Quiet 120mm fan for Si120 + quietest modular PSU

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InQ

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InQ

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Looking to replace my Zalman 9500 on my Opty as i dont think its the quietest even with it turned right down low on the Fanmate (@5v then i think?).

Anyway looking at the Thermaltake Si120 and want a quiet fan for it.
What would be best, I'm currently looking at Akasa Amber @ 7v or a Panaflo @ 7v but would something else be better?

Next thing is PSU...i currently use an Antec Smartpower 2 450W thats in my Antec Sonata II but fancy something quieter and modular...thinking of either:-
Enermax Liberty 500W ELT500AWT ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU (CA-025-EN)
OR
Tagan TG530-U15 530W ATX2.01 Easycon SLi Compliant Modular Silent PSU (CA-008-TG)

Dont want to pay more than i would for the above.

Current spec is:-
Opty 146 @ 2.65GHz with Zalman 9500LED
DFI Ultra-D
Samsung Spinpoint P120S 250Gb in NoVibes 3 cage
XFX 7800GT EE...will replace stock cooler with Zalman VF700 or VF900
Pioneer DVDRW 108
Antec Sonata II
 
I would say go for the Panaflo and 7v it if necessary. I bought one for my SI-120 to replace the Akasa Amber on it and it shifts loads more air without being much noisier. The Panaflos are also 38mm deep which helps.

As for the PSU... I bought a Liberty for my Ultra D a month or so back and suffered from random restarts. I asked on the DFI boards about this and they said there was a known problem with Liberties and DFI boards, they advised me to get another make. Also the RMA guy at OcUK said the same thing. Also the way the cables are set out on the Liberty made it awkward for me and despite being modular, I had to use all the cables so my case became more cluttered anyway!

I swapped my Liberty for a Seasonic in the end and haven't been disappointed. It is pretty much silent and they are good quality PSUs... Although not modular.
 
Thanks Street.

So on a like for like voltage which is quieter, the Akasa Amber or the Panaflo?
I've seen the 120mm Panaflo's with 25 mm and 38mm thicknesses, would a 38mm be best?

On the PSU front, the Seasonic is a possibilty if its very quiet I may be willing to forfeit the modular aspect for that plus some extra cash. ;)
 
I would say that the Akasa Ambers are quieter with the same voltage... but they don't push out nearly as much air as the Panaflos. A 38mm fan would be the best for cooling the CPU and at 7V i expect the Panaflo would push the same air as the Akasa at 12V but be quieter. I'll have a go at running mine at 7V and see what its like.

Although saying that I have seen plenty of people using Ambers on there SI-120s and the chips are running fine...

As for the Seasonic... It really is whisper quiet and they are very good quality PSUs.
 
Hmm yea the Seasonic sounds like the best bet....you get what you pay for! :)

As for the CPU cooling...i might actually try changing the 92mm fan on the 9500LED for a different one. SilenX, Acousti Dustproof, Nexus, Akasa Amber, Panaflo...arghh to much choice!

(Anyone)
Any ideas how hard it is to change the fan itself on the 9500LED? should it just pull off?
 
InQ said:
Anyway looking at the Thermaltake Si120 and want a quiet fan for it.
What would be best, I'm currently looking at Akasa Amber @ 7v or a Panaflo @ 7v but would something else be better?
Click to expand...
I'm using the Si-120 and the AKASA, nice combo for stock and medium overclocks. Can't imagine the Akasa running at 7v?

Always hear about Panaflo this Panaflo that, but I wonder what the deal with these things are really? Whats the price difference?
 
I've seen the Panaflo's for around £12...looked into this further and it appears for noise vs air shifted the SilenX are unbeatable, but this comes at a price! :eek:
 
They're priced about the same as the Akasas... Just run an OCCT test on my Panaflo at 7V. Heres the results...

streeta-7VPanaflo.jpg


Heres my results at 12V...

streeta-CPUGraph.jpg


Think my room is a bit warmer now than when i ran the 12V test though. At 7V it is a lot quieter than the Akasa going at full whack on 12V and it cools slightly better:)
 
Street said:
ears.jpg

At 7V it is a lot quieter than the Akasa going at full whack on 12V and it cools slightly better:)
Click to expand...
Dude you must have Elephant ears to hear something quieter than the AKASA!! ;)

[edit] runs off to stop traffic driving past his house 50 yards away, and to tell the leaves to stop rustling on the trees outside!
 
I think I do have elephant ears! I just asked my gf to listen to the fan to prove that it was loud and she couldn't hear it unless she was right up next to it... All she can hear is my hard drive noises!

At least that means I've still got good ears... surprising after having my headphones over them at stupid volumes.
 
Street said:
I just asked my gf to listen to the fan to prove that it was loud and she couldn't hear it unless she was right up next to it... All she can hear is my hard drive noises!
Click to expand...
hehe :)

Thats the long and short of it, the AKASA is really very good for what it is, but I know silent computing can be as addictive as any other area of computing, but you get to a point where you begin to loose the plot (anal retension).

This becomes very apparent when you see a thread with some dudes verging on a flame war over which fan is best? Silent-X 120mm @ 7v vs a watercooled acme XYZ, its like such a non event is unfunny.

I walked down that path until the point that I realised I had gone to far, and as mentioned the leaves rustling on the tree's outside were louder than my PC :p

It's a fan, it cools your hot stuff, its quiet, time to move on I think :)
 
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