Noctua vs. be quiet!
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Solved by Lays,
i would still get noctua or wait for their new fans.
i dont trust them with these specs. and the new noctua fans are available. noiseblocker.
They are good fans. Cougar vortex has some <20db fans that go up to 120CFM if you are interested in high airflow to noise ratio...
It also depends on the looks. Right now the new black noctua fans are not available yet, so if you want to go with noctua you will need to buy the ugly coloured ones.
Fractal design, cougar, noctua, be quiet, noiseblocker, all are good brands for quiet fans.
Cougars fans actually compete hand in hand with Noctua, results below done by martin's liquid lab, you can also compare yourself by going to the same FPM readings for each fan, and seeing the noise levels.
Also, here's the way his setup is configured for the testing he does:
@400FPM air flow levels
- The two GT fans have the lowest noise level (Around 38dBA)but do have a slight whine noise quality.
- The two Noiseblocker e-loops have the second best noise level at around 43dbA and slightly better noise quality (more air noise and less bearing whine)
- The Corsair SP120 has the third lowest noise level at around 44-45dbA but does have a little bit more motor noise.
- The three Cougar fans get fourth in noise level with a varied noise quality. The PWM flavor does exhibit more noise using voltage control than the HDB model. The Dual-X and Vortex HDB are pretty close. The Piranha fan is a similar noise level an quality at around 46 or so dBA, fairly smooth but not silky smooth either.
- The loudest fan at 400FPM is the Noctua NF-F12 at around 48dBA
@500FPM air flow levels
- The two GT fans continue to have the lowest noise level at 42-43dbA, but it is a different tone (very little air noise, mostly just a bearing sound). Interestingly the AP-45 sample seems a bit smoother here than the AP-15
- The Corsair SP120 is second lowest at this performance level at about 49dBA, noise quality is ok but not ultra smooth either.
- The Noiseblocker B12-3 1900RPM model may not have super low noise level at 50dBA, but by ear it actually sounds much better. It is a smoother sound quality and makes it seem like a good number and actually comparatively good as the GTs. Also interestingly the noise quality of the higher speed Noiseblocker e-loop 2400RPM doesn’t seem nearly as good as the 1900RPM slower speed brother at this performance level.
- The Cougar Vortex PWM is the only one to make it this far of the Cougars and putting out around 52dBA however noise quality is rather poor with a stronger motor tick.
- The Noctua and Piranha also have legs to get to this air flow level, but the noise is also higher in the 52-53dBA levels and the noise quality not very good. The Piranha also seems to have a slight motor tick at this speed.
@600FPM air flow levels
- The two GT fans continue to have legs to get to this point and at their trademark low noise levels although not what I would call great noise quality. There is a rather dominating bearing noise without much air noise to mask it. Regardless, it is hard to argue with the low 46dBA noise level at these speeds.
- The Corsair SP120 would take second lowest noise level at this point with about 54dBA. It is considerably higher than the GTs, but still seems to be in it’s game without any unusual noise quality issues, fairly smooth for the speed.
- The B12-4 higher speed Noiseblocker E-loop also makes it this far, but noise quality dramatically reduces with a higher whine developing. Noise level is a similar 54dBA, but it sounds louder than that by ear.
- The Piranha also has legs to get here, but it’s the loudest of the bunch at 58dBA and also has some noise quality issues with an undulating low frequency and some motor tick.
- The Noctua and Cougar fans are not capable of this much air flow.
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