What 120mm fans would you recomend for low noise & low cost

[Necrocomputing]

I'm looking to replace the cheap loud cheap dc fans that came with my case with something much quieter. I was wondering if anyone has a relatively quiet & not to expensive fans they would recommend. looking to get 5-6 of them.

[food158]

3 minutes ago, Necrocomputing said:

I'm looking to replace the cheap loud cheap dc fans that came with my case with something much quieter. I was wondering if anyone has a relatively quiet & not to expensive fans they would recommend. looking to get 5-6 of them.

Corsair SP120.

[SolarNova]

Well low noise is easy, just run any fan at minimum RPM.

 

However if u want low noise at higher RPM then ur gunna have to pay for it.

[Jurrunio]

fan speed control is most important tbh, do you have that?

 

If being cheap and quiet is important while performance takes a backseat (and RGB is not onboard) then the Arctic F12 (120mm variant, since you didnt mention the size) will do. I think they are $7 each? If it doesnt have to be that cheap, I'd get the Phanteks F120XP or Fractal GP12 or Noctua NF-P12 redux

11 minutes ago, food158 said:

Corsair SP120.

unless you have hearing implications the SP fans are not quiet, more like the opposite of it unless you slow them down a lot.

[flibberdipper]

Arctic F12's get my vote by a landslide.

[WoodenMarker]

What are your specs and temps?

Have you tried lowering fan speeds?

[Spuriae]

Arctic F12's are usually around $5 apiece and are still the most acoustically efficient (best unobstructed airflow/db noise) case fan on the market.

 

An eHume (overclockers.com) review – look at the final graph to see how much more air they push than other fans at similar noise levels.

 

Try lowering your current fan speeds first if you haven't already, though. Most fans will be quiet enough if run slowly.

[Necrocomputing]

1 hour ago, WoodenMarker said:

What are your specs and temps?

Have you tried lowering fan speeds?

the fans that came with the case are DC not pwm. So I can't adjust the speed. As for temps I'd say very good with a Ryzen 2600 overclocked to 4.2Ghz rarely breaking 60° under load (good thing since it's not stable above 65°c lmao); got an Asus Strix 1070TI that runs in the low 70° for the GPU.

I got a 1 to 8 pwm fan hub from silverstone to power my fans, also my AIO pump not sure how good of an idea that was.

Edited March 16, 2019 by Necrocomputing

[WoodenMarker]

6 hours ago, Necrocomputing said:

the fans that came with the case are DC not pwm. So I can't adjust the speed. As for temps I'd say very good with a Ryzen 2600 overclocked to 4.2Ghz rarely breaking 60° under load (good thing since it's not stable above 65°c lmao); got an Asus Strix 1070TI that runs in the low 70° for the GPU.
I got a 1 to 8 pwm fan hub from silverstone to power my fans, also my AIO pump not sure how good of an idea that was.

Both DC fan and PWM fans can be controlled. Control is dependent on the power source and not the fans themselves. 

PWM uses a 12v signal and the built-in IC on PWM fans to modulate the incoming signal into pulses to lower fan speed. DC achieves a similar effect by lowering the voltage instead. If you power 2-3pin fans with a PWM signal, they'll run at 100% RPM. 

What motherboard are you using? You should be able to control 2-3pin fans off of those headers with regular splitters instead of a powered one. 

[reallylikeskeypad]

8 hours ago, flibberdipper said:

Arctic F12's get my vote by a landslide.

this, have the F14 (140mm version) and unless at max RPM theyre pretty quiet

[flibberdipper]

8 hours ago, reallylikeskeypad said:

this, have the F14 (140mm version) and unless at max RPM theyre pretty quiet

Even the 80 and 92's (which my grandma's PC has to replace the stock AVC ones) are incredibly quiet full tilt. In her case, even just normal operation with them pretty much just idling her temps managed to drop since the AVC's only really had top end power.

[Necrocomputing]

On 3/17/2019 at 12:42 AM, WoodenMarker said:

Both DC fan and PWM fans can be controlled. Control is dependent on the power source and not the fans themselves. 

PWM uses a 12v signal and the built-in IC on PWM fans to modulate the incoming signal into pulses to lower fan speed. DC achieves a similar effect by lowering the voltage instead. If you power 2-3pin fans with a PWM signal, they'll run at 100% RPM. 

What motherboard are you using? You should be able to control 2-3pin fans off of those headers with regular splitters instead of a powered one. 

Yeah I realize that DC can be controlled thru voltage but the asus prime b350m-e motherboard I'm using only has 2 fan headers to start with; one for the CPU and one for the chassis.
So using spliters wouldn't be ideal for all the fans I intend to mount in there. (I kinda threw a couple of gunpla inside my case for decor and want there to be lots of air flow.)
I also already have a good 1 to 8 PWM fan hub.

[WoodenMarker]

8 hours ago, Necrocomputing said:

Yeah I realize that DC can be controlled thru voltage but the asus prime b350m-e motherboard I'm using only has 2 fan headers to start with; one for the CPU and one for the chassis.
So using spliters wouldn't be ideal for all the fans I intend to mount in there. (I kinda threw a couple of gunpla inside my case for decor and want there to be lots of air flow.)
I also already have a good 1 to 8 PWM fan hub.

That makes sense. Figurines shouldn't affect airflow much though.

What case are you using?

Where are you shopping / located? Budget?

[Necrocomputing]

1 hour ago, WoodenMarker said:

That makes sense. Figurines shouldn't affect airflow much though.

What case are you using?

Where are you shopping / located? Budget?

I'm using an EVGA DG-76 case; with the GPU mounted vertically. I suspect the GPU's air flow might be a bit chocked, this case wasn't designed to accommodate more than a Dual slot card (judging by how it was impossible to slide my card in thru the back like in the manual); meaning the fans on my 2.5 slot asus strix 1070TI are a bit close to the glass side panel. The card runs in the mid 70's under load.

I've ordered a box of 5 Arctic P12 PWM fans since a lot of people have recommended the F12's and the P12 seem like a slightly better value.
I'm in Canada Btw.

[WoodenMarker]

2 hours ago, Necrocomputing said:

I'm using an EVGA DG-76 case; with the GPU mounted vertically. I suspect the GPU's air flow might be a bit chocked, this case wasn't designed to accommodate more than a Dual slot card (judging by how it was impossible to slide my card in thru the back like in the manual); meaning the fans on my 2.5 slot asus strix 1070TI are a bit close to the glass side panel. The card runs in the mid 70's under load.

I've ordered a box of 5 Arctic P12 PWM fans since a lot of people have recommended the F12's and the P12 seem like a slightly better value.
I'm in Canada Btw.

Your temps seem fine.

Arctic P12 PWM's should perform pretty well although I'm not sure how quiet they are. You might as well see how they perform since you already ordered them. 

[Necrocomputing]

On 3/19/2019 at 12:04 AM, WoodenMarker said:

Your temps seem fine.

Arctic P12 PWM's should perform pretty well although I'm not sure how quiet they are. You might as well see how they perform since you already ordered them. 

The fans have arrived and I've installed them. I am pleased to say that I now sit quietly and enjoy the new found silence emanating from my PC despite literally having twice as many fans installed. Great purchase; Thx to everyone for the recommendations.

[Tristerin]

@Necrocomputing I just swapped all the fans about a month or so ago in my Ryzen rig with Arctic P12's (as intake, exhaust, radiator fans) and am very pleased as well, great budget fan.

[_Hustler_One_]

The most quiet while run relatively higher RPM PC fan I ever used is the fan of the FSP Windale 4, the FSP CF12P02, it's 1600 max RPM, even at max speed the CF12P02 is still more quiet than Noctua's NF-F12 1500 max RPM.

[Necrocomputing]

3 hours ago, _Hustler_One_ said:

The most quiet while run relatively higher RPM PC fan I ever used is the fan of the FSP Windale 4, the FSP CF12P02, it's 1600 max RPM, even at max speed the CF12P02 is still more quiet than Noctua's NF-F12 1500 max RPM.

well I got five Arctic P12's in my case now and I can't hear them over the pump in my AIO at idle or the fans on my GPU under load.
Fun fact, Since my GPU has a 0 decibel mode the fans don't start spinning for about a minute while it warms up; during which I can't hear any noises my PC makes over the coil whine.