Help with choosing a 120 mm side case fan

Amatsubu

Amatsubu

Amatsubu

Soldato
Joined
8 Sep 2012
Posts
4,213
Hi,

Could you please recommend me a fan with a good silence to performance ratio which is not overly expensive? I can shell out a bit but I won't be splashing out for a Noctua or Silent Wings 2;p Also, I don't need the fan to be virtually inaudible, I just want the noise to be within reasonable limits. I'm planning to do some serious cable management and I wanted to install a side fan during the process to cool my msi 7850 (it's running quite hot in comparison to other 7850's, at least judging by what people are saying here). I have a Thermaltake Armor A90 case with 3 stock fans installed: front 120 mm intake, back exhaust and upper 200 mm exhaust. However, my cables are all over the place which, I think, seriously hinders airflow. If I get this problem sorted out along with installing the fan, how big of a temperature drop on the GPU could I possibly expect?

I read some fan reviews and tests but I still can't make up my mind;/ Would something like a Gelid Wing 12 (the UV blue/green series) be a safe bet? I heard they're fairly silent while also moving quite an amount of air.
 
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Don't believe the name of those fans. Vipers are noisy if run at anything but slowest speed.

The Corsair AF range seem to be well recommended at the moment. They come in two speed versions too so you can pick the range that suits you best.

The Bitfenix range of Spectre and Spectre Pro fans are also pretty decent. I've got several and they have, generally, very low bearing noise and provided you moderate the speed to your liking you shouldn't find them too obtrusive.
 
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Tealc said:
Don't believe the name of those fans. Vipers are noisy if run at anything but slowest speed.

The Corsair AF range seem to be well recommended at the moment. They come in two speed versions too so you can pick the range that suits you best.

The Bitfenix range of Spectre and Spectre Pro fans are also pretty decent. I've got several and they have, generally, very low bearing noise and provided you moderate the speed to your liking you shouldn't find them too obtrusive.
Click to expand...

I've got 2 on my rad in push an pull, ive got 2 on the side panel,i've also got 2 200 mega flows fitted top an front.

The rig is very quite so i dont know where your getting your info from lol.
 
Venoms

- High performance 12cm fan in killer VIPER yellow colour
- S-FLOW fan blade design delivers 30% higher airflow
- Super silent with PWM auto speed control
- Hydro Dynamic Bearing extends fan life up to 50,000 hours
- Dimension: 120 X 120 X 25mm
- Fan speed: 600 -1900 RPM
- Max airflow: 83.63 CFM (141.75 m3/h)
- Max static air pressure: 2.98 mm H2O
- Noise level: 6.9 -28.9 dB(A)
- Fan life expectancy: 50,000 hours
- Connector: 4pin PWM

Good all round stats id say!

Bitfenix

- Dimensions (mm): 120 x 25
- Current (A): 0.06
- Speed (RPM): 800-1000
- Air Flow (CFM): 52
- Noise (dB-A): 18
- Air Pressure (mmH2O): 1.64

Way slow RPM so it will be quiter than a Venom but theres also a major performance drop.
32CFM drop

Corsair


Size: 120mm x 25mm
Operating Voltage: 7V – 12V
Airflow: 63.47 CFM
Static Pressure: 1.1 mm/H20
Sound Level: 30 dBA
Speed: 1650 RPM
Power Draw: 0.13 A

Low RPM high sound, i will not bother comparing it to a higher RPM version as the sound is loud enough on the 1650 revision.

Think il stick with the Venoms ;)
 
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Thanks for the help. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any Corsair fans available in my city and I'd prefer to buy a fan myself rather than order it off a website. I can choose from an Array of Akasas, Gelids, Cougars etc. Currently, I'm torn between the Gelid 12 UV blue (1500 rpm max) and the Enermax UCTB12P/A T.B. Silence (also 1500 RPM).
 
Thanks, I completely forgot about this fan:P I have the Macho HR-02 cooler and the supplied fan is wonderfully quiet. I'll look for it, maybe it's on offer in some shops.
 
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