120mm fans - which one?

[theuncharmed]

Hi :D

I'm building a desk PC and I'm going to have 2 intakes and 2 exausts with another vent/exhaust for the PSU.

I need to know whats the best fan available to shift some air and stay quiet at the same time. 50/50 split. Money is not important, but they need to be reliable.

All fans will be 120x120x25

options:

silenx 11 (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_2533.html)

Silenx 14 (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_2530.html)

Nexus (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_2578.html)

I've heard bad things with the Silenx fans but no one has ever given a reason as to why they would never buy them again. The nexus seem to have good reviews, but if the specs are to be believed (and this is why I'm asking) then the Silenx will be my first choice.

over to you,

[theuncharmed]

someone help me - please. :)

[rover214]

try the akasa amber fans

http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_2591.html

i have one in a push/pull setup on me shuttle, pretty quiet if you ask me :)

[Stocky]

The question of 120mm fans comes up quite a bit, maybe someone should sort a spec sheet out of all the different ones and sticky it!

I use the Thermaltake Thunderblades. - They shift 78CFM @ 21dB which I think is quite reasonable, so might be worth considering.

One thing that puzzles me is 'Fan Pressure' - surely this is quite important? Especially if cooling a rad? (just something no one seems to mention)

[theuncharmed]

sadly 20db from the akasa and 21db from the thunderblades is too much. i already have 20db fans and there too noisy :(

I'll buy one of each of the fans and sell the ones i dont want on the sales forum. then at least I'll be happy. just thought someone might be able to tell me why Silenx are a 50/50 with PC users.

The question of 120mm fans comes up quite a bit, maybe someone should sort a spec sheet out of all the different ones and sticky it!

I tried the search function but it wouldnt work :confused: but I agree someone should make a sticky.

[PHILIP1193]

20db is very quiet just get silent x if u want the quietness but there will b a trade off every time between noise and cfm's

Phil

[theuncharmed]

right I'll ignore the nexus, I'll get both of the Silenx types and see what there good for.

I just wish someone would tell me why they dont like Silenx. If its reliabilty then I need to no, the fans will be built into the desk so the option of easily removing them will not be there.

I've got a system that doesnt produce too much heat, well not enough to challenege 4x120mm fans anyway.

Thanks for the help.

[bluspikez]

IMO, silent fans don't move enough air. That is why I haven't gone for silent fans myself, and why I stick with high CFM fans on fan controllers so I can get the performance I want when I need it and the sound can go away when my PC is idling. Just a thought, but it may be what others feel...

[theuncharmed]

well, I decided to go with 2 intakes on my desk PC and then 2 exhausts - surely this should be enough for any system even if they are slow spinning and therefore silent?

Before I make my order I'm going to do some acoustic tests on some fans i have spare and see what rebound noise I get from the wall behind where my desk will go. if its high I'll stick with the 14's and maybe 11's if its low then well I'll opt for akasa/nexus/thunderblades.

I may increase the exhausts so theres a negative airflow through the desk/case and maybe even include a fan inside the PC holding case.

I'll drop a design on here once I'm finished so you can see what it will be like, but suffice to say it will look like a normal desk, 4 posts one top.

[PacDwell]

Hi

I've got 3 120mm SilenX fans.

I can see why people detest them, and I can see why people like them.

Pros:
They are quiet, quieter than any other 120mm fan I have tested.
They push a decent amount of air at full speed.
If the SilenX is compared to another fan, both running at 1250rpm the SilenX is quieter, whilst pushing about the same amount of air.

Cons:-
They don't push as much air as other 120mm fans at full speed.
They're rated to spin up to 1600rpm, in reality they spin at 1250rpm. It'd be nice if they did actually go as fast as the box says.

I can see an argument for people to buy ultra high db, ultra high CFM, and then lower the voltage with a fan controller, that way you can get the best of both worlds, i.e. high CFM when you need it, and low db when you need it.

I however, quite like low db even whilst playing games, but if I had a fan capable of high db, high CFM, I'd be tempted to let the fan rip. Currently my hands are tied by the SilenX, which is both good and bad.