Rad Fans Rad Fans Rad Fans!

[Xrqute]

Hi Guys,

Well i soon plan on changing out my current fans as I'm changing the color scheme of my build and well I'm not happy with the build quality of my current ones.

originally i had my heart set on these, But my current fans are rated at 69.69CFM and 2.94mmH2O @19dBA and the Corsair's are 57.24CFM and 1.46mmH2O @26.4 dBa which to me seems like a huge drop especially on the pressure side so I've been looking around at different fans trying to see whats out and about and well I've found-

Aerocool DS Fan 120mm White LED Fan- 54.8CFM and 1.48mmH2O @15.8dBA: I like these because they look amazing and are super quiet yet providing almost identicle performance to the SP120 Led's

BitFenix Spectre Pro 120mm White Tinted Blue LED Fan- 56.22CFM and 1.24mmH2O @18.9dBA: Once again very similar performance but falls inline perfectly with my color scheme.

BitFenix Spectre Pro White 120mm PWM Fan- 70.52CFm and 2.6mmH2O @26.1 dBA: much better performance then the last but also much louder but at least with the added benifit of PWM so i can slow them down when the rig is under load.


Corsair Air Series SP120 Performance Edition Case Fan- 62.74CFM and 3.1mmH2O @35dBA: amazing performance but bloody loud.

Corsair Air Series SP120 Quiet Edition Case Fan- 37.85CFM and 1.29mmH2O @23dBA: much less noise and much less performance.

Noctua NF-F12 Industrial PPC 120mm 3000RPM PWM Fan 186.7 m3/hr (109.89 CFM) and 7.63mmH2O @43.5dBA: Obviously mind boggling performance with a dBA to match, PWM so i can turn them down to a low RPM. as low at 750Rpm.

Noctua NF-F12 Industrial PPC 120mm 2000RPM PWM Fan- 121.8 m3/hr (71.69 CFM) and 3.94mmH2O @29.7dBA: great performance but still a little loud but once again PWM.

Noctua NF-F12 PWM 120mm Fan- 93.4m3/hr (54.97CFM) and 2.61mmH2O @22.4dBA: great stats all round decent flow good pressure and a decent dBA.

Noctua NF-S12B Redux 120mm 1200RPM PWM Fan- 100.6m3/hr (59.21CFM) and 1.31mmH2O @18.1dBA: once again very similar stats to the SP120 Led's
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Out of those fans list what would you choose and why?

I personally like the look of Noctua NF-F12 PWM 120mm Fan and Noctua NF-F12 Industrial PPC 120mm 3000RPM PWM Fan (using the PWM feature to wined the RPM right down but have all that extra in reserve for those hot Aussie days) but in saying that at $29 and $32 Aus respectively i can get Corsair Air Series SP120 Blue LED Fan Twin Pack for the same price/less.

What CFM and mmH20 should i realistically be aiming for? Keep in mind i am using XSPC AX240 and AX360 Rad's in Push Pull.

there just doesn't seem to be anything to match my Cooloermasters CFM:mmH2O:dBA. To bad they arnt of better build quality.

 

[JR23]

there just doesn't seem to be anything to match my Cooloermasters CFM:mmH2O:dBA. To bad they arnt of better build quality.

Yeah seriously I think thats because Coolermaster are the biggest liars of them all and their numbers aren't worth the pixels they are displayed on. You can't believe the stats given by manufacturers especially when it comes to fans. And having owned a set of Sickleflows, a set of Scythe GT AP-15's and just about every Corsair air series fan they made before the LED's came out I can say with certainty that there is nothing especially quiet or outstanding about the Sickleflows.

If you genuinely have your heart set on the SP120 blue LED's just get them, all of the Corsair fans are fantastic for the money, at times noctua's seem to edge ahead with their phenomenal attention to detail but like you say you will pay heavily for that. I'm not really sure what control you intend to use voltage or PWM or just static but if the range would be useful then PWM is definitely the way to go but controllers etc get expensive. Corsair also make SP120 PWM editions so i'm not sure why you didn't shortlist those.

Me personally if I was going to use any fan that wasn't an original Corsair air series (I don't like the LED's) at the moment then it would be an Industrial PPC 2k RPM, I think they look great and i'd use them as both case and radiator fans but aesthetics perhaps ranks above performance for me now. And on that basis whatever delivers good performance and will set your build off properly is what you should go for.

JR

 

[Xrqute]

Yeah seriously I think thats because Coolermaster are the biggest liars of them all and their numbers aren't worth the pixels they are displayed on. You can't believe the stats given by manufacturers especially when it comes to fans. And having owned a set of Sickleflows, a set of Scythe GT AP-15's and just about every Corsair air series fan they made before the LED's came out I can say with certainty that there is nothing especially quiet or outstanding about the Sickleflows.

If you genuinely have your heart set on the SP120 blue LED's just get them, all of the Corsair fans are fantastic for the money, at times noctua's seem to edge ahead with their phenomenal attention to detail but like you say you will pay heavily for that. I'm not really sure what control you intend to use voltage or PWM or just static but if the range would be useful then PWM is definitely the way to go but controllers etc get expensive. Corsair also make SP120 PWM editions so i'm not sure why you didn't shortlist those.

Me personally if I was going to use any fan that wasn't an original Corsair air series (I don't like the LED's) at the moment then it would be an Industrial PPC 2k RPM, I think they look great and i'd use them as both case and radiator fans but aesthetics perhaps ranks above performance for me now. And on that basis whatever delivers good performance and will set your build off properly is what you should go for.

JR

Hey dude! you are exactly the type of person i was hoping to hear from! someone that has owned the Sickles as well as many others.

To me the sickles don't seem that quite which is what has had me concerned about getting louder fans especially since atm I'm running 11 fans (was running 14 but removed a few during recent works)

As someone who has owed the sickles what would you their dBA would be equilent to? Same as the SP120 performance edition?

@$32 each for the noctura's they are bloody expensive i want to try balance Aestheticserformancerice

I do know that Noctura's are a sound investment and that many other parts of my rig would give out before those fans but In saying that I do really like the SP120 Leds (big time corsair fan boy) I'm just worried that these so called "high static pressure fans" wont have enough static pressure to cut the mustard!

Hopefully now that TTL has got his SP120 Led's he can review asap and give us the in's and out's.

The only corsair fans I've owned are the ones i had on my H80i before i swapped to a custom loop and those things were amazing!

 

[barnsley]

Bitfenix fans love to break (quite a few people here have had horrible luck with them), Corsair fans aren't all that special although they're pretty well made, Noctua fans are the best, however they're hard to get to look nice in a build and the Aerocool DS fans look fantastic but aren't that better/worse than the Corsairs they replaced ( I have a pair).

IMO just get the noctua fans.

 

[Xrqute]

Bitfenix fans love to break (quite a few people here have had horrible luck with them), Corsair fans aren't all that special although they're pretty well made, Noctua fans are the best, however they're hard to get to look nice in a build and the Aerocool DS fans look fantastic but aren't that better/worse than the Corsairs they replaced ( I have a pair).

IMO just get the noctua fans.

the Areocool's replaced what model Corsairs? i do really love the look of them.

But in saying that i may as well spent the $4 more a fan and get the nocturas

 

[barnsley]

the Areocool's replaced what model Corsairs? i do really love the look of them.

But in saying that i may as well spent the $4 more a fan and get the nocturas

Just get the Noctuas, you can really feel the extra money put to good use in them.

also they were SP120s I replaced.

 

[Xrqute]

I'm temped to get Noctua NF-F12 Industrial PPC 120mm 3000RPM PWM Fan as they are they same price as Noctua NF-F12 Industrial PPC 120mm 2000RPM PWM Fan.

i found this to hook them all up to but i dont know how it would go
PWM Fan Hub

I dont spose you guys know of any fan controllers that can handle 10+ fans? Ive never used one.

or i guess i could use all my MB headers and then get a fan controller for what ever is left.


Edit-
R4BE Fan headers-
1 x CPU Fan connector(s)
1 x CPU OPT Fan connector(s)
3 x Chassis Fan connector(s)
3 x Optional Fan connector(s)

 

[JR23]

I can't really give you a fair and unbiased opinion on that because each set of fans i've used in a different setup with a different case and hardware and when I had the sickleflows I was still a n00b. I'm just saying they aren't vastly superior and massively quieter, there is nothing special about them performance wise and you won't think all of these new fans i've bought are poop compared with my sickles.

Now from what i've seen noise is more or less a function of RPM, hence airflow and static pressure. In short the more airflow the more noise your gonna get, it's rarely the motor or bearings making the noise so you can't get performance for free. The only way to go cool and quiet is with an epic amount of radiator space and very low RPM fans hence delivering low static pressure very queitly but with the area to make up for it (obvious really). The Noctua's will try their best to cheat physics in every way more so than other fans to reduce noise at the same performance level, thats what your paying for, but there is only so much physics bending you can do. They aren't going to be twice as good.

For that reason saying 'just get noctuas' is a bit radical, yeah there the best but the cost is horrific, like actually double anything else and when your putting 12 or so in that's freaking ridiculous. I'm sure in longevity and quality terms they will pay that back and if your going to keep them for 6 years it's well worth it. I agree basically they are the way to go if your prepared to spend the money. Maybe consider just going push with them instead of push/pull?

That PWM splitter looks disturbing how all of the outputs are 3-pin. If I was running £25 Noctua's i'd want the actual PWM wire to carry the pulsing signal, i've no idea if it actually makes any difference but I also wouldn't want to find out the expensive way. An Aquaero 6 is the ideal way to go but again, at what cost!

JR

 

[Xrqute]

I can't really give you a fair and unbiased opinion on that because each set of fans i've used in a different setup with a different case and hardware and when I had the sickleflows I was still a n00b. I'm just saying they aren't vastly superior and massively quieter, there is nothing special about them performance wise and you won't think all of these new fans i've bought are poop compared with my sickles.

Now from what i've seen noise is more or less a function of RPM, hence airflow and static pressure. In short the more airflow the more noise your gonna get, it's rarely the motor or bearings making the noise so you can't get performance for free. The only way to go cool and quiet is with an epic amount of radiator space and very low RPM fans hence delivering low static pressure very queitly but with the area to make up for it (obvious really). The Noctua's will try their best to cheat physics in every way more so than other fans to reduce noise at the same performance level, thats what your paying for, but there is only so much physics bending you can do. They aren't going to be twice as good.

For that reason saying 'just get noctuas' is a bit radical, yeah there the best but the cost is horrific, like actually double anything else and when your putting 12 or so in that's freaking ridiculous. I'm sure in longevity and quality terms they will pay that back and if your going to keep them for 6 years it's well worth it. I agree basically they are the way to go if your prepared to spend the money. Maybe consider just going push with them instead of push/pull?

That PWM splitter looks disturbing how all of the outputs are 3-pin. If I was running £25 Noctua's i'd want the actual PWM wire to carry the pulsing signal, i've no idea if it actually makes any difference but I also wouldn't want to find out the expensive way. An Aquaero 6 is the ideal way to go but again, at what cost!

JR

About $224 USD

i could any 4 channel fan controller i guess then chuck in a few of these and spread them out 3 fans per channel or something?


Edit-
This Nzxt fan controller should do the trick i think? plus a couple of those distribution boards.

 

[Davva2004]

Could you please post your rig spec? Reason I ask is that unless you're running a Cray XMP I seriously doubt you need 11 fans, let alone 14!

The whole idea behind cooling is you go cool and quiet. Yes it's easy to lob a fan onto every single case hole you have, but utterly unnecessary to do so.

For an air cooled system, case depending, I'd use no more than three intake and two exhaust fans. For a water cooler system I'd go push only on the rads, positioning them to act as intake and exhaust on the case, plus one extra case fan if needed to give positive pressure. So even a dual 360 rad loop would only require 7 fans as a maximum.

How have you planned your cooling layout?

 

[Xrqute]

Could you please post your rig spec? Reason I ask is that unless you're running a Cray XMP I seriously doubt you need 11 fans, let alone 14!

The whole idea behind cooling is you go cool and quiet. Yes it's easy to lob a fan onto every single case hole you have, but utterly unnecessary to do so.

For an air cooled system, case depending, I'd use no more than three intake and two exhaust fans. For a water cooler system I'd go push only on the rads, positioning them to act as intake and exhaust on the case, plus one extra case fan if needed to give positive pressure. So even a dual 360 rad loop would only require 7 fans as a maximum.

How have you planned your cooling layout?

i have a 360 and 240 mil rads in push pull.....thats 10 right there and i have one case fan.


|Cpu- 3930k@4.6ghz + XSPC raystorm, Mobo- R4BE+EKWB block, Ram- 16gb corsair vengence 1866, Psu- Corsair AX860, Gpu- R9 280x + EKWB fc block, Case- Switch 810, Main hhd- Asus Raidr, Slaves hhds- 3x 2tb Barracuda's|

 

[S_I_N]

I have ran 13 of the 140mm Bitfenix spectre pro (non pwm) Blue led in both my switch build and my enthoo primo build. With fan control they can be set to be quiet and efficient. Remember your doing push pull so the over static pressure isnt of a major issue as running push. When running push only you need that pressure to force the air thru the rad so static pressure is more paramount, on that note the fpi also should be taken into account, and since you did not mention rad type I dont know what you have. In push pull you have the second fan that will help pull that air thru the rad which imho helps with lower static pressure fans.

In both the above mention builds I had the controller set to med-low to medium which was utterly quiet compared to my Air 540 build sitting next to me now, but its still a work in progress. When you ramp up the spectre pro's you know they are there but it was tolerable again unlike the air 540 build next to me (cant wait to replace the fans for pwn models since I have no space for a fan controller. I am looking at the spectre pro pwm's for the replacement. Or 2 more sp120 but that leaves my rear fan as an oddball fan.

 

[Xrqute]

I have ran 13 of the 140mm Bitfenix spectre pro (non pwm) Blue led in both my switch build and my enthoo primo build. With fan control they can be set to be quiet and efficient. Remember your doing push pull so the over static pressure isnt of a major issue as running push. When running push only you need that pressure to force the air thru the rad so static pressure is more paramount, on that note the fpi also should be taken into account, and since you did not mention rad type I dont know what you have. In push pull you have the second fan that will help pull that air thru the rad which imho helps with lower static pressure fans.

In both the above mention builds I had the controller set to med-low to medium which was utterly quiet compared to my Air 540 build sitting next to me now, but its still a work in progress. When you ramp up the spectre pro's you know they are there but it was tolerable again unlike the air 540 build next to me (cant wait to replace the fans for pwn models since I have no space for a fan controller. I am looking at the spectre pro pwm's for the replacement. Or 2 more sp120 but that leaves my rear fan as an oddball fan.

i did mention my rad type in the op. lol

XSPC AX360 and AX240

 

[S_I_N]

my bad didnt see it lol so with its low fpi you should be fine in push pull with whatever fan suits ur fancy.

 

[Davva2004]

Push pull on those rads is overkill, would only consider going push pull on very high FPI rads or very thick ones. Push only will be perfect.

 

[Xrqute]

Push pull on those rads is overkill, would only consider going push pull on very high FPI rads or very thick ones. Push only will be perfect.

it's as much for the aesthetics as much as anything else. I think rads look odd with only one lot of fans.

especially since ive done a mobo inverse moved my 240 to the front and 360 to the floor. it would just look wierd lol

 

[Davva2004]

Fair point, so it's a case of choosing the quietest fans you can find because with push pull the actual performance of the fan is less important.

One thing to bear in mind if you're buying LED fans - the slower you run them the dimmer the LEDs get. So if you're relying on them for case lighting you may also want to get LED lighting strips to supplement their output.

I've got Corsair AF120 Quiet Edition purple LED fans in my case, running at 7v. The light is pretty dim but still noticeable, airflow is great, and they are absolutely silent. As in, I need to have my ear six inches away from them to hear anything and then I only hear the airflow, not the fan. They turn at around 700rpm at 7v, so if the SP120QE LED version runs the same then I would wholeheartedly recommend them.

 

[Xrqute]

Fair point, so it's a case of choosing the quietest fans you can find because with push pull the actual performance of the fan is less important.

One thing to bear in mind if you're buying LED fans - the slower you run them the dimmer the LEDs get. So if you're relying on them for case lighting you may also want to get LED lighting strips to supplement their output.

I've got Corsair AF120 Quiet Edition purple LED fans in my case, running at 7v. The light is pretty dim but still noticeable, airflow is great, and they are absolutely silent. As in, I need to have my ear six inches away from them to hear anything and then I only hear the airflow, not the fan. They turn at around 700rpm at 7v, so if the SP120QE LED version runs the same then I would wholeheartedly recommend them.

Yea I'm going to go with the Corsair SP120 Led's as ill be able to get x10 for like $145 as opposed to $320 for 10 with the Noctura.

if i changed to an Alphacool NexXxoS Monsta 240mm or 360mm I'd def swap to Noctura's at the same time.

Edit-



they look soooo nice

 

[TPC]

but they arent soo good, and I want the blade design of the standard ones...

 

[Xrqute]

but they arent soo good, and I want the blade design of the standard ones...

the fans off the AIO units are epic.