Quiet, High-Performance Radiator Fans Noctua vs. Scythe

[patrickjp93]

I've heard a lot of good things about Scythe Gentle Typhoon fans for radiators and even as static pressure fans for cases. A lot of people say Noctua NF-F12 is also really good, and both are capable of being quiet. So, I found a retail supplier of some of the last unused Scythe Gentle Typhoons, but I'm gonna take a poll. Gentle Typhoon 2150 vs. Noctua NF-12 (non industrial) for use on a radiator. Go!

[ragnahex]

scythes here but that is mainly because i like noctua but not when you can see them (pre industrial) i mean the colour is just dire and not worth any % of difference for me it was no choice. I have 14 of them in my build at the moment (albeit they only run up to about 700 rpm to keep water temp at 35 degrees)

[patrickjp93]

Bumping just once to see if I can get a decent amount of votes in. Call in your friends!

[Shaqo_Wyn]

I've heard a lot of good things about Scythe Gentle Typhoon fans for radiators and even as static pressure fans for cases. A lot of people say Noctua NF-F12 is also really good, and both are capable of being quiet. So, I found a retail supplier of some of the last unused Scythe Gentle Typhoons, but I'm gonna take a poll. Gentle Typhoon 2150 vs. Noctua NF-12 (non industrial) for use on a radiator. Go!

NF-F12 non-IPPC of course. Only fan that I'd recommend over those are Noiseblocker E-loops B12-3's or B12-P's. Silverstone AP15's or AP45's if you can find them. 

[aduman]

Noiseblockers are really good alternatives and even quieter fans if you can't stand the looks of noctuas.

[ManWithBeard1990]

Scythe doesn't make Gentle Typhoons anymore, sadly, but they are slightly better than the Noctuas for the same amount of airflow, I've heard. The shape of the blades and the way they have a massive sweep angle leads me to think that this is true. I hear NB-eloops are great too, but if I were to design them I would have gone for 7 blades instead of six, because having 4 struts and 6 blades means 2 blades pass over a strut at a time (that's just my rough-and-ready understanding of how stuff works though. Maybe it doesn't matter too much). The ring around the blades does help tremendously in keeping noise levels in check though. I think the choice for your radiator will depend on the density, mostly. I think the NF-F12, with the stator vanes, will give slightly more static pressure so might be better for the denser rads because it can maintain airflow at lower RPM, but for less dense the GT's will probably be better. Mind you, this is about more than just numbers. In a pure dB rating the GT's will most likely be quieter, but Noctua spends most of its efforts into making sure that what noise does get created is as unobjectionable as possible, ie still equally loud, but no pronounced annoying clicking or whining at a specific frequency. All this is theory of course. To have a proper personal opinion one must have tried them all and I've tried none. So take my words with a grain of salt.

[patrickjp93]

Scythe doesn't make Gentle Typhoons anymore, sadly, but they are slightly better than the Noctuas for the same amount of airflow, I've heard. The shape of the blades and the way they have a massive sweep angle leads me to think that this is true. I hear NB-eloops are great too, but if I were to design them I would have gone for 7 blades instead of six, because having 4 struts and 6 blades means 2 blades pass over a strut at a time (that's just my rough-and-ready understanding of how stuff works though. Maybe it doesn't matter too much). The ring around the blades does help tremendously in keeping noise levels in check though. I think the choice for your radiator will depend on the density, mostly. I think the NF-F12, with the stator vanes, will give slightly more static pressure so might be better for the denser rads because it can maintain airflow at lower RPM, but for less dense the GT's will probably be better. Mind you, this is about more than just numbers. In a pure dB rating the GT's will most likely be quieter, but Noctua spends most of its efforts into making sure that what noise does get created is as unobjectionable as possible, ie still equally loud, but no pronounced annoying clicking or whining at a specific frequency. All this is theory of course. To have a proper personal opinion one must have tried them all and I've tried none. So take my words with a grain of salt.

A well thought out analysis. Danke.

 

Scythe never made them. Nidec Servo made/makes them. Scythe ordered 50,000 at a time and repackaged them. You can still find Scythe-Branded 1850 RPM GTs at Sidewinder Computers. The 2150 model is gone from production, but I did track down a very obscure vendor of odds and ends and verified to find the real deal.