Most Quiet Radiator Fan?

[cluelessgenius]

do i am planning a watercooling setup with an external waterbox so i dont care about the size of the radiators and therefor fans.

my question is wich fans are the absolut most quiet against a radiator ?

arent bigger fans usually more quiet?

should i get a 540 rad with 3 180 fans? wich fans?

or should i get the standard 120 fans on a 480 rad? again wich fans?

 

note that im gonna get multiple rads so dont talk about how the rad size matters more and stuff. and to summerize my question:

 

Wich fans are the absolut most quiet against a radiator if size of the fan doesnt matter?

[Morfy]

Don't you consider your Noctua NF-F 12s quiet enough?

[cluelessgenius]

Don't you consider your Noctua NF-F 12s quiet enough?

nope not really but im currently running them poorly an 3pins as case fans without rad so maybe they do better when against a rad and controlled properly but my question was basicly if bigger fans would mean they are more quiet since ive heared some time ago that they can move the same amount of air at lower speeds but maybe im missing something

 

so was thinking of getting either 3 540 rads with 180s  or 4 480s with 120s but im also not sure about the middle in between like 4 420s with 140s or something.

either way i would decide based on what fan is the abolut most quiet .

[Izaya Orihara]

560mm. 4x 140mm. NB PK 1's

[SparkySamZa]

did you just say nf f12 are not quite ! dude are you high ?? add the quite adaptor, you can never hear them. I own one and i can never hear it even at full power

[cluelessgenius]

did you just say nf f12 are not quite ! dude are you high ?? add the quite adaptor, you can never hear them. I own one and i can never hear it even at full power

yes you are right those can be quiet as f*ck but as i experienced them, they dont move too much air when on the silent adapter so atm i need them to run around half load to cool everything but maybe with a proper watercooling solution they will handle it on low so i would defenitly like to try that but still i also would like to hear some options maybe somebody has a different pov so please dont you all hate on me now as im looking for different options

560mm. 4x 140mm. NB PK 1's

thanks for im gonna look at some test and compare those

[Bagmup]

If money is no object, NB E-loops

[cluelessgenius]

If money is no object, NB E-loops

as i get those only come as 120s? so yould also recommend just sticking to 120s?

why are there 540 rads for 3 180s then i thought they must have some advantage right?

[Bagmup]

as i get those only come as 120s? so yould also recommend just sticking to 120s?

why are there 540 rads for 3 180s then i thought they must have some advantage right?

I suppose 180's move a lot of air even when running slowly is their advantage.

[cluelessgenius]

I suppose 180's move a lot of air even when running slowly is their advantage.

so would that be better than running 120s? im really dumb like that but there seem to be not that many 180 fans out there especialy low noise ones so would 180s even hold up against premium 120s? notice that im only talking about noise seeing as decent cooling is a given

[Bagmup]

so would that be better than running 120s? im really dumb like that but there seem to be not that many 180 fans out there especialy low noise ones so would 180s even hold up against premium 120s? notice that im only talking about noise seeing as decent cooling is a given

I can't think of any 180mm fans made for radiator use off the top of my head.

If I had to choose between 180 or 120/140 fans, I'd always go for the latter, there's just so much more choice.

[cluelessgenius]

I can't think of any 180mm fans made for radiator use off the top of my head.

If I had to choose between 180 or 120/140 fans, I'd always go for the latter, there's just so much more choice.

so are there 140s taht are quieter than 120s on rads? if money was no issue would you ultimatly recommend eloops ? are those te best there is when it comes to noise?

[Morfy]

No, Noctuas are the best when it comes to sound and performance, if you don't care about the colour. There are very little options in terms of 180s, and sure as hell they are not designed for radiators. And because there is so little choice, they are not optimized for silence, they are just meh. Get the grey Noctua 140's, set them to maximum 900 rpm and you are set. And on a watercooling loop, the difference from 900 to 1200 rpm is so little in temps, you can just skip it. This is my 2 cents.

[cluelessgenius]

No, Noctuas are the best when it comes to sound and performance, if you don't care about the colour. There are very little options in terms of 180s, and sure as hell they are not designed for radiators. And because there is so little choice, they are not optimized for silence, they are just meh. Get the grey Noctua 140's, set them to maximum 900 rpm and you are set. And on a watercooling loop, the difference from 900 to 1200 rpm is so little in temps, you can just skip it. This is my 2 cents.

thanks for that . are those noctuas you speak of 3pin? because i find it hard to find a good 4pin pwm fan controller

[Shaqo_Wyn]

thanks for that . are those noctuas you speak of 3pin? because i find it hard to find a good 4pin pwm fan controller

Swiftech 8-way PWM fan splitter.

[Shaqo_Wyn]

Wich fans are the absolut most quiet against a radiator if size of the fan doesnt matter?

Fan size isn't really the thing you should be caring that much about when going for quiet watercooling. Radiator FPI and thickness is. 

Bigger fans move more air at lower RPM's but they're also usually airflow fans which means they sacrifice some cooling performance not being pressure optimized. 

You could go for the 4 480's with NF-F12's or NB E-loops on some med-thick to thick low fpi rads like Alphacool XT45's or UT60's. Depending on what your waterbox can handle in terms of thickness.

[cluelessgenius]

Fan size isn't really the thing you should be caring that much about when going for quiet watercooling. Radiator FPI and thickness is. 

Bigger fans move more air at lower RPM's but they're also usually airflow fans which means they sacrifice some cooling performance not being pressure optimized. 

You could go for the 4 480's with NF-F12's or NB E-loops on some med-thick to thick low fpi rads like Alphacool XT45's or UT60's. Depending on what your waterbox can handle in terms of thickness.

thanks for that, really interesting so my waterbox is still in planning as is so i could make any thickness or size work what do you think of this one http://www.caseking.de/shop/catalog/Wasserkuehlung/Radiatoren/480mm-Radiatoren/XSPC-Quad-Fan-Radiator-AX480-480mm-weiss::24191.html

sorry for the site being german 

[Shaqo_Wyn]

thanks for that, really interesting so my waterbox is still in planning as is so i could make any thickness or size work what do you think of this one http://www.caseking.de/shop/catalog/Wasserkuehlung/Radiatoren/480mm-Radiatoren/XSPC-Quad-Fan-Radiator-AX480-480mm-weiss::24191.html

sorry for the site being german 

Well they're 16 fpi which is nearing the edge of low fpi but they're good. I assume you want those for aesthetics. There are good lower fpi options that will allow you to run the fans even lower and thus have things be more quiet. I recommend you check out Alphacool's UT60 radiators (12 fpi) or XT45 (10 fpi) if you want to stay in the 40mm thickness range. Also Hardware Labs Black Ice SR-1's (9 fpi). The SR-1's have this sleek finish to them which is great for aesthetics. 

[cluelessgenius]

Well they're 16 fpi which is nearing the edge of low fpi but they're good. I assume you want those for aesthetics. There are good lower fpi options that will allow you to run the fans even lower and thus have things be more quiet. I recommend you check out Alphacool's UT60 radiators (12 fpi) or XT45 (10 fpi) if you want to stay in the 40mm thickness range. Also Hardware Labs Black Ice SR-1's (9 fpi). The SR-1's have this sleek finish to them which is great for aesthetics. 

so wich would be the ultimate best for low noise if thickness wasnt an issue and money isnt either.

[Shaqo_Wyn]

so wich would be the ultimate best for low noise if thickness wasnt an issue and money isnt either.

Alphacool UT60. 

[cluelessgenius]

Alphacool UT60. 

doesnt that thing have 10 fpi ? and if so wouldnt something even lower be better?

[Tam3n]

doesnt that thing have 10 fpi ? and if so wouldnt something even lower be better?

10 fpi is already pretty low.

 

I have the Alphacool UT 60 with 1200rpm NB-eLoops, cooling my r9 290 crossfire. I also mounted the rad externally. If you are going to get the eLoops, keep in mind they are optimized for push.

 

I've read that larger than 120 mm fans aren't as efficient for radiators than 120 mm ones (they can't create as high static pressure).

[Lays]

No, Noctuas are the best when it comes to sound and performance, if you don't care about the colour. There are very little options in terms of 180s, and sure as hell they are not designed for radiators. And because there is so little choice, they are not optimized for silence, they are just meh. Get the grey Noctua 140's, set them to maximum 900 rpm and you are set. And on a watercooling loop, the difference from 900 to 1200 rpm is so little in temps, you can just skip it. This is my 2 cents.

 

 

No they are not. Gentle typhoons and NB-E loops, among other fans outperform it with quieter noise levels.

I had 4 NF-f12's, and directly comparing them to Gentle typhoon ap-14, they were quieter while providing the same temps, and at idle + low loads, they can be left at 600 RPM without making any audible noise. Just because Linus says they're the best, doesn't mean you should take everything he says to heart.

 

In a silent PC, such as a watercooled PC with enough rad space, and a decent pump running at a low setting, you can easily hear NF-F12's at 600 RPM, they have a low humming noise to them. It drove me insane personally, part of my reasoning to switch to GT's, they don't make any audible noise until around 750 RPM, in which case they're still quieter than NF-F12's at 600 RPM.

 

http://www.overclock.net/t/1389355/fan-testing-round-12-begins-thanks-to-cpachris-and-prymus-nb-e-loop-sp120-nf-f12-cougar-vortex-pwm-vortex-red-led-pirahna-ap-45

 

REAL tests by a real professional water cooling reviewer, with noise to airflow moved through the radiator tests

 

@cluelessgenius if money is no object, GT's and NB E loops will be quieter than nf-f12's, while providing the same, if not better thermal performance.

Better aesthetics IMO as well.  NB E loops are pretty sexy, and come in multiple different colors.

[cluelessgenius]

No they are not. Gentle typhoons and NB-E loops, among other fans outperform it with quieter noise levels.

I had 4 NF-f12's, and directly comparing them to Gentle typhoon ap-14, they were quieter while providing the same temps, and at idle + low loads, they can be left at 600 RPM without making any audible noise. Just because Linus says they're the best, doesn't mean you should take everything he says to heart.

 

In a silent PC, such as a watercooled PC with enough rad space, and a decent pump running at a low setting, you can easily hear NF-F12's at 600 RPM, they have a low humming noise to them. It drove me insane personally, part of my reasoning to switch to GT's, they don't make any audible noise until around 750 RPM, in which case they're still quieter than NF-F12's at 600 RPM.

 

http://www.overclock.net/t/1389355/fan-testing-round-12-begins-thanks-to-cpachris-and-prymus-nb-e-loop-sp120-nf-f12-cougar-vortex-pwm-vortex-red-led-pirahna-ap-45

 

REAL tests by a real professional water cooling reviewer, with noise to airflow moved through the radiator tests

 

@cluelessgenius if money is no object, GT's and NB E loops will be quieter than nf-f12's, while providing the same, if not better thermal performance.

Better aesthetics IMO as well.  NB E loops are pretty sexy, and come in multiple different colors.

thanks i would go gt but in germany they are not available to my knowledge i would have to import those from canada or something but ellops sure are available ill check them out

[Lays]

thanks i would go gt but in germany they are not available to my knowledge i would have to import those from canada or something but ellops sure are available ill check them out

 

 

There's multiple colors of them too, see-through blue-ish color, see-through red-ish color, and the normal white/black, and also black.