

Very good but suffer the same issue as all of their fans. IE the speed control switch is on the frame so once you mount it you can't change the speed without removing it.

Quality, though, as always with Enermax, is great.

They're brilliant on a fan controller though.

 

[Wraith]

Chrazey what do you think dude?.

 

[Dawelio]

Well I'm after something that can handle the restriction of the front part on the BitFenix Aegis, at a reasonable noise level and still look good

That's all I'm after here ... As I said in previous post, I'm somewhat on Barnsley's post there regarding the Noctua NF-P14 but also the BeQuiet Silent Wings 2. Anyone know the difference between the Silent Wings 2 and 3?...

Not sure wether to go Noctua or BeQuiet, basing all of this on this threads posts...

 

[Feronix]

Simples

Want the best fans possible? - Noctua
Want good looks? - BeQuiet!

 

[Highlander89]

The restriction on the Bitfenix doesn't look that bad imo. I'm very happy with my Noiseblocker Black Silent XK1

These babies push 35 cfm at only 12 db. Also loving the blue wings, goes well with my theme. Also come at a pretty decent price, 12€ over here.

The PL1's come in black.

 

[Kushiro]

I personally like BeQuiet over Noctua, however I can tell you the BeQuiets warranty is not the best.

Have you had a look at phanteks fans yet? They are pretty decent. At the moment I have 3 120mm and 3 140mm in my H440 and the only thing you can hear is the fans from the GTX 980 reference cooler fans. That is how quiet it is.

Intake - 1200RPM
Top exhaust - 1000RPM
rear exhaust - 900RPM

Might get rid of the rear one though, as its not very useful.

Oh and I have tried the 120mm version of the Noctua redux at the front of the H440 and I can tell you that they werent great and by no means quiet either, unless you under volt.

Also if you plan using the fans for watercooling in the future, you'd best look at the older Noctua models, as the redux fans arent great for rads, they arent bad, just not as good as they could be.

 

[Wraith]

No real info on the Silent Wings 3, I've scoured BeQuiets' website only really any data on the SW2s.

I'm going to agree with Feronix, sort of..

Best = Noctua
Looks = Corsair.

 

[Dawelio]

Hehe fair enough then... well noctuas old ones looks like shit, the Redux line up looks better though.... so it's between the BeQuiet or Noctuas NF-P14 Redux

As it will be flush against the front of the case, it's not big of a deal... unless it's like vomit tan, white or yellow that just screames "here I am beach!" out of the black of the case

 

[AlienALX]

BQ look like they are made very nicely. No experience I'm afraid will maybe try some in my ITX rig as I just stole the fans out of it

Posts merged

Hehe fair enough then... well noctuas old ones looks like shit, the Redux line up looks better though.... so it's between the BeQuiet or Noctuas NF-P14 Redux

As it will be flush against the front of the case, it's not big of a deal... unless it's like vomit tan, white or yellow that just screames "here I am beach!" out of the black of the case

Don't count out the Eloops man.



Are right up there with Noctua on build quality. They also come with 3 pin extensions x2, so you can disconnect them completely and leave just a fan or add one or both. Very flexible when it comes to installation.

Very popular on rads too, but they are very expensive. I paid £38 for two IIRC but I only needed two.

 

[Pogal_31]

No real info on the Silent Wings 3, I've scoured BeQuiets' website only really any data on the SW2s.

I'm going to agree with Feronix, sort of..

Best = Noctua
Looks = Corsair.

As I know but I could may be wrong, the SW3 is only in the PSU's, but share exactly the same specs, 6 poles, Fluid Dynamic Bearing, really low accoustics.

 

[Dawelio]

Don't count out the Eloops man.



Are right up there with Noctua on build quality. They also come with 3 pin extensions x2, so you can disconnect them completely and leave just a fan or add one or both. Very flexible when it comes to installation.

Very popular on rads too, but they are very expensive. I paid £38 for two IIRC but I only needed two.

I have this one: http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2...-_2300_RPM_-_3325_dBA_Black_Blue_Edition.html ... and the motor was just terrible, sounded like it were gonna crack out and take the PC with it.

Regarding the Noctua Redux fans guys... which one would you prefer... the rounded or square shaped one?:

And I gotta agree, that the Be Quiet Silent Wings 2 looks pretty slick, but I don't really get the mounting hardware for it and it costs almost twice the price of the Redux? :huh:...

 

[AlienALX]

TBH those other Noiseblockers look like the cheap Phobyas to me.. In fact they are. It seems that Noiseblocker OEM fans for Alphacool and Phobya. They also seem to make the Eloops for both teams too..





Which are a totally different Eloop design to the other ones. Prices also sky rocket..

I would go with the Redux. They're tried and tested, solid as a brick out house and well, they're Noctuas. Motors are incredible.

Edit sorry man missed a bit of your post. I like the round ones but they're 140mm. Is that what you need? They're cleaner than the others. Me? I like my fans to have as little frame as possible

 

[Pogal_31]

And I gotta agree, that the Be Quiet Silent Wings 2 looks pretty slick, but I don't really get the mounting hardware for it and it costs almost twice the price of the Redux? :huh:...

Woaw twice the price ?Oo

Seems I'm lucky here in France, SW2 are 3 to 7€ less expensive than the noctuas ones

Regarding the mounting hardware it's pretty simple, you have two mounting sets, one with vibration damping mounts that can be mounted in two ways with rubber screws, one with 1mm space between the fan itself and the mount, one with no space at all.

Then you have a classic mounting system with hard rubber mount and normal screws, in case you can't use the rubber screws, as it is the case with the front of the fractal Define r4 for example.

 

[Dawelio]

TBH those other Noiseblockers look like the cheap Phobyas to me.. In fact they are. It seems that Noiseblocker OEM fans for Alphacool and Phobya. They also seem to make the Eloops for both teams too..





Which are a totally different Eloop design to the other ones. Prices also sky rocket..

I would go with the Redux. They're tried and tested, solid as a brick out house and well, they're Noctuas. Motors are incredible.

Edit sorry man missed a bit of your post. I like the round ones but they're 140mm. Is that what you need? They're cleaner than the others. Me? I like my fans to have as little frame as possible

Well all of those OEM, right branding, no branding, all that fuzzz... just confuses me

And yes, 140 is what I need... as the Aegis can take either 3 x 120's or 2 x 140's in the front. And since 140's move the same amount of air, at a lower rpm (lower noise), than a 120... I'm going with 140's, also when I have the oppurtonity to

Woaw twice the price ?Oo

Seems I'm lucky here in France, SW2 are 3 to 7€ less expensive than the noctuas ones

Regarding the mounting hardware it's pretty simple, you have two mounting sets, one with vibration damping mounts that can be mounted in two ways with rubber screws, one with 1mm space between the fan itself and the mount, one with no space at all.

Then you have a classic mounting system with hard rubber mount and normal screws, in case you can't use the rubber screws, as it is the case with the front of the fractal Define r4 for example.

Yes, Silent wings are 239kr while the Redux are 159kr (square) and 179kr (rounded).