Quiet and powerful 140mm and 120mm fans

pilsburypie

pilsburypie

pilsburypie

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I have a corsair obsidian 550d. Bought due to quietness so I'd like to keep it that way as best as possible

I'm thinking of upgrading the fans so extra air shifting is essential as well as quietness. They are all controlled by the Asus AI suite from the mobo and I'd like to keep that. So am I limited to PWM? I also understand I can fit a 140mm to the rear but am limited to 120mm on the 2 fronts.

Fans that have caught my eye:

140mm
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-009-PT&groupid=701&catid=2331&subcat=1816

120mm

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-074-AK&groupid=701&catid=2331&subcat=4

Do these look like they'd fit the bill or have you other ideas on what is better?
 
Just have in mind that high airflow and low noise are two aspects that pretty much exclude each other. :) Obviously there are fans that perform better whilst still staying quiet or relatively quiet. I would go for the beige Noctuas with PWM control. You are not limited to PWM fans but they are superior in pretty much every way to 3 pin voltage regulated fans.
snips86x said:
Few quid more, check the Noctua Inductrial fans.
Click to expand...

The 2000RPM models could really be a good choice when PWM regulated and kept into comfortable RPM range. The 3000RPM models have quite high lowest speeds, so they might not be quiet even on the lowest setting.
 
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The Phanteks fan you linked is best with high FPI rads, you can get the SP version for a compromise between good air flow and static pressure. Pretty sure that is the best performing 140mm fan though, and darn quiet too. B-Gears also makes good 140mm fans, but I am now in love with Cougars now (lol). The Aerocool DS 120 is good, the 140 not so much. Akasa also makes good 140mm fans as does Noctua- but don't go with the new Industrial design as you are paying for ability to go to high RPM (really unnecessary in cases) and for the dust/water certifications.
 
With all your suggestions and also me looking at all the stats, CFM, noise etc, I think I'm going with the following:

Phanteks PH-F140SP. 140mm fan for the exhaust, 81.6 CFM at 19Db
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-007-PT&groupid=701&catid=2331&subcat=1816

Noctua NF-S12B redux 120mm quiet case fans x 2 for the two front intakes, 59.2 CFM at 18.1Db
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-037-NC

I have chosen these as I believe my Corsair Obsidian 550d stock fans are 3 pin which I have a PWM adapter linked to so the speed can be controlled by the Asus AI suite from the mobo.

Unless someone has any reason why these are a really bad idea, then I'm gonna pull the trigger in the next week or two. I'm just wondering how much of a difference these fans will make. The stock fans are 37CFM so the increase in air will be massive. With my Phanteks CPU cooler shifting quite a lot more air than is going into and out of the case, some of the internal hot air must have been recycled....Also all the Db ratings of the specified fans are lower than the already fairly quiet stock ones rated at 21Db. Will it sound as quiet or will the added air make it sound louder?
 
The P8Z77-V has PWM control on all its headers (and a very good one, being an Asus) so why would you choose 3 pin fans when you are buying them new? The case manufacturers are cheap and choose 3 pin fans for the couple of pounds difference in price compared to PWM fans for say 3 fans included in the case. Do not be fooled by that, PWM is the way to go as it gives you so much more flexibility.
 
Thanks for that Stuen4y. Great info. I only was going for the 3 pin as I thought I had to match the originals. I've been controlling all my fans from the Asus AI Suite. Will this remain the same with 4 pin fans?
 
vsg28 said:
The Phanteks fan you linked is best with high FPI rads, you can get the SP version for a compromise between good air flow and static pressure. Pretty sure that is the best performing 140mm fan though
Click to expand...

I initially moved from my idea of the XP PWM fan to the SP fan you suggested but realised this fan is a 3 pin non-PWM fan. The XP is. How would the Phanteks PH-F140XP have any issue as an exhaust fan as opposed to being placed on a high FPI rad (like my Phanteks cooler?
 
pilsburypie said:
Thanks for that Stuen4y. Great info. I only was going for the 3 pin as I thought I had to match the originals. I've been controlling all my fans from the Asus AI Suite. Will this remain the same with 4 pin fans?
Click to expand...
Yes, pretty much the same.
 
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