Anand continues to promote SilenX

[clue69less]

http://www.anandtech.com/casecooling/showdoc.aspx?i=2965&p=8

Notice how Anand lately is using one or more SilenX fan in their new HSF tests? Around here, most people hate or avoid SilenX but Anand at least appears to just put out the data. Whaddya know, the data looks very good for SilenX! I've been happily using SilenX fans for a couple of years now - but paying for them has been painful.

 

[tool_462]

I've always liked the fans. I've always hated the price. :lol:

I am very happy with my Scythe S-Flex fans though, I was going to get SilenX but my case needed a total of 5x120mm fans and I wasn't ready to shell out the cash for them. 5 S-Flex's on sale cost me what 1 SilenX was going to cost.

 

[clue69less]

I've always liked the fans. I've always hated the price. :lol:

I am very happy with my Scythe S-Flex fans though, I was going to get SilenX but my case needed a total of 5x120mm fans and I wasn't ready to shell out the cash for them. 5 S-Flex's on sale cost me what 1 SilenX was going to cost.

I've got a bunch of S-Flex fans in action for the very same reason! I hear you on the SilenX cost aspect. What's kind of funny is how many lousy reviews they get then to see Anand showing that they perform very well.

Hey, I'm about to start building a wood case for a low noise app. Your case was part of the inspiration!

 

[RichPLS]

I have to admit, the pair of SilenX 120mm fans I have are some of the quietest I have used... Seems to me they are good quality products here...

 

[omgitslong]

I've heard others mentioned about the whining noise at low speed, is it true?

 

[HotFoot]

I've been using a 92 and an 80 mm pair of SilenX fans for about a month now, and I'm pretty happy with them. I have the highest speed available in those sizes, so they should be about as loud as they come. The bearings are clearly better than those on the fan that comes on the Zalman CNPS8000 or the SilverStone ones. I beleive the Zalman and SilverStones use ball bearings, and you hear a buzzing noise from these. The SilenX an other expensive fans often come with something like self-stabilised-oil-pressure bearings, which are much quieter and should last 3x as long,

Do your SilenX fans look like the ones from the Anand articles? Mine do, but I was under the impression that they are a new line. I believe others are complaining about a previous model, which was basically a re-branded part from another manufacturer. The claims from SilenX about CFM/dB are not accurate. There is no way the fans are actually that quiet, or you wouldn't be able to hear them even if your ear was only inches away. However, I do think that they push a reasonable amount of air (Anand's data agrees), and they are very quiet (again, Anand's data agrees).

I think that you could probably get nearly as good as performance by pairing a cheap Yate Loon with a FanMate (together those are half the price of a SilenX fan). Anyway, when buying such expensive fans as SilenX or Noctua (my fav), make sure you shop around. Apparently these things are cheaper in Canada. I've found good prices for SilenX at Bigfoot and DirectCanada, and good pricing on Noctua at DirectCanada. Bummer that Noctua isn't selling a 92mm fan. I know they make one because they've mounted it to one of their CPU HSF products, but they only offer 80 and 120mm fan sizes separately.

 

[clue69less]

I've heard others mentioned about the whining noise at low speed, is it true?

At low speed even on the 8cm SilenX, I can't her anything unless I put my ear right next to the fan.

 

[RichPLS]

Much like my 120mm SilenX fans... I have two, and combined they are quieter audibly than my Silverston 120mm fan on low speed. But at high speed, the silverstone moves more air than one of the SilenX ones at high speed.

 

[clue69less]

Much like my 120mm SilenX fans... I have two, and combined they are quieter audibly than my Silverston 120mm fan on low speed. But at high speed, the silverstone moves more air than one of the SilenX ones at high speed.

I wish I still had access to a lab grade air flow meter. I have one of those little handheld jobs that does well at moderate to high flow but not so well below. I've only bought one of the high flow SilenX models and its specs lay right on top of the competition so it looks like its only their mid to low flow fans have any noise reduction advantage. I've only tried one of the Silverstones and it is a good quality fan with good specs per buck.