EXTREMELY Silent PC Fans

[EdInk]

I'm willing to chip in some money for new pc fans because in my youtube videos it sounds like I have a jet engine going off in the background during my recordings. My PC fans do the job with the cooling but when it comes to being silent they're like women. NEVER SILENT. If you could please recommend some PC fans that are silent that would be great. Thanks. PS if you could recommend silent women that would be great. Willing to chip in money

I think you have to deal with background noise as well as and some editing software and/or soundcards have noise reduction/cancellation features.

[r1Ns3]

If i had money and didn't care about looks, noctua. But I do care about looks and I am not going to spend 250 bucks on bloody fans. So, stock fans for me, better hardware instead of dumb noctua fans lmao..

 

but really, if noctua would make some good looking fans like SP and AF series from Corsair, they would be getting SO many more buyers. Noctua's fans are great.

[Curufinwe_wins]

Do you have any benchmarks/reviews to back that up? I haven't seen any good ones on Venturi fans.

Survivor posted some right above. Outside of that, all I have is anecdotal evidence owning both. But that's weak evidence at best. Sadly people don't do anywhere near as much testing on 140mm fans as they do 120s.

[WoodenMarker]

Survivor posted some right above. Outside of that, all I have is anecdotal evidence owning both. But that's weak evidence at best. Sadly people don't do anywhere near as much testing on 140mm fans as they do 120s.

CoolingTechnique has some nice videos that give an idea of a fan's tone but that doesn't show much about how they perform for the noise levels. This is why I much prefer SPCR's testing with their fans on a heatsink.

[Curufinwe_wins]

CoolingTechnique has some nice videos that give an idea of a fan's tone but that doesn't show much about how they perform for the noise levels. This is why I much prefer SPCR's testing with their fans on a heatsink.

http://glob3trotters.com/portfolio/fractal-design-120-140-mm-fan-round-up-venturi-hphf-dynamic-gp-1214-silent-series-r3/

Yea but spcr is so hit or miss on trying to find data and they almost never look at 140mm fans.

I'd love for them to do a 140mm shootout like the 120s they have done, but they seem to be basically inactive these days.

[WoodenMarker]

http://glob3trotters.com/portfolio/fractal-design-120-140-mm-fan-round-up-venturi-hphf-dynamic-gp-1214-silent-series-r3/

Yea but spcr is so hit or miss on trying to find data and they almost never look at 140mm fans.

I'd love for them to do a 140mm shootout like the 120s they have done, but they seem to be basically inactive these days.

Huh, the lower limit of those decibel readings aren't that low..  I'm not sure how they would consider 1000+ rpm near anywhere inaudible. I can hear my Noctuas the instant they go past 300-350rpm and I personally run them at ~90rpm. 

[Curufinwe_wins]

Huh, the lower limit of those decibel readings aren't that low.. I'm not sure how they would consider 1000+ rpm near anywhere inaudible. I can hear my Noctuas the instant they go past 300-350rpm and I personally run them at ~90rpm.

Uhh... I don't honestly belive the noctuas will run down at 8% pwm... But 30 dba for their limit isn't great. Hence why I didn't post it at first.

I know, but again spcr is at best inconsistent. I'm really kinda kissed in fact that they don't do actual fan shit with regularity anymore.

[afyeung]

Do you have any benchmarks/reviews to back that up? I haven't seen any good ones on Venturi fans. 

@SurvivorNVL posted 2 vids comparing the two. The Venturis are extremely quiet. Also Jayztwocents did reviews on them and they were very quiet. 

[WoodenMarker]

Uhh... I don't honestly belive the noctuas will run down at 8% pwm...

They do. I've consistently run every pwm noctua I've come across down to 7%.

@SurvivorNVL posted 2 vids comparing the two. The Venturis are extremely quiet. Also Jayztwocents did reviews on them and they were very quiet.

I was looking for tests with performance relative to noise levels.

[X99stattrak]

Fractal venturi's

[Curufinwe_wins]

They do. I've consistently run every pwm noctua I've come across down to 7%.I was looking for tests with performance relative to noise levels.

I can't say I've done the testing, but I find it uhh suprising that they function at 7% via pwm while not running via dc until around 600-700 rpm. I have not gotten the venturis I own to run on pwm or dc below say 300-375 but they are very consistent via either control (even if not quite linear).

Either way, we can all agree that 140mm fan data is sorely lacking.

[ThomasD]

Really have to agree with what many people are repeating. The key to low noise level is to run as many fans as possible as slow as possible.

Run slow enough even ordinary fans can be very quiet. So given the choice between one expensive low noise fan or two ordinary fans for the same price get the two ordinary fans and run them at about 60%. You'll move more air at about the same noise level as the one expensive fan.

[afyeung]

They do. I've consistently run every pwm noctua I've come across down to 7%.I was looking for tests with performance relative to noise levels.

Yep. The videos he linked you could compare the noise between the A14's and Venturis, can't get anymore results specific to noise than noise itself. Also decibel charts in the bottom.

[WoodenMarker]

Yep. The videos he linked you could compare the noise between the A14's and Venturis, can't get anymore results specific to noise than noise itself. Also decibel charts in the bottom.

Noise means little without context. The performance/noise is needed.

Really have to agree with what many people are repeating. The key to low noise level is to run as many fans as possible as slow as possible.

Run slow enough even ordinary fans can be very quiet. So given the choice between one expensive low noise fan or two ordinary fans for the same price get the two ordinary fans and run them at about 60%. You'll move more air at about the same noise level as the one expensive fan.

60% is noisy for most fans. All fans get quieter with lower rpm but worse fans are usually not quiet-tier having a much higher lower limit on noise. 'As slow as possible' isn't that slow on lower quality fans.

[N_Bot]

Cougar vortex's. Just got them and they are absolutely silent. dB level is actually lower an noctuas and they're cheaper.

[WoodenMarker]

Cougar vortex's. Just got them and they are absolutely silent. dB level is actually lower an noctuas and they're cheaper.

I've used Vortex's on several occasions and they're far from being silent and aren't nearly as quiet as Noctuas. http://www.overclock.net/t/1274407/fans-the-most-complete-and-comprehensive-array-of-tests-and-benchmarks

If you're referring to fan specs, they're unreliable and should be ignored. Stick to benchmarks and reviews instead.

[N_Bot]

I've used Vortex's on several occasions and they're far from being silent and aren't nearly as quiet as Noctuas. http://www.overclock.net/t/1274407/fans-the-most-complete-and-comprehensive-array-of-tests-and-benchmarks

If you're referring to fan specs, they're unreliable and should be ignored. Stick to benchmarks and reviews instead.

So they put random numbers for dB count?

[WoodenMarker]

So they put random numbers for dB count?

I doubt they're random but the testing conditions for different fans aren't standardized so they aren't comparable. The results are also usually from best-case/unrealistic test scenarios.

[mao91]

Noctua/Bequiet/Venturi fans (although venturis need to be slowed down a bit) are all very good fans

 

GP-14 fans are insanely quiet, but they don't quiet have the umph of the other fans listed here (although in all likely hood they will do the job).

 

This. Don't discount Fractal Design's GP14 fans, they are just as silent as Noctua and only cost $15 a piece.

[afyeung]

Noise means little without context. The performance/noise is needed.60% is noisy for most fans. All fans get quieter with lower rpm but worse fans are usually not quiet-tier having a much higher lower limit on noise. 'As slow as possible' isn't that slow on lower quality fans.

Dude. Did you even watch the videos lol. The big tables in the bottom show the performance numbers. The Venturi's do have slightly lower airflow in cfm(about 73 vs 75), and lower static pressure, 1.5mmH2o vs 1.7mmH2o, but the venturis are significantly quieter. 

 

Noctua are the standard, but for a cheaper option, better looks, and often times at the lacking of a few CFM's - Phanteks fans.  They perform, in the case of their MP-series, higher-RPM than the Noctua and far more quiet at said speed with similar static pressure.  They're also cheaper, so that is a thing.  BeQuiet are certainly quieter than Noctua, but they're low static pressure comparatively.  Noiseblocker is a step above all, but can be very finicky with radiators and expensive.  Fractal's Venturi's are a good alternative to Noctua, look better, move plenty of air, and good static pressure while being a few DB quieter than Noctua.

There's that.  Venturi HP-14PWM and the NF-A14PWM.

[N_Bot]

I doubt they're random but the testing conditions for different fans aren't standardized so they aren't comparable. The results are also usually from best-case/unrealistic test scenarios.

Ahh ok I see.

[WoodenMarker]

Dude. Did you even watch the videos lol. The big tables in the bottom show the performance numbers. The Venturi's do have slightly lower airflow in cfm(about 73 vs 75), and lower static pressure, 1.5mmH2o vs 1.7mmH2o, but the venturis are significantly quieter.

Yes I have. I'm subscribed to CoolingTechnique. The individual specs don't translate directly to real world performance. Actual results are from the combination of all of the details including fan design and not cfm or static pressure isolated. My preferred method of testing is comparing temps to noise with fans mounted on a heatsink.

[afyeung]

Yes I have. I'm subscribed to CoolingTechnique. The individual specs don't translate directly to real world performance. Actual results are from the combination of all of the details including fan design and not cfm or static pressure isolated. My preferred method of testing is comparing temps to noise with fans mounted on a heatsink.

I get you. Well if you're happy with the Noctuas they're amazing. Or you can get some venturis from Amazon and return them if you're not satisfied. have a great day