Phantom: Antique Noctua

[spwath]

You should get shoes I saw someone wearing. The y were noctua colored

[Kiwiandapple]

WOW!,  i really like the results

im not a fan of Noctua color but like this build, i love it

you give me a lot of idea to do a build with this color theme

keep us updated with a lot of pics, i want to see the final result

 

Glad you like it. I will do my best to give you as many pictures as I can. If you wan't to see anything specific. Let me know and i'll do my best to make that picture. 

I will now have to wait for the cables from alpen and.. I will give a shot at the door and the front fan. 

[Rainmaker]

They weren't as quiet as people raved about them being, I replaced all of em with gentle typhoons, and have been much more happy with em.  I recently put 2 nf-f12's in the front for intakes, and even at 40% could still hear them with my ad900x's on, unplugged em and the noise was gone.

 

They're great performers don't get me wrong, but I don't think they're as great as their hype makes them out to be.

 

The Nf-f12 is not exactly designed to be used as regular case fans, for that you are far better of buying S12a fans as they are far quieter (about the most quiet fans I know of). these don't have focused flow though so if you want to put them on a radiator or have a hard drive cage with tons of hard drives you are most likely best off getting NF-f12 for the radiator and NF-P12 as a compromise of airflow and silence. In my experience there isn't much that can beat the Noctua fans at performance at a given sound level, so they are always my goto fans for anything I fit in to my rig. I am however getting a Corsair H105 to cool my GPU with an NZXT Kraken G10, if the corsair fans deliver better performance at a sound level then the Noctua fans then I might start looking at them and other brands for any future upgrade. Until then I will stick with Noctua though (Not to mention I already have 7 of them mounted in my rig already so I'm not about to change them anytime soon)

[Lays]

The Nf-f12 is not exactly designed to be used as regular case fans, for that you are far better of buying S12a fans as they are far quieter (about the most quiet fans I know of). these don't have focused flow though so if you want to put them on a radiator or have a hard drive cage with tons of hard drives you are most likely best off getting NF-f12 for the radiator and NF-P12 as a compromise of airflow and silence. In my experience there isn't much that can beat the Noctua fans at performance at a given sound level, so they are always my goto fans for anything I fit in to my rig. I am however getting a Corsair H105 to cool my GPU with an NZXT Kraken G10, if the corsair fans deliver better performance at a sound level then the Noctua fans then I might start looking at them and other brands for any future upgrade. Until then I will stick with Noctua though (Not to mention I already have 7 of them mounted in my rig already so I'm not about to change them anytime soon)

 

 

I know what both those fans do, I have 3 s12a and 4 nf-f12s I no longer use them now that I have 8 gentle typhoons in my rig. The nf-f12's also scored last in a review of noise to performance on radiators. :

 

 http://www.overclock.net/t/1389355/fan-testing-round-12-begins-thanks-to-cpachris-and-prymus-nb-e-loop-sp120-nf-f12-cougar-vortex-pwm-vortex-red-led-pirahna-ap-45

 

52 decibels at 500 FPM of air moved, whilst the sycthe GT did that at 42-43 Decibels, it's funny because even corsair's SP120 high performance was moving 550 FPM at 52 db, whilst the 2150 RPM scythe gt at 50 Decibels was moving 726 FPM.

 

Noctua's aren't as good as they're cracked up to be, look at all the points in those videos were multiple fans out perform it, he in his conclusion says : " Why people recommend the Noctua NF-F12, I am not sure. They don't test very well for me. "

[TheProfosist]

I know what both those fans do, I have 3 s12a and 4 nf-f12s I no longer use them now that I have 8 gentle typhoons in my rig. The nf-f12's also scored last in a review of noise to performance on radiators. :

 

 http://www.overclock.net/t/1389355/fan-testing-round-12-begins-thanks-to-cpachris-and-prymus-nb-e-loop-sp120-nf-f12-cougar-vortex-pwm-vortex-red-led-pirahna-ap-45

 

52 decibels at 500 FPM of air moved, whilst the sycthe GT did that at 42-43 Decibels, it's funny because even corsair's SP120 high performance was moving 550 FPM at 52 db, whilst the 2150 RPM scythe gt at 50 Decibels was moving 726 FPM.

 

Noctua's aren't as good as they're cracked up to be, look at all the points in those videos were multiple fans out perform it, he in his conclusion says : " Why people recommend the Noctua NF-F12, I am not sure.

 They don't test very well for me. "

Not that im denying the results at all but im wondering how the air flow was recorded and why no air pressure? Also its mounted to a rad so why no temps? Also I dont see any info on the testing setup like rad thickness and fin count, which I think would matter. I have tried the Noctua's, Scythe's, Corsair's and Cougar's out of them the only ones I would buy would be the Scythe's and the Noctua's based on personal experience. The Cougar's are very cheaply made and I have had zero luck with corsair's mainly dealing with being loud and motor noise as well as weird noises when being controlled. The Noiseblocker Eloops interest me as I have said before but last I check they were as expensive if not more expensive than Noctua's. Also spec wise they look close to Noctua's NF-P12 but thats just specs, many people are interested in them because they com in much higher RPM's than the Noctua's.

I have some Scythe S-FLEX's that im putting back into service but I ran into something weird with the Air 540 when mounted in the front there is considerably more noise than the top, back, or in the open. I though it might be motor noise or something but I dont know. I did try one fan with those rubber grommets that come with Noctua Fans but it didnt seem to help much if at all.

[Rainmaker]

I know what both those fans do, I have 3 s12a and 4 nf-f12s I no longer use them now that I have 8 gentle typhoons in my rig. The nf-f12's also scored last in a review of noise to performance on radiators. :

 

 http://www.overclock.net/t/1389355/fan-testing-round-12-begins-thanks-to-cpachris-and-prymus-nb-e-loop-sp120-nf-f12-cougar-vortex-pwm-vortex-red-led-pirahna-ap-45

 

52 decibels at 500 FPM of air moved, whilst the sycthe GT did that at 42-43 Decibels, it's funny because even corsair's SP120 high performance was moving 550 FPM at 52 db, whilst the 2150 RPM scythe gt at 50 Decibels was moving 726 FPM.

 

Noctua's aren't as good as they're cracked up to be, look at all the points in those videos were multiple fans out perform it, he in his conclusion says : " Why people recommend the Noctua NF-F12, I am not sure. They don't test very well for me. "

 

I see what you are referring to, but the Noctua Fans are not necessarily designed to go at full RPM all the time. To my experience if you put the Noctua Fans at about 70% or so and measure the airflow and decibel, they will be better than most other fans at that sound level (since Noctua fans are all about breaking up turbulence which is what you usually hear at a low RPM). As I said earlier though, I don't have that much experience with other "premium" fans so I might be wrong. The most important thing when it comes to sound though is that everyone is different, I might find that Noctua fans produce a more pleasant sound than others and you might think the exact opposite (a bit like everyone having different taste in music), the sound level isn't necesarrily just about decibels as some fans give of more turbulence noise, some far more noise from the pure airflow and others might give to much motor noise to your liking. the most important is to get the fans that you like as the computer will be sitting next to you for quite some time and not the ones doing tests.

 

PS: I did not mean to imply that you did not know what the specific fans are for, I simply wanted to point out that F fans are not good for using in front of a case unless you have real need for hight airflow such as with a radiator or a tight hard drive cage. 

[Kiwiandapple]

Wow, my bad. I read this discussion and wanted to reply to it as well.. My bad! @Rainmaker , @Lays and @TheProfosist 

 

That test from that guy, I did see it.. and it's actually a little bit of bad test. Or well, he left out tempatures for the NF-F12's on a radiator.. whats the point of that test then? The Noctua's score insanely good when you compare fans with all the same RPM. And  you look at the tempature you get. As well it indeed is ment to have the NF-F12 on a radiator or closed space.. else you indeed can hear the fan. 

I actually do know that the Noctua fans are not the most silent fans on the market. But, when it comes down to this. It stops to really mather if the fan makes 11dBa or 15dBa.

I don't hear my fans, albeit when I speed them up I will start to hear them slightly. But still way less then my previous NZXT case fans. 
I wanted to get a silent PC and that's what I have now! 

 

As well I have made some new plans.. I am currently still planning it all out, but you can have a small sneak preview! 
This is what I made in sketchup, I think most of you guys know what this will be. 

 

 

PS. I saw that I promised more pictures of how the build is at it's current state.... woops. Will do this friday or maybe tomorrow! So until then.. you have to just wait and see! ^^ 

 

[Lays]

snip

 

 

 

The martin's liquid lab one I linked right?

 

Temperature would be directly related to FPM of air moving across the fins, the more FPM of air moved, the lower the temps.  So when every fan in that test @ 400,500,600 FPM had less noise than the Noctuas while producing more FPM of airflow, that would mean those temps of the other fans would be lower.  

 

 

In the tests he puts the air-flow sensor on the other side of the radiator, whatever air that gets through the radiator is measured there.

(You can see the cord come out of the airflow sensor, and behind the radiator)

 

Could the tests be different and more in-depth? Of course, but do they still do exactly what they need to? Yes.

 

 

 

I'm not here to start an argument or anything, your build looks nice, and if you're happy with the performance, who am I to judge that.  

[Kiwiandapple]

snap

 

Oh no i'm fine with an argument! I am happy with my performance in terms of noise. I am just not 100% sure about your theory about the air getting out of the radiator.. the more air moved = better temps... yes on paper this should be. But in all the tests I see when it comes to Noctua's where they show tempatures. Compared to other fans..  Yeah Noctua's are very good? Especially the NF-F12 is a beast when it comes to radiators. 

 

Will look up some video's about some of these benchmarks later. But yeah, they are out there. 

[jscho]

Whilst a fairly large amount of people may not like Noctua fans because of their somewhat silly colour scheme, a PC that is built to the Noctua colour scheme looks beautiful!

I'm surprised as to how closely those Sennheiser headphones matches the colours. If you could get some Noctua keycaps for a mechanical keyboard, I'd be floored :wub:

[Kiwiandapple]

Whilst a fairly large amount of people may not like Noctua fans because of their somewhat silly colour scheme, a PC that is built to the Noctua colour scheme looks beautiful!

I'm surprised as to how closely those Sennheiser headphones matches the colours. If you could get some Noctua keycaps for a mechanical keyboard, I'd be floored :wub:

 

Ow, yes I absolutely love these headphones and yes the color does match very well. Was hilarious.. I saw those headphones 1 day after I bought the Sennheiser PC363D... woops! 

Managed to sell those for a good price and got the HD598's and I love them a lot! 

I have so many plans.. so little budget! But, to make my build match well.. I will get a new keyboard, eventually... I am looking for a yellow/orange backlit keyboard. I know corsair RGB could be an option. Sadly I am aware that it will cost an insane amount. So I was looking around and I found a Ducky. They have the keyboard I need. MX browns, black base, yellow LEDs. 

 

I as well will make a new desk for my PC somewhere next week. Just to make sure the PC stands off the floor. This sadly is costly as well.. and I am running out of budget! Need to sell some things first, .. I recently got salary, ALL GONE! :]

 

Anyway, I promise some more pictures and my plans in the next few days will be here. 

[Kiwiandapple]

Oké.. I promised pictures! Sorry for the delay. 
I am very happy with how it all looks so far, but yes.. cable management is terrible. I spend about 10/15mins on it. But don't worry, I will spend a good amount of hours on it once I get my extensions. 

 

Will likely paint the RAM as well, don't like the yellow look of it. 

The Noctua still very readable! <3 

Bitspower 200mm to 140/120mm fan adapter. I might pain the silver parts here... 

3 year old case, 2 year old side panel.. It looks much worse on camera then irl tho. 

 

Only one picture.. but that is all you need to know. I want to make a new window. The yellow tape marks the outside of the window I have planned so far, but will have to go measure a little bit more if it's possible to make it like this.

I want to use a clear window, think that will look the best and it's hard to find a smoked piece of plexi. 

(Camera focused on the inside parts.. I am not the best photographer)

 

As well the previous sketchup was the making off my PSU cover. I am almost there now, just need lots of measuring... a whole lot!

My plan is to completely remove the 5,25" drive bays and place 2 in-take fans there instead. Then cut away all of the 3,5" bays except for the bottom one - where I will put my data HDD. 

Then place my SSD sideways, 750D style. 

 

I'll trow my design in a spoiler as well.. Just to keep it clean! 

 

Would love to hear what you guys think about these designs? The window so far is very big.. Would you guys like to see it like that or should I make it a little smaller? 
As well, any toughts advices on the PSU cover? Maybe ideas? 

 

 

[jscho]

That PSU cover would look really nice

[Father Fuzzy]

Full window will look great and show off that slick Psu cover

[TheBlairventure]

Looking good so far!

[Kiwiandapple]

That PSU cover would look really nice

 

Still figuring out the exact dimensions I need. 

 

Full window will look great and show off that slick Psu cover

 

The only thing that I don't like to much.. I will make it with plexiglass. I found black plexi, but it's glossy. 

Now after looking at this a little.. there is more glossy black on the inside and outside of the Phantom anyway. So it will probably match ok. 

I just don't like glossy to much and would like to avoid it if I can, sadly with plexi this seems impossible. 

 

Looking good so far!

 

Thanks! 

[alpenwasser]

The only thing that I don't like to much.. I will make it with plexiglass. I found black plexi, but it's glossy. 

Now after looking at this a little.. there is more glossy black on the inside and outside of the Phantom anyway. So it will probably match ok. 

I just don't like glossy to much and would like to avoid it if I can, sadly with plexi this seems impossible.

You could try roughing up the surface with some sandpaper and make it matte.

BUT, try it out on some smaller pieces first, I reckon finding how to get it

right will take some trial and error.

[Kiwiandapple]

You could try roughing up the surface with some sandpaper and make it matte.

BUT, try it out on some smaller pieces first, I reckon finding how to get it

right will take some trial and error.

 

Yes, I will do this. I can order some "garbarge" plexi (1kg) of pieces that they don't use anymore - i will ask if they can at least give me a few pieces of black! ;] 

[Rainmaker]

If you're just going to have a colored surface then you are better off just getting some PVC plates. They are cheaper and easier to paint if you would want it in another color (Noctua sand color for example). As for getting that nice bended edge, you find a straight corner and a heat gun, then lock your plate in to place where you would get a straight bend from the edge. Then you heat it up along the edge (of your desk or whatever you are using) and bend it slowly down. Just be careful not to apply to much pressure or heat.

 

Thats just my thoughts though.

 

edit: As for the window, I would maybe make it a bit bigger. As Lachrymal says in the post under mine, you would get best results if you make it just wide enough to not show your drive bays. Then I would also make it higher, but I would do it so that you only see the top of your psu cover (stop it where the cover starts). That way you get to see the goodies inside the case without having to look at a big box (the PSU cover) and you block out the ugly drive bays as well. Another plus side would be that you only need a plate to cover the top of the PSU and whatever is underneath it (if you mount a fan there you might be best of using a dust cover in noctua color or maybe placing the noctua fan on top of the cover). 

[Lachrymal]

I would make the window bigger but no wider so as to not show the drive bays.

[Kiwiandapple]

If you're just going to have a colored surface then you are better off just getting some PVC plates. They are cheaper and easier to paint if you would want it in another color (Noctua sand color for example). As for getting that nice bended edge, you find a straight corner and a heat gun, then lock your plate in to place where you would get a straight bend from the edge. Then you heat it up along the edge (of your desk or whatever you are using) and bend it slowly down. Just be careful not to apply to much pressure or heat.

 

Thats just my thoughts though.

 

edit: As for the window, I would maybe make it a bit bigger. As Lachrymal says in the post under mine, you would get best results if you make it just wide enough to not show your drive bays. Then I would also make it higher, but I would do it so that you only see the top of your psu cover (stop it where the cover starts). That way you get to see the goodies inside the case without having to look at a big box (the PSU cover) and you block out the ugly drive bays as well. Another plus side would be that you only need a plate to cover the top of the PSU and whatever is underneath it (if you mount a fan there you might be best of using a dust cover in noctua color or maybe placing the noctua fan on top of the cover). 

 

I would make the window bigger but no wider so as to not show the drive bays.

 

My plan is to not really paint the PSU cover in the noctua colors. I will keep it black. Else those Noctua colors will dominate to much.

I looked at PVC plates.. Just prefer the plexi. Despite it being slightly more expensive, if I order my window, psu cover and feet from the same firm. The total price will be better then buying it from different places. 

 

For the window and the drive bays. I will remove all 5,25" bays and all but the bottom 3,5" bays. Then place my painted SSD on the side. (750D style) 

This way I can make my window very wide. 

I as well am planning/thinking about cutting the text "noctua" into the PSU cover on the vertical side. place some orange plexi behind it and lid it up with an LED. (H440 style)

This way it's not bad to see the PSU cover. 

 

I have no plans to place fans under/around the PSU cover. But I do have a plan to place 2 NF-S12A fans in the front door. (check puu.sh) Of course this will mean that I will cut open the door.

I am not sure yet how I will cut it open. I expect myself to make it a simple square. But this way I have 3 intake fans. I will use dust filters! 

 

Here are some pictures to hopefully make it a little more clear. I am still busy with Sketchup! 

Need @VampireKid to come on TS! 

• Intake fans plan

[Kiwiandapple]

Oké, I have been playing around with Sketchup and learned I can import stuff into it. 
So I found a Phantom, sadly the dimensions are not correct. But I did make the PSU cover plan anyway. 

 

 

I removed a little bit to much of the side panel. As well the NF-P14 is made with lots of layers wich I can't seem to smooth out. 
Anyway, this is the plan. The Noctua text will very likely be different if I can make this. Will have to murder lots of small pieces to get this done right :]
I forgot to make the cuts in the top. But you can see them here. 
 

[Lord Pantaloons]

There is a distinct lack of boobs in that render

[Kiwiandapple]

There is a distinct lack of boobs in that render

 

Goes against the rules I think! Go out some more.. ^^

[zombiepixel]

WOW!,  i really like the results

 

im not a fan of Noctua color but like this build, i love it

 

you give me a lot of idea to do a build with this color theme

 

keep us updated with a lot of pics, i want to see the final result

lol its snef. hi snef. btw i want to do your sm8 build the same watercooling layout but a thicker rad on the front and a bitspower d5 pump res combo