Small CPU fan test

Telecaster · 12 Apr 2015 at 19:03

I've done some CPU fan testing if anyone is interested in the results?

They aren't laboratory grade scientific but they're the best I could do and show some interesting comparisons. Unfortunately I was restricted to the collection of fans I own/had access to, tests were done with a Cryorig C1 and an overclocked 2500k.

The results are all averages of multiple tests to rule out rogue results.

Fan Testing

CPU Config. 2500K @ 4.5ghz 1.35v (BIOS setting, actual 1.33v) – Room db(A) 30.7db
Cryorig C1 CPU Heatsink.

Test method – 1000 RPM fan speed, Prime 95 SFFT 5 mins, then 5 mins @ max fans speed. Max fan speed test only done where max speed is greater than +200RPM above 1k.

Delta temp is average of all four cores minus the ambient temp of the room at time of testing.

Sound level taken 30cm from case off axis.

Blue is base line performance from stock fan.
Red is worst result in that specific test.
Green is best performance in that specific test.

Cryorig Stock slim 140mm – P95 1kRPM 5 Mins – Ambient 18c – 33.5db – 58c delta
Cryorig Stock slim 140mm - P95 max/1600 5 mins - Ambient 18.2c - 45.5db -55c delta

Test 1- Thermalright TY147 - P95 1kRPM 5mins - Ambient 19.2c – 32.5db - 57c delta
Test 2- Thermalright TY147 - P95 max/1300 5Mins – Ambient 19.2c – 39db – 55c delta

Test 3 – Corsair SP120 – P95 1kRPM 5mins – Ambient 17.1c – 35.5db – 61c delta
Test 4 – Corsair SP120 – P95 max/2350 5Mins – Ambient 17.1c – 56.5db - 50c delta

Test 5 – Nexus D12SL – P95 max/1kRPM 5 mins – Ambient 17.2c - 32db – 62c delta

Test 6 – Scythe GT1850 – P95 1kRPM 5m – Ambient 18.6c – 31.5db – 59c delta
Test 7 – Scythe GT1850 – P95 max/1850 5m - Ambient 18.6c – 40db – 53c delta

Test 8 – Apache Black – P95 1kRPM 5m - Ambient 17.4 – 32.5db – 60c delta
Test 9 – Apache Black – P95 max/1300 5m – Ambient 17.4 – 35.5db – 57c delta

Test 10 - Shadow Wings - P95 1kRPM 5m - Ambient 17.4c - 31.5db - 63c delta
Test 11 - Shadow wings - P95 max/2350 5m - Ambient 17.5 – 47db - 54c delta

Test 12 – Yate Loon – P95 1kRPM 5m – Ambient 17.8c – 32.5db – 59c delta
Test 13 – Yate Loon – P95 max/2250 – Ambient 17.9c – 50.5db – 53c delta

Test 14 – Promliatech Slim 140mm – P95 1kRPM 5m – Ambient 18.8c – 35db – 56c delta

Test 15 – Alp Wingboost 140 – P95 1kRPM 5m – Ambient 18.7c – 33db – 58c delta

Test 16 – Alp Wingboost 120 – P95 1kRPM 5m – Ambient 18.5c – 32db – 60c delta
Test 17 – Alp Wingboost 120 – P95 max/1600 5m – Ambient 18.5 – 42db – 55c delta

My own perspective is that I'm a bit of a quiet freak so my interest in this test leaned towards that aspect. Firstly, I chose 1kRPM as the benchmark because this is where I feel fans become audible enough to start being intrusive so if a fan is too noisy at this speed then it's not going to be too pleseant at higher speeds IMO.

Take what you like from that lot. For outright cooling and no care for noise then the SP120 at max speed wins, but it's ridiculously noisy and it even loses the 1kRPM noise test so these are out for me.

Interestingly the 140mm fans performed OK but not how I expected, I expected a clear benefit in both cooling and noise, the stock fan performs quite well and there's an argument you wouldn't need anything else but my example had an annoying click to it which was audible at all speeds so I won't be using it.

For out and out silence I would go with the Be Quiet! fans, even though the GT1850s match them sound level wise the noise is different, with the Be Quiet! fans it is purely air moving noise, probably because it's not pressure optomized like the Scythes.

My winner are the Scythe GT1850s, that performance to noise ratio just blows everything else away, and they can idle much lower for even more silence but it's nice to have some extra air flow in reserve for when you need extra cooling. Shame they stopped making them.

Cost means nothing either, both the Yate Loon and Nexus fans cost about £3-4 each and performed very well IMO. Notable mention for the Apaches Black also.

Obviously P95 is an unrealistic load, but it's consistent and easy to test with.

doyll · 13 Apr 2015 at 01:44

Interesting results.
I use lots of TY-140, TY-143, TY-147 and now the new TY-147A 300-1300rpm and like them a lot. I notice your test of the TY-147 shows is doing quite well.
Were you using room ambient or actual temp of air gong into cooler?

Nice bit of work. Thanks for sharing.

Telecaster · 13 Apr 2015 at 16:43

TBH even though I gave the win to the Sctythes, I still use the TY-147, simply because it offers better airflow at much lower speeds so it's quieter when turned down. Yes, they're great fans, I've just ordered three more from The Rainforest at about £5 each which is a complete bargain. Probably the best fan I've used and it was your recommend that put me on to them, so cheers for that!

What is the difference between the TY-147 and the 147a BTW? They look like identical to me.

Like I say, it wasn't super scientific, only temps I could measure were room ambient and reported temps of hardware monitor. If you know the Ncase layout at all then you'll know the case fan points directly into the CPU fan, feeding it external air, I used the exact same case fan for all tests and kept it at the same speed to rule out another variable.

doyll · 13 Apr 2015 at 17:18

Always nice to exchange information about what works and what doesn't.

AFAIK they are the same fan, just a different PWM to RPM curve
TY-147 = 650-1300rpm
TY-147A = 300-1300rpm

For a Fiver you can't go wrong with the TY-147. If you think you might be using more get them now because they are not longer being make, so when they are sold they are gone. Then it's TY-147A replacements.

I use a cheap indoor/outdoor digital thermometer with wired sensor. Twist the sensor and lead twisted together with a stiff insulated wire and all plastic clothespin. A little tape to secure everything, than bend wire and clip clothespin into computer so sensor in in airflow going to fan. Total cost less than five quid. Allows me to monitor ambient outside of case and air temp where sensor is positioned.

Telecaster · 13 Apr 2015 at 17:31

TBH, delta temp is delta temp regardless of any ambient change, is it not? Which is why I used it to compare seeing as the ambient changed so much between fan tests.

Ambient temp of 25c - CPU temp 80c - delta = 55c
Ambient temp of 15c - CPU temp 70c - delta = 55c

Does monitoring internal temp matter much?

I like your pro looking table by the way, I'm useless with stuff like that so it ended up just being notes typed into wordpad

doyll · 13 Apr 2015 at 18:03

Only if you want to know how well the fan performs on just the cooler, not how well it performs on the cooling in your system.

Monitoring the room air temp gives us the delta for how well the system (including the cooler) performs. Any difference in cooler intake air temp are not considered, so we do not know how the cooler and/or fan are actually performing, but the performance of case, CPU cooler & fan, GPU, etc. .. the whole package.

Monitoring the cooler intake air temp gives us the delta of how well the cooler performs. It removes any variations in air temperature between room and cooler intake from the equation .. making it just cooler intake vs CPU.

The difference between the room and cooler intake air temp tells us how well the system (case airflow) is performing based on temperature rise between room and CPU and/or GPU cooler intake air temp.

Simply put, using cooler intake air temp removes the case cooling variables. All we are getting is the delta of the cooler and cooler fan.

Telecaster · 13 Apr 2015 at 18:11

Ah well, in that caseI'm ok, seeing as the distance from the intake fan and CPU fan is about 20mm

doyll · 13 Apr 2015 at 19:02

Indeed.

But most builds do not have intake air that close to cooler intake .. and most reviewers do not monitor cooler intake air temp, so we end up getting data on how the coolers they test perform in their system rather than how we can expect them to perform on our own systems, or to other coolers in general. It is not uncommon to see the cooler intake air temp change with just the cooler fans changing speed. Change coolers in a system and again, it is very common for the cooler intake air temp to change.

Coolers with high performance fans like Silver Arrow SB-E or IB-E Extreme with 130cfm TY-143 fans really suffer from higher cooler intake air temp .. after all their fans are moving twice as much air ans the exhuast fan behind the cooler is.