Static Pressure vs AirFlow - Which Noctua Fan or any other fan is SP and AF?

PCTechguy · Oct 22, 2016

Hey guys!

I wanted to know how to know what is an Airflow(shortened:AF) optimised fan, and which is a static pressure (Shortened: SP) optimised fan.

And when to use which? As far as I know, SP is for radiators and heatsinks / to cool the CPU.

And Airflow is to be used for the front. Unless there is thick aluminium, if so, use SP.

Which Noctua fans or anyother fan is SP and AF(and how to find out?)

Thanks!

Mr Kagouris · Oct 22, 2016

If you don't want to bother with worrying about static pressure and airflow get Corsair ML fans. They work for both, and the magnetic levitation bearing is practically noiseless.

badboyrog2 · Oct 22, 2016

get sp 120 and af 120 from corsair
sp=static pressure
af=airflow

static pressure go at the front and af go everywhere else

cosmoji · Oct 22, 2016

as for explaining them....

SP(static pressure) fans are optimized to have the most pressure or force pushing the air they move and are best used with radiators or dense filters that would be too restrictive for other fans to efficiently move air through.

AF(air flow) fans are optimized to move as large a volume of air as possible and are best used as intake and exhaust fans where there are not restrictions to improve how frequently all the air inside the case is cycled.

most fans will either have SP or AF listed in their title, and/or it will be listed under a spec like "flow type" in their specifications.

often this isnt too important. any fans will do in most scenarios, if not as efficient as possible. but if you want to optimize it, paying attention to the specifications will help.

PCTechguy · Oct 22, 2016

It is just that I read that Noctua fans are one of the best. And also because I am wondering whether it'd be a good idea to switch the fan of this CPU Cooler:

Cooler Master Hyper TX3i with the Noctua NF-A14 PWM (Static Pressure optimised, or am I wrong?)

PS. Won't those airtowers cause too much strain on my mobo, if I were to take the case with me to some friend and play there? I.e. if I go for a long travel, etc.?

Corsair's fans are the easiest to identify whether they are AF or SP.

Mr Kagouris · Oct 22, 2016

1) Yes, but they really only make a difference when using them as replacement fans on coolers.

2) Incompatible fan size. Need a 92mm fan for that (really just get a bigger cooler like a Cryorig M9i).

3) No.

4) Just get Corsair ML 120/140s. They work well for both airflow and static pressure and do really well with acoustics.

PCTechguy · Oct 22, 2016

I am going with Cryorig H7 CPU cooler for my i5-6600. 120mm fans. Will the fans that come with it be good (minimal noise - no jet engine noise?)

I am not going with watercooling, cuz it is risky.

A NF-P12 is good for Static pressure (for the heatsink) AFAIK, right? By the looks of it, the fans seem static pressure optimised.

I know NF-A14 are good for SP, but I need a 120 variant. What is the 120mm version of NF-A12?

Mr Kagouris · Oct 23, 2016

The Cryorig fans are good but don't compete with high quality fans such as Corsair MLs, Noiseblockers or Noctuas. If you want a replacement fan for better cooling at 120mm size, go for the IndustrialPPC NF-F12 PWM.

For case fans go for Corsair ML120/140s.

synphul · Oct 23, 2016

The cryorig h7's fan is fine, no need to spend another $25 on something like a corsair ml 120mm. Then you'll have a $35 cooler you paid $60 for, may as well get a noctua nh-d14 cooler for that. A $25 fan strapped to the cryorig h7 isn't going to make it an nh-d14. The h7 is plenty if it's a 6600 non k locked cpu, plenty for mild to moderate overclocks if it's a 6600k. A reeven justice cooler performs similar to the nh-d14 and only costs around $45.

For case fans, if considering 140mm fans I'd avoid the overpriced ml series. $30-34/each is a bit ridiculous, they're not noiseblocker eloops and they max out at 37db which is far from quiet. Most fans don't suffer from bearing noise but wind noise so the whole magnetic levitation bearing gimmick doesn't offer much benefit there.

Phanteks 140mm ph-140sp_bk's put out around the same cfm (airflow) as the ml 140's do but at half the noise level (19db), half the cost and have a 5yr warranty vs the 2yr of the corsair's.

If you don't mind 37dba noise levels, the noctua nf-a14 industrial ppc-3000's cost the same as the corsair ml's. They reach up to 41dba but they push 158cfm with over 10mm/h2o static pressure, over 3x the static pressure of the corsair ml's and have a 6yr warranty.

I'd tend to agree with Mr. Kagouris on the ml's being good case fans if they were priced accordingly but given their price and performance they're extremely poor value. Similar performing and quieter fans cost less, similarly priced fans have longer warranties and significantly more performance. I wouldn't go spending a ton to try and improve a mid range cooler, it performs well as-is out of the box. If the performance isn't what you want the money would be better applied to a cooler with better performance. The slight temp difference you'd get from a stronger fan won't be near the difference you'd get from a cooler with more cooling surface and more heat pipes.

PCTechguy · Oct 24, 2016

I want as low noise and as much performance as possible for the money

the NH-D14 is good, but afaik, it blocks out some RAM slots and 1 PCI-e x16 slot for a GPU. The reason I do not want a K version is because I don't see the benefit in overclocking if I risk voiding my warranty.

I am going with the NZXT S340 case

2x 120/140mm fans on the front.
Top: 1x 120mm ventilator or 1x 120/140mm fans (Idk what the ventilator is, prob a 1-fan radiator)
Rear: 1x 120mm fan.

So max. 3 140mm fans or 4 120mm fans. Hmm.

For now I think going with good case fans (Noctua or corsair, whichever provides the lowest noise-levels to high performance ratio. )

Or should I just save the extra money? As long as those fans are not noisy and have a good CFM (m^2/h)

Isokolon · Oct 24, 2016

Corsair just overmarkets their mediocre fans.
Their AF edition and this SP edition were worse in both aspects then standard Noctua fans.

Usually static pressure and airflow are somewhat related. The more air is pushed the higher is the pressure. Only difference is the blades design. But they're not that big of a difference.

Anyway comparing fans the ML120 pushes up to 127m³/h with a pressure of 4.2 but creates 37dba of noise when doing so. That's louder than my whole system.
Granted this is a 2000rpm fan which imo is complete overkill for a case fan. For radiators or cpu coolers it's a different story.

For case fans I'd suggest the Noctua NF-S12A FLX. They push 107m³/h at a static pressure of 1.19 while staying virtually inaudible at 17.9dba.
The NF-F12 is for higher static pressure with a pressure of 2.61 while moving "only" 91m³/h.
The equivalent to the ML120 would be the NF-F12 industrial which don't have quite the full pressure of the ML120 but are significantly silencer.
Noctua uses it's own special bearing that's a combination of fluid dynamic and magnetic barometric bearing that is absolutely quiet and solid.

Phanteks 120mm fans can't really compete with Noctuas however their 140mm are very good.

Pretty good 120mm fans are made by Cougar!
Their CFD D12s' Push up to 109m³/h while maintaining a pressure of 1.74 while staying 17dba quiet.
They use a fluid dynamic bearing (a real one not some rifle crap).

For case fans the cougar or the Noctua nf-S12a will do fine

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Static Pressure vs AirFlow - Which Noctua Fan or any other fan is SP and AF?

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Mr Kagouris

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