Is PWM fans worth the money?

[isakeriksson]

I've been looking around for new fans for my computer for a while now. I need 3 140mm fans and 1 120mm fan to my radiator. Is it worth paying extra for PWM ones and will i notice any difference from non PWM fans?

[Sauber-C10]

Yes get the PWM fans as you will get an increased cooling capability as they have higher static pressure, however it doesnt make a whole load of difference

[LTC]

Yes get the PWM fans as you will get an increased cooling capability as they have higher static pressure' date=' however it doesnt make a whole load of difference[/quote']

What? PWM doesn't make any difference in performance? It stands for Pulse-Width-Modulation, and makes it possible for a motherboard to tell the fan to spin in pulses, this makes it go slower or faster. Personally I would get some good Noctua F series fans and be done with it. Many people make the mistake to buy cheap PWM fans, and think that they will be as quiet as higher end fans at the same RPM, that is not true! Many factors gets in the way, rattle, whining, and so on.

[isakeriksson]

Yes get the PWM fans as you will get an increased cooling capability as they have higher static pressure' date=' however it doesnt make a whole load of difference[/quote']

What? PWM doesn't make any difference in performance? It stands for Pulse-Width-Modulation, and makes it possible for a motherboard to tell the fan to spin in pulses, this makes it go slower or faster. Personally I would get some good Noctua F series fans and be done with it. Many people make the mistake to buy cheap PWM fans, and think that they will be as quiet as higher end fans at the same RPM, that is not true! Many factors gets in the way, rattle, whining, and so on.

So I won't notice any difference in noice levels using non PWM fans, if I decided to buy Noctuas? Because I haven't found any 140mm fans from Noctua that uses PWM.

[Fordox]

... no it wont affect perfromance, but it does affect silence.

PWM fans can run at lower speeds. but thats about it.

its a great solution for heatsinks, but not for casefans.

[isakeriksson]

... no it wont affect perfromance, but it does affect silence.

PWM fans can run at lower speeds. but thats about it.

its a great solution for heatsinks, but not for casefans.

But I'd be fine with some Noctuas using low noise adapters? Right now I'm using the fans that came with my case.

[Fordox]

... no it wont affect perfromance, but it does affect silence.

PWM fans can run at lower speeds. but thats about it.

its a great solution for heatsinks, but not for casefans.

Yes you will.

PWM gives pules of current to your fan which make it turn, non pwm is a constent stream of power wich powers your fan.

pwm will result in slower rotations, and is allways usefull. but that really is about it.

non pwm fans can be great to.

[The Tao]

A fan that undervolts well and has a good bearing will be quiet. My Gentle Typhoons are barely audible at 5v and were more than bearable at 12v.

[Fordox]

Yes get the PWM fans as you will get an increased cooling capability as they have higher static pressure, however it doesnt make a whole load of difference

no... pwm will not affect static pressure performance, pwm will only determain the rotation speed of your fan. if you have 2 identical fans, and 1 is PWM and the other isnt, the PWM fan can only rotate at a lower speed. when both are at their highest speed, both would performe the same.

[isakeriksson]

A fan that undervolts well and has a good bearing will be quiet. My Gentle Typhoons are barely audible at 5v and were more than bearable at 12v.

As far as I've understood the Noctua fans are more than okay in theses regards, right?

[The Tao]

A fan that undervolts well and has a good bearing will be quiet. My Gentle Typhoons are barely audible at 5v and were more than bearable at 12v.

Totally. There are always options if you don't want to spend $30-40 a fan which can add up really quick. Besides the GT's I have a couple of yate loons and a used Nidec Beta V server fan and its close enough to silent for me. But if money is not a problem then yeah, Noctuas are awesome.

[Art Vandelay]

A fan that undervolts well and has a good bearing will be quiet. My Gentle Typhoons are barely audible at 5v and were more than bearable at 12v.

I have some Noctuas and they are more than tolerable at full speed. I have them on a fan controller and they are extremely quiet at 75% or less of their max speed and they are almost silent at the lowest speed I can set them.

They do make a very slight buzzing noise when you overvolt them, but this is not audible if your ear is more than a foot away from them. This is probably just them vibrating against my case, though.

[Pyromaniacc]

PWM fans run at variable RPM by sending timed pulses of full 12v power to the fan to achieve the desired RPM. A non PWM fan can also run at varying RPM however this is done by undervolting. As long as you get a fan that undervolts well (many do) there won't be any difference between it and a PWM fan noise wise.

[airdeano]

Yes get the PWM fans as you will get an increased cooling capability as they have higher static pressure, however it doesnt make a whole load of difference

+1 for fordox..

PWM has nothin to do with the static pressure better or worse..

static pressure is blade and chassis design.

airdeano

[airdeano]

a PWM controlled fan has the "on-off switch" cycled X% to raise or lower the fan speed.

non-PWM fans use more or less voltage to control fan speed.

airdeano

[Hexicate]

Just buy Noctua NF-F12 fans for the 120mm requirements, and NF-A14 fans for the 140mm.

If you somehow find the stock speed noise level irritating (you must have ears like a dog) then just use the L.N.A (low noise adapter) that comes with the fan.

Then you don't have to fiddle with speeds, you have one quiet computer and great performance.

[isakeriksson]

Just buy Noctua NF-F12 fans for the 120mm requirements, and NF-A14 fans for the 140mm.

If you somehow find the stock speed noise level irritating (you must have ears like a dog) then just use the L.N.A (low noise adapter) that comes with the fan.

Then you don't have to fiddle with speeds, you have one quiet computer and great performance.

What makes the A14 better than, for example P14?

[Helepolis]

Go with PWM fans if its a option for your case, they actually don't have the exact same specs as their counterparts but its only by a unit or two either way, very marginal. Sure you can get 3 pin fans that work amazingly but PWM are more throw in and forget and will give you the ultimate silence solution for air as your motherboard will actually turn them off when their bit needed or at the very least and ridiculously low speeds. They will also speed up without further user input unlike most 3 pin fan controllers, even then 3 pin can be limited to the number of profiles should the controller support it. So unless your OCD like me and feel the need to constantly fiddle with your fans just get PWM, cougar, be quiet and noctua offer excellent solutions.

[Brian]

PWM fans are generally reserved only for CPU coolers, since the CPU fan header on most motherboards is usually a 4-pin PWM. It's usually a good idea to use non-PWM fans for your case as motherboards don't always have 4-pin PWM headers for the chassis fans, and the majority of fan controllers available on the market won't work properly with a PWM fan.

[Brian]

Just buy Noctua NF-F12 fans for the 120mm requirements, and NF-A14 fans for the 140mm.

If you somehow find the stock speed noise level irritating (you must have ears like a dog) then just use the L.N.A (low noise adapter) that comes with the fan.

Then you don't have to fiddle with speeds, you have one quiet computer and great performance.

A14 is optimized for airflow (pushing as much air as possible in an open enviroment), P14 is more designed for static pressure (pushing air though a radiator or heatsink)

[Dustin1706]

Originally posted by isakeriksson

I've been looking around for new fans for my computer for a while now. I need 3 140mm fans and 1 120mm fan to my radiator. Is it worth paying extra for PWM ones and will i notice any difference from non PWM fans?

You are getting some mixed messages here, so let me help you out.

There is no difference in air volume between a PWM (4 wire) and a regular (3 wire) fan. If you want to run your fans slower than their rated 12v RPM you can simply supply either type of fan with 7v or 5v from your PSU or use a "low noise adapter" (which is just a resistor inline with the fan that reduces the voltage). Depending on exactly which Noctua fan you get, they will come with either a "Low noise adapter" or a Low and "Ultra low noise adapter".

The NF P14 for example, comes with both adapters, so you can run either 1200, 900 or 750 RPM depending on whether you want more air volume or less noise.

With a PWM fan, you can actually control the speed of your fans using software. IE: You could set a profile so that they run 500 rpm until any sensor that you choose hits a set temp then they kick up to 1000 RPM. The reason for PWM is that your computer only outputs digital signals (instead of analog) so the signal to the fan is always 12v and it is either ON or OFF. What PWM does is it sends pulses of power to the fan. So if your computer wanted to send 8V to your fan it would actually send 12V 75% of the time and nothing for the other 25% of the time which would average 8V.

PWM fans can plug into 3 pin headers, you just won't have PWM control.

[Brian]

So basically, unless you have a way to control the PWM feature in PWM fans the answer is: No. You will not notice any difference between PWM and standard fans.

[airdeano]

So basically' date=' unless you have a way to control the PWM feature in PWM fans the answer is: No. You will not notice any difference between PWM and standard fans.[/quote']

correct if built exactly the same.

swiftech helix 120 made in standard 3-pin and 4-pin PWM.

they have the same stats, just different control ability..

airdeano