Which Fans?

[MarvintheParrot]

I have been needing some new fans for my system.

 

The corsair QL and LL series look great, but so do the Lian LI UNI fans and the Thermaltake Riing Quad. 

 

I would like the quietest out of the bunch, as silent operation is preferred.

 

Thank you for any help!

[Stahlmann]

None if these will be really quiet. If you want quiet, go for Arctic or Noctua. But out of these, the Lian-Li should be the quietest because of the Fluid Dynamic Bearing.

[narrdarr]

Both corsair fans are the same fan. With the only changes to the lighting. Comparing to the unifans. Lighting on both are great, but flexibility and what you can do with the lighting software is better with corsair. Performance will be better with the uni fans.

 

Another good option for fans with good airflow,low noise, and lighting would be thermalright. Although they have no ring lit fans.

[AngryBeaver]

I prefer the arctic fans these days. Can get 5 of them for the price of a single one of those fans. The difference being they do not have rgb, but personally for my rgb needs I would get the rgb fan covers so I am not stuck on a limited selection of fans. Plus pricing still is probably cheaper.

 

So for my setup I would need 14 fans and 7 rgb covers.

 

So about 90 for 15 fans and 80ish for the covers for a total of $170

 

The LL120s at 130 for 3 would set me back $650. If I went with say 7x7 that would still (if we prorate) come out to about 50 for 7 p12s and 280 for 7 ll120s for a total of $330.

 

The p12s imo are just a better fan outside of rgb anyways.

 

So I can push/pull and put on rgb covers for less than just running a single fan per slot of the LL20s

[MarvintheParrot]

1 minute ago, AngryBeaver said:

I prefer the arctic fans these days. Can get 5 of them for the price of a single one of those fans. The difference being they do not have rgb, but personally for my rgb needs I would get the rgb fan covers so I am not stuck on a limited selection of fans. Plus pricing still is probably cheaper.

 

So for my setup I would need 14 fans and 7 rgb covers.

 

So about 90 for 15 fans and 80ish for the covers for a total of $170

 

The LL120s at 130 for 3 would set me back $650. If I went with say 7x7 that would still (if we prorate) come out to about 50 for 7 p12s and 280 for 7 ll120s for a total of $330.

 

The p12s imo are just a better fan outside of rgb anyways.

 

So I can push/pull and put on rgb covers for less than just running a single fan per slot of the LL20s

Originally I was planning on going with the BIONIX P12 from Arctic, but I really want to light up my system. RGB stripes were also considered, but I settled on fans. I need 9 fans for my PC (O11D MINI) so I am going to get 2 packs of whatever RGB fans I decide on(from the list above) and then 1 more Arctic BIONIX P12, so I have 3 RGB on the side, two on the top, one in the back, and then 3 ARCIC on the bottom.

[AngryBeaver]

10 minutes ago, MarvintheParrot said:

Originally I was planning on going with the BIONIX P12 from Arctic, but I really want to light up my system. RGB stripes were also considered, but I settled on fans. I need 9 fans for my PC (O11D MINI) so I am going to get 2 packs of whatever RGB fans I decide on(from the list above) and then 1 more Arctic BIONIX P12, so I have 3 RGB on the side, two on the top, one in the back, and then 3 ARCIC on the bottom.

Just remember the phantek rgb covers are 10 each. I also personally prefer the muted look of them on black fans. So 35ish for a 5 pack of p12s and 55ish in covers for them for a total of 90 ish per 5 fans compared to either 130 per 3 or 40 per fan of the others.

[1982 Original]

21 hours ago, AngryBeaver said:

I prefer the arctic fans these days. Can get 5 of them for the price of a single one of those fans. The difference being they do not have rgb, but personally for my rgb needs I would get the rgb fan covers so I am not stuck on a limited selection of fans. Plus pricing still is probably cheaper.

 

So for my setup I would need 14 fans and 7 rgb covers.

 

So about 90 for 15 fans and 80ish for the covers for a total of $170

 

The LL120s at 130 for 3 would set me back $650. If I went with say 7x7 that would still (if we prorate) come out to about 50 for 7 p12s and 280 for 7 ll120s for a total of $330.

 

The p12s imo are just a better fan outside of rgb anyways.

 

So I can push/pull and put on rgb covers for less than just running a single fan per slot of the LL20s

Arctic P12 are too expensive for the quality now. They were great when they were $7 each or $28 for a 5 pack. Now they run $15 each and $40+ for a 5 pack. Plus, they develop ticks in the hub and the PST models have motor noise around 1200rpm. They are hard to recommend now. Maybe if you seem back at their old prices. 
 

If you’re going to spend between $10 and $15 a fan, Be Quiet Pure Wings, Noctua Redux, or Sythe Kaze are all subjectively better than Arctic. 

[narrdarr]

The non pwm version of the p12 are still 30$ for the 5 pack

 

 

[1982 Original]

2 minutes ago, narrdarr said:

The non pwm version of the p12 are still 30$ for the 5 pack

 

 

That’s not bad.  The PWM used to be $30 too. Not for me though, I figured out Arctic quality isn’t good, plus only 3 pin. But, on a budget, it’s an option. 

[AngryBeaver]

4 hours ago, 1982 Original said:

That’s not bad.  The PWM used to be $30 too. Not for me though, I figured out Arctic quality isn’t good, plus only 3 pin. But, on a budget, it’s an option. 

I have 14 p12 pwm in my current build the only speed they make any noise is at 980-1050 rpm. I run mine around 1250-1350 and they are completely silent inside my case. Have yet to have any issues and I have probably had these same fans over a year

[1982 Original]

6 minutes ago, AngryBeaver said:

I have 14 p12 pwm in my current build the only speed they make any noise is at 980-1050 rpm. I run mine around 1250-1350 and they are completely silent inside my case. Have yet to have any issues and I have probably had these same fans over a year

Good to hear. I still have a pile of them and am running the best of the bunch in my son’s build. Many people do find them quiet. Many also didn’t notice that ramp up noise either, but are discovering it now. I like the silent versions the best, can run them full speed at 1000 rpm and they are quiet enough. 
 

I just no longer find them a good recommendation at their price. When they cost the same many times as a Be Quiet Pure Wings or a Noctua Redux, both of those are subjectively better in my opinion. 

[narrdarr]

1 hour ago, 1982 Original said:

Good to hear. I still have a pile of them and am running the best of the bunch in my son’s build. Many people do find them quiet. Many also didn’t notice that ramp up noise either, but are discovering it now. I like the silent versions the best, can run them full speed at 1000 rpm and they are quiet enough. 
 

I just no longer find them a good recommendation at their price. When they cost the same many times as a Be Quiet Pure Wings or a Noctua Redux, both of those are subjectively better in my opinion. 

Even at 40$ for a 5 pack that's still only 8$ a fan. 

[1982 Original]

1 hour ago, narrdarr said:

Even at 40$ for a 5 pack that's still only 8$ a fan. 

Sure, $8 is not bad if you buy in bulk. Is that the 3 pin or the 4 pin models?

 

Edit: Newegg has 5 packs of the 3 pin for $28. I’m not sure if those have the hub noise issue. My 3 pin versions are silent models that top out at 1000rpm. My 4 pin are the pst models, they have the hub noise. If you knew the 3 pin would work for you and your not super sensitive to noise aberrations, that 5 pack would be an affordable option. I wouldn’t pay $13 to $15 for singles though. 

[narrdarr]

35 minutes ago, 1982 Original said:

Sure, $8 is not bad if you buy in bulk. Is that the 3 pin or the 4 pin models?

 

Edit: Newegg has 5 packs of the 3 pin for $28. I’m not sure if those have the hub noise issue. My 3 pin versions are silent models that top out at 1000rpm. My 4 pin are the pst models, they have the hub noise. If you knew the 3 pin would work for you and your not super sensitive to noise aberrations, that 5 pack would be an affordable option. I wouldn’t pay $13 to $15 for singles though. 

When checking yesterday, it was 30 for 3 pin 40 for 4 pin.

Either way its still a good deal.