Liquid Cooling Fan Suggestiong

[vitafortis]

So, I recently noticed than one or two of the fans that are on my 2x120 rad are going bad, as there's an odd noise produced from the radiator when the system is on, and reacts to the power level set to those fans. Now, I installed the liquid cooling system back in June/July, and used relatively cheap fans, about $10 each, and got 4 of them, as I didn't feel like spending too much at the time. Ever since then, however, I learned the importance of good fans, how static pressure applies to cooling, and that you do in fact get what you pay for.

Now, after watching a lot of Linus' videos, I noticed that he keeps advocating Noctua's, but I was wondering if there were any other good fans out there, that aren't extremely expensive, and relatively quiet. If possible, I'd like to have a black fan with either a red or blue accent, or built in LED's into the fan though it's not needed.

 

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Nate

[C0LL0SS0S]

Look into EKWB Vardar fans seem really good

[gilm0re3]

Corsair SP Quiet Edition fans?

[SuperPug]

-

 

Thought Noctuas were overhyped until i got some nf-p12 they rock! Other good fans are Bequiet silentwings and enemrax magma adv. The Corsair SP120 are good aswell...

[Leonard]

On a budget......

Akasa Viper(both 120 and 140mm), Apache(both 120 and 140mm) and Piranha (120mm only)

 

You own fort knox......

Noctua nff12 (both normal and industrial)

[vitafortis]

Corsair SP Quiet Edition fans?

Looked into those, and noticed that they have a relatively low static pressure compared to other fans, but are rather quiet. Is it a huge deal though, is what I'm wondering. I don't need an absolute silent case, but I don't want to sacrifice too much cooling performance either. My system right now is 4 years old, minus the new Graphics Card and PSU, and I'd like to hand it down to my brother's, without them having to worry about the fans dying in the next two years or so.

[vitafortis]

On a budget......

Akasa Viper(both 120 and 140mm), Apache(both 120 and 140mm) and Piranha (120mm only)

 

You own fort knox......

Noctua nff12 (both normal and industrial)

 

I don't own fort knox, but I'm not afraid to break the bank a bit if they're THAT much better. 

[Leonard]

I don't own fort knox, but I'm not afraid to break the bank a bit if they're THAT much better. 

I wouldn't say they are that much better overall but the noctuas are a better build feel and have a bit more static pressure but more noise too.

 

I personally chose the Apaches both the 120 and 140mm as they are more quiet than the piranha and viper and come in all black and the 120mm are very quiet at 12v = 1300rpm and silent at say 1100 - 1200 rpm and still cool my 360mm radiator nicely and the 140mm versions give great air flow at low rpm and are just as quiet at low rps but a bit noisy at 12v but it is more air whooshing than vibration and fan motor noise. 

 

One of my customers loves the Viper because of the looks and he doesn't mind the noise as he has his case on the ground and always uses his surround sound system when he is using his PC.

[vitafortis]

I wouldn't say they are that much better overall but the noctuas are a better build feel and have a bit more static pressure but more noise too.

I personally chose the Apaches both the 120 and 140mm as they are more quiet than the piranha and viper and come in all black and the 120mm are very quiet at 12v = 1300rpm and silent at say 1100 - 1200 rpm and still cool my 360mm radiator nicely and the 140mm versions give great air flow at low rpm and are just as quiet at low rps but a bit noisy at 12v but it is more air whooshing than vibration and fan motor noise.

One of my customers loves the Viper because of the looks and he doesn't mind the noise as he has his case on the ground and always uses his surround sound system when he is using his PC.

Thanks for the reply. I will look into those. Do you know anything about the Corsair SP120's that were stated above?

[Tim Drake]

Corsair SP Quiet Edition fans?

Ew Corsair fans are terrible

[Tim Drake]

Thanks for the reply. I will look into those. Do you know anything about the Corsair SP120's that were stated above?

Terribly overpriced for how loud it is.

[gilm0re3]

Ew Corsair fans are terrible

Not if you run them at low rpms.

[dubdub]

Aerocool is pretty decent, 18$ cad .. they are quiet and look quite nice if your into theme building, they have a few different color options.. I went with ds-120mm black and white fan, I have heard that the 140mm do have some vibration issues when turned upside down though.http://www.aerocool.us/accessory/images/dsfan_12white.html . They have fully sleeved cables, 3pin and 4pin adapter along with molex as well! I would have loved to buy some noctua's  but could not put those brown/beige fans in my black and white build, only reason i did not purchase them. This is a thread I created in January http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/294498-best-low-noise-static-pressure-fans/ hope this helps!

[Tim Drake]

Not if you run them at low rpms.

Which defeats the purpose because then the static pressure sucks..

[Tim Drake]

Aerocool is pretty decent, 18$ cad .. they are quiet and look quite nice if your into theme building, they have a few different color options.. I went with ds-120mm black and white fan, I have heard that the 140mm do have some vibration issues when turned upside down though.http://www.aerocool.us/accessory/images/dsfan_12white.html . They have fully sleeved cables, 3pin and 4pin adapter along with molex as well! I would have loved to buy some noctua's  but could not put those brown/beige fans in my black and white build, only reason i did not purchase them. This is a thread I created in January http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/294498-best-low-noise-static-pressure-fans/ hope this helps!

The DS Aerocool fan has terrible static pressure...

[Leonard]

Thanks for the reply. I will look into those. Do you know anything about the Corsair SP120's that were stated above?

Corsair fans are over rated and noisy and and the quiet editions are quietish but with low static pressure. Other good static pressure fans are AP121s and Gentle Typhoon 1850.

[Agosto]

NF F12. For everything.

 

They're just THE 120mm fans. They have really good static pressure and a great focused airflow. 

[vitafortis]

Thanks everyone. I figured that the Corsairs would be bad with the low static pressure. I did a quick search for the Noctua's, and found a lot of different NF-F12 models. I may look into the Apache's that were stated earlier. As far as system building, I am a fan of consistency with colors, and can't stand to put brown/beige NF-F12's into my red/black system, even if they are great. 

 

Thanks again everyone for the replies. 

[Agosto]

Thanks everyone. I figured that the Corsairs would be bad with the low static pressure. I did a quick search for the Noctua's, and found a lot of different NF-F12 models. I may look into the Apache's that were stated earlier. As far as system building, I am a fan of consistency with colors, and can't stand to put brown/beige NF-F12's into my red/black system, even if they are great. 

 

Thanks again everyone for the replies. 

 

 

Don't get the Apaches/Vipers, They're good on paper but those stats are completely messed up, especially static pressure

[vitafortis]

Don't get the Apaches/Vipers, They're good on paper but those stats are completely messed up, especially static pressure

 

What other fans would you suggest other than the Noctua NF-F12's?

[dubdub]

Vardar fans or Noiseblockers might be good one's to look at.

[Necrodead]

I'm going to chime in and say that I find the cougar fans (the hydro-bering ones, not the 'hyperspin') very quiet and have good static pressure, and are cheaper than most quality fans too. I found that the corsair SP quiet was actually too loud for my taste, but they perform well. And I want to try the EK Vardar, they have been recieveing some good hype, I hear they are dead silent. Pun intended.