SILENT!!!!!!!

mrt88 · 19 Mar 2009 at 22:13

hi all
looking to replace my current 120&90mm fans with something thats as silent as posable.

anything worth getting apart from Noctuas?
looking to save a bit of money here and there

thanks all

Speedy Pete · 19 Mar 2009 at 22:24

run them on 5v ? underclock maybe

p4radox · 19 Mar 2009 at 22:27

A fan will never be silent as long as it's spinning.

The closest you can get is "very quiet". I'd try undervolting your current fans first.

If you're still unsatisfied, get rid of any restrictions: mesh, filters etc. The sound of rushing air is very noticeable with quiet fan motors.

If you're still unsatisfied, then Noctua, Yate Loon, Sharkoon and Scythe all make good fans. Have a look at SilentPCReview for some more in-depth reviews.

mrt88 · 19 Mar 2009 at 22:41

thanks all. i know there is nothing totaly silent and my case is totaly clean.

been looking at the Xilence Red Wings.......... anyone know if there any good?
i would rather buy some new ones then undervolt the current ones i got there totaly usless lol.

JonJ678 · 19 Mar 2009 at 22:52

Its well worth trying undervolting them, especially if they're molex rather than 3 pin. Makes a really big difference to the sound they make. I dont think the Xilence red wings are particularly respected, is appearance important here?

Passive is pretty close to silent

I use scythe s-flex 1600s, and I'm very pleased with them. I did no research into it whatsoever, and could perhaps have done slightly better. At least every fan in the box is the same (excepting the psu fan which I'm not convinced about changing)

knightrider. · 19 Mar 2009 at 23:05

I've got a load of Xilence Red Wings and I can say for sure they're very quiet. Rated at 21dB which is around ambient for me, I can't hear them at all from short distance. Not sure how true their 47CFM rating is though. They just don't seem to push that much air, not that I've measured precisely.

The rest of my fans are Yates hooked up to a fan controller, and on the lowest speed it's pretty darn quiet

cje · 19 Mar 2009 at 23:09

I know you don't want Noctua's, but I hav some and altough they look awful they are silent. However, I am not sure of how much air they're moving really. One of my Antec 1200's case fans (tricools) move more air on middle setting than those Noctua's do on 100%. Silent, but don't move a lot of air, and also ugly in the view of many people.

Ducky Spud · 19 Mar 2009 at 23:36

p4radox said:
If you're still unsatisfied, then Noctua, Yate Loon, Sharkoon and Scythe all make good fans.

Are Yate Loons actually that quiet? Im also on the lookout for some 120mm fans to replace the ones on my rads, and Loons seem to be rated at 28dB, most other fans Im looking at are more like 20-22dB.

On another note, undervolting your fans makes a huge difference!! All mine were 7V modded and my hard drive became the noisiest thing in my PC haha. My northbridge ended up getting a bit hot though so Ive got an 80mm fan running at 12v blowing at it until I get a waterblock for it. But seriously, undervolting, or at least using a fan controller, is definately the way to get it as quiet as possible

mrt88 · 20 Mar 2009 at 14:38

thanks all

looks dont matter at all to me, the standard thermaltake ones i got in there at the moment have got blue LED's in them so we cant get any sleep at night anyway if i leave it on, which is a lot of the time thinks to my work.

bit low on cash so thats why i asked if anything out there is as good as the Noctua's

have any of you lot ever undervolted your fans? if it worth it then its no prob fro me to do

knightrider. · 20 Mar 2009 at 14:57

Undervolting works fine if you can take a hit to cooling performance for quieter fans. The far better way of doing it is to hook your fans up to a fan controller, so when you need the silence, you can turn them way down, but when you need more cooling performance whilst gaming, you can crank them back up.

Brum Man · 20 Mar 2009 at 15:56

Is it just me or are Noctua fans just a follow on from SilenX fans that were popular a couple of years ago in that the main reason that they are quiet is that they run at very low RPM compared to other fans?

I remeber I had a case full of SilenX's a about 5 years ago and couldn't hear a thing, but they lost fashion for pretty much the same reasons given againt the Noctua's above ie. they don't that much air.

uv · 20 Mar 2009 at 16:06

the Noctuas are expensive, but they're fantastic. Barely audible at all, but still with a respectable CFM.

As recommended before, take a look at the silentpcreview site, you'll find the information you're looking for there

EsaT · 20 Mar 2009 at 16:13

Scythe Slip Stream for fans in vertical position.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article832-page6.html
Yate Loons are similar (maybe less thoroughly noise tested) to Nexus, which is behind SlipStream in airflow efficiency and smoothness of bearing/motor noise.
For horizontal position fans sleeve bearings aren't good (higher friction in that position>slower speed&increased wear) so those spots would need something else to be sure of longevity.

knightrider. said:
I've got a load of Xilence Red Wings and I can say for sure they're very quiet. Rated at 21dB

Also believing to Santa Claus and that politicians always tell the truth?
Only thing right in specs of marketers is size of fan and RPM, rest is BS for those who like their food as "already once digested".

knightrider. · 20 Mar 2009 at 16:16

EsaT said:
Also believing to Santa Claus and that politicians always tell the truth?
Only thing right in specs of marketers is size of fan and RPM, rest is BS for those who like their food as "already once digested".

If you read the rest of my post you'd see I doubted the veracity of their 47CFM rating. I can believe the decibel rating since they really are very quiet, but I don't think they shift that much air.

At least read the whole post before trying to pick it apart mate.