Gentle Typhoon fans vs Corsair SP120/AF120

[acidydragon]

Hello all!

Welcome to my very nontechnical review, and my thoughts of the Gentle Typhoons, compared to the SP, and AF 120 by Corsair.

 

Why I bought these fans:

 

I recently bought some Gentle Typhoon 14's (3 to be exact), to replace some very loud Corsair fans. The Corsair ones were making so much sound, that my microphone was picking it up.

After many awesome recommendations, I decided to pick these up.

 

First Thoughts:

 

I received the fans, and was very unimpressed. They came in tacky packaging, with a Molex adapter, and 4 standard fan screws.

The fan itself is very heavy compared to the Corsair fans, and the motor in the middle is much larger.

 

I installed them, which has no thrills (as the Corsair have the rubber mounts). I considered at this point purchasing some rubber grommets for the fans, but figured I would see what they were like as is.

 

Thoughts on the Sound:

 

The fans are nearly silent. I have one other fan (one that came with my case), and it's the only fan I truly hear.

My GPU's (2 780's) and that one fan are the only sound I truly hear coming from this system currently.

 

Now, these fans are currently connected VIA fan headers on my PSU, that pump straight 12v into them at all times. Under volting these fans is a future endeavor after I get a fan controller.

These fans are awesome, look awesome, and sound awesome.

 

Thoughts on the Performance:

 

ON TOP of the sound reduction, the temperature is a world of difference too!

On  my h70 by Corsair, I had 2 SP120's to keep temperatures nice, I only needed one Gentle Typhoon to remain at a low temperature.

 

Conclusion:
These fans are amazing, and make almost no sound.

If I ever needed more fans, I would buy more Gentle Typhoons (if I could find them!)

 

-Note: I'm picking up two Noctua NF-F12's tomorrow from Fed-ex, and I will edit the post to tell you my thoughts on those, compared to these other two fans.

 

EDIT: Noctua fans arrived! Here's my thoughts.

 

First Thoughts:

 

Beautiful packaging. They came in a box that has a Velcro door that opens, to show the fan, and the rubber noise isolating mounts.

The fan, is ugly, but I expected that, and it won't be in view in my build.

The fan comes with a y-splitter (PWM), an extension because the cable attached is very short, and a low speed adapter.

 

Thoughts on the Sound:

Now, these fans aren't loud. I replaced one Cooler Master OEM fan (came with my HAF Stacker), with two of these Noctua NF-F12s.

They are however, louder than the Gentle Typhoons, kind of.

Let me explain, I don't actually think these fans are any louder.

I do however, think that these fans make a different sound than the Typhoons. The Typhoons brag about the sound being less obnoxious to the human ear right on the box, and it delivers.

The Noctua's probably produce about the same amount of sound (if not, a little bit more), but it's a much more noticeable, and obnoxious tone.

Thoughts on the Performance:

 

Their Noctuas. If anyone expected them to be flops, and terrible, then you're wrong . These fans push lots of air, especially for the sound they produce.

 

Conclusion: (For the Noctuas)

Their louder than I'd like, but they'll be more than fine after I turn them down to 800-1000 RPM.

They push a lot of air (which is great), and they're PWM which the Gentle Typhoons are not.

 

Overall Conclusion:
The Gentle Typhoons would be my purchase if I needed more fans.

I don't have a need for PWM fans, as I'm using a fan controller that works fine with 3 pins.

The Gentle Typhoons are quieter (less noticeable sound), better looking (duh), and are performing like champs.

 

The only case where I would get the Noctuas over the Gentle Typhoons, would be if I needed PWM.

These are my thoughts, and opinions on the Corsair SP/AP120's, Gentle Typhoons, and Noctua NF-F12 fans.

 

 

UPDATE VIDEO: Page 2

[bcredeur97]

so your saying the SP120 is loud?? It wasnt bad at all when my friend bought some... you sure you didnt have them at like max RPM or something?

[CCap]

so your saying the SP120 is loud?? It wasnt bad at all when my friend bought some... you sure you didnt have them at like max RPM or something?

As an owner of the SP120 Quiet Editions, I can vouch for the fact that they are loud. Not deafening loud, but noticeable. 

[acidydragon]

As an owner of the SP120 Quiet Editions, I can vouch for the fact that they are loud. Not deafening loud, but noticeable. 

Mine were not the quiet versions, so they were ROARing...

[CCap]

Mine were not the quiet versions, so they were ROARing...

I would like to apologize to your ears. Just let them know that it'll be better now that you have GT's installed and everything will be ok. 

[Fred Castellum]

Following this thread, I'd like to hear what you think about those Noctua fans once you get em.

[bcredeur97]

I would like to apologize to your ears. Just let them know that it'll be better now that you have GT's installed and everything will be ok. 

ah my friend had the quiet editions so yeah it wasnt too bad. i guess im just used to my junk fans that i need to replace

[Accursed Entity]

Looking forward to your opinion on the Noctuas, thanks for your review.

[creativename]

ah my friend had the quiet editions so yeah it wasnt too bad. i guess im just used to my junk fans that i need to replace

Trust me, corsair's fans are the junk. Well they're decent fans, but nothing spectacular, but yea they are loud, the quiet edition not as much, but still definitely noticeable(but the quiet edition performs like shit)

[Lays]

@acidydragon the fans come with crap accessories and crap packing I agree. (they're not supposed to be fancy, they're supposed to work and work dam good)

 

The only thing IMO that noctua has going for it is the accessories and build quality. Gentle typhoons with a fan controller will beat them out anyday, compared them myself in my rig and just wasn't impressed by Nf-f12's noise to performance compared to the GT's.

 

 

 

Are you still planning on watercooling?

[Joshua Ondangan]

gentle typhoons are very good actually. they are near silent although my 5400rpm one is loud as fuck

 

did one not too long ago with it on my friends 480mm rad. slapped x8 gentle typhoons 5400rpm and they roar almost felt like flying.

[acidydragon]

Are you still planning on watercooling?

Yeah, financing is just a little touchy at the moment, so It'll probably have to wait another week or two.

[Lays]

Yeah, financing is just a little touchy at the moment, so It'll probably have to wait another week or two.

 

 

You running them at 1450 rpm right? 12v  from the PSU?  They literally make absolutely no noise at 600-800, thats what I have them on my rads at.

[Valhallatier]

just sharing my experience, my 2 AF120 running in full speed sounded completely silent like i even put my ears really near them and not hear any noise.

[acidydragon]

just sharing my experience, my 2 AF120 running in full speed sounded completely silent like i even put my ears really near them and not hear any noise.

I could hear mine from a different room.

 

You running them at 1450 rpm right? 12v  from the PSU?  They literally make absolutely no noise at 600-800, thats what I have them on my rads at.

Yeah, full speed, and I almost can't hear them at all. I'll probably end up running them at 1000-1200

[Lays]

I could hear mine from a different room.

 

Yeah, full speed, and I almost can't hear them at all. I'll probably end up running them at 1000-1200

 

How much noise do your 780's fans make at idle? Is it louder than the GT's?   If I turn them up to 1000 I can definately hear them, but then again my system is below ambient noise levels besides the HDD.

[acidydragon]

How much noise do your 780's fans make at idle? Is it louder than the GT's? If I turn them up to 1000 I can definately hear them, but then again my system is below ambient noise levels besides the HDD.

they aren't very loud, but I plan to watercool soon, so they will be silent.

[ShadowCaptain]

just sharing my experience, my 2 AF120 running in full speed sounded completely silent like i even put my ears really near them and not hear any noise.

 

Yeah my SP120s connected to my h100i, I can barely hear them even from a few inches, my GPU makes more sound and even that is one of the quietest 780tis around

 

 

need to replace my front and rear stock corsiar fans though, they are a bit poo

[acidydragon]

Review posted for the Noctua NF-F12's

 

 

@ShadowCaptain @Lays @Valhallatier @Joshua Ondangan @creativename @Accursed Entity @bcredeur97 @MyInnerFred @CCap

[Accursed Entity]

Wow, I'm really intrigue to check out the GTs, I need PWM fans thou, thanks for the update!

[Dubesta11]

Trust me, corsair's fans are the junk. Well they're decent fans, but nothing spectacular, but yea they are loud, the quiet edition not as much, but still definitely noticeable(but the quiet edition performs like shit)

 

As an owner of both the performance versions of the SP and AF fans, I think they are great if you can control them. They perform good at a low rpm, and push a lot of air at high speed, all while looking great. Honestly though, I have not tried other fans, so I don't quite have a benchmark like this guy did. I also wear headphones with a noise canceling mic so no sound is picked up from the computer, nor can I hear it when gaming (Logitech G430, highly recommend them).

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Why people say corsair fans are loud? I got the quiet ed and my GPU is louder than them.

[acidydragon]

Why people say corsair fans are loud? I got the quiet ed and my GPU is louder than them.

These aren't the quiet editions. They're very, very loud.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

These aren't the quiet editions. They're very, very loud.

Oh, well if you have the performance ed ones they just go at a higher RPM.

[Lays]

Review posted for the Noctua NF-F12's

 

 

@ShadowCaptain @Lays @Valhallatier @Joshua Ondangan @creativename @Accursed Entity @bcredeur97 @MyInnerFred @CCap

 

The one thing I like about the GT's is even at full blast it's not bad at all, but the Noctuas at full blast are just simply unbearably loud for me.

 

The GT's are a few DB quieter under every scenario.

Did you notice the annoying NF-F12 humming noise they make?  I couldn't stand it, so annoying lol.

When you watercool it'll become even more apparent, especially if you turn your pump to the lowest setting. (It still will have plenty of flow)

 

Comparing my old nf-f12 and GT's, the GT's could be spun at 900-1000 RPM while making the same amount of noise as the NF-F12 at 600 RPM, thus cooling about 1-3 degrees more, while producing the SAME noise level.

 

I also did a non-scientific test, I put the fans at varying RPM and put my hand on the other side of the radiator to feel the airflow that came out the other side, and the GT's felt like they had more air being pushed through.

 

 

 

 

ALTHOUGH, if you didn't have a fan controller for the GT's, nf-f12 are more easily controlled via a motherboard, so it'd be a better option.

 

 

I agree with your hypothesis about the fans though, both are great fans, but I don't really understand the HUGE amount of hype behind noctua considering they're nowhere near as good as everyone thinks. I guess everyone sees that linus likes them, and instantly assumes there's no other option.