This topic is for those looking for info on PC or Laptop fan sollutions.
I wills start it out with a continuation from another thread/response to another user regarding my personal favorite fans Noiseblockers
@Kronstadt I personally bought the XL2's, but there were only two models 4 years back. My next fans will probably be the M12-P simply because if I need it it provides more airflow through higher RPM's. The thing to realize is though the M12-P is rated at slightly higher DB this will completely change when you use your MOBO software to control fan speed. My sabertooth actually lets me set profiles based on temps, ie if my cpu reaches X degrees my fan will go up to X speed... so except when you actually need it you can run an M12 at 30% speed which will be dead silent. 60-80% will likely be dead silent too. There is also a big brother to my fan called the XLP which is the same speed as the M12-P, the M12 has the advantage of a special dampening frame. But at about a 30% price increase... truthfully the dampening frame is probably not going to make much of a difference except maybe CPU mounting where thin metal fins can make some noise. But then fans these nice you won't need to by again anytime soon, so why not get the best ones they have is my personal view ;)
Here is a link to where I got mine, the fans are about half a page down. http://www.frozencpu.com/search.html?mv_profile=keyword_search&mv_session_id=2k7cc4sQ&searchspec=noiseblocker&go.x=0&go.y=0 I was pleasantly surprised to see NB now has 140mm fans! hmmmm... I have a spot for one of them :) Wow, I also just noticed some of their Multiframes are way down on price!
@mee , thanks for starting this topic. I'm sure it will be useful to people building powerful and yet silent editing PCs, because when 6 or 8 fans add up all those decibels, it can easily become quite an annoying environment to edit in.
And thanks for the recommendation. Here there is a dba comparisson http://www.silentpcreview.com/article63-page2.html It doesn't list Noiseblocker M12-P, but it has M12-PS with 600~1600 RPM and 7~23 dba ... impressive. I have also found recomendations for Enermax Magma 120mm x 25mm Fan w/ "Twister" Bearing Technology - Black/Red (UC-MA12) , which pushes 69.15cfm. I wonder if there is a chart that compares different silent fans in terms of dBa, rpm and the amount of air that they push? I also wonder how these compare to Noctua fans.
In terms of fan controllers I'm thinking of getting "Kaze Master Ace", but I'm not sure if they can be made to work in a way that would not override Sabertooth's automated temperature threshold settings. If you know any better fan controller, please advise.
cfm is a funny thing, I have bought fans with much higher ratings than the noiseblockers I bought, but when you put you hand up to them the noiseblockers clearly are moving more air, and consistently across the entire surface of the fan, where many of the higher rpm higher cfm fans seem from my experience to have sweet spots that push allot of air but then allot of dead air, or sometimes even air pulling the opposite direction. I cannot personally speak of the Noctua's cause I have never used them, but the reviews suggest though good they are not equal to Noiseblockers. Evermax fans are one I have often been tempted locally to buy, but for the price I just assume order some Noiseblockers.. I kinda hope you go with noiseblockers just so you can see what I am talking about, and share in the experience. They are very special fans.
As for the fan controller over riding the sabertooth profiles, that is a good question, I always buy fixed speed fans because my last two mobo's have had controls, plus my case has a fan controller I can use, though rarely do. Don't know if I mentioned it, but for cases Inwin is an impressive company, with some genuine quality cases. I almost got their older model which came in ferrari red, orange, and black with automotive quality paint jobs... beautiful case, but it was a bit over my budget at the time. I have an Apevia SupraX which if still available is a modest but good looking mid tower case with excellent airflow with space for 3 120mm, though the side one can only be used with a lowprofile cooler like the Deepcool Killerwhale I mentioned ;) I am a review junky, and though I love a bargain, will only go for the bargain if it is top quality or very near as well. I highly recommend checking out the killer whale, because the single fan cools better than two on a Hyper 212, which means lower decibels as well.
PS, I changed the topic to Fan and COOLING, since they are clearly interconnected, and we can talk about cases, component heat, coolers, waterblocks, or even dry ice and liquid nitrogen if those with money to blow want to take rendering programs to the extremes gamers take things.
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