Best quiet fan setup for this build (no overclocking)

Jean Luc Bergman · Oct 18, 2016

Here is my build

Type: Desktop
O.S.: Windows 10
Motherboard: MSI Godlike
CPU: Intel Core i7 6850k
GPU: Nvidia 1080 GTX 8GB
RAM: 64 GB (4x 16GB) DDR4 Corsair Vengeance 3333MHz
SSD: Samsung 950 Pro 512 M.2 SSD
HDD: Seagate 10 TB BarraCuda Pro 3.5”
PSU: Corsair AX860i 860W
Case: In Win 909 Full Tower Black

I am not going to be overclocking, just wondering whether for general use 2 of these in the bottom
https://www.mwave.com.au/product/aerocool-dead-silence-...
and one of the 140mm in the back would be enough fans. This was my initial plan but someone outright said it could get away without ANY fans as long as it was not overclocked.

Also are these the quietest fans available?

n0ns3ns3 · Oct 18, 2016

the best quite fans are Noctua at under 1200RPM.
to keep your system cool and quite under load without liquid cooling would require 3x120/140 intake fans (front/bottom) + 3x120/140 exhaust fans on rear.
probably the mid mounted fan wouldn't hurt as well.
So you are looking at 6x Noctua NF-F12/NF-F14 (NF-P are also fine).
This case is not really airflow optimized and meant for full liquid cooling. That is around 350-400$ if you go for simplest decent solution like:
https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-xlc-predator-360-incl-qdc
+ prefilled
https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-fc1080-gtx

Jean Luc Bergman · Oct 18, 2016

Would 3x 120/140 on the front and bottom cut it?

n0ns3ns3 · Oct 18, 2016

doubt that it can be quite, but you can try and add fans as needed.

Jean Luc Bergman · Oct 18, 2016

Now Im thinking two of these in the bottom
https://www.pccasegear.com/products/32035/coolermaster-silencio-fp-120mm-pwm-fan/

And one of these in the back
https://www.pccasegear.com/products/36038/corsair-ml140-pro-140mm-premium-magnetic-levitation-fan-black/

Isokolon · Oct 18, 2016

Corsair fans are everything but quiet.
for vertical fans go with Phanteks like this one also available in black or with LEDs
for horizontal fans with Noctua like one of these NF-A14 Flx - got this one myself, maybe the best fan I ever used. NF-P14, NF-14 PWM

honestly 3x intake + 3x exhaust sounds way too much for me

I'd go 2x front intake + 1x bottom intake + 2x exhaust although 2x intake + 2x exhaust could potentially be enough as well

the problem I see with the case, which is admitetly really good looking, is it comes without a fan controller and your board can only has 3 fan headers for case fans.
usually I'd hook 1xfont+1xexhaust up to the fan controller of the case and let it run on silent settings when idling and plug the other fans to the mainboard and manually set the curves so they only start spinning when temperatures rise

Jean Luc Bergman · Oct 18, 2016

Can you use a noctua as a vertical fan?

Isokolon · Oct 18, 2016

yeah no problem
you can do basically anything with Noctua fans
only phanteks fans sometimes make a weird noise when mounted horizontal while being the best fans in a vertical setup

madmatt30 · Oct 18, 2016

2x1400mm front intakes , 2x140mm rear exhausts.

That's it mate , don't bother with a bottom fan , will barely do anything at the expense of extra noise.

You do infact have an extra CPU fan header on that board so you absolutely can run 4 case fans & regulate speeds fine.

madmatt30 · Oct 18, 2016

What CPU cooler were you considering using ??

Jean Luc Bergman · Oct 18, 2016

https://www.pccasegear.com/products/35515/thermaltake-riing-silent-12-red-cpu-cooler/

One of those

madmatt30 · Oct 18, 2016

Jean Luc Bergman :

spend an extra $10 on the h5 mate is my advice,its a better cooler & has a 140mm fan which is 5-10dcb quieter than the thermaltake.

https://www.pccasegear.com/products/29596/cryorig-h5-universal-cpu-cooler

case fans are entirely going to depend on your budget & whether you want led's or not.

Jean Luc Bergman · Oct 18, 2016

Right now I'm thinking just 4 of these probably in the configuration you suggested:

https://www.mwave.com.au/product/corsair-ml140-140mm-premium-magnetic-levitation-fan-twin-pack-ab84658

Fairly cheap in the 2 packs and very quiet at 1000 RPM

Isokolon · Oct 18, 2016

as said before, Corsair fans aren't nearly as silent as Noctua and Phanteks fans
(or bequiet silent wings for that matter) relativising their costs

madmatt30 · Oct 18, 2016

Isokolon :

Agreed absolutely - with that budget id just buy 4 of these,

http://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/8r9KHx/noctua-case-fan-nfp14sredux1500pwm

you can run these at 800rpm or so,theyll match the corsairs for airflow at 1200rpm & you will not hear a thing from them

Jean Luc Bergman · Oct 18, 2016

What would happen if you ran this rigs with no fans except the cpu fan?

Jean Luc Bergman · Oct 18, 2016

From what I've seen in measurements the Corsairs are around 16db running at 1000 RPM, which is what I am likely to do. This is quieter than the Noctuas, and also in these two packs they are cheaper. I feel like there is a lot of random hate for the corsairs from idiots running them at 2000 RPM from what I am reading and seeing, at the end of the day they are Unarguably quieter than the Noctuas at 1000 RPM in db. The measurements don't lie.

Isokolon · Oct 18, 2016

the nocutas run at 18dba on 1250 rpm
at 1000 rpm the noctua is literally inaudible. I got one of these myself.

and no there's no random hate for Corsair. I like Corsair as a brand but I reckon there are things Corsair does good - like RAM or the new PSUs they're buying - and there are things Corsair isn't as good at - fans for example. what I don't like about Corsair is the amount of marketing they do about their not top products. they behave like they invented magnetic bearings when they didn't. or: the predecessor to the ML140, the AF140 "Quiet Edition" was rated @25.5dba at 1200rpm but marketed as a quiet fan whilst Phanteks/Noctuas pushed more air at 18dba
from what I've read so far the difference between the MLs and the AFs isn't too big.
if you found a review that shows that they are indeed running around 16dba @1000rpm pls share the link, I'm very interested. However that doesn't quite correlate to the things I've read so far, marking them as "fairly quiet" at 1000rpm

if you run it without any fans but the CPU fan, your CPU fan and GPU fans will most likely spin up pretty fast and creating lots of noise while you might see some thermal throtteling under load

Jean Luc Bergman · Oct 18, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nTJoB67PZY

That has a run down of db against various RPM

https://youtu.be/JYmCh6AD-zQ?t=312

This is a less objective comparison of a few of the Corsairs, definitely a substantial difference difference with the SP which I suspect is where Corsair damaged their name a bit in this regard, but also definitely quite a bit better than the AF which makes an annoying low end hum.

n0ns3ns3 · Oct 18, 2016

It's not important how much noise or how much air a fan can push without being mounted somewhere.
There is nothing (may be beside gentle typhoon) that can beat noctua's NF-P and NF-F fans when comparing noise vs air pushed against heatsinks and radiators.
And your case is full of airflow restrictions - so you will need static pressure optimized fans that still have excellent air flow for the intake.
If you do not put the "middle" fan, the hot air in the main chamber will not be removed effectively and heat will build up.
If you mount 2 rear fans, they will pull air through the third mount and will mostly circulate the air within rear chamber.
Again, this 400$ case is not meant to for air cooling of a 600$ CPU and 650$ GPU. and for sure not with couple of cheap fans.
You already invested about 3K in this build
But whatever, I'm out of this thread.

Isokolon · Oct 18, 2016

Jean Luc Bergman :

the thing I find strange, particularly about the last video is:
- 100% output power is only 1715rpm. the ML is rated for 2000rpm. a fluctuation of 300rpm is waaay too much.
- corsair rates their fans 16-37 dba according to their website with a minimum of 400rpm. so if 400rpm equals 16dba, 1000rpm can under no circumstances run at the 15,7dba the video claims.

that they definitely improved over the AF fans is no question seems they did all kind of strange noises
but I highly doubt the specs shown in the second video

I mean your mind looks set on the Corsair MLs so I won't try to convince you to go with the in my eyes superior Phanteks or Noctua fans but I wanna state for the record that no product ever ran better than stated on the homepage of the manufaturer especially when they advertise it with "if NASA made fans" (well maybe they were referring to the noise of a space shuttle start)

Jean Luc Bergman · Oct 21, 2016

The computer arrived (it was built by the parts seller) and despite having ordered 4 MLs they put in 5 AF fans free of charge and left the MLs in their boxes which came too. LMFAO.

On a positive note it is already surprisingly quiet. Motherboard temperature sitting at around 30c while idling.

Best quiet fan setup for this build (no overclocking)

Commendable

Illustrious

Commendable

Illustrious

Commendable

Judicious

Commendable

Judicious

Titan

Titan

Commendable

Titan

Commendable

Judicious

Titan

Commendable

Commendable

Judicious

Commendable

Illustrious

Judicious

Commendable

Share this page