Quietist 80mm case fan

[aster]

I’m looking for recommendations for some 80mm replacement case fans. My system does not run overly hot so I am more concerned with quite than performance. Any suggestion are much appreciated.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by aster on 12/07/03 07:02 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[lhgpoobaa]

Having personally tested almost a dozen different brands i can honestly say that the Panaflo low speed 2000rpm 80mm fan is the quietest of them all.

While slower does = quieter, panaflo have an advantage in that they use fancy self lubricating slieve bearings, which give extreemly quiet operation, while still moving a respectable volume of air.

Most other casefans use ballbearings, which have a buzzy operation even at low speed.

If you cannot find Panaflo fans, you might wish to consider low speed Pabst or Vantec stealths.

I liked the panaflo's so much ive got 4 in my case. 3 x 2000rpm 80mm as casefans, 1 x 3000rpm medium speed for the CPU.

<b>My Computer is so powerful Sauron Desires
it and mortan men covet it, My Precioussssssss!

Regards,
Mr no integrity coward.</b>

 

[dstell]

I would agree that although they are very expensive and not very attractive the Panaflows continue to be far quieter than any other fan that I have tested.

The TMD fans from YS Tech such as the PD1270155B-2F are the next closest thing. The TMD (Tip Magnetic Driven) design of these fans have the ability to move a lot of air and are popular on heat sink fan combos such as the Vantec Aeroflow. The slim profile of the fan and the center that sticks up a bit do make the use of these as case fans problematic depending on the design of your case, but no matter because they move a lot of air and are very quiet.

Panaflow is most likely your best bet, but do not expect to find them lighted or colored.

The Vantec Stelth fans are also pretty quiet as well.

Those are the suggestions that I have.


<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by dstell on 12/08/03 08:36 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Guest]

True, a sleeved or bushing type bearing as used in electric motors are more quiet than a ball type bearing as used in the same application. The problem with the bushing type bearings is that the factory lubrication over time dries out and then the armature rpm starts to slow down and then eventually seizes. During the time period between when the armature starts to slow down (lower air cfm's) and and when it actuall stops turning quite a bit of heat load has already been placed on the system that's trying to be cooled. Depending on when a user finds out that somethind is wrong with the fans damage can already have been done to quite a few very important components. It's really a trade off on what's important to the user. Top quietness, performance, protection or longevity. I don't think one can expect to have all of them and still have a super quiet fan cooling system.........Mark

<b>"A politician should do two terms-one in office & one in jail"</b>

 

[peros]

You should also look into:
Papst fans
Zalman fans

 

[lhgpoobaa]

thats the case and inherent problem with traditional slieved fans, but the self lubricating ones are significantly different (and better).

Ive been using 4 of the panaflo's now for 9 months + and i havnt seen any issues from any of the 4.

<b>My Computer is so powerful Sauron Desires
it and mortal men covet it, My Precioussssssss!

Regards,
Mr no integrity coward.</b>

 

[Crashman]

It depends on the quality of the design, I have 10-year-old Panaflows here that still work and were used 24-7 almost constantly for over 6 years!

Most of MY Panaflows were pulled out of old XT power supplies!

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[upec]

I also have great experience with Panaflows fans. They are pretty quiet.