Help choosing: SilenX 120mm 11dBA or 14 dBA?

[itachi]

Hi, I have just noticed that KustomPCs have these back in stock. I'm planning to buy a 80mm-120mm fan adapter and get one of these fans for my Shuttle SN45G. I used to have a Noiseblocker S3 80mm in there before but I came back home one day to find that there was a crack in the middle round part of the fan so it went straight into the bin. Too bad since it was a nice looking fan with it's transparant clear and blue plastic... Anyways, with my stock Sunon fan, I used to get around 50C, which I checked in the BIOs and using SiSoft Sandra, but the last time I actually checked was nearly 2 months ago! I finally dremelled out the grill today and my temperatures have dropped by at least 5C (8-10C when idle and 5C when playing a game). I even managed to overclock my 2400+ to a 2700+ with no problems and it only rose about 2C.

However, the Shuttle is still too loud for me as I have it on a table right next to my bed! I know both fans above are really quiet and I would probably go for the 14dBA one since that has an airflow of 58CFM, while the 11dBA has an airflow of 40CFM. I know that the 40CFM is more than enough for my 2400+ but I may replace it with a 2500+ XP-M soon and you can never have enough CFM so the more the better! So what I want to know is: will I notice a difference between the 11dBA and the 14dBA one, especially at night when it's dead quiet and the Shuttle is right beside my bed, usually left on to download stuff. I heard somewhere that a difference of 3dB (or was it 6dB) means double in volume so if this is true, then that is quite something right? But if that is so, since my Sunon fan is like 36dBA, wouldn't the 14dBA still be way more quiet than my current fan then, so much that I probably wouldn't notice the difference between the 11dBA and the 14dBA anyways?

If the 11dBA is significantly quieter than the 14dBA, then I will go for that since the 40CFM is still more than enough anyways but if there's hardly any difference, I'll go for the 14dBA and enjoy the extra airflow :D So can someone offer any opinions please? Thanks

[theuncharmed]

Can you sleep with the 36db fan ok? If so go with the 14 and enjoy the airflow. (this is a generalisation)

However before you part with your cash ask the forums at what pitch the fans spin at.

My arctic cooling fans spin at a pitch of A and therefore its like a whinning noise and it keeps me up, I've never had a silenx fan so dont know what the pitch is like and so if its low like a C or a D then that should be fine if not you may find that you'll have rattling in your ears and this can cause headaches, back trouble and increased stress etc :mad: . You may be fine and just ignore it because the noise of the HDD may be louder and you wont even notice the pitch of the fans.
:confused:
sorry :rolleyes: I've been studying into the effects of PC noise on employees and its interesting that you can change peoples lives with the noise and pitch of a fan PM if you want to know more.

[itachi]

Well, I think I could sleep with it but I still would like it to be a bit more quiet because I often revise late at night (when it's the most quiet in the house) and I can't really concentrate, even if the Shuttle is at the other end of the room! So I think if the 14dBA SilenX is even half as quiet as my current Sunon fan, then I'm happy! So if I do need to use the internet or something, I just use my dead-silent iBook, lol.

I have noticed that since cutting out the grill yesterday, my fan doesn't like roar up and down anymore which is a relief really. I would say that the hard drive when at full load is certainly the more annoying noise now. So yea, I guess it's pitch ain't that high. I will give it another go tonight and play a game or something for half an hour and see how much louder my Shuttle is.

[theuncharmed]

You could get a fan controller and turn the case fans down real low :cool: when your revising and then back up when its actually doing something, let it get hot (test it first) overnight and it wont be a problem just when your using it for demanding apps that you will need to turn the fans up. Downloads shouldnt cause too much CPU pressue and certianly your graphics card will work in 2D mode as well which should stop more heat being generated. - just turn 3D back on for games!!!

Or just turn it off when you need to revise - downloads cant be that important if your revising for the big day!

[itachi]

Well, I will probably just set the fan to Low or something in the BIOS and if my temps do become dangerously low and I cannot be bothered to always go into BIOS to change it, then I might consider getting a fan controller. But anyways, like I said, if the SilenX fans can just produce like half the noise of my Sunon fan, then I would be happy! Do you think the 14dBA one will offer at least that much for me? And yea, I guess I should really just unplug my PC and store it away or something, but it's just the combination of a 5-month summer break and 2MB broadband which is why I can't resist downloading now and prepare myself to have fun immediately when the exams finish!

And yea, I forgot to mention that I (unfortunately) share my room with a younger sibling who has to wake up early for school, and I'm usually up these days until like 7am, which I blame on the lack of morning lectures last semester, lol. Shuttle doesn't seem to bother him though but then again, I never asked him....

So yea, do you believe that the 14dBA one will be half as loud because I think they measured that at the lowest setting possible and not in normal circumstances. How many dBA do you believe is half as loud as my 36dBA or so Sunon fan?

[Shirty2000]

Hi i just bought one of these Fans with a 80mm to 120mm adapter. I was planning on replacing my Vantec fan that cools the ICE system, would it be ok to mount this fan on the back of the shuttle sucking out as opposed to inside the shuttle blowing out?

Thanks

[theuncharmed]

to be honest I'm not sure of the exact differences between the fan and decibel ratings, but I'll tell you a story...yes you can sit there and cross your legs and fold your arms if you want too.

I had a dr thermal CPU fan (no case fans) that was hitting 40db! and then I changed to 6, 20db fans throughout the case and I had to keep checking that it was on :eek:

You'll see a huge difference when you get the fan and of course it will be super quiet. Sadly the world isnt quiet, so by removing the one noise you may find another and the cycle goes on till all the noises in the room are below 14 and then you need to upgrade to the 11...life is cruel.

Go buy the fan(14), if you dont like it or are not that impressed sell it to me :D

Siblings have no thoughts apart from how to 'borrow' your stuff. Stay at a distance and prod occasionally for discomfort.

[guddler]

You mean like this by any chance :)

http://www.guddler.co.uk/images/dscf0015.jpg

That SN41G2 has a Zalman passive northbridge cooler, no fan inside the case, the rear vent cut out, then 80-120mm adapter, then a 120mm silenx pulling out from the rear. It really is a silent PC. I also cut the bottom of the drive bay out (so it became just two halves) as the HDD was getting rather hot!

The PC only doesn't have it's case on because the case was faulty and always used to vibrate. That and i'm in the middle of doing some work on my "server" right now so i needed the DVDRam installed and haven't got round to replacing the CDRW that's currently fitted!

[itachi]

Ok, cheers. I'll just buy the 14dBA one soon then. I'm pretty confident it will be much more quiet than my 36dBA Sunon fan!

[itachi]

How much more quiet is the SilenX 11dBA fan more than the stock Sunon fan? I'm trying to decide whether to go for the 11dBA or the 14dBA. If the 14dBA is half as quiet as my Sunon fan at the moment, then I would just go for that, plus the 56CFM airflow or something would be nice too! But if the 11dBA is even WAY MORE quiet than the 14dBA, then the 11dBA it is. The 3dBA difference isn't noticeable at night is it?

[Big Adam]

Threads merged

[theuncharmed]

go for the 14db, you will upgrade sooner or later and then you'll be buying another £20 fan. but the 14db and be done with it, theres a difference in db between the 11 and the 14 but the fluxtuation of any fan can bridge that gap anyway.

This is far to much of a technical (?) thread for someone buying a fan, get the 14 fan and be happy. Make sure you stop the vibration by putting padding between the fan and the adapter and then the case and then also make sure that the fan isnt pointed directly at anything less than 8 inches away, so you dont get the sound bounced back onto you.

Then let me know how it goes.

[itachi]

Do you think I will still need to keep my Sunon 80mm inside the case or will the 120mm fan outside be enough? I'm just curious because once the 120mm fan is installed, it will be bit far from the ICE vent, plus I'm not too sure whether having 2 fans with different CFMs will disrupt the overall airflow.

However, I think I might delay buying the fan until my summer break starts in 2 weeks time though. Really need to put that Shuttle away for the time being and concentrate 100% on my exams.... :(

[theuncharmed]

The second fan may disrupt the airflow, yes. however it depends on how the airflow is being fed to the first fan?

Not really sure of the ins and outs of the shuttle casing. But, if the fan is feeding from a different source (intake?) then it should be fine. If its the same course then either partition the source or even create a better source airflow by increasing the intake. (do you have an intake?)

The high CFM on the 120mm fan will probably dominate the throughflow, so either increase the 80 to a 120 or increase the intake so at least the 80 will get something.

if however the 80 is primarily used to chuck heat out then it should be no big iffy, depends on the layout (again., dont know shuttle cases).

Send me a pic and I'll work out the effects, need a top down pic (open case, doh!) and a side view as well. even if you dont want to know send the pics anyway, spares my boredom for 20 minutes :D

[itachi]

Yep, I'll try and take some pictures when I get it done. I will probably just take out the 80mm fan though since the 120mm should be enough on it's own.

[T00thBru5h]

I've had 5 SilenX fans and I can quite honestly say they were all a waste of money. I bought generic fan, slammed it onto a fan controller:

1. It was just as quiet
2. Pushed alot more air
3. Cost me 4 quid and not 15!

[jellybeard999]

i got some ebuyer specials (89p each) 120mm

at 7v theyre quiet as can be and push decent air, at 12v theyre about 35dba and push as much as my 85cfm evercools i have on my rad

[itachi]

Ah man, now I'll have to rethink this, lol. I'm not too bothered about getting more airflow. As long as it pushes over 30-something CFM, like my stock Sunon fan and keeps my CPU temps down, I'm happy. Cutting out the real grill dropped the temps a few degrees but since the weather people are predicting that this summer will be quite hot (London), I don't want my CPU temps to go over 50C too often. I'm more concerned about the noise though. Basically, ANY fan which is at least half as loud as my current Sunon fan, and doesn't roar up and down is enough for me, as I do keep my PC on overnight to download. So what dBA rating would you guys say I have as the max which will be half as loud as my current Sunon so that I can start narrowing down options?

The 14 dBA rating of the Silenx fan was what attracted me to it, plus it states that it can push over 50CFM. I'm not too bothered about the airflow too much now since 120mm fans generally push lots of air around but I'm not too sure on the 14 dBA rating. They must have did lab tests and picked the best environment or something, not a typical environment, setup and temps etc...

What do you guys think of the Nexus 22.8dBA 120mm Case Fan Orange and Akasa Ultra Quiet 120mm Amber Case Fan then? They are like £5 cheaper than the Silenx for a start... And what's this stuff about a 7V and 12V? Also, I'm not too sure on them adjustor thingies you get with fans because I got a Noiseblocker S3 once with one of them knobs and they got so hot after a little while...

[itachi]

Just would like to update that I eventually bought the Akasa 120mm Amber fan from a member here and I'm really happy with it. My CPU temps are around 40C on average and 42C on load while today (hottest day this year so far, 29C or so), it averaged around 43C and 45-46C on load. I didn't seem to notice much difference in noise compared to my stock Sunon fan at first but now I do. I have walked into my room a few times wondering why the PC isn't on (as I usually leave it on to download) and it actually is! I'm even able to turn the setting in BIOS to Full and it makes no difference in noise. Plus, it doesn't roar up and down when it gets intense too. Highly recommend this fan although I still wouldn't mind trying out the 14dBA/50CFM+ Silenx fan one day since the Akasa is 18dBA/44CFM or so. Even if it wasn't much quieter, I wouldn't mind having the extra CFM though, lol.

[YorkieBen]

imo I would take teh silnex's dba ratings with a pinch of salt. I have 2 80mm '14dba' fans and they are quiet but not that quiet.

[PacDwell]

The silenx fans are quiet at the expense of not moving as much air as other fans. I can hear my Zalman CPU fan (92mm) over the SilenX fans.

I've got three 120mm SilenX fans, and whilst they don't blow as cold as some fans, they do at least move the hot air from inside my case to the outside, which accomplishes the job I 'told' them to do.