I am looking for an 80mm and a 120mm at a reasonable price. I am curious to know which ones will be quiet and still controllable (ie: not a 4 pin molex but a 3 pin connector). I liked the Arctic cooling ones since they are fluid dynamic bearings but they only have 2 wires into the 3 pin connector. Any recommendations as i have found the panaflo's a bit spendy.
Akasa Amber are cheapish (compared to the best quiet fans like Nexus, Panaflo & Co) and low-noise, especially if undervolted. They're 3-wire, 120mm comes with an extension and splitter for 4-pin power & 3-pin motherboard speed if needed. Some tests here but you'll see noise is closely related to RPM, whatever the brand, so Coolermaster LED Silent S12 (1200RPM) will be quieter than the 1400RPM Amber and louder than the 1000RPM Nexus.
So how many dBA is still considered a quiet fan, by the way id prefer if i could get these on newegg so the more mainstream stuff is good- ie i cant get akasa on newegg. EDIT: How bout Scythe's?
Akasa Amber range are by far the best low price quiet fan. Even on 12v they are mighty impressive. After that, you might aswell get a Papst.
I'll second that, I recently put together a media PC from parts leftover after upgrading my main PC. I wanted it to be quiet and I used a 120mm Antec Amber fan in the front of the case, it's running at full 12v speed and it's virtually inaudible; you have to hold your head about 6 inches or closer to the PC case to hear it.
You do mean Akasa? I think im going to go with a zalman fan controller (the 5.25 bay mount one CBA to get model number), a Zalman 120mm fan, and a Coolermaster 80mm one.
Yes I do. It's in an Antec case. Fans at 20 dBA and less can pretty much be considered silent; 30 dBA is background noise in a quiet rural setting according to this article: http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/engsvcs/projects/soundsmart/soundAndNoise.htm
I have 2 80mm Zalman in my HTPC and i must say i have to change the ASAP. Decent airflow but far to loud. Thinking of getting some SilenX but they are hard to get where i live
consider that third-ed. AccoustiFan ones seem to be the best for noise:cfm but iv not tried one, and they are expensive. tbh, for value for money, id go for the akasa every time.
Hmm, thanks - was going to pick some up this weekend but you've made me think again. I'll stick to good old Panaflo then
for 120mm i got some silenx ixtrema pro fans. from 1m they can't be heard. while i don't think they are outputting 64cfm they are certainly outputting alot of air for sound 14db. the best part is, since they are already so quiet you don't really need to controll their speed with a fan controller. The only downside is the price, as they cost me around $30 CDN each.
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_2532.html 14dba 72CFM (i'm sure you can get it cheaper than on kustom) its slightly deeper than regular fans though
I also reccomend Akasa amber series, not too expensive, but not too loud either. It won't win awards for the quietist fan but it's alot cheaper than the very silent ones. EDIT: Lol very silent
Where can i find akasa amber's online...arghhh anyone know of a webstore in the states with em so not to be raped with shipping? EDIT: Even SilenX's???
