New exhaust fans

[Olaf6541]

Hi all,

So currently I have two EK Vardar EVO 120S Fans mounted to the top of my server rack (came off a radiator I sold):

Spoiler

Temps are fine, however this is mostly due to my system not consuming a lot of power (yet). For the future I would like some more airflow optimised fans to move more air at (if possible) lower noise since under load these two fans produce the most sound. Also I want black fans here. However, I found about 70 fans matching my criteria so I'm not sure which one is the best...

 

I need two fans:

- 120mm

- ALL black

- High CFM/dB

- PWM

- No LED

 

Currently looking at:

NF-S12A chromax.black.swap

Be Quiet Silent Wings 3 / Shadow Wings 2

I'm leaning towards the Noctua, any other suggestions?

[Windows7ge]

Quote

High CFM/dB

Grab yourself some Delta's

[TheGlenlivet]

Both are very good fans.  I go Noctua on just about everything.

[Olaf6541]

3 minutes ago, Windows7ge said:

Grab yourself some Delta's

I want airflow, not a whirlwind 

I meant high airflow and low noise...

1 minute ago, TheGlenlivet said:

Both are very good fans.  I go Noctua on just about everything.

Yeah I saw some positive reviews about the be quiet fans, however I dont really like their design... Since these fans are in sight looks matter and I like the square design more.

 

Can I also use this topic for my rant that almost none of the fan manufacturers show pictures of the back of their fans? Really annoying...

[Mateyyy]

In my personal rig I've got some Silent Wings 3s and some NF-F12s (not the NF-S12A but they're still Noctua nonetheless), so I can say from personal experience that they are both excellent fans. Great performance, undervolt super well, and even at max speed they will sound fairly quiet, as in pretty much all you can hear is the air moving, no high-pitched whining noises or anything like that, as you'd notice on lower quality fans.

 

So it pretty much comes down to whichever you can find a better deal for and which one you think looks better (well, the only noticeable difference is the orange writing on be quiet's logo which is stuck onto the fans, other than that, they're both, just, black).

[Windows7ge]

4 minutes ago, Olaf6541 said:

I want airflow, not a whirlwind 

I meant high airflow and low noise...

Well, I'm quite partial to the Noctua NF-F12's. They're made more for static pressure (like radiators) than regular chassis fans but they're good.

 

Assuming your rack is unrestricted in the front/back I'm actually not certain populating these fan mounts will do much for you.

[TheGlenlivet]

7 minutes ago, Olaf6541 said:

Can I also use this topic for my rant that almost none of the fan manufacturers show pictures of the back of their fans? Really annoying...

?? Noctua does.  Both their site, and their Amazon store show pics and diagrams of the fans from both sides.

The a12x25 is about the quietest fan I have heard, but doesn't come in black yet...

[Olaf6541]

4 minutes ago, Windows7ge said:

Assuming your rack is unrestricted in the front/back I'm actually not certain populating these fan mounts will do much for you.

Its not... the back is all steel and the front is all glass, these fans actually help alot:

Spoiler

 

7 minutes ago, TheGlenlivet said:

he a12x25 is about the quietest fan I have heard, but doesn't come in black yet...

If it came in black this topic wouldnt even exist... I was hoping it would come in black and then I noticed the NF-S12A did come in black.

[WoodenMarker]

NF-S12A's would be quietest and hard to go wrong with. 

What are you cooling and what are your temps? You might just be able to get away with running your current fans at lower rpm. 

[Olaf6541]

5 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

NF-S12A's would be quietest and hard to go wrong with. 

What are you cooling and what are your temps? You might just be able to get away with running your current fans at lower rpm. 

6700k (4.5GHz, 1.3V) and 1060 3GB (2.1GHz, 4.4Ghz Mem, stock voltage). Both are 30C idle and under 100% load the 1060 never goes above 45C while the 6700k reaches 55C in seconds and levels off at 60C after the water is warmed up so delidding would probably help alot but not gonna do that...

 

I'm already running the exhaust fans at ~400RPM at idle, but at 1200RPM they are just a little too loud for the air theyre moving for my liking.

[WoodenMarker]

1 minute ago, Olaf6541 said:

6700k (4.5GHz, 1.3V) and 1060 3GB (2.1GHz, 4.4Ghz Mem, stock voltage). Both are 30C idle and under 100% load the 1060 never goes above 45C while the 6700k reaches 55C in seconds and levels off at 60C after the water is warmed up so delidding would probably help alot but not gonna do that...

 

I'm already running the exhaust fans at ~400RPM at idle, but at 1200RPM they are just a little too loud for the air theyre moving for my liking.

Those are low temps. You're fine up to 80-90c at load. Have you tried just lowering fan speeds instead?

[Olaf6541]

7 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

Those are low temps. You're fine up to 80-90c at load. Have you tried just lowering fan speeds instead?

I know, its not really about my current temps. Im just planning on changing my exhaust fans to black ones and while I'm changing to them anyway I want fans that are better optimised for their job in the future.

 

I did some testing and the temps are strongly dependent on the exhaust RPM since not enough fresh air make all the heat stay around the radiators (400 vs 1200RPM is about 5C, and 10C difference between 400RPM and no airflow)

[WoodenMarker]

3 minutes ago, Olaf6541 said:

I know, its not really about my current temps. Im just planning on changing my exhaust fans to black ones and while I'm changing to them anyway I want fans that are better optimised for their job in the future.

 

I did some testing and the temps are strongly dependent on the exhaust RPM since not enough fresh air make all the heat stay around the radiators (400 vs 1200RPM is about 5C, and 10C difference between 400RPM and no airflow)

Considering temps are only at 60c, that rise isn't much of an issue. Lower noise is a much more practical benefit. 

[Olaf6541]

Just a quick update:

The noctua fans are installed, they look much better and I'm really happy about the performance. I may put a something black over the sticker, but I'm not sure yet...

Thank you all!