Fan Noise

[ChazzerDaMan]

Just a quick question; what is a good / acceptable noise level in decibels? I constantly see graphs and figures in fan specifications but I have no point of reference as to how loud they are in reality. 

[paddy-stone]

Depends on how close you are too, don't forget. I'd say around 16dB - 22dB is the sweet spot, barely a whisper.

 

Use something like a decibel/sound meter app on your phone to see what you find acceptable.

 

eg

 

 

 

[NineEyeRon]

There are two types of rigs:

 

1. Loud and cool

2. Quiet and warm

 

You need to choose which one you want and then set your rig up for that.

 

I go for warm and quiet so pick a temperature on the higher end and set the fans to keep things around those temps.

 

Once you get a feel for how temps work in your case it’s not hard to dial in a fan curve. You just have to choose your objective and then feel out the temp target.

 

Finally dial the curve in so it’s quieter when you need it and cooler  when you need it. For me I sacrifice temps for quiet to all but the extremes of the fan curves I set.

[Kisai]

1 hour ago, ChazzerDaMan said:

Just a quick question; what is a good / acceptable noise level in decibels? I constantly see graphs and figures in fan specifications but I have no point of reference as to how loud they are in reality. 

Bigger fans are quieter due to lower RPM. Different designs have different sound profiles as the fan spins up. If you buy cheapo fans that only operate at one speed, of course it will be loud.

 

PWM fans are the quietest when used in conjunction with a PWM fan controller or a motherboard with PWM 4-pin fan headers. All motherboards have at least one PWM option (the CPU fan) which is what's used to relay to separate PWM fan controllers.

 

The best fans I've used to date are https://cougargaming.com/products/cooling/vortex_pwm_fan/ , they are quiet, move a lot of air, and the PWM allows for variable fan speed from a PWM controller. They also have these rubber bits where the screws are so that they don't vibrate, which was a serious problem in the previous chassis with the previous LED fans (which I had to replace twice before.)

 

[LogicalDrm]

Decibels are something where the rated numbers are comparable only with same manufacturer. There's no universal standard on how they are measured, and there are number of things that will effect on noise levels when in use.

 

General noise level in house is 20-25db. So this is what you should get if you leave decibel meter alone in room without anyone in it. Traffic noise is something like 35db. The way decibel scale and audio levels work is that distance between you and source is key. Also any blocks between you and source make a difference. For example, standing next to washing machine for long periods can be annoying, and decibel levels are probably over 40db. Go in another room and close the door, you might not even hear it.

 

That said. Fans usually give range like 18-27db. Stock cooler is something like 35db, or "jet engine" according to some people. What you want is something that is close to 25db aka your room noise. Without any high pitch, humming or stuff like that. Since you will be putting it inside your case, and close to case, you are probably hearing just something classified as "background noise".