Pick and chose

[BluJay614]

I'm considering the Phanteks Enthoo Luxe (the tempered glass version), and I know it can support either a 200mm fan, or 2x120mm/140mm fans on the front intake. (you can do 3x120mm if you remove the optical drive bays, but being as I may use those at some point in the future, and it seems like all I would be doing is choking the third fan, Im not really considering that option.) Im looking for a general consensus as to which set up you would go with and why. This is actually my first build, and I want to make sure there is alot of airflow going threw this badboy.

[BluJay614]

Quick citation, I do want this thing to be quiet as well. I may be a few feet from this thing when using it, but that doesn't mean I want a leaf blower.

[Vegetable]

A single 200mm fan would move the most air with the least amount of noise so long as you don't get a $3 fan

[BluJay614]

20 minutes ago, Vegetable said:

A single 200mm fan would move the most air with the least amount of noise so long as you don't get a $3 fan

Can you sugest a good 200mm fan? If I go with the 2x140mm I was thinking of going with a couple Aerocool DS 140mm fans. http://www.aerocool.us/accessory/images/dsfan_14bk.html At 12V they are suppost to spin at 1500RPM, and produce 93.4CFM, 1.98 mmH2O, and 23.4 dBA. This is again at full speed, and the downside is they are only 3 pin, not 4.

[WoodenMarker]

3 hours ago, BluJay614 said:

Can you sugest a good 200mm fan? If I go with the 2x140mm I was thinking of going with a couple Aerocool DS 140mm fans. http://www.aerocool.us/accessory/images/dsfan_14bk.html At 12V they are suppost to spin at 1500RPM, and produce 93.4CFM, 1.98 mmH2O, and 23.4 dBA. This is again at full speed, and the downside is they are only 3 pin, not 4.

Aerocool DS are good but not the best. 

NF-A14's or SW3's would probably be your best option.

A 200mm would be great if all things else were equal but there's a wider selection of 140mm fans that end up being better. 

[BluJay614]

2 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

Aerocool DS are good but not the best. 

NF-A14's or SW3's would probably be your best option.

A 200mm would be great if all things else were equal but there's a wider selection of 140mm fans that end up being better. 

Admitedly, I do kinda wish they where PWM, though otherwise I don't quite see how the NF-A14's(and which version) or the SW3's. If you could explain why they are so much better(besides just lower noise) I'd be more then happy to listen to what you have to say.

[WoodenMarker]

17 hours ago, BluJay614 said:

Admitedly, I do kinda wish they where PWM, though otherwise I don't quite see how the NF-A14's(and which version) or the SW3's. If you could explain why they are so much better(besides just lower noise) I'd be more then happy to listen to what you have to say.

They both come in pwm. Which version you'd want to go with depends on how you'd want to control them.

NF-A14's come with PWM, FLX, and ULN for pwm control, DC, or a lower rpm range for when the header you're using doesn't have finer control respectively. 

SW3's just have a higher speed variant if you need a higher upper limit on performance. Either that or the normal speed is fine.

What do you care about asides from noise? If noise isn't an issue, cheap high speed fans will always give more performance and Aerocool DS fans fall behind compared to NF-A14's and SW3's in every area asides from aesthetics. 

[BluJay614]

Their specs don't seem to match.............. I honestly could care less about PWM. While, yes, it would be nice if they where, but it doesn't bother me that they aren't. If I want to control them further, I'd get a 5.25" bay fan controller. From what I understand, Noctua fans also get ALOT louder and are more engineered for a more industrial application. As far as SW3's, their big thing is silent operation. Knowing that I would be putting some of these on a radiator, and some on the front, meaning I'd want them to be good at static pressure, though I'd still like to be getting a good amount of airflow, the DS fans are a great choice. According to play3r, eteknix, and kitguru, they are outstanding fans, especially for the price.

[WoodenMarker]

29 minutes ago, BluJay614 said:

Their specs don't seem to match.............. I honestly could care less about PWM. While, yes, it would be nice if they where, but it doesn't bother me that they aren't. If I want to control them further, I'd get a 5.25" bay fan controller. From what I understand, Noctua fans also get ALOT louder and are more engineered for a more industrial application. As far as SW3's, their big thing is silent operation. Knowing that I would be putting some of these on a radiator, and some on the front, meaning I'd want them to be good at static pressure, though I'd still like to be getting a good amount of airflow, the DS fans are a great choice. According to play3r, eteknix, and kitguru, they are outstanding fans, especially for the price.

There's no regulation on how fan specs are measured. For the most part, they're bull and should be ignored. Look at benchmarks or in-depth reviews instead. 

Noctuas aren't that loud unless you run them at max speed which usually isn't necessary. They can be extremely quiet and aren't engineered for an industrial application outside iPPC's. 

If you want good static pressure for a rad, SW3's and NF-A14's work well. There's no reason to get Aerocool DS over them asides from price or aesthetics. 

Make sure to quote a post or tag a member when replying or else they won't get a notification that you replied to them.
 

[BluJay614]

57 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

There's no regulation on how fan specs are measured. For the most part, they're bull and should be ignored. Look at benchmarks or in-depth reviews instead. 

Noctuas aren't that loud unless you run them at max speed which usually isn't necessary. They can be extremely quiet and aren't engineered for an industrial application outside iPPC's. 

If you want good static pressure for a rad, SW3's and NF-A14's work well. There's no reason to get Aerocool DS over them asides from price or aesthetics. 

Make sure to quote a post or tag a member when replying or else they won't get a notification that you replied to them.
 

KitGuru - http://www.kitguru.net/components/cooling/zardon/aerocool-ds-dead-silence-fan-120mm-and-140mm-review/

Eteknix - http://www.eteknix.com/aerocool-ds-dead-silence-120mm-140mm-fan-review/

Play3r - https://play3r.net/reviews/aerocool-dead-silence-120mm-140mm-case-fan-review/

Goldfries - https://www.goldfries.com/hardware-reviews/aerocool-ds-dead-silence-120mm-casing-fan-review/

Im not taking alot of stock from Goldfries for the noise due to the unrealistic 1cm distance from the fan.

[WoodenMarker]

1 hour ago, BluJay614 said:

KitGuru - http://www.kitguru.net/components/cooling/zardon/aerocool-ds-dead-silence-fan-120mm-and-140mm-review/

Eteknix - http://www.eteknix.com/aerocool-ds-dead-silence-120mm-140mm-fan-review/

Play3r - https://play3r.net/reviews/aerocool-dead-silence-120mm-140mm-case-fan-review/

Goldfries - https://www.goldfries.com/hardware-reviews/aerocool-ds-dead-silence-120mm-casing-fan-review/

Im not taking alot of stock from Goldfries for the noise due to the unrealistic 1cm distance from the fan.

Goldfries and KitGuru are both comparing to relatively loud fans which don't give a good idea of how Aerocool DS fans perform compared to good aftermarket fans. 

Eteknix only compares to the one stock Silent Wings fan showing that it's louder and performs better. Both they and Play3r say that they are virtually silent but I'd disagree on that. It's probably the result of preference when it comes to noise. Silent Wings are easily quieter and smoother sounding.

If you don't care for better acoustics and want more performance, Aerocool DS are good but certainly not the best. NF-A14's perform as well and can be much quieter. 

[BluJay614]

10 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

Goldfries and KitGuru are both comparing to relatively loud fans which don't give a good idea of how Aerocool DS fans perform compared to good aftermarket fans. 

Eteknix only compares to the one stock Silent Wings fan showing that it's louder and performs better. Both they and Play3r say that they are virtually silent but I'd disagree on that. It's probably the result of preference when it comes to noise. Silent Wings are easily quieter and smoother sounding.

If you don't care for better acoustics and want more performance, Aerocool DS are good but certainly not the best. NF-A14's perform as well and can be much quieter. 

Im actually having a really hard time finding reviews for the silent wings 3

[WoodenMarker]

32 minutes ago, BluJay614 said:

Im actually having a really hard time finding reviews for the silent wings 3

http://thermalbench.com/2016/09/22/be-quiet-silent-wings-3-140-mm-fan/3/

http://thermalbench.com/2016/10/31/be-quiet-silent-wings-3-140-mm-high-speed-fan/3/

[BluJay614]

19 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

http://thermalbench.com/2016/09/22/be-quiet-silent-wings-3-140-mm-fan/3/

http://thermalbench.com/2016/10/31/be-quiet-silent-wings-3-140-mm-high-speed-fan/3/

basically, unless I want to go with fans that will be absolutely terrible, or go against the black and red color scheme of my build, I would have to go with the be quiet! SW3 fans, and I should avoid KitGuru, Eteknix, Play3r, and Goldfries when it comes to reviews, cause they either don't know what they are doing or are biased, and thusly throwing their reviews to make their readers buy bad products. Did I miss anything?

 

[WoodenMarker]

3 minutes ago, BluJay614 said:

basically, unless I want to go with fans that will be absolutely terrible, or go against the black and red color scheme of my build, I would have to go with the be quiet! SW3 fans, and I should avoid KitGuru, Eteknix, Play3r, and Goldfries when it comes to reviews, cause they either don't know what they are doing or are biased, and thusly throwing their reviews to make their readers buy bad products. Did I miss anything?

No, SW3's are among the best of the best. I already said Aerocool DS are good in my first post.

[BluJay614]

5 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

No, SW3's are among the best of the best. I already said Aerocool DS are good in my first post.

To be honest, the way I would have it set up is so I'd probably never see all but one of the fans. Not to mention, if I want better proformance, I'd want to go with the best of the best, and not just good, I'd buy the SW3's and fork out the extra $5/fan. There are always LED strips if I really want lighting.

[WoodenMarker]

11 minutes ago, BluJay614 said:

To be honest, the way I would have it set up is so I'd probably never see all but one of the fans. Not to mention, if I want better proformance, I'd want to go with the best of the best, and not just good, I'd buy the SW3's and fork out the extra $5/fan. There are always LED strips if I really want lighting.

I wouldn't use led fans as a primary source of lighting unless you only want dimly lit internals or if the fans are an accent to the theme. I'd suggest going with the high-speed variant if you want more performance. 

If SW3's are really just $5 more, they're definitely the better buy. They're usually ~$20 and the Aerocool DS is a better buy around $10-12 unless you're set on the aesthetic.

[BluJay614]

2 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

I wouldn't use led fans as a primary source of lighting unless you only want dimly lit internals or if the fans are an accent to the theme. I'd suggest going with the high-speed variant if you want more performance. 

If SW3's are really just $5 more, they're definitely the better buy. They're usually ~$20 and the Aerocool DS is a better buy around $10 unless you're set on the aesthetic.

I honestly thought of the lighting more as accents, and I can only find them at $15-16 min. On newegg they are $19.99

[WoodenMarker]

12 minutes ago, BluJay614 said:

I honestly thought of the lighting more as accents, and I can only find them at $15-16 min. On newegg they are $19.99

Aerocool DS fans look cool on their own but aren't much different than the average red led fan when spinning.

Spoiler

I think that Thermaltake Riings would look much nicer in the Luxe.

Spoiler

 

[BluJay614]

I'm doubtful there'd be anything that would shine threw the opening in the front and look decent, so that's where some better intake fans with good static pressure would be good to have.

[BluJay614]

Im looking at using a combination of fans in my system. I know that bequiet!'s SW3's are really good. I've also heard good things about the cougar vortex fans. I'd be using the PWM fans of each, but I'd love to know which you think is better, and WHY. I am looking at using them for intake and on a 360 rad for exhaust in a pull configuration. (additionally I'm thinking about using a Riing fan in the back as the only fan that would actually be visible. It would also serve as exhaust, but mainly for accent lighting.)

[WoodenMarker]

18 hours ago, BluJay614 said:

I know that bequiet!'s SW3's are really good. I've also heard good things about the cougar vortex fans. I'd be using the PWM fans of each, but I'd love to know which you think is better, and WHY.

SW3's are better and quieter. Vortex's

are a bit cheaper. 

If you're going to use Riings, Vortex's will be quiet enough and work just as well. GP-12's are even cheaper and are also good: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/MVYWGX/fractal-design-case-fan-fdfandyngp12bk

 

Please don't make multiple threads for the same discussion--they have been  merged. 

[BluJay614]

3 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

SW3's are better and quieter. Vortex's

are a bit cheaper. 

If you're going to use Riings, Vortex's will be quiet enough and work just as well. GP-12's are even cheaper and are also good: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/MVYWGX/fractal-design-case-fan-fdfandyngp12bk

 

Please don't make multiple threads for the same discussion--they have been  merged. 

Trying to think about air pressure along with performance, noise, and aesthetics(more or less in that order). As far as the GP-12's, would you go with the GP-12's or the GP-12 X2's?

The Vortex (with the black fan blades) Im finding is starting at $14.69

The SW3 PWM High Speed editions are starting at $19.99.

[WoodenMarker]

6 hours ago, BluJay614 said:

Trying to think about air pressure along with performance, noise, and aesthetics(more or less in that order). As far as the GP-12's, would you go with the GP-12's or the GP-12 X2's?

The Vortex (with the black fan blades) Im finding is starting at $14.69

The SW3 PWM High Speed editions are starting at $19.99.

X2's just seem to be an update for longevity. I wouldn't bother spending more for them. The point is that they'd be cheaper. 

Another suggestion I forgot to mention  was the Enermax Advance: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/kFBv6h/enermax-case-fan-ucmaa12a

They're all good choices at their respective price points. 

[BluJay614]

18 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

X2's just seem to be an update for longevity. I wouldn't bother spending more for them. The point is that they'd be cheaper. 

Another suggestion I forgot to mention  was the Enermax Advance: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/kFBv6h/enermax-case-fan-ucmaa12a

They're all good choices at their respective price points. 

The vortex and SW3 fans seem to present good static pressure, without really sacrificing much on airflow. The Enermax you listed seems to be more on the end of airflow. Am i right in this line of thought?