Intake fan question

JoeniiChan · July 2, 2016

I recently purchased a Coolermaster Megaflow 200mm fan for my BitFenix Prodigy to replace the 140mm stock fan for intake. Mainly for noise reasons.

It worked fine, but the rattling started about a week ago and got progressively worse. It rattles a ton on a cold boot, it gets quieter after a while and I can only hear it if I put my ear up to the case. Perhaps I'm being pedantic, but it gets super annoying after a while and leads me to believe it's only going to get worse. I could get another one, but reviews I keep seeing basically say the same thing (At least the negative ones). I was considering getting a BitFenix Spectre Pro (200mm) because BitFenix case + BitFenix fan = a good fit. Right? Well all the reviews are hit or miss.

My question is, do you guys have a 200mm you'd recommend, or do you recommend just getting a couple 140mm fans for intake? I'm open to ideas, I'm not super annoyed by the slightest noise, but since my computer's on my desk, I prefer it to be as quiet as possible. The Prodigy is full of holes so it's hard to make it completely silent. I just want good air flow and for it to be pretty quiet.

Thanks for any feedback!

Mira Yurizaki · July 2, 2016

To answer your question, look at the fans CFM and advertised noise and do a CFM:Noise ratio. Though with two fans, I don't know how the acoustics add together, but give it a few dB above what the advertised noise is.

bobman279 · July 2, 2016

4 hours ago, M.Yurizaki said:

To answer your question, look at the fans CFM and advertised noise and do a CFM:Noise ratio. Though with two fans, I don't know how the acoustics add together, but give it a few dB above what the advertised noise is.

If you are planning to use 2 fans vs 1 big one you could try the Noctua NF-F12 although they are 120mm there are very quiet (I don't personally own them BUT linus has recommended them in pretty much every video possible) but they do cost a little more then other fans.

Cyracus · July 2, 2016

1 hour ago, bobman279 said:

If you are planning to use 2 fans vs 1 big one you could try the Noctua NF-F12 although they are 120mm there are very quiet (I don't personally own them BUT linus has recommended them in pretty much every video possible) but they do cost a little more then other fans.

F12s are not good as case fans, excellent rad fans though.

Have 2 bitfenix spectre pros in my build, pretty near silent at ~700 rpm, can get pretty loud at full speed for silence freaks, but I have 2 kids so I could run them full speed and it wouldn't be that bad

SSL · July 2, 2016

Dual 140mm. Or even 120mm if they're good. Computer fans do not scale well in performance with diameter because the thickness stays the same at 25mm.

Get a fan with a quality bearing rated to 150,000 hrs+. Chances are that coolermaster has a crummy sleeve bearing that can't handle the weight of the 200mm impeller.

JoeniiChan · July 2, 2016

13 hours ago, M.Yurizaki said:

To answer your question, look at the fans CFM and advertised noise and do a CFM:Noise ratio. Though with two fans, I don't know how the acoustics add together, but give it a few dB above what the advertised noise is.

Okay, thank you.

9 hours ago, bobman279 said:

If you are planning to use 2 fans vs 1 big one you could try the Noctua NF-F12 although they are 120mm there are very quiet (I don't personally own them BUT linus has recommended them in pretty much every video possible) but they do cost a little more then other fans.

I have an NF-F12 on my Hyper 212 Evo.

They're nice fans, $20 each though. I think I paid $16 for my 200mm fan. I was considering getting Phanteks or be quiet! ones, I trust Noctua is quiet, but $37 for two 120mm vs $30 for two 140mm fans for slightly better cooling isn't worth it for me.

7 hours ago, Cyracus said:

F12s are not good as case fans, excellent rad fans though.

Have 2 bitfenix spectre pros in my build, pretty near silent at ~700 rpm, can get pretty loud at full speed for silence freaks, but I have 2 kids so I could run them full speed and it wouldn't be that bad

I was considering getting the 200mm Spectre Pro, but it seems really hit or miss.

6 hours ago, SSL said:

Dual 140mm. Or even 120mm if they're good. Computer fans do not scale well in performance with diameter because the thickness stays the same at 25mm.

Get a fan with a quality bearing rated to 150,000 hrs+. Chances are that coolermaster has a crummy sleeve bearing that can't handle the weight of the 200mm impeller.

I heard the Antec TwoCool 140mm are good, I'm just trying to find something reputable. It seems like no matter where I look people say something different.