Super Quiet Case fan

The Vantec Stealth line of fans for me was very quiet. I had a 120mm one for 2 months until it melted down. Literally melted, seized, kaput...was definitely not worth the $20 odd bucks I paid for it.

You don't really get super quiet fans that shift alot of air, either loud & lots of air or quiet & not so much. I like quiet fans though I find that akasa's ultra quiet fan series to be very good; quiet and moderate airflow = all good. I have also tried antec fans which are good but not as quiet, you can always get a fan controller or limit the amount of electricity to slow them down though thats what I do :wink: .

Based from my experience, I found that Silverstone fans are great. I can move air big time but it is also quite. I a 120mm for my Thermaltake Big Typhoon HSF to cool down my cpu. It's very quite at medium and takes in more than 100cfm of air at max with decent noise while at 3500rpm+. Doesn't have any LED or fancy stuff but does what a fan should.

But there are other great LED case fans that looks good as well. But if you want pure performance that can deliver insane amount of air and great cooling capability, then this fan would be one of them.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1681...

The best way to get a quieter fan and still move decent air is to get a larger but slower spinning fan. This isn't always an option though due to the size of fan openings on your case. Other than that you could try what others have suggested: a Vantec Stealth which I haven't heard much about except that they are quiet (but that wasn't recommended by kitchenshark), or you could get an adjustable fan, or get a fan speed controller for the fan(s) you have. You could switch your whole system over to a watercooling system where the radiator used a large, low RPM fan, but I don't think that is a direction you'd want to take. You could also get a different case that had larger fan mountings, but this is probably much higher budget than you are looking for as well.

-mcg

I've had good results with Zalman fans.

I snagged a Sanyo Denki 120x38mm "san ace" out of a dead disk array, it is huge and loud but moves a *lot* of air and was super quiet when I connected it up to my controller (AeroCool GateWatch) @ 1400 rpm but still put out a lot of air.

Intel uses them for their CPU retail box heatsinks, quality stuff.

here is a similiar fan I found on a quick froogle search.

When shopping for the fan, pay attention to the maximum decibel rating.
Less decibels = quieter
Less restriction = quieter
Bigger and slower = quieter

Cut out the cases stamped metal grill and replace it with a wire grill.
If you can make the hole large enough to mount a 120 mm fan, do so.
Mount the fan and grill using metal screws with rubber grommets between the fan and case.

See the following two pictures at http://www.modsynergy.com/review154.htm
before http://www.modsynergy.com/Modsynergy%20files/CasebuyAI%...(14).jpg

after http://www.modsynergy.com/Modsynergy%20files/CasebuyAI%...(4).jpg

(Sorry. The forum software doesn't the above URIs, so you'll have to copy and paste.)
Also note that he/she has failed to use the suggested rubber grommets.

My Antec case has provision for 5 80mm fans but my mobo EPOX 9NPAJ only has connections for 2 (plus the processor cooler.) Can anyone tell me if it's OK to connect additional fans in parallel to get more cooling? I would think that it would be OK but I don't want to overload the mobo fan connections.
Windwood Trader

I don't know, but it's bound to draw more power.
There are adapters like this, which "allow powerful 3-pin temperature-sensing fans to be plugged directly to a 4-pin connector on a power supply, yet still monitoring the temperature on the motherboard."

Thanks-
That is a good article you suggested. I guess that the critical temp is the processor- This is directly connected from the Athlon 3000+ fan to the mobo proc fan connect. I have 2 SATA and 1 EIDE sharing the same housing. I have selected a Thermaltake fan w/sensor for cooling the drives- direct power connect. I have 2 80mm exhaust w/speed control also working directly from the power supply. I will try to get the intake fans to respond to mobo temp by connecting to same with 3wire connects (separate) to the mobo for renundancy sake.

Is this over the top or does it sound reasonable?

Thanks, Windwood

I don't know! Assuming the sensor pins signal is analog (voltage varies with temp to regulate fan speed), I'd say it's a very bad idea. Or maybe the sensor pins generate some sort of pulsed or digital signal, in which case it might be perfectly fine?

Sorry, I just have no clue about this. Hopefully someone more knowledgable will come along with the correct answer.