120mm Case Fans

[shadow_boxer]

Just wondering if anyone can recommend any good 120mm case fans for a CM690 case. Looking to replace the front intake and rear exhaust fan and get a third side panel intake fan.

Need good air flow and something reasonably quiet.

Any suggestions?

Read good stuff about these...

http://www.xigmatek.com/product/accessory-xlf-f1253.php

 

[matt d938]

Akasa apache fans are supposed to be really good, just a little pricey but no doubt worth every penny

 

[Digitalle]

Akasa apache fans are supposed to be really good, just a little pricey but no doubt worth every penny

...and darn ugly.

As for they XLF's, iv just bought 2 of them and still awaiting delivery. Sadly OcUK dont stock. They look awesome, and seem to perform pretty well too which is always a bonus . Good luck getting your hands on them though, they seem to be yet another item that's rare as hens teeth at the moment.

 

[WJA96]

Fans are HIGHLY variable - both in the ears of the listener and in their manufacturing standards. What one person thinks is 'near-silent' is very loud to someone else. The statistics printed in the specs are next to useless and tiny variations in manufacturing can make two fans from the same batch sound and perform very differently.

Brands like Panaflow and Yate Loon are relatively cheap but still perform very well. I certainly wouldn't pay more than £5 for a fan these days. Try Arctic Cooling PWM fans for excellent performance and the noise can be controlled off the motherboard header.

Finally, I took all my case fans out and never noticed the difference in temperature. The difference in noise was quite marked though.

 

[PistolPete]

Personally I'm loving Noctua fans atm. They look vomit coloured but good noiseerformance ratio.

 

[Gonzo0]

Has to always be the Sharkoon Silent Eagle 2000 for me

 

[trackrat]

Xigmatek for me .

 

[jimbobaggies]

I have Akasa Amber Light in my case (x3), been using them for 2-3 years now, very quiet.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-024-AK&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=4

 

[setter]

Love the sharkys myself, look nice and shift a lot of air. The 2000 rpm models can be a bit loud at full speed, used to run 5 of them of a fan controler. The arctic cooling pwm fans that WJA96 has mentioned above are also a personal favourite of mine.

 

[mysticsniper]

I am using the Enermax Everest 120mm Fan. They are not the cheapest, but deliver for me

http://www.enermaxusa.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=30_65&products_id=139

 

[Ando]

Akasa Apache's all the way (If you don't mind the colour).

 

[dunker]

using nanoxia 1250 for case fans and the 2000 for the cpu all on a fan controller. they move a good ammount of air and have a sound that is'nt annoying, pricey though.

 

[theron]

http://www.xigmatek.com/product/accessory-xlf-f1253.php

if u find somewhere that sells those i wana know dude! i have the same case as u and desperate to find these 120mm for front and rear.

edit, found some

 

[Bonjour]

Silenx or Noctua.

 

[marscay]

You can use any of the popular fans as case fans without losing sleep really, but best noise v performance for me are Scythe Gentle Typhoons and as they have terrific static pressure they're ideal for heatsinks/radiators also.

The Noctua NF-P12's are good too but a bit pricey.

 

[EsaT]

Silenx

Bling bling ping pong... trash trash.
The fancy "metallic" plastic used for the frame may look flashy, but it's terrible for sound. Lightweight and brittle, the material picks up fan vibration easily and audibly, giving the fan a highly resonant character... The resonance prevents what is an otherwise low-noise fan from ever becoming truly inaudible, even at 5V.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article739-page3.html#silenx

The fancier the materials the higher the probability for crap acoustics.
The acoustic difference between the opaque Globe fan and the transparent AcoustiFan was quite remarkable. We've often said that transparent plastic is unsuitable for use in quiet computers, and listening to the two fans side-by-side demonstrated why...

And blade's trailing edge being at least partially parallel to motor hub's struts for causing bigger obstacle to airflow separating from blade seems to be also in fashion.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-024-AK&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=4

Akasa's bling bling materials aren't to be trusted, this gets my vote for the worst fan.

using nanoxia 1250

Like picture tells: bling bling:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=54283&highlight=nanoxia

 

[Bonjour]

Bling bling ping pong... trash trash.
The fancy "metallic" plastic used for the frame may look flashy, but it's terrible for sound. Lightweight and brittle, the material picks up fan vibration easily and audibly, giving the fan a highly resonant character... The resonance prevents what is an otherwise low-noise fan from ever becoming truly inaudible, even at 5V.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article739-page3.html#silenx

The fancier the materials the higher the probability for crap acoustics.
The acoustic difference between the opaque Globe fan and the transparent AcoustiFan was quite remarkable. We've often said that transparent plastic is unsuitable for use in quiet computers, and listening to the two fans side-by-side demonstrated why...

And blade's trailing edge being at least partially parallel to motor hub's struts for causing bigger obstacle to airflow separating from blade seems to be also in fashion.

Akasa's bling bling materials aren't to be trusted, this gets my vote for the worst fan.

Like picture tells: bling bling:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=54283&highlight=nanoxia

Whatever you say mate.

I had a 120mm Silenx fan as a blow hole for years and it was excellent. Certainly no resonating noise.