Real data on fans

[Admire]

I have been rather frustrated by the lack of data in terms of fans. Especially when it comes to case fans used in aircooling setups. there is a lot of focus on static pressure because of use with radiators but a majority of people still use air cooling and would be best served with the case fan that simply provides the most air flow compared to sound levels.

 

have attempted to find comparisons and reviews on different case fans but most feedback on fans seems to be personal experiences and subjective opinions which is fine but I want something more solid.

 

The only really expansive article is a bit-tech article from 2009. And there are two problems with it. Im skeptical of their testing methods and it is focused mainly on fans for radiator use.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cooling/2009/09/28/what-s-the-best-case-fan/1

 

I really want more research into exacty where one should use which fans, because im getting a little sick of noctua, noiseblocker or gentle typhoons being recommended for every single build no matter what.

 

Any articles or papers on this topic would be appreciated.

 

 

[Rorgash]

noctua makes what 5 types of fans, you CAN recommend the Noctua brand for all builds

[Admire]

noctua makes what 5 types of fans, you CAN recommend the Noctua brand for all builds

 

I probably should have ended on something else then, because this was not the point of the post.

[Bagmup]

People usually recommend what they have found works best, no graph can tell you that, only real world user can.

That's why Noctua, Noiseblocker and GT's are always recommended, they just work.

[Admire]

People usually recommend what they have found works best, no graph can tell you that, only real world user can.

That's why Noctua, Noiseblocker and GT's are always recommended, they just work.

 

But you should be able to test it. I am aware which brands are leading but would be nice to know exactly how they perform in different purposes. I am especially looking at Noiseblocker and GTs. Could just be awesome if there were benchmarks that showed me which is best suited for my needs and how much better they are than those that is just a level below. Some people are more sensible to noise than others. Like how Silentwings performs compared to those big three.

[Lays]

I've always liked these tests, because it shows noise levels, as well as airflow through the radiator.

 

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

 

I'll read these tests in the OP, thanks for posting it.

 

After using NF-F12's myself, and comparing them to gentle typhoons in person, they just don't live up to their hype IMO.

I feel as if a lot of NF-F12 users have switched to them from crappy stock fans, and thought they were amazing for that reason, without actually comparing them to other "top of the line" contenders. 

Somewhat like the ATH-M50 is in the "Audio community". 

[-rascal-]

There's just too much variance in testing fans. It could depend on how close are how far your measuring devices are, what you are using to measure them, etc.

Through all that, what test equipment are the manufacturers' using? What is the test setup? Is it an air chamber? Stabilized room?

 

Even if you use simply air-cooling, big-metal-chunk cooler, you still need static pressure fans. The whole fin array is still causing obstruction. You still need to force the air through the CPU cooler.

If you want, you can strap 200mm, 600RPM, 100 CFM+ fans to your CPU cooler...it won't necessarily perform better than a 120mm or 140mm static pressure optimized fan. It could even perform worse.

[The_Strict_Nein]

The problem with noise level testing is that it's A) Bloody impossible to standardise. Two companies can get the exact same low-ambient room and recording equipment and get different readings. It's also B) subjective. I'd rather spend 3 hours listening to a 40 decibel low pitch wooshing noise than 1 minute listening to a 20 decibel high pitch whine.

[Admire]

There's just too much variance in testing fans. It could depend on how close are how far your measuring devices are, what you are using to measure them, etc.

Through all that, what test equipment are the manufacturers' using? What is the test setup? Is it an air chamber? Stabilized room?

 

Even if you use simply air-cooling, big-metal-chunk cooler, you still need static pressure fans. The whole fin array is still causing obstruction. You still need to force the air through the CPU cooler.

If you want, you can strap 200mm, 600RPM, 100 CFM+ fans to your CPU cooler...it won't necessarily perform better than a 120mm or 140mm static pressure optimized fan. It could even perform worse.

 

Oh, im very aware if that but I was not talking about CPU cooler. Im considering a case with three 140mm case fans...two of them being front fans and one of those front fans would be a static pressure fan in order to cool my harddrive. But the other two would not need to provide much static pressure.

 

But this is what im talking about. I would love to see testing for specific purposes´.

 

Im reading through that thread. Amazing. Just what I wanted. thanks