Cooling SilenX Fans

kind of a pointless poll, it would just lead to misinformation
"who makes the quietest fans" is not a matter of opinion, its a matter of fact

Nexus are the quietest in my experience, though I would consider ebmPapst the best, as often I find Nexus fans a bit lacking in the airflow department. I prefer to run a good papst at 5v for nexus-like noise levels, and then crank it up to 12v when needed for decent airflow.

SPCR should provide all info and rankings you ever wanted, backup up with hard tests

 

I recently bought some 'silent' 120mm fans to test: a SilenX I-extrema Pro 1200rpm, a Noctua @800 rpm and a Scythe s-flex @800 rpm.

I'm the first to admit that it would be only logical that the SilenX is a bit louder than the others since it's turning at 1.5x their rpm. This is also reflected in the amount of db they're rated at: the SilenX @ 11db, the Noctua @ 8db and the Scythe @ 8,7 db.

However, the SilenX motor noise is just intolerable. It's not silent at all, there's a continuous humming (even when not installed in the case and just handheld). It goes away when they're slowed down with a fan controller, but they need to be thoroughly slowed down for that (<65%).

The Noctua and Scythe on the other hand, are dead-silent. And that not an exaggeration. Of course for a fair comparison one would need to have some 1200 rpm version of those. But their motors spin so quiet the only thing that's a bit audible is the turbulence of the air they move.

 

The 1200RPM Scythe is horrific. I picked one up intending it to be a "quiet" CPU fan and I have to run it 7 volted constantly because at anything marginally above that it's got an obnoxious buzz to it. I'd far rather run a Nexus at 1000 or a golfball at 1200 (surprisingly good) than another scythe.

 

well there you go. I couldn't be happier with the 800rpm version while the 1200rpm version is apparantly a whole different story. Goes to prove how much difference there is, even between fans of the same brand. Good to know this.

 

hum

i have 6 sflex 1200's @12V and there very very quiet .... and i am paranoide about case noise, im not sure that noisy sflex 1200 was well, specofdust!

i have tried most fans, currently i have more than 2 dozen of verious sizes to get quiet air cooling (man what a waist of money, could have had a pucker h20 setup by now) and the sflex some of the quietest for the air movement. the 1600's i find a tad to loud for my liking, but there quieter than 1200's when 7 volted, and you can always turn them up in the summer in a mega lan party.

 

Ditto on the SFlex's. I bought 3 for a rad when they streeted. Still running strong to this day. Expensive, sure. But worth it IMHO.

 

FYI: As others have said, Silenx fans are a total gimmick. Scythe units are far, far superior with longer life expectancies and quieter operation--you can thank the Sony-developed bearing system for that.

 

Definitely.

I hate to sound dorky, but I only wish Scythe would release clear/translucent led versions of the SFlex, . You know, for the bling factor.

 

I could not agree more, I used Noctua (Very Good), Papst (Very Good), SilentX (what was I thinking), many generic bands received with cases (some good, most bad) and Sycthe 1200's which are so far my favorites.

 

Clear fan plastic is harder than filled opaque fan plastic and tends to amplify vibrations and noise; for example, my Akasa Amber are pretty quiet held in the hand or flexibly mounted, so measure low dBA in lab noise tests, but they'll noisily walk around a wooden table and aren't so hot bolted to a metal panel. So no bling, please.

 

thanks all for rectifying the Scythe situation, glad to hear the 1200 seems to be quiet as well.

 

And if they are too loud, just undervolt them

 

I should point out that although the same brand, they're very different speeds. The Fan Laws say a 1200RPM fan will be much noisier than a similar size and design 800RPM fan. It's like the law of gravity, a basic truth, personal opinions are irrelevant, it just is.

And at the same RPM they'll sound the same. The 800 @ 9.5V = the 1200 @ 6.9V for flow, RPM and noise, by SPCR figures. That's why people buy the 1350RPM Yate Loons - undervolt to 1000RPM and you have a cheap Nexus equivalent.

 

Psh. My tricools have been on full since I bought my P180. As long as the fan I buy isn't louder than that, I'm more than happy with it.

 

Well i think i timed stumbling on this thread quite well, i have been recently thinking about gettign another fan or two, didn't have a clue where to look, but now ill be checking out a few of the names dropped here, ty all.

If i remember ill report back with my experiances, if/when i get any.