EKWB Vardar Fans

implosiveturnip

implosiveturnip

implosiveturnip

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Hello,

Just looking for a little user-experience on these fans.

Has anyone used them, specifically this model: (the 2200 rpm ones)

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ek-water-blocks-ek-vardar-f4-120er-2200rpm-wc-867-ek.html

If so, what are the noise levels like at 5v & 7v? And what config & case are you running them in?

I'm planning on grabbing 3 and running them at either 5 or 7 volts in push on a 360mm 20fpi rad in top of a Corsair 750d, and I have concerns about noise, considering the high rpm and lack of PWM control.

Thanks in advance :)
 
At below 800rpm they are pretty much inaudible, over 900 you start to hear them. At 1200 (60%-ish power) you can really hear them, and above that I consider them loud.

Other thoughts are that the fans themselves are nice, though I feel they should have had longer cables, and the sleeving of the cables are really shoddy.
 
I Have the next one up the FF5 and certainly not a silent fan, it's a performance fan really and more aimed at people who probably wear headphones and just don't mind the noise to much. if you have them exahusting out the top of the case you'll certainly hear them a fair bit depending on what kind of temps you want to maintain but they do a very very good job of cooling.

I have mine cooling an AIO on my 8350 cpu and 290x GPU. at idle the cpu sits around 22c and 1200RPM and the RPM basically stays the same and it tops out at 45C during a long gaming session. the 290x idles a little under 30c at 1250 rpm and tops out at 55c with stock voltage with the fans spinning at 1700rpm. the FF5 goes up to 3000rpm XD

I cant say how they behave under voltage control but if you are concerned about noise maybe go for an f2 or f3? or the go to noctuas
 
I have 4 of the F3 fans running up to 1850rpm. Nice and quiet when system is idle but ramp up when gaming and def not silent at full speed but have headphones on then so dont really matter. Cooling is more important while gaming.
 
i have just changed to AF fans. i found them to be as load at 50% as the AF fan are at 100%.
the AF fans at 100% keep my system a little cooler than the vardar's did at 50%.
 
Got 3 in mine atm.

At full wack they are loud but they are soo powerful. It moves the straps on the bags ontop of the wardrobe and the case is in the floor. Thats going through a rad as well.
 
.:SAmSuNG:. said:
Cooling is more important while gaming.
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To you, maybe. To me, I don't want a jet engine next to my head, as I use a 5.1 system the majority of the time, but can't have it up too loud, (neighbors, missus, late night gaming most of the time). I find Headphones uncomfortable after a while.

Thanks for all the feedback people!

Any suggestions for a quieter, rad fan that isn't a poo-brown noctua?
 
Why not go for the more expensive noctua industrials then? They can go to some extremely low RPMs without fuss, and you can remove the brown rubber on the corners.

Also, why not put the case under your desk if you want maximum silence? Just chuck a small bit of plywood or something below it if you want it off the carpet.
 
Tephnos said:
Also, why not put the case under your desk if you want maximum silence? Just chuck a small bit of plywood or something below it if you want it off the carpet.
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Ha, I've had it on the floor for years, but have just brought it up onto my desk after my first go at watercooling it last week so I can bask in the glory of it's guts.

And I really can't bring myself to sped £60+ on 3 fans... Or can I..:eek:
 
implosiveturnip said:
Ha, I've had it on the floor for years, but have just brought it up onto my desk after my first go at watercooling it last week so I can bask in the glory of it's guts.

And I really can't bring myself to sped £60+ on 3 fans... Or can I..:eek:
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why not just get the Vardars and set up a decent fan profile so they dont need to go full wack?

at 1500 rpm the vardars and the same volume as noctua.

just dont set them to go up to 2200rpm unless temps go mental.
 
1500rpm is still too loud! still a good idea though, depends how low they can spin down.

I do already have 2 of the poo-brown noctua NF-F12s in another system that doesn't really need them; I may just grab one more, yank those two out and see how it gets on. If performance is good enough, then I could just paint the sides of the frames that would be on show. Hmmm.

For the record, I don't actually have this rad or case yet, it's just something I'm planning on.
 
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implosiveturnip said:
1500rpm is still too loud! still a good idea though, depends how low they can spin down.

I do already have 2 of the poo-brown noctua NF-F12s in another system that doesn't really need them; I may just grab one more, yank those two out and see how it gets on. If performance is good enough, then I could just paint the sides of the frames that would be on show. Hmmm.

For the record, I don't actually have this rad or case yet, it's just something I'm planning on.
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the 1450rpm vardar & 1500 rpm f12 are withing 3db of each other. just set them to the speed you want then. think my f4's are going at about 900rpm atm and there silent.
 
implosiveturnip said:
Any suggestions for a quieter, rad fan that isn't a poo-brown noctua?
Click to expand...

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/thre...21wc-watercooling-radiator-fan-bu-023-sv.html

These are my current go to fans for watercooling. I have 8 and cannot recommend them enough. And at 3 for £13 they are a steal. They were £10.80 a day ago - a quick word to CS might have them back at that price ;)

All fans are pretty much the same volume at the same RPM. Never trust manufacturer fan specs, they are a load of tosh.
 
depends on your rand and fins per inch spacing.
You have a 20FPI so you need an static pressure type fan OR run push pull with an air flow type fan

i have a 10FPI and a 16FPI and both are run with AF140's @ 50% but that said at full speed 1100Rpm the noise is minimal.
if you want a quiet system its down to rads not fans, fit as many as you can.

minimum you need 120mm of rad per component cooled +120mm to be safe so cpu and gpu = 360mm thats a basic set up. to run silent double it.
 
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P4Clock said:
depends on your rand and fins per inch spacing.
You have a 20FPI so you need an static pressure type fan OR run push pull with an air flow type fan

i have a 10FPI and a 16FPI and both are run with AF140's @ 50% but that said at full speed 1100Rpm the noise is minimal.
if you want a quiet system its down to rads not fans, fit as many as you can.

minimum you need 120mm of rad per component cooled +120mm to be safe so cpu and gpu = 360mm thats a basic set up. to run silent double it.
Click to expand...

The 360mm rad will be in addition to a thick 280mm, so I should be good once I add my gpu.

Gonna see how I get on with my existing noctuas and a tin of plasti-dip I think.

I suppose I could try run push-pull with the fans Disco_p linked, they're cheap enough. Well, I'll mull it over anyway. I'm not planning on picking up the case till next Friday anyway; hoping it will come up on a Black friday deal :D Chug Norris, if you're reading this, wink-wink, nudge-nudge ;)
 
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