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Fan Battle -- Noctua vs Cougar

Tags:
  • Noctua
  • Cougar
  • Fan
  • Components
  • Performance
Last response: in Components
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October 20, 2013 3:50:15 AM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835553002

VS

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608038


They seem to have similar specs--which fan should I get?
The quieter the better, but I don't want performance to suffer too much.
Any other fan suggestions are welcome.

More about : fan battle noctua cougar

October 20, 2013 3:55:51 AM

Noctua fans are far, far better than Cougar's fans. Much quieter, better built and pushes air better.
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October 20, 2013 4:09:36 AM

worth the markup?
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October 20, 2013 6:11:18 AM

Archean_0 said:
worth the markup?


Yes, though no if you hate the hideous beige and brown colors, but you can get them in black.
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October 20, 2013 10:36:06 AM

For actual use on a case, or for on a radiator/heatsink?

Personally, I have yet to find a way to justify buying a Noctua fan to even test it out. Over $20 for a single fan? Yikes; especially when you start looking and see that some fans that cost half as much can beat them in terms of performance numbers. However, to Noctua's credit, there are some qualities that don't translate to numbers too well. They spent a lot of time and energy making sure that not only is the acoustics of the airflow pleasant, but the acoustics of the motor operation is as well. (There are some fans that are remarkably quiet, but you can hear this clicking noise, or maybe an insistent whir, from the motor that slowly drives you nuts.)

Cougar fans are by no means cheap or sub-par in terms of performance; my only complaint would be that their PWM variant (the one linked) often has cheap/bad circuits (designed in Germany - made in China!) that create a high pitched noise when not at full tilt. One is able to work around this by not using the PWM function (either by using a 3-pin fan header, or telling your motherboard not to use PWM). That glaring flaw aside, they are really good fans in terms of performance. On my heatsink, I rather use my Cougar fan than my Corsair SP120 Performance edition - the absolute performance is within the margin of error, but the Cougar fan is noticeably more quiet. The overall construction is fairly robust, and it has a quality bearing - it is an actual Matsushita design Fluid Dynamic Bearing. It operates smoothly and is effectively inaudible; most of the sound of the fan comes from the "whoosh" of air that it moves, which becomes noticeable (not remarkably so) at above 1200 RPM.

I'll go ahead and concede that the Noctua is probably going to have better acoustics (although the issue would probably only arrise when they were at full tilt, and even then the question becomes by how much) but I think, at best, it will only match the Cougar in performance. Is it really worth $10 more? I don't think so, especially if you will using them only as standard case fans.
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October 20, 2013 4:36:20 PM

Calculatron said:
For actual use on a case, or for on a radiator/heatsink?

Personally, I have yet to find a way to justify buying a Noctua fan to even test it out. Over $20 for a single fan? Yikes; especially when you start looking and see that some fans that cost half as much can beat them in terms of performance numbers. However, to Noctua's credit, there are some qualities that don't translate to numbers too well. They spent a lot of time and energy making sure that not only is the acoustics of the airflow pleasant, but the acoustics of the motor operation is as well. (There are some fans that are remarkably quiet, but you can hear this clicking noise, or maybe an insistent whir, from the motor that slowly drives you nuts.)

Cougar fans are by no means cheap or sub-par in terms of performance; my only complaint would be that their PWM variant (the one linked) often has cheap/bad circuits (designed in Germany - made in China!) that create a high pitched noise when not at full tilt. One is able to work around this by not using the PWM function (either by using a 3-pin fan header, or telling your motherboard not to use PWM). That glaring flaw aside, they are really good fans in terms of performance. On my heatsink, I rather use my Cougar fan than my Corsair SP120 Performance edition - the absolute performance is within the margin of error, but the Cougar fan is noticeably more quiet. The overall construction is fairly robust, and it has a quality bearing - it is an actual Matsushita design Fluid Dynamic Bearing. It operates smoothly and is effectively inaudible; most of the sound of the fan comes from the "whoosh" of air that it moves, which becomes noticeable (not remarkably so) at above 1200 RPM.

I'll go ahead and concede that the Noctua is probably going to have better acoustics (although the issue would probably only arrise when they were at full tilt, and even then the question becomes by how much) but I think, at best, it will only match the Cougar in performance. Is it really worth $10 more? I don't think so, especially if you will using them only as standard case fans.


Do you have any recommendations for PC Case Fans?
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October 20, 2013 5:33:33 PM

You're also not JUST paying for the fan when you buy noctua fans. You're getting rubber mounting grommets, low noise adapter, rubber fan isolators, and extension cables which all contribute to easier installation and/or lower noise. You're getting an entire quality fan PACKAGE.
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October 20, 2013 7:14:42 PM

filphil said:
You're also not JUST paying for the fan when you buy noctua fans. You're getting rubber mounting grommets, low noise adapter, rubber fan isolators, and extension cables which all contribute to easier installation and/or lower noise. You're getting an entire quality fan PACKAGE.


Which Noctua fan would be a good balance between performance and silence? (120mm and 140mm)

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October 20, 2013 9:12:59 PM

filphil said:
You're also not JUST paying for the fan when you buy noctua fans. You're getting rubber mounting grommets, low noise adapter, rubber fan isolators, and extension cables which all contribute to easier installation and/or lower noise. You're getting an entire quality fan PACKAGE.


This is actually a pretty good point, and as a riposte I would like to say that, for me, most of this is just clutter - barring the isolators. I am not everyone, though, so my point remains subjective. Still, controlling fan speeds via software fan controllers is pretty easy and straightforward these days (no need for a low-noise adapter/voltage-limiter) and while having a Y-splitter can be certainly nice (those things run roughly $6 bucks a pop) getting one with every fan is a bit redundant. The rubber grommets I do not see on the accessories list; are you referring to the anti-vibration pads in the corners, or is there some confusion with the accessories that come with a Be Quiet! fan? With that said, I would like to point out that the Cougar fan (as well as the Corsair Air series, and even the new Cooler Master JetFlo fans) come with built-in anti-vibration pads, and as went vibration isolators - which are taking more time to catch on as a popular accessory, sadly. Most of the newer offerings by Enermax, thankfully, seem to be carrying them as a standard.

As for a recommend for a PC case fan proper, the Cougars should be fine. If you don't want to mess with the PWM silliness, just pick up one of the 3-pin 1200 RPM variants. (300 RPM loss isn't going to make a lot of difference, beyond that point there is definitely diminishing returns for absolute performance and sound.) Enermax is another solid brand to invest in; I think their newly released Cluster Advance comes with vibration isolators, LED toggle, Max speed toggle (1200, 1500, 1800 RPM) on the motor, and is PWM functional?

I, personally, am using Arctic F-series PWM fans on my case, at the moment. They are a pretty basic fan design that is very affordable - I think about $10 a piece - and come designed with the ability to "daisy-chain" the fans together to run off the same fan header. Other than that, though, they don't come with anything fancy. They even lack basic cable sleeves. They're quiet and they work well, though.
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October 20, 2013 9:30:50 PM

My only problem with the Noctua fans is that hideous color, I just wish it was black or white, those colours can match with anything
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October 20, 2013 9:55:13 PM

the austrian brand (NOCTUA) is the best of all times on air cooling matters, related to colors you can look for Phanteks solutions, they are really similar and offers better colours combinatios
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