best quiet fan for WC rads

[faceman123]

Hi can someone tell me the best fan for WC rads silence wise, additionally what the best bang for buck fan would also be

 

[Minibiker]

I have the Arctic P12 PWM fans, I don't have Watercooling but they've done a great job in the case and on the AIO's I've had... The P14's are meant to be pretty top notch to

 

[ttaskmaster]

Not really.

It's mostly down to the combination of radiator size and type, choice of fan and the particulars of your case. There is no one best fan.
I could put the same Noctuas, Corsairs, Blacknoises, Vardars or Arctics on five different rads and get five very different results. For example, Corsair ML120s will be reasonably efficient but very noisy blowing through an XSPC EX rad, but far quieter on an Alphacool Nexos.

In general I find Noctuas offer the best balance of performance vs noise. Some fans are quieter, others perform better, but again it all depends on what other kit you're using. I favour performance, myself, so am currently using ML120 non-RGB fans.

 

[Too Tall]

Corsair Ml120
EK Vadar
Noctua NF F12

 

[Ross Thomson]

Hi can someone tell me the best fan for WC rads silence wise, additionally what the best bang for buck fan would also be

arctic P12

 

[Glanza]

Depends what speed you run them at, I'm using Noctua's at around 600rpm and they are silent.

 

[faceman123]

Depends what speed you run them at, I'm using Noctua's at around 600rpm and they are silent.

they're for a EK PE 360 rad I value silence and low temps so yeah 600rpms which ones do you suggest

 

[sparkymark75]

I currently have the Arctic P12s. Great for the money (5 pack was £25 and they daisy chain) but they do have an annoying pitch at certain RPMs. Would have bought the Noctua F12 Chromax but they seem impossible to find at the minute.

 

[haszek]

they're for a EK PE 360 rad I value silence and low temps so yeah 600rpms which ones do you suggest

This rad is not good for 600rpms (unless idle). It cools well but at 1200rpms +.
And on topic:
Silent wings3
Corsair ML

 

[darket]

Running the ML120's here and no complaints

 

[Relentless81]

Another vote for Arctic P series, best bang for buck available

 

[Paul_RD]

+1 for Noctua
They offer different fan designs depending on the application (case/CPU/chassis) and different speeds and ratings to allow you to balance noise vs airflow.
Their fans are available as 3-pin or 4-pin PWM.

 

[jsbombjack]

Noctua chromax fans are lovely, and as above there are different models for different applications.
They just sound nicer than most fans, even when going full on

 

[Ross Thomson]

Noctua 120mm fans have a horrid whine to them.

 

[jsbombjack]

They sound a hell of a lot better than the Corsair ones I had previously, both at low and high rpm. The only fan that comes close (imo) is the bequiet silentwings

 

[Paul_RD]

On my main PC, I have 2 Noctua 120mm fans running at 700 RPM and 2 Noctua 140mm fans running at 900 RPM - there is hardly any perceptible noise unless I put my ear right up next to them - just a pleasant faint background woooosh!.

 

[random_matt]

My current ones sound nice enough on my rad. Same cannot be said for the ones at the bottom of the chassis.

 

[George Hudson]

I have an EK PE 360 in my system which came as part of the EK P360 kit. Its a 38mm rad. I run the EK-Vardar F4-120ER in pull configuration and Cooler Master MasterFan SF120R ARGB in push on this rad. During none gaming mode the Vardars run at 900 rpm and the CM's at 1000 rpm. When gaming the vardars run at 1200 rpm and the CM's at 1300rpm. The system is nice and quiet.