Fan recommendations

[A1Mike_W]

I want to place two 140mm fans in the front of my Cougar Panzer, but with a plethora of models in the market, I have no idea what to choose.

 

No fan really stands out to me, as some swear by a fan that others despise. Are there any objectively good value for money fans out there that you can recommend?

 

Preferably I'm looking for a black colour scheme and controllable speed. All I'm looking for is quiet yet efficient performance that'll last a while. I don't mind spending a little more for a longer-lasting fan.

 

My budget is £30-50 total.

 

Also, I'm looking for an upgrade to my hyper 212x, same colour scheme and budget of about £50. Can go slightly higher if necessary.

 

I'm going for two 140mm as I've been told that while it may provide slightly decreased airflow, it'll be noticeably quieter - is there any truth to that, or should I go with three 120mm? (if so, 120mm model recommendations would be appreciated)

 

[Keppla]

Personally I use noctua fans for everything. As for size, I never heard anything about decreased airflow so just get whatever suits your needs.

[A1Mike_W]

Aren't noctua fans beige and brown though? Do you have any links to Noctua 140mm black fans?

[VinZie]

Corsair.

[Keppla]

Well you could paint them or get LTT noctua fans (if they still sell them) because those are black.

[A1Mike_W]

Just now, VinZie said:

Corsair.

My problem was with far too much choice; are there any specific models you recommend?

[seon123]

Noctua has their Industrial fans, and Chromax fans. 

Personally, I have the ML120 (non-pro), which come in a 2-pack, and they can move a lot of air. They also come in 140mm variants, and in Pro and RGB versions. Different colour, and rubber pads on the corners. 

Be Quiet has the Silent Wings fans, which would go nicely with a Dark Rock 3

Edited November 16, 2017 by seon123
Damn autocorrect

[Keppla]

4 minutes ago, A1Mike_W said:

Aren't noctua fans beige and brown though? Do you have any links to Noctua 140mm black fans?

http://noctua.at/en/nf-f12-pwm-chromax-black-swap.html

[loculus]

By "controllable speed" do you mean via PWM signal or just voltage (through adjusting nominal 12V to lower)? Any fan responds to the latter.

 

FWIW I don't think the Corsair ML series or any Noctua would count as "good value for money" though I guess with 50 quid for 2 fans they could fit the budget.

[A1Mike_W]

Just now, loculus said:

By "controllable speed" do you mean via PWM signal or just voltage (through adjusting nominal 12V to lower)? Any fan responds to the latter.

 PWM preferably

[loculus]

On second thought, if gray is okay, the Noctua redux packaging of the NF-P14 seems actually a pretty decent value in the UK compared to what else I'm seeing. £14 per fan, PWM controlled, on overclockers:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/noctua-nf-p14s-redux-pwm-1200rpm-140mm-quiet-case-fan-fg-042-nc.html

 

The NH-P14 has a relatively good acoustic character (more broadband, flatter, with less spikes is better):

http://www.silentpcreview.com/140mm_Fan_Roundup1

 

I guess the be quiet! Silent Wings 3 PWM models would be actually black, and more expensive. The issue is I think this iteration was tuned for a bit better performance against restrictions, at the expense of noise, so maybe not as suitable for what you're asking.

 

Or wait, at 120 mm Noiseblocker made a black version of the eLoop, the B12-PS black edition with PWM control:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/noiseblocker-nb-eloop-fan-b12-ps-black-edition-120mm-pwm-fg-064-nb.html

[WoodenMarker]

What are your specs and why are you looking for an upgrade to your 212x?

[A1Mike_W]

38 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

What are your specs and why are you looking for an upgrade to your 212x?

I'm looking to do light-moderate overclocking on an i7 8700k. I've not had time to play around with thermals on that yet as I currently have an i5 8400, but I'm hoping to upgrade both the CPU and cooler next year. Got a z370 gigabyte aorus ultra gaming mobo if it helps answer your question.

 

I'm currently looking at the be quiet! BK019 Dark Rock Pro 3, as it seems pretty reasonable in terms of price (at £50) and would go nicely with my colour scheme. However I've been unable to find any data on the cooling performance besides reviews and opinions which don't help much.

 

 

[WoodenMarker]

43 minutes ago, A1Mike_W said:

I'm looking to do light-moderate overclocking on an i7 8700k. I've not had time to play around with thermals on that yet as I currently have an i5 8400, but I'm hoping to upgrade both the CPU and cooler next year. Got a z370 gigabyte aorus ultra gaming mobo if it helps answer your question.

 

I'm currently looking at the be quiet! BK019 Dark Rock Pro 3, as it seems pretty reasonable in terms of price (at £50) and would go nicely with my colour scheme. However I've been unable to find any data on the cooling performance besides reviews and opinions which don't help much.

The DRP3 is good if you like the aesthetic. If you're not getting data on cooling performance, you're not looking at the correct reviews. 

https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/1568-bequiet-dark-rock-pro-3-benchmark-review/Page-2

What case fans are you currently cooling and what graphics card are you using?

[A1Mike_W]

3 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

The DRP3 is good if you like the aesthetic. If you're not getting data on cooling performance, you're not looking at the correct reviews. 

https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/1568-bequiet-dark-rock-pro-3-benchmark-review/Page-2

What case fans are you currently cooling and what graphics card are you using?

Just the stock fans that come with the cougar panzer max; it hasn't arrived yet so that's not too relevant. As for the card, I've got the Gigabyte GTX 1080 Gaming G1, so it's got an open-air shroud. It gets toasty in my current case (the bitfenix neos with 2x120mm akasa piranha air ripper fans in the front and one in the back) at about 75 under load in winter when ambient temps are around 8-10 degrees, so I'm making the case and fan upgrade to prepare for summer. 

 

Thanks for the review by the way, the thermals help me set my mind on it. The biggest appeal to me is the quiet operation, for which it has been praised everywhere - but again no data on this besides being called "the quietest" which, to be fair, is all I need to know.

[WoodenMarker]

16 minutes ago, A1Mike_W said:

Just the stock fans that come with the cougar panzer max; it hasn't arrived yet so that's not too relevant. As for the card, I've got the Gigabyte GTX 1080 Gaming G1, so it's got an open-air shroud. It gets toasty in my current case (the bitfenix neos with 2x120mm akasa piranha air ripper fans in the front and one in the back) at about 75 under load in winter when ambient temps are around 8-10 degrees, so I'm making the case and fan upgrade to prepare for summer. 

 

Thanks for the review by the way, the thermals help me set my mind on it. The biggest appeal to me is the quiet operation, for which it has been praised everywhere - but again no data on this besides being called "the quietest" which, to be fair, is all I need to know.

The Neos has pretty shoddy airflow so moving to the Panzer Max should be a significant improvement already.

The stock Dual-X's included with the case are decent so you should probably see how they perform before deciding on whether or not to replace them. 

[A1Mike_W]

Just now, WoodenMarker said:

The Neos has pretty shoddy airflow so moving to the Panzer Max should be a significant improvement already.

The stock Dual-X's included with the case are decent so you should probably see how they perform before deciding on whether or not to replace them. 

Yeah the airflow in my current case is dreadful, so it'll be a welcome change. As for the fans included with the case, I would want to move the two fans at the front and divide them between the top and bottom of the case to help cool the CPU and GPU respectively, as I've seen this have a significant impact on temperatures in my past builds. Maybe with good airflow that difference will be negligible, but I'd still need the front fans to test that. With the suggestions provided so far I'm leaning towards some noctua fans, likely the NF-A14 industrial PPC-3000 PWM fans, on the basis of buying a good pair once and not having to worry for the foreseeable future. 

[WoodenMarker]

Just now, A1Mike_W said:

Yeah the airflow in my current case is dreadful, so it'll be a welcome change. As for the fans included with the case, I would want to move the two fans at the front and divide them between the top and bottom of the case to help cool the CPU and GPU respectively, as I've seen this have a significant impact on temperatures in my past builds. Maybe with good airflow that difference will be negligible, but I'd still need the front fans to test that. With the suggestions provided so far I'm leaning towards some noctua fans, likely the NF-A14 industrial PPC-3000 PWM fans, on the basis of buying a good pair once and not having to worry for the foreseeable future. 

iPPC's aren't worth getting unless you need the extra robust build and higher rpm. The normal noctuas are cheaper and quieter. 

The included Dual-X's should be enough cooling already. Whether you'd want to replace them would depend on whether or not you find them too noisy. 

[A1Mike_W]

Just now, WoodenMarker said:

iPPC's aren't worth getting unless you need the extra robust build and higher rpm. The normal noctuas are cheaper and quieter. 

The included Dual-X's should be enough cooling already. Whether you'd want to replace them would depend on whether or not you find them too noisy. 

I want as much quiet cooling from the case fans as I can get, since the GPU fans are the loudest in my system and good airflow would help take the stress off them. Which 'normal' noctuas are you referring to? I'm on the website right now and their products only list the normal ones with the subjectively unaesthetic colour scheme, the redux, and the industrial lines. 

[WoodenMarker]

7 minutes ago, A1Mike_W said:

I want as much quiet cooling from the case fans as I can get, since the GPU fans are the loudest in my system and good airflow would help take the stress off them. Which 'normal' noctuas are you referring to? I'm on the website right now and their products only list the normal ones with the subjectively unaesthetic colour scheme, the redux, and the industrial lines. 

For every iPPC model, there exists the original design in brown/beige. The Redux are older models rebranded and come with fewer accessories. 

[A1Mike_W]

Just now, WoodenMarker said:

For every iPPC model, there exists the original design in brown/beige. The Redux are older models rebranded and come with fewer accessories. 

Is the redux worth it for half the price of the normal, or do those accessories make a difference?

[WoodenMarker]

Just now, A1Mike_W said:

Is the redux worth it for half the price of the normal, or do those accessories make a difference?

It depends on how quiet you need the fans to be. The included rubber screws are pretty neat for reducing vibrations. The NF-P14S for example isn't far off from the NF-A14. If you're not replacing your graphics card fans, going with the cheaper Redux would make more sense.

[A1Mike_W]

2 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

It depends on how quiet you need the fans to be. The included rubber screws are pretty neat for reducing vibrations. The NF-P14S for example isn't far off from the NF-A14. If you're not replacing your graphics card fans, going with the cheaper Redux would make more sense.

I've not heard much about replacing graphics card fans, maybe except when they fail, but I wouldn't want to void my warranty so I'll stick with what I have for now. As for the rubber screws, I could probably get them separate, but I'm at the point where I'd rather pay extra for less hassle. Apparently the case I'm going for doesn't play nice with vibrations and amplifies them somewhat, so the newer tech might help me out there.

 

Thanks for all your help!