Which is quieter on H100i, Corsair SP120 Quiet or Noctua NF F12

[wamt]

I'm looking to replace the stock fans on the Corsair H100i with either Corsair SP120 Quiet or Noctua NF F12. Silence is the main criteria. I've been searching to find out which is the quieter. Does anybody know or has seen any reviews as to which one of these is quieter at their full speed of ~1500rpm?

As a 'sub' question would the Corsair SP120 Performance be as quiet or quieter than the SP120 Quiet when run at ~1450 rpm instead of the default ~2300rpm

 

[Tripp]

noctua nf-f12 i have had both an currently run the noctuas

 

[wrenaudrey]

I dont have experience with the Noctua's but i have 5 SP120's QE @5v and they are very very close to silent, one only problem with them is that, probably just mine, but they have a slight motor hum hence the 'very very close to silent'
However imo the look of the NFF12's are not very pleasing + the price, in my opinion

 

[jamesriley94]

I've used both.

For what it's worth - I'd go for the Corsairs, considering they look a lot better and half the price, and in my opinion they're a little bit quieter at full speed (although you should be undervolting both to 7v or so anyway, in which case both will be silent)

The Noctuas do perform a little bit better, but the performance increase is very minimal in my experience.

 

[Ulijin]

I've used both on a H100. Ditto what jamesriley94 said, the corsairs are quieter.

 

[WYP]

i would try a double pack of sp120 quiet editions.
I run a set of sp120s and af120s, both run really quietly.

 

[wamt]

I'm more concerned with as being as quiet as possible with good performance so the questionable aesthetics of the Noctua don't concern me too much (besides I will only ever see them when if I have to go inside the case for some reason)

The price difference for me is 36%, (£34 for 2x F12's and £25 for 2x SP120's) which while not double is still a sizeable amount.

I will be using the PWM feature as I currently have to turn my CPU fans up via the fan controller when doing intensive CPU work and back down when not so. Now I would like this to be an automated process and from what I understand PWM is the way to go.

A 'sub' question is would the Corsair SP120 Performance (~2300rpm at 12v) be just as quiet as the SP120 Quiet when both are at the same rpm ( ~1450rpm)

 

[WYP]

Here TTL makes direct comparisons to the noctua fans

Here is the written review link

 

[Ulijin]

Not sure about that one, but the performance editions won't run at as low RPMs as the QE. All fans have a voltage they'll just stop at. Go with the QE if noise is your concern. There's a reason lots of people use them.

 

[JR23]

If we're discussing PWM's which I think the OP is but everyone else isn't go for the SP120 PWM Performance Edition. They can go down to ~730rpm, the quiets can go down a tad further but I wouldn't think you could tell the difference. All SP120's should theoretically sound exactly the same at any given RPM as all of the parts are identical. I've had performance editions, quiet editions and PWM performance editions on my H100i and the PWMs are quieter than the quiets and equally as good as the performance, win win win. Never ran noctuas and neve would because they are hideous so I can't help you on that.

JR

 

[Ulijin]

I wasn't sure what the PE would run down at so didn't comment on that. The QE on my rig will run down as far as 330 rpm. JR's post just prompted me to check.

I'm a noise freak and they're very quiet at 730 rpm but I tend to run mine around 600 rpm as I don't want to hear them at all.

Cheers,
Ulijin.

edit: mine are PWM QE fans, not 3 pin.

 

[JR23]

Wow that is extremely slow, when I asked corsair they spoke as if they would only go down another 100rpm, perhaps different firmware and controllers give different results also. I tend to only notice them over system noise when they start going beyond 950 rpm. I guess cases and sensitivity will affect your perception of them as we'll which makes it particularly difficult to recommend fans. And ultimately if they don't make much noise they don't move much air, the performance PWM's come closest to doing everything for me.

JR

 

[wamt]

I wasn't sure what the PE would run down at so didn't comment on that. The QE on my rig will run down as far as 330 rpm. JR's post just prompted me to check.

I'm a noise freak and they're very quiet at 730 rpm but I tend to run mine around 600 rpm as I don't want to hear them at all.

Cheers,
Ulijin.

edit: mine are PWM QE fans, not 3 pin.

Interesting, when you run them at 600rpm what temperatures are you getting? Is this for idle and high cpu load?

 

[Ulijin]

Interesting, when you run them at 600rpm what temperatures are you getting? Is this for idle and high cpu load?

I don't use a H100 anymore, but on my current rig all is kept sub 80 degrees when under stress.

Cheers,
Ulijin.

 

[wamt]

If we're discussing PWM's which I think the OP is but everyone else isn't go for the SP120 PWM Performance Edition. They can go down to ~730rpm, the quiets can go down a tad further but I wouldn't think you could tell the difference. All SP120's should theoretically sound exactly the same at any given RPM as all of the parts are identical. I've had performance editions, quiet editions and PWM performance editions on my H100i and the PWMs are quieter than the quiets and equally as good as the performance, win win win. Never ran noctuas and neve would because they are hideous so I can't help you on that.

JR

I will take your advice. This is the same conclusion I've come to after extensive reading. I read the review here http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/120mm-fan-roundup-4_25.html
Plus should there ever be a time I need the extra cooling performance irrespective of noise levels then it is there... I now just need to see which reseller does the cheapest double pack.