Opinion on Desktop Fan Cooling - Noctura vs Scythe

[Dreamre]

I just built a new desktop rig and I'm looking to replace the stock fans.

Here are my specs if you're curious:

CPU - Intel Core i5-4670K
CPU Cooler - Corsair H105
Motherboard - Asus Maximus VI Formula
Memory - Corsair Vengeance 8GB
Storage - Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" SSD & Western Digital RE4 1TB
Video Card - EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB   
Case - Corsair 650D
Power Supply - Corsair AX760

What fans would you recommend? I've heard good things about both Noctua and Scythe. If I were to go with the Noctura's, would you recommend the NF-P12 or NF-F12?

Thanks .

[CK Briefs]

I remember there were scythe quiet typhoons on sale around 3 months ago at ncix; they're prob gone now
You can really only find the crappy slim blade scythes in Canada
Just go with noctua NF-F12s- best price to performance of any retail fan
Some corsair and other branded fans are catching up, but if you don't care about looks, noctuas are the best

[noisyturtle]

Both are nice choices, although Noctua stuff is overpriced imo

[Skull_Angel]

For simple case fans, I'd buy the most inexpensive fans with good reviews (bearing design considered for placement). For vertical try to stay away from normal sleeve bearing type fans for horizontal placement mostly, rifle sleeve type bearing should not have issues though. Some cheapo dynamic-fluid bearing fans have been reported to be more prone to leakage with horizontal mount as well, but this shouldn't be an issue with decent manufacturers. Ball bearing and double-ball bearing fans have some of the highest rated life-spans, but may be noisier than other alternatives. Dynamic-fluid bearings are normally considered the most silent through out their lifespan, but decent ones were more costly than other alternatives the last time I went shopping (been using the supplied and salvaged fans recently, haha)

Yate-Loon use to be well regarded for case fans because of decent build quality and design on top of being a dime a dozen, but they can be tough to find at the prices they were once the last time I looked.

edit: if you were wanting suggestions for radiator/cooler fans I'd personally go with San Ace 9S1212H4011, these are the fans that consumer fans wish they could be. Been running them in my rigs [straight from the MB 3-pin] for the past several years with no issue, and they have more than enough power to bring out the potential of any cooler when necessary.

[CK Briefs]

If you're buying multiple fans, maybe take up one of the 4-packs of Cougar Turbines that are usually up for $20 at NCIX
Theyre dynamic-fluid bearings as well, definitely a good buy

I have a couple in my own rig including some noctuas

[jalaj]

OP, depends on what you're going for.
Here's a good gauge for silent fans, SPCR did a test on nine different 120mm fans:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1342-page1.html

Personally find the Be Quiet fans are great options for both silent and good airflow fans, the quality is on par if not better to Noctua. Both fans are designed in Germany/Austria region but produced in China (like 99% of all fans). I have both Be Quiet and Noctua fans, no metrics to say which is better, but I prefer the Be Quiet fans. Although both are solid choices, they are also on the pricier end. Cheaper options might be more reasonable as you might be paying for a premium that is of an indiscernible performance increase.
Though NCIX carry some models of the Be Quiet fans if you want to try them.

[Puddsy]

does it blow air? y/n

if yes it's good

I have 2 $5 2krpm fans and 2 $10 200mm fans. Why get fancy fans when you can save $50 and get a set of keycaps?

[noisyturtle]

I would recommend against Cougar. Someone told me recently they revamped their manufacturing standards, but I bought half a dozen Cougar's a couple years ago and 2 developed a loud rattle, and 2 went completely dead after only a few weeks use.

[CK Briefs]

I would recommend against Cougar. Someone told me recently they revamped their manufacturing standards, but I bought half a dozen Cougar's a couple years ago and 2 developed a loud rattle, and 2 went completely dead after only a few weeks use.

How recently? I believe the fans that are on sale is just old stock (it's been on sale for like a year) so it can't be newly made

Well then perhaps OP should be a bit wary, although, my fans haven't developed any rattling and it's been almost a year of continued use

[noisyturtle]

I would recommend against Cougar. Someone told me recently they revamped their manufacturing standards, but I bought half a dozen Cougar's a couple years ago and 2 developed a loud rattle, and 2 went completely dead after only a few weeks use.

How recently? I believe the fans that are on sale is just old stock (it's been on sale for like a year) so it can't be newly made

Well then perhaps OP should be a bit wary, although, my fans haven't developed any rattling and it's been almost a year of continued use

I bought them off New Egg like 2yrs ago

[CK Briefs]

I would recommend against Cougar. Someone told me recently they revamped their manufacturing standards, but I bought half a dozen Cougar's a couple years ago and 2 developed a loud rattle, and 2 went completely dead after only a few weeks use.

How recently? I believe the fans that are on sale is just old stock (it's been on sale for like a year) so it can't be newly made

Well then perhaps OP should be a bit wary, although, my fans haven't developed any rattling and it's been almost a year of continued use

I bought them off New Egg like 2yrs ago

Oh I'm referencing a Canadian store and their stock

[Dreamre]

Thanks for all of the replies! All are very helpful - thanks!

What do you guys think of these ones?

http://www.ncix.com/detail/be-quiet-silent-wings-2-1a-94637.htm

[CK Briefs]

Thanks for all of the replies! All are very helpful - thanks!

What do you guys think of these ones?

http://www.ncix.com/detail/be-quiet-silent-wings-2-1a-94637.htm

Not sure if they're worth the money, if you want bleeding edge silence--then maybe.

Anything under around 30 decibels is perfectly fine (which noctuas and scythe GTs @~800 are)

[Dreamre]

Ah I see...my friend just told me about the Akasa Apaches...now I am really lost LOL.

[CK Briefs]

Ah I see...my friend just told me about the Akasa Apaches...now I am really lost LOL.

i've been keeping in mind that there's a limited pool of fans we have access to here in Canada
I've heard of those, but I have no clue where you can find NIB ones

Try searching shopbot.ca for some brands, that's how I pricematch fans for NCIX

[Dreamre]

Ah I see...my friend just told me about the Akasa Apaches...now I am really lost LOL.

i've been keeping in mind that there's a limited pool of fans we have access to here in Canada
I've heard of those, but I have no clue where you can find NIB ones

Try searching shopbot.ca for some brands, that's how I pricematch fans for NCIX

He linked me here:

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/10345/fan-675/Akasa_120mm_x_25mm_Apache_Black_Super_Silent_PWM_Fan_w_Hydro_Dynamic_Bearings_-_Black.html

Looking at specs:

Max airflow - 57.53 CFM
Max static air pressure - 2.64 mm H2O
Noise level - 6.9 -16.05 dB(A)

It seems pretty good o.o...

Ends up to be around $85USD or around $95CAD including shipping.

[CK Briefs]

Ah I see...my friend just told me about the Akasa Apaches...now I am really lost LOL.

i've been keeping in mind that there's a limited pool of fans we have access to here in Canada
I've heard of those, but I have no clue where you can find NIB ones

Try searching shopbot.ca for some brands, that's how I pricematch fans for NCIX

He linked me here:

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/10345/fan-675/Akasa_120mm_x_25mm_Apache_Black_Super_Silent_PWM_Fan_w_Hydro_Dynamic_Bearings_-_Black.html

Looking at specs:

Max airflow - 57.53 CFM
Max static air pressure - 2.64 mm H2O
Noise level - 6.9 -16.05 dB(A)

It seems pretty good o.o...

Ends up to be around $85USD or around $95CAD including shipping.

If you've googled for reviews and they don't report any crappy bearings or stuff like that, it should be fine

[Skull_Angel]

Found some decently priced Yate Loons (sleeve bearing, ball bearing versions are like unicorns):

http://www.jab-tech.com/120mm-fans/

They're at the bottom of the page. The retailer should be alright since they're recommended at times from some of the hardware sites [mostly for fans]. As with any set of case fans, you'll want to buy more than you need because issues have a decent chance of developing in most consumer level fans (it's just one of those things).

edit: Petra's tech shop use to be the place to get them, but I can't seem to find the site...

[samwisekoi]

Jab-tech is a good seller.  Eccentric item list, but good prices and fast shipping.  I have used them several times, mostly for hard-to-find items, and never had a problem.

Plus they do not mark up shipping!

 - Ron | samwisekoi

p.s.  I use Noctua for 120mm and 140mm, with Scythe for slim (120mm x 10mm) and Silent Typhoon fans.

[mkawa]

i've been ordering from jab-tech since like 1998. good people.

seems petra got out of the business.

[blackbox]

I like noctua fans. They have excellent build quality and many accessories included. Accessories is a big bonus for me because then I have greater flexibility when building pcs.

[Dreamre]

Alright, I've decided on two Noctura F12's for my H105 Rad and 2x Be Quiet Silent Wings for intake and exhaust...what do you guys think?

[blackbox]

Alright, I've decided on two Noctua F12's for my H105 Rad and 2x Be Quiet Silent Wings for intake and exhaust...what do you guys think?

Sounds nice!

[tbc]

the nfs are VERY good fans.  my only beef with them is that they are loud relative to the rest of the series.  not enough to bother most people, but most definitely noticable.


the thing with noctua is that their customer support is through the roof.....they actually beat apple, corsair, and logitech.  they've been the only one to actually provide well written, fast, technically accurate responses to my questions when i had to consult with them for itx builds (itx builds are FAR FAR more difficult than even matx builds - prodigy builds don't count as mitx builds btw)

[Jaky]

Noctua ofc, it's German made, German grade 

[nubbinator]

Noctua, BeQuite Silent Wings 2, or Noiseblocker/Phobya eLoops.

And why does it seem so common for people to call them Noctura?  Where does that extra r come from?

[Zeal]

Noctua ofc, it's German made, German grade 

Austria*  @OP, if you can squeeze some extra budget, I'd highly recommend getting at least a 250/256GB SSD. The 250GB 840 Evo is very cheap right now, and you probably won't even notice the difference vs the pro. 128s fill up so fast, it's not even funny!
(Currently Running 256GB + 1TB SSD in one rig, 120GB+256GB SSD in the other. Guess which rig came after? )

And plus, who doesn't like bigger benchmarking numbers with RAPID?

More

[tbc]

^ +1 on that ssd recommendation.

halo ssds are like limited edition dual gpus.  you should look, but never touch.

[Tarzan]

I'm using Noctua fans at the moment, in a Raven 02 case, for all but the lower case fans.  They seem nice and are very quiet. 

Just as a counterpoint on the SSD size discussion; I run Windows 7 (64-bit) on a 64g SSD, and stay around 60% disc utilization.  Of course, I do have it set up so all libraries and default locations are on a different disc, but it's quite feasible to use a small SSD for just the OS.

[eth0s]

If you want quiet fans, then you need to get slow ones.  Your main indicator of how loud the fan will be is the RPM.  All manufacturers lie about their dBa figures.  The only honest fan maker is Sanyo Denki.  The numbers Sanyo Denki put on the San Ace fans are extremely accurate. 

Anyway, to get quiet you need slow.  But that means less cooling.  So you will have to take that into consideration, meaning that you can't overclock to 5.0ghz, and have a quiet computer, or run SLI Titans, or something like that.

As for brands, from my personal experience, there are only two worth considering Scythe and Noiseblocker.  Also, I would recommend a 140mm fan if you can fit it in your case.  Sanyo Denki makes legendary fans.  But you will need a fan controller to get them really quiet.  Or you can permanently undervolt them to 7 volts, which is a pretty good solution.  Here is my choice for Sanyo Denki:  http://www.newark.com/sanyo-denki-sanace-fans/9s1212l4011/fan-silent-120mm-12v-low-speed/dp/33R1003

#1 choice for 140mm:  Noiseblocker PK-1.  This fan is nearly silent.

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/10213/fan-657/Noiseblocker_NB-BlackSilentPro_PK-1_140mm_x_25mm_Ultra_Quiet_Fan_-_700_RPM_-_9_dBA.html

Quietest fans for 120mm were the Scythe Gentle Typhoon AP-11 (500 rpm) or the AP-12 (800 rpm), but I don't think they make them anymore.  Maybe you can get used ones from ebay?

The 120mm Noiseblockers are nearly as good as the old Scythe GT's.  The NB-loop model looks kooky, but they are very quiet.  I have tried the PWM ones also, and the PWM Noiseblockers are the only ones that don't tick, of the ones that I've tried, which is a lot.  PWM is a pretty good option, but you need PWM fan controller, or mobo headers.

As for Noctua, they are excellent quality, and have great reputation.  However, they are not the quietest fans you can get.  I'm not sure why their reputation is so high, given that their price is so high as well.  So, in other words, Noctua's are very good, but not the best, and they are definitely overrated, and overpriced.

[Jaky]

Noctua ofc, it's German made, German grade 

Austria*  @OP, if you can squeeze some extra budget, I'd highly recommend getting at least a 250/256GB SSD. The 250GB 840 Evo is very cheap right now, and you probably won't even notice the difference vs the pro. 128s fill up so fast, it's not even funny!
(Currently Running 256GB + 1TB SSD in one rig, 120GB+256GB SSD in the other. Guess which rig came after? )

And plus, who doesn't like bigger benchmarking numbers with RAPID?

More

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OK uninstalling, pun intended :p ...jk love my noctua cooled mini-itx  :rolleyes: