Best Bang for the Buck Fans

[CrustyButt]

Hey guys, I'm going to Fry's Electronics tommorrow to pickup a clicky mechanical keyboard aswell as some fans if they are at a reasonable price. I've been there many times before and know they have a wide variety from Corsair AF fans to 250CFM delta's. I would like them to have blue LED's but that's not required as I will end of getting light strips anyways. Also, they would need to be in 120mm. I'm hoping to put these on my Hyper 212 Evo in hopes of getting 4.5 out of this chip (I know its a long-shot). They don't have to be Noctua quiet but I dont want my computer to sound like a wind turbine after either. Thanks

 

[m0r7if3r]

I'm not sure if this is still the case, but a while back the best you could do in terms of sound/static pressure/price was yate loons.

 

[ssjwizard]

I cast my vote for Yates also. Performance / $$ they are stellar fans. I have seen fans with similar CFM that were quieter, I have seen fans that can stop the Yates in terms of CFM, but none of those rank in under $10 each let alone $7 each.

 

[woboy]

from Fry's:
http://www.frys.com/product/6827006?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

http://www.frys.com/product/6906127?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

http://www.frys.com/product/7055091?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

I've only used the TB Silence, and those as case fans. Actually the multiple light show ones.
I've used Yate Loon, and like them.
Cougar fans (on sale around $10-12) have a good reputation.
Gelid makes some surprisingly good fans, according to comparison testing.

 

[Mandrake4565]

I cast my vote for Yates also. Performance / $$ they are stellar fans. I have seen fans with similar CFM that were quieter, I have seen fans that can stop the Yates in terms of CFM, but none of those rank in under $10 each let alone $7 each.

Agreed, I have 12 Yate Loons I've been running 8-10 hours a day for 2 years without an issue. Bought them at performance pcs for 3.95ea unsleeved, they're pretty tough to beat at that price.

 

[CrustyButt]

Thanks guys, Fry's doesn't say they have yate loons on their site but they generally have anything and everything PC related, at least at my Frys. I saw the Corsair SP fans that are appealing, but expensive. I might get two of those up just because i want some decent cooling on this 212 Evo. Would changing from two sub-par fans to 2 Corsair SP fans make a noticeable temp difference?

 

[Neostarwcc]

I cast my vote for Yates also. Performance / $$ they are stellar fans. I have seen fans with similar CFM that were quieter, I have seen fans that can stop the Yates in terms of CFM, but none of those rank in under $10 each let alone $7 each.

+1

 

[NiHaoMike]

The best fans I could find at Fry's are some Corsairs, and at 2200RPM or so, nothing fancy. If it's for a high performance machine, just get a Delta or two. One Delta easily outperforms 3 or 4 "ordinary" fans.

 

[CrustyButt]

The best fans I could find at Fry's are some Corsairs, and at 2200RPM or so, nothing fancy. If it's for a high performance machine, just get a Delta or two. One Delta easily outperforms 3 or 4 "ordinary" fans.

Deltas are quite good but don't they make the sound of a airplane in your room? I ended up getting 1 Coolermaster Sickleflow and 2 cougar fans which blow a good amount of CFM at a low noise, even though noise wasn't bothering me. Those cougar fans are good stuff, only thing that bothers me is that they are orange and not blue.

 

[EarthDog]

Delta's are loud.. but can be put on a fan controller. Not sure it is worth the expense unless your goal is to extract every degree C out of a cooler with no regard to noise.

I also have had a few yate loons that have seen heavy duty for years straight. Cheap and reliable.

 

[Neostarwcc]

Like I said, +1 on the yates. They're quiet,cheap, and efficient. I think there was an article on the main site about them to somewhere...

 

[NiHaoMike]

Deltas are quite good but don't they make the sound of a airplane in your room? I ended up getting 1 Coolermaster Sickleflow and 2 cougar fans which blow a good amount of CFM at a low noise, even though noise wasn't bothering me. Those cougar fans are good stuff, only thing that bothers me is that they are orange and not blue.

Depends on which one you get and for the variable speed versions, what speed setting they're at. For your reference, the less extreme Deltas run around 3600 RPM top speed, or about the same speed as a common desk fan.