Which case fans have the best quality of sound?

lovelyhead · 31 Jul 2016 at 21:03

I am in need of some new case fans but am having a really difficult time trying to make a decision on which ones to buy.

My goal is to make my PC as silent as possible and am willing for temps to be a little bit higher to achieve this. I want to be able to have the computer within a meter of me and not hear anything when it is at idle. I am willing to accept noise when gaming.

My current case fans are the stock ones that came with my NZXT H440 case. They are generally very quiet at low speeds except they all make a ticking noise which is really annoying.

This is the issue I am having, loads of fans are rated for very low noise but are they truly silent or do they have motor noise that might not be picked up by a noise meter during testing?

P.S. I really hate the look of the brown Noctua's and my case has a window and the Corsair mag lev fans won't work with my NZXT Grid+ V2 (or will they?)

SaTrOx · 6 Aug 2016 at 02:55

Ek Vardar F2's ? have a look at them. You can get them in packs of 3 from overclockers.

doyll · 6 Aug 2016 at 14:31

Fan dB rating is sound pressure, and while it does give us some idea of how loud based on pressure a sound it, it does not give us any indication of how we will react to the acutaal sound. Sadly there is no way to really tell without actually listening to the fans running in application. Even the best recordings I've heard do not sound like the fans actually do. The Vardars are pretty good, but I have seen quite a few complaints about bearing noise and harmonics that seem to be a result of blade design reacting with different grill patterns.

Gentle TYphoon fans are one of the most respected fans for performance and noise level. While not the easiest to find, they are available. I would suggest the 1850rpm or 2150rpm PWM models. They are very versatile. The 1850rpm will idle at 537 RPM with 15% PWM signal. I would expect 2150 PWM to be similar. The 2150 non-PWM model will idle all the way down to 187 RPM at 2.16 V, but requires 3 V to start.

lovelyhead · 8 Aug 2016 at 18:51

In the end I went with some Be Quiet! Silent Wings 2 fans. Absolutley no motor noise whatsoever. They are pretty much silent at low rpm and at full speed the only thing you can hear is the sound of air being pushed through the case.

Very pleased.

wywywywy · 9 Aug 2016 at 11:24

The new Corsair magnetic levitation fans (ML120 & ML140) are supposed to be the best for sound quality in theory, because there's absolutely no motor noise. Only the turbulence noise remains which is close to white noise, i.e. not as annoying.

doyll · 9 Aug 2016 at 12:38

wywywywy said:
The new Corsair magnetic levitation fans (ML120 & ML140) are supposed to be the best for sound quality in theory, because there's absolutely no motor noise. Only the turbulence noise remains which is close to white noise, i.e. not as annoying.

Very interesting.

The physics of bearings and what they do is one thing. The physics of motors and what they do is another. Bearing allows motor to turn, Motor creates the turning action. Bearing can make bearing noise, but it has nothing at all to do with the noise the motor may or may not make.

Maglev bearing may reduce bearing noise, but how it can stop motor noise is beyond the realm of my universe.

But I have no idea what altered universe you are in, so maybe things are different there.

wywywywy · 9 Aug 2016 at 13:00

Sorry bearing not motor you condescending regular-universe being

doyll · 9 Aug 2016 at 13:38

Indeed, my universe is rather condescending, but I was teasing / joking more than being serious.

But I wouldn't put it past some of these advertising people that hype up these products to say the motor is quieter because of the maglev bearing. After all, we have them making statements like

If NASA Designed a Computer Case Fan – This Would Be It

So I guess anything is possible.

Maglev bearing could likely lower the bearing friction. The ML series do seem to have pretty low amp load ratings, but PH-F120MP is 0.2A@1800rpm vs MLs' 0.299@2400rp. That is 50% more for additional 33% more speed and 40% more airlfow rating, so doesn't seem like it any more power efficiet because of less friction to me.

Corsair ML 120 Pro 2400rpm. . 0.299A peak max
Gentle Typhoon 1850rpm . . . . 0.083 / 0.360A (running / peak)
Gentle Typhoon 2150rpm . . . . 0.123 / 0.560A (running / peak)
Phanteks PH-F120MP 1800rpm 0.2 A ?? peak ??

wywywywy · 9 Aug 2016 at 14:30

I know

And to answer OP's question, voltage control will work with the ML120/140 according to the users on the Corsair forum, but it's hard to say long term because below 8-9v it may not be levitating properly.

OLDPHART · 9 Aug 2016 at 15:56

Always fit the larger fan, in your case NZXT H440>140mm fans are the biggest you can fit.

As they don't have to spin as fast to shift the same amount of air and so are quieter.

ttaskmaster · 9 Aug 2016 at 16:04

doyll said:
Maglev bearing could likely lower the bearing friction.

I thought MagLev - Magnetic Levitation - Meant there should be NO contact in the bearing...

OLDPHART said:
As they don't have to spin as fast to shift the same amount of air and so are quieter.

That's a semi-fallacy... heh heh, "Fallacy"...
Much of a fan's noise is caused by the airflow as it passes through grilles and radiators, before bouncing around inside the case and resonating everywhere. So yes, the 140mm has less motor noise, but the air it pushes still makes a racket.

OLDPHART · 9 Aug 2016 at 16:41

ttaskmaster said:
That's a semi-fallacy... heh heh, "Fallacy"...
Much of a fan's noise is caused by the airflow as it passes through grilles and radiators, before bouncing around inside the case and resonating everywhere. So yes, the 140mm has less motor noise, but the air it pushes still makes a racket.

Well l have a external 560 radiator mounted in my desk well where your feet go using 4xProlimatech Blue Vortex Blue Wings 140mm 1000rpm Fan.

You can just hear them if l stick my head below the desktop.

My case is also fitted with 3x140mm 900rpm fans and are controlled by the mobo they never go over 700rpm even during these hot spells.

Waterpump is PWM and is very quiet even when the PC is at full load.

Yes you can buy noisy 140mm fans> Aksa Apache black 1300rpm fans for one when used with a rad.

If you only have a semi try viagra.

dacads · 9 Aug 2016 at 17:25

Noiseblocker PL1 another quiet fan

doyll · 9 Aug 2016 at 18:57

ttaskmaster said:
I thought MagLev - Magnetic Levitation - Meant there should be NO contact in the bearing...

Contact is only when starting and stopping. And of course some of the power is being used by the maglev bearing, so we can say part of the amp rating is for bearing and of course LED lights, but not much.

So far the ML120s' appear to be good fans, but not really any better than other top 120mm fans. The ML140 seem to be as good as other top 140mm fans.