Modding Most quiet fans around....

im after some 80mm fans, and was wondering which are the most quiet / silent ones?

 

silenx.com. They have some damn nice ones that push 28cfm and on max run at 14 ish dba.

 

could you give me an idea of prices? their site appears to be closed for refurbishment atm

 

If nothing else, go with vantec stealths:
27cfm@ 21db
thats not bad at all, and if you get those rubber silencers, thatll make a diff.

 

I bought some NMB 18cfm/15db for 5.29 each from Panaflofan - I've 2 of these on my dual xp1600+ cpu's and two in my 550Psu running 24 hours a day with no problems.

The site also does Panaflo 24M1A 80mm ,17cfm/14db and Panaflo L1A 80mm 25cfm/21db. Very reliable and UK based as I see you are. Also deals on ebay but ebay costs slightly more!

I would definately go for the NMB 15db if they are in stock. When I can afford some more I'll be stocking up!

 

Head over to SilentPcReview.com and take a look at their recommended fans and on their forums. IIRC, the Vantec Stealth and SilentX both suck (umm... okay, they blow... no, wait, ah nuts to it)

My personal recommendation is the Panaflo line made by Panasonic. They are cheap and easy to come buy. Make sure you get the "L" low speed version as that is the quietest. They undervolt really nicely too, perfect for use with fan controllers. Papst do some quiet fans too, but they don't have much air flow.

MoJo

 

I really disagree there. Have you even had a silenx before? You can't beat 14dba at a nice air blowing rate.

 

You have to keep in mind that in real life you will never get 14dBa. That was measured in ideal conditions (free air). In practice, things like fan baring whine, undervoltability (um... is that a word?), vibration and air turbulance all alter the noise level of a fan.

The silenx fans are quite quiet, no doubt, but I'd go for the Panaflos anyway. With a simple controller you can get enough air flow for gaming but undervolt enough to keep things quiet when just web surfing. Also, there have been reports that silenx fans vary quite a bit in terms of noise. Some people are lucky and get good ones, others are not. Panaflos are much more consistent and also very cheap.

MoJo

 

The Vantec Stealth fans are pretty silent if you link them to a fan controller.

I wouldn't bother with the rubber vibration dampening kits though as they don't seem to do anything

 

Really?! They must be kinda lame then. I use a combination of a rubber sheet cut with a fan shaped hole in it to absorb vibrations from the fan. Rubber grommets leave a small gap between the fan and the case, which causes extra noise from air turbulance and reduces the effectiveness of the fan. Since you have rubber on all sides this no not an issue with the rubber sheet method. I also use elastic thread instead of screws, as these also prevent vibration being transmitted to the case.

MoJo

 

www.h2o-computer.co.uk noiseblocker fans. whisper quiet, decent amount of air. (i have a couple)

 

well ive got 2 120mm Vantec Stealth's in the project I am currently building and to be honest they are not that loud. The push 53cmf @ 28db, will be less noice once ive bought my fan controller.

I would say go for the 80mm vantec's, Kustompcs sell them at £10 a shot.

 

I'll guarentee you wont be able to tell the difference from a fan that runs at 14-15dB than one than runs at 20-21dB.

...

 

I'm currently waiting to take delivery of some 26db Coolermasters, so that I can replace my 35-40db Thermaltakes and TSTechs

So I'm seriously hoping there's gonna be a noticeable difference ??

 

I "guarentee" you are wrong

Seriously, I'm no audiophile but I don't buy £10 Sony headphones either. Trust me, there is no way you would not hear that, unless you were partially deaf.

dBa isn't the only thing either, the position of the fan, the case, the mountings and the exact noise it produces all contribute to how irritating a fan is.

MoJo