Looking for a silent 120 and 92 mm fan.
- Thread starter dasmi
- Start date
Solution
geofelt
Titan
- Oct 9, 2006
- 54,298
- 4,146
- 174,240
No fan is silent. Quiet, yes, but not silent.
The noise a fan makes is mostly determined by the rpm it is running at.
If you can, replace smaller fans with slower larger fans.
If you want to quiet down existing fans, undervolt them to reduce the rpm.
A Zalman fanmate is inexpensive and will do the job.
The noise a fan makes is mostly determined by the rpm it is running at.
If you can, replace smaller fans with slower larger fans.
If you want to quiet down existing fans, undervolt them to reduce the rpm.
A Zalman fanmate is inexpensive and will do the job.
Calculatron
Honorable
- Apr 3, 2013
- 2,240
- 0
- 12,460
Arctic Cooling F12 PWMs are great, all-around fans that cost around $10. The only downside is that it is a very basic package; all you get is the fan, and four screws.
Enermax fans (Cluster, Cluster Advance, TB Silence, Magma) are also pretty good, though they are a little bit louder at full tilt (but, I think, are better for radiator/heatsink duty). They cost slightly more (~15) but most packages come with rubber isolators and a molex adapter.
Coolink SWiF2-120P are being sold on Amazon for $11-13. At full tilt (1700 RPM) the motor is still really quiet, since it has a true Fluid Dynamic Bearing, but the sound of the airflow will be noticeable. Not terrible, but noticeable. At around 1200 RPM and below you'd be rather hard-pressed to pick out the noise. They are a great investment, since they also come with rubber isolators and a PWM-splitter.
Cougar fans are ~$15, and are really good. However, the PWM variants often have poor quality components, so if you're actually using the PWM function, they make a higher-pitched whine that is annoying. You can bypass this by using voltage to control the fan speed, but that can be a pain (especially if the only way you can do that is with a hardware fan controller). However, Cougar fans also utilize a true fluid dynamic bearing, and I believe they come with with rubber isolators.
That should be a good enough list for you to research and pick a fan that is most suited to your needs. We can make further recommendations, but will require knowledge of what motherboard you have. (Case would be nice to, but not needed.)
Enermax fans (Cluster, Cluster Advance, TB Silence, Magma) are also pretty good, though they are a little bit louder at full tilt (but, I think, are better for radiator/heatsink duty). They cost slightly more (~15) but most packages come with rubber isolators and a molex adapter.
Coolink SWiF2-120P are being sold on Amazon for $11-13. At full tilt (1700 RPM) the motor is still really quiet, since it has a true Fluid Dynamic Bearing, but the sound of the airflow will be noticeable. Not terrible, but noticeable. At around 1200 RPM and below you'd be rather hard-pressed to pick out the noise. They are a great investment, since they also come with rubber isolators and a PWM-splitter.
Cougar fans are ~$15, and are really good. However, the PWM variants often have poor quality components, so if you're actually using the PWM function, they make a higher-pitched whine that is annoying. You can bypass this by using voltage to control the fan speed, but that can be a pain (especially if the only way you can do that is with a hardware fan controller). However, Cougar fans also utilize a true fluid dynamic bearing, and I believe they come with with rubber isolators.
That should be a good enough list for you to research and pick a fan that is most suited to your needs. We can make further recommendations, but will require knowledge of what motherboard you have. (Case would be nice to, but not needed.)
FALC0N
Splendid
- Apr 5, 2010
- 3,881
- 60
- 23,240
I'm going to second calculatrons endosement of arctic cooling. Those fans with their vibration dampener are all I use these days. They are fantasic combination of airflow and low noise.
Only problem with them is you can't reverse them. The dampener assembly only attaches one way. For example, you can use it conventionally to push air out of the case, but you can't turn it around to blow air into the case, if that is something you want to do. They do make a more conventional design that can be reversed, but it lacks the dampener assembly and I have not yet used them.
They also use these fans for most of their heatsinks, which are also very quiet and usually attach to the stock bracket.
I just think they are great products. I love arctic cooling.
Only problem with them is you can't reverse them. The dampener assembly only attaches one way. For example, you can use it conventionally to push air out of the case, but you can't turn it around to blow air into the case, if that is something you want to do. They do make a more conventional design that can be reversed, but it lacks the dampener assembly and I have not yet used them.
They also use these fans for most of their heatsinks, which are also very quiet and usually attach to the stock bracket.
I just think they are great products. I love arctic cooling.
Calculatron
Honorable
- Apr 3, 2013
- 2,240
- 0
- 12,460
^
( http://www.arctic.ac/us_en/products/cooling/case-fan.html ) F12 Pros have the noise dampening cage assembly, like he said, and standard F12 fans do not.
The normal F12s are what I own and have experience with, just to throw that out there.
( http://www.arctic.ac/us_en/products/cooling/case-fan.html ) F12 Pros have the noise dampening cage assembly, like he said, and standard F12 fans do not.
The normal F12s are what I own and have experience with, just to throw that out there.
TRENDING THREADS
-
News Windows 11 will reportedly display a watermark if your PC does not support AI requirements- Started by Admin
- Replies: 19
-
-
-
Discussion What's your favourite video game you've been playing?- Started by amdfangirl
- Replies: 3K
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram