H100i Fans vs Corsair SP fans

[heavygrounds]

Hey everyone,

 

I've recently switched to water cooling with the Corsair H100i a and the unit works perfectly in my NZXT H440, however; the stock fans that came with the H100i are too loud for me, even at lower RPMs they are loud. I would like to know if the Corsair SP (quiet edition) fans are any better than the stock fans. I know that they will be better but I want to know if it is worth the investment (or will they sound just like the stock fans).

 

If you have gone through the same experience of swapping out the stock fans please let me know, or if you have anything else to say; anything helps and is much appreciated.

 

Thank you for your time.

[Thorium19]

The sp fans have rubber mounting points to reduce vibration ,and you can get the quiet versions, which will reduce noise. Or, you could get some NF-F12s and get silence and increased performance.

[Mdgtman91]

I swapped to the performance sp120 fans (for the smexy colors lol) and while they can get loud, the stay pretty quiet when under 1500rpm

[heavygrounds]

The sp fans have rubber mounting points to reduce vibration ,and you can get the quiet versions, which will reduce noise. Or, you could get some NF-F12s and get silence and increased performance.

I was thinking about the industrial noctuas but they're just too expensive.

[nuclear465]

The way i think is that pressure optimized fans like the SPs from Corsair are best suited to use on radiators like the H100i as they are more silent. Air Flow optimized fans with high CFM and directional air flow are not that suited.

 

[heavygrounds]

I swapped to the performance sp120 fans (for the smexy colors lol) and while they can get loud, the stay pretty quiet when under 1500rpm

Thank you, the stock ones are stupid loud at 1000rpm so I guess the SPs will be an improvement.

[Lord Pantaloons]

SP120 QE's would be quieter than the stock fans but they perform very poorly especially for the asking price, Scythe Gentle Typhoons, Noiseblocker silent pro's or Noctual NF-F12's are all good quiet fans but they are expensive. If you want some great fans that won't bust your wallet in the family jewels then go for Rosewill Hyperborea's.

[TheMcSame]

The quiet edition fans will perform slightly worse but they will be quieter. 

 

The stock H100 fans are the SP120L's. They're basically a cheap version of the performance edition fans. If you want good fans that are quiet go for some NF-F12's or some enermax twister pressure fans. Both fans perform about as good as eachother with the enermax fans in silent mode (the enermax has 3 modes). 

[heavygrounds]

The way i think is that pressure optimized fans like the SPs from Corsair are not suited to use on  radiators like the H100i, maybe for that, Air Flow optimized fans with high CFM and directional air flow are the better suited, you can go for AF series PWM and turn down the RPM a little to make them more silent.

Aren't the SPs designed for radiators though? I'll consider the AF ones but from what I've heard the SPs are ideal for this usage.

[heavygrounds]

The quiet edition fans will perform slightly worse but they will be quieter. 

 

The stock H100 fans are the SP120L's. They're basically a cheap version of the performance edition fans. If you want good fans that are quiet go for some NF-F12's or some enermax twister pressure fans. Both fans perform about as good as eachother (with the enermax fans in silent mode). 

 

 

SP120 QE's would be quieter than the stock fans but they perform very poorly especially for the asking price, Scythe Gentle Typhoons, Noiseblocker silent pro's or Noctual NF-F12's are all good quiet fans but they are expensive. If you want some great fans that won't bust your wallet in the family jewels then go for Rosewill Hyperborea's.

 

Okay every one is recommending the Noctuas, I guess it's probably worth spending more money on this kind of stuff anyways. How does the NF-F120 Industrial compare to the originals, are they any better?

[nuclear465]

Aren't the SPs designed for radiators though? I'll consider the AF ones but from what I've heard the SPs are ideal for this usage.

Yes sorry i meant the other way !!

[heavygrounds]

The way i think is that pressure optimized fans like the SPs from Corsair are not suited to use on  radiators like the H100i, maybe for that, Air Flow optimized fans with high CFM and directional air flow are the better suited, you can go for AF series PWM and turn down the RPM a little to make them more silent.

 

Thank you, appreciate that video too

[MattP123]

Aren't the SPs designed for radiators though? I'll consider the AF ones but from what I've heard the SPs are ideal for this usage.

Yes, SP = Static Pressure, which is good for radiators. AF = Air Flow, not as good for radiators. 

These fans are good. http://pcpartpicker.com/part/scythe-case-fan-d1225c12b3ap13 and you can get two of them for the price of one Noctua Industrial Fan. 

[heavygrounds]

Yes sorry i meant the other way !!

I thought so, but I had to make sure, thank you

[heavygrounds]

Yes, SP = Static Pressure, which is good for radiators. AF = Air Flow, not as good for radiators. 

These fans are good. http://pcpartpicker.com/part/scythe-case-fan-d1225c12b3ap13 and you can get two of them for the price of one Noctua Industrial Fan. 

Thank you I'll have a look

[TheMcSame]

Okay every one is recommending the Noctuas, I guess it's probably worth spending more money on this kind of stuff anyways. How does the NF-F120 Industrial compare to the originals, are they any better?

The industrial fans are basically nf-f12 performance edition fans. They push a hell of a lot of air and they have high static pressure but at max rpm it's like 40+db. 

 

NF-F12 for a balance

NF-F12 industrial for high performance and a lot of noise.

[heavygrounds]

The industrial fans are basically nf-f12 performance edition fans. They push a hell of a lot of air and they have high static pressure but at max rpm it's like 40+db. 

 

NF-F12 for a balance

NF-F12 industrial for high performance and a lot of noise.

Thank you

[nuclear465]

JayzTwoCents makes very good explanations about this topic:

 

Air Flow vs Static Pressure

 

Case Pressure Explained

[heavygrounds]

Okay so here's how I see it:

 

Noctua NF-F12 - Awesome but wouldn't match my case

Noctua NF-F12 industrial - Awesome but are too loud

Corsair SP-120 - Not awesome but look great

And the others are either too expensive or just don't look that great...

Is it possible to spray paint a noctua?

 

Thank you everyone, this has helped me tons

[Lord Pantaloons]

Aren't the SPs designed for radiators though? I'll consider the AF ones but from what I've heard the SPs are ideal for this usage.

SP's are designed for radiators as their fan blade design will provide strong static pressure, however they only provide their rated static pressure at maximum RPM, while the performance editions have fantastic static pressure it only happens at 2350RPM and it's accompanied by a level of sound that can rival a small vacuum cleaner. The Quiet editions get around the noise(well they're supposed to but fail) by running at a lower RPM but at the cost of the amount of static pressure they are able to produce thus limiting their performance when used in their intended role. SP120 QE's have a lower static pressure at their max RPM of 1450 than Rosewill hyperborea's have at their max speed of 1300 RPM all while making considerably less noise and at nearly half the price.

 

SP120 QE- 1.29mm/H2O @ 1450RPM 23dBA

Hyperborea- 2.64mm/H2O @ 1300RPM 16ddBA

 

 

Hyperborea's are a better buy unless you really really want those coloured rings.

[TheMcSame]

Okay so here's how I see it:

 

Noctua NF-F12 - Awesome but wouldn't match my case

Noctua NF-F12 industrial - Awesome but are too loud

Corsair SP-120 - Not awesome but look great

And the others are either too expensive or just don't look that great...

Is it possible to spray paint a noctua?

 

Thank you everyone, this has helped me tons

You could but that would just cost more money that doesn't really need to be spent. You could go for some of these, it performs just as good as the Noctuas and it also has 3 modes.

 

-Ultra silent

-Silent (Similar performance to the NF-F12)

-Performance, 25 db at max RPM. 

 

Full specs: http://www.enermax.co.uk/twisterpressure

[heavygrounds]

SP's are designed for radiators as their fan blade design will provide strong static pressure, however they only provide their rated static pressure at maximum RPM, while the performance editions have fantastic static pressure it only happens at 2350RPM and it's accompanied by a level of sound that can rival a small vacuum cleaner. The Quiet editions get around the noise(well they're supposed to but fail) by running at a lower RPM but at the cost of the amount of static pressure they are able to produce thus limiting their performance when used in their intended role. SP120 QE's have a lower static pressure at their max RPM of 1450 than Rosewill hyperborea's have at their max speed of 1300 RPM all while making considerably less noise and at nearly half the price.

 

SP120 QE- 1.29mm/H2O @ 1450RPM 23dBA

Hyperborea- 2.64mm/H2O @ 1300RPM 16ddBA

 

 

Hyperborea's are a better buy unless you really really want those coloured rings.

Wow that's a massive difference, and no I don't really care about the rings .

 

Thank you

[loccilucas]

Yes, SP = Static Pressure, which is good for radiators. AF = Air Flow, not as good for radiators. 

These fans are good. http://pcpartpicker.com/part/scythe-case-fan-d1225c12b3ap13 and you can get two of them for the price of one Noctua Industrial Fan. 

You can't get 2 GT's for the price of one noctua as since they stopped making them they are very rare, and thus expensive.

[loccilucas]

Wow that's a massive difference, and no I don't really care about the rings .

 

Thank you

The industrial noctuas are not very loud considering they undervolt verywell, have you looked at noiseblocker blacksilent pros? because depending on where you live they can be pretty cheap and they are just as quiet as noctuas and perform quite similarily, also have a look at the silverston ap123's as they are considered among the best fans out there.

 

Also alittle advice for the future, ignore decibel readings, they are always measured inaccurately and don't tell you how loud the fan is at all. For example you get alot of cheapo crappy fans that say they are 18decibels loud etc, but you can guarantee they wont be as quiet as noctuas. Also, even if you sit completly still, holding your breath with your PC off the ambient noise in your house is about 30-40 decibels. 

[heavygrounds]

The industrial noctuas are not very loud considering they undervolt verywell, have you looked at noiseblocker blacksilent pros? because depending on where you live they can be pretty cheap and they are just as quiet as noctuas and perform quite similarily, also have a look at the silverston ap123's as they are considered among the best fans out there.

 

Also alittle advice for the future, ignore decibel readings, they are always measured inaccurately and don't tell you how loud the fan is at all. For example you get alot of cheapo crappy fans that say they are 18decibels loud etc, but you can guarantee they wont be as quiet as noctuas. Also, even if you sit completly still, holding your breath with your PC off the ambient noise in your house is about 30-40 decibels. 

Okay I'll have a look at the fans you've mentioned. Also, thank you for the advice, appreciate it