Best Rad fans but quiet (CFM:Noise)

[monkey_mo]

Okay so ive been researching like a mad man over the last 2 weeks on which fans i should I use for my rebuild. Anyway ive seen so much info over the web that i really cant make out what to get now. At the moment i have 3 NF-P12's on my PA 120.3 rad and they are nice but if i can find something that is (yes) a little more quieter with the same or better cfm output then im jumping on those. Pretty much everyone raves about the Gentle Typhoons (1450/1850rpm versions) but im currious to what you guys have to think about.. Ive also looked into these other fans:

Areocool Shark 140mm
Phantek PH-F140TS
Noctua 140mm flx
couger 120mm fans (read that having them horizontally placed, screws them up making them sound much louder, so this will be in issue for me, well on my pa 120.2 rad)

I know i listed 140mm fans above and the reason i have done this is because my Pa 120.3 is the original 25mm spaced version (thanks MM for that) so i can actually install 2 140mm fans, one at each end and the middle rad spot would be for a 120mm fan.

To be honest price isnt a huge concern im just looking for fans that would be equal or better in cooling a radiator BUT HAS TO BE QUIETER than my NF-P12's. IDEALLY, the fans that are to be choosen should be under ~19cfm. There were some other silent fans i looked into (BeQuiet, I believe) but their lack of avalibility in Canada made them irrelevant to my build, because i cant simply get them here, so please, only suggest fans that are avalible in canada as well.


OT, but does any know of a trick that can make my D5 pump more quieter without having to set it under speed lvl 3? I was wondering if one of those bitspower dress up kits or something along those lines could actually be benificial to the sound output of the D5 as my basic assumption was that more material surrounding the pump would cause it to effectively dampen its noise output.

thx for the suggestions and advice in adavance

[stoanee]

Noctuas are pretty quiet, you are probably SOL.

[lowfat]

I'm really a big fan of Gentle Typhoons. The AP-15s (1850RPM) are rather loud @ 12V but they do great @ 5V or 7V. Plus they look fantastic.

[AmuseMe]

I used a bunch of NoiseBlocker PL-2 fans on my SR1 rads. They are rated at 1600RPM with good static pressure. Google them. They look nice (black on black)

I've got a bunch on sale at a good price.

[bundymania]

Yeah, Noiseblockers are great fans for radiators and they have 5 years guarantee. The new swiftech fans are also worth a try and of course gentle typhoons !

[monkey_mo]

swiftech makes fans now? interesting

[Adzsask]

-Nothing beats a fan controlled Gentle Typhoon on a rad/thread. If you don't want a fan controller buy the lowest RPM ones you can find at a decent price.

[JD]

I run Gentle Typhoon 1450RPM's on my XSPC EX360. Best combination of silence and airflow.

I don't actually run them at 12V either though as it's audible, I use whatever "medium" equates to on the Cosmos II fan controller. I'm guessing it's around 7V.

[Adzsask]

Originally Posted by monkey_mo

swiftech makes fans now? interesting

Knock off of a gentle typhoon, but have cheap sleeve bearings, so going to be much louder and way shorter lifespan.

[dustin1706]

My last few PCs have been as silent as possible water cooled builds. Zalman heatpipe PSU, no HDDs WC CPU, GPU, Mobo etc etc... I've tried dozens of different fans but have found Noctuas and 1150 Gentle Typhoons to have the best CFM/DBA ratio. If you are looking for cheaper fans; Antec TrueQuiets or the Nexus/Yate Loon 1000rpm fans are your best bet, but not as good as the noctuas/GTs.

If the colours are a real turnoff, the noctua's can be easily painted and while I expect that they lose some of their efficiency, it's not enough for me to notice by comparing a stock to a painted fan. Here is an S12b that I use as an intake on my secondary PC. Gloss black frame with UV active green rotor.