Silverstone 180mm Air Penatrator and BeQuiet fans

[cookybiscuit]

Just wondering if anyone has used the Silverstone 180mm Air Penatrator to say if its quiet or not? I'm trying to make my system as quiet as possible and the only decent case thats short enough to fit where I want it is the Silverstone TJ08 which has one of these, I'm a bit concerned that it will be noisy since it only has two settings rather than being able to set the fans in the BIOS or with software.

Also, are the BeQuiet Silent Wings 2 case fans worth it?

Thanks.

 

[amuffin]

It should be pretty quiet on the lowest setting.

IMO get Noctua.

 

[cookybiscuit]

Thanks.

 

[geofelt]

Just wondering if anyone has used the Silverstone 180mm Air Penatrator to say if its quiet or not? I'm trying to make my system as quiet as possible and the only decent case thats short enough to fit where I want it is the Silverstone TJ08 which has one of these, I'm a bit concerned that it will be noisy since it only has two settings rather than being able to set the fans in the BIOS or with software.

Also, are the BeQuiet Silent Wings 2 case fans worth it?

Thanks.

I have the TJ-08E case.

I use the 180mm fan on low speed and undervolted.
I used an extra noctua low noise adapter to get the speed even lower than the normal low setting.
A Zalman fanmate is cheap, and gives you a continuous adjusment option.
The stock 180mm fan offers plenty of cooling for a GTX680 and an overclocked 3570K.
I had thought about adding the optional rear 120mm fan, but it does not need it.
The 120mm fan on the cpu cooler is also undervolted.
I like quiet.
The case sits about 1m away, and I do not notice it at all.
Yes, there is a quiet hum, but nothing objectionable.
I really only notice the noise, or more correctly, the absence of it when I turn the pc off.
The sides of the case are thin, so I bought some of the silverstone acoustical padding and added it to the sides of the case.
I think that helped.

 

[cookybiscuit]

Thanks for the insight. I thought the fan took a 4pin connector rather than plugging it into the motherboard, so how is it slowed down?

 

[geofelt]

Thanks for the insight. I thought the fan took a 4pin connector rather than plugging it into the motherboard, so how is it slowed down?

It has a tiny two position switch located near the front air filter.
Quite easy to change while running if you want.
You can adjust it further via fan controller or a low noise adapter cable.

 

[cookybiscuit]

Fan controller as in hardware or software? Sorry for asking so much.

 

[geofelt]

Fan controller as in hardware or software? Sorry for asking so much.

If you connect a three pin fan to the motherboard, you can control it via software.
If you connect a fan via the psu, you will need a separate fan controller if you wish to vary the speed.
A fan with a 4 pin molex connector does not have speed sensing, and the fan speed is set by voltage adjustment.
There are some front panel fan controllers that have temperature sensors that can vary the fan speeds based on that.
If you simply want to adjust the fan speed exactly to your liking, then a cheap fan controller like the zalman fanmate works well.

Personally, I do not like to hear a fan that changes speed constantly. I prefer a constant drone which seems less obtrusive to me.
It is OK for a cpu or a graphics catd to get a bit hot; they are build to tolerate some amount of heat.

I set my fans to an acceptable speed(noise level) and leave it there.
Under load, temps may rise a bit, but not dangerously so.

 

[cookybiscuit]

Thanks. I just wasn't aware that fan could take power from the motherboard.

 

[geofelt]

Thanks. I just wasn't aware that fan could take power from the motherboard.

Mine does, or at least I think it does wothout taking the case apart.
It shows up in speedfan as running at 650rpm or so.

If you do not have sufficient motherboard fan headers, you can use an adapter like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812201009
It will then run at full speed.