120 140 or 200mm fan?

[samion]

Hi everyone

I always thought larger fan = quieter, but my google/fora research is confusing me a little...

i.e. I *think* some people are suggesting that although bigger fans run slower they're not necessarily as good or quiter because they make a more droing sound and also there is much more choice for better 140 fans...

I might be reading too much into this and maybe bigger=better, but can anyone advise please as what case I get depends on what the best/quietest fan is.

(will be using it for overclocked 2700k for writing music in a studio and for playing games)

Thanks

 

[LennyRhys]

There is a huge choice of 120mm and 140mm fans and some of them are amazing, so I'd recommend getting those. Just don't get too hung up on the noise side of things... moving air makes noise, so no matter what fan you get you will hear it.

By-and-large, how quiet or loud a fan is depends on the design of that fan rather than its size, although big fans can move more air than smaller fans (naturally).

For 140mm fans, look no further than Thermalright TY-140.

 

[samion]

Thanks dude. So basically I shouldn't get too hung up about making sure I have a spot for a 200mm fan instead of a 140mm fan?

 

[LennyRhys]

Yeah pretty much. I got an Antec 900 a few years back and it was so nice to have a 200mm fan, but now things have changed and these big case fans are more gimmicky than actually functional - there are some amazing 120mm and 140mm fans on the market now.

 

[samion]

Thanks.

 

[throcken]

It wasn't a brand-name fan, but i got a 120mm for 7 bucks off buy.com

 

[ehume]

I got a fan labeled "Bulk," a generic fan that cost me $2 on sale. It consistently performs with the branded fans when I do comparisons.