Cougar CF-V12HP Fans

[notarat]

I saw them in stock at Newegg so I picked up seven of them to put into my Corsair Carbide 400R.

Was interested in hearing from people who already use them to see your thoughts on their performance and how quiet you think they are.

 

[Diggrr]

I'd never heard of that brand before, but the specs and reviews look good, and they are purty!

I'd give them a try myself if I weren't already set with Noctua's (for $1 more X3).

 

[notarat]

I bought 7 of them, and I bought (7) 36" Sleeved Extensions.

I also bought a 5 PWM fan splitter cable which connects to one of your PWM headers on the Motherboard to sense temperatures, and also connects to a Molex Connector to supply power to (5) 4-pin Fans. This allows you to use the temperature sensor on the PWM header to control all 5 fans automatically.

I also bought an Akasa 6 Fan(30w per channel) fan controller to install into my Corsair Carbide 400R case...

I think I might write a nice detailed review of the fans compared to the stock Corsair Fans that are included with the case...

I also have some ideas about making some ducting to increase fan efficiency too...

All the stuff should be arriving today so I'll spend the next couple weeks testing...just have to think how I'll be installing them...

 

[Diggrr]

Sounds like a fun project.
I'm taking my watercooling out of mothballs today. It's in on the kitchen counter expelling extra air right now.

Sounds like we both have some fun going on.
Love to see how those fans turn out. Some of the 'Egg-heads were replacing some pretty decent fans for these and noticing the quiet....

 

[notarat]

Sounds like a fun project.
I'm taking my watercooling out of mothballs today. It's in on the kitchen counter expelling extra air right now.

Sounds like we both have some fun going on.
Love to see how those fans turn out. Some of the 'Egg-heads were replacing some pretty decent fans for these and noticing the quiet....

Okay...Here's the low-down on my progress so far...
You don't see the 2 fans in the side blowing down onto the mobo/vid card

I have 2 systems I'm comparing


System A
Corsair Obsidian 800D
2600K @4.7
(2) Radeon HS 6970s Xfire
16GB Vengeance DDR3
Corsair H70
AX850

Using the standard Corsair fans in the 800D and a pair of Antec Tri Cool the H70. (the ones wit the L M H switch)

System B

Corsair Carbide 400R
2500k @4.8
H80
Akasa FC.6 fan controller
HX650
Radeon 6850

Seven Cougar HF-V12HP 120mm Fans (5 fans connected to the FC.6) and last 2 controlled by the H80


Computer A is in my bedroom 30ft from my living room couch
Computer B is 4 feet from me.

Computer A noise drowns out Computer B noise

It's not noise coming from the 6970s either that I'm hearing...I created a special profile in MSI Afterburner to run the 6970's fans at 21% so as to eliminate them from the comparison. It's fan noise mostly, and some pump noise.


Now I'm so ****ing disgusted with my Obsidian's noise I just ordered 5 more Cougar fans (140mm fans this time) to replace the 120s in computer B. Why? So I can take the noisy fans out of the 800D and replace them with the Cougar 120mm fans currently in computer B.

I would have bought 120mm fans for the Obsidian, but the Carbide 400R can take 140mm fans that spin even slower for even less noise, so I thought I'd upgrade the 400R fans and re-use those 120s to finally make the 800D quiet.

Additionally, I'm stopping by Lowes tonight for some goodies...

Pop rivets, heavy duty scissors, etc so I can experiment with creating special ducts that better direct air flow...

 

[Diggrr]

Cool Beans, man!
So their doing you well with temps too?

 

[notarat]

Cool Beans, man!
So their doing you well with temps too?

Had a major power problem when I got home Monday evening. The electricity was off. Turns out the meter and part of the main fuse box fried. Took out the whole apartment's power but no fire...thanks god.

Took a day to get a new panel and meter installed before the power was restored Wednesday afternoon.

I started checking appliances and stuff and found my refrigerator and Cable box were dead. Checked the 400R computer and the UPS was dead too.

Bought another UPS and powered up the computer, and all it would do is BSoD after displaying the Windows 7 logo. I'd left it on and when the power problems hit, it corrupted the hibernation file so the OS puked.

I reinstalled the OS and patched it up and loaded my apps and tested Wednesday night, and tonight, and all seems fine.

I turned off all fans except the PWM-controlled Cougars on the H80 and it runs around 33-35°C. I can hear the 6850 over them, though it's still very nearly silent. Way more than quiet enough to use as an HTPC...If a passing score is 70, the 400R is scoring in the mid to upper 90s (almost perfect)

Even Overclocked to 4.9 and at 100% with Kombuster and Prime I get up to around 68°C (obviously not quiet though because I have all fans on high)

After my 2nd fan order debacle with Newegg & UPS I decided to go another route to make the 800D quieter. I ordered another Akasa FC.6 and four Akasa Viper 120mm fans to install into the 800D.

It's at least 3 times more quiet than previously. I cannot even hear it while I am in the living room now when it used to be louder than the 400R above, even when I was 4 ft from the 400R (and 30+ ft away from the 800D)

Temps on the 800D are 40°C as I type this. I have two Akasa vipers installed on my H70 radiator and a corsair 140mm fan blowing on the HDDs. All other fans are off. The noise difference is not just night and day...it's a whole business week more quiet, lol.

 

[Bobnova]

I love the blue grill and orange fan combo, it looks fantastic.

That is all.


(Ok not quite, I'm glad the electrical panel didn't burn! That's scary.)

 

[dja2k]

Question for you, are these fans really up to their specs as far as low noise and high CFM? I am trying to aim at a silent running PC.

Reason I ask is cause I am thinking of buying 5 COUGAR CF-V12HP PWM to replace my loud Antec 120mm fans (quiet via 3 setting switch, but low air flow) and my 2 CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ 120mm fans (tend to get loud when they hit higher RPM). Thanks

dja2k

 

[Fakum]

I dont know if I made a goof or not? I just ordered 8 of these fans COUGAR CF-V12HP, these are 4 pins. Im using them in the Corsair 500r case and for push/pull on an H100. 4 of the fans Im putting on the h100 controller, I was using the other 4 for the case. I have no idea what kind of cheap reasonable fan controller to buy as of yet to control these 4 fans, matter of fact, I dont really care if I can somehow find a cable to hook them all up to a 4pin port from the motherboard (ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe/Gen 3). Did I buy the right fans for a fan speed controller? Or should they have been 3pin? I started looking at fan speed controllers and I seen them say 3pin connectors?

 

[Bobnova]

You can use 3pin or 4pin fan controllers to control those fans.
The 4pin flavor is known as "pwm". What is entertaining is that you can make your own PWM fan controller for about $6.

More info here: http://www.overclockers.com/pwm-fan-controller

And here: http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=641111

 

[Fakum]

Thanks,, thats a relief,, I thought I made an expensive mistake. I appreciate the links as well,, but since I have more projects then I can handle right now,, I think I'll spend a few bucks more and just buy something,, I think I know what im looking for now,, a PWM controller,,, thanks

 

[Diggrr]

I went looking for a decent controller and came up empty (under $50 anyway).
I did find this cable, it lets you hook up 4 fans to one PWM header on your motherboard. It won't overload your PWM fan header cause it actually takes fan power from a 4 pin drive connector on your power supply, yet still lets your board control the fan speeds.

 

[Fakum]

Thanks,, I just found my way over there and found this 5 fan cable at the same place:

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...M_5-Way_Splitter_-_Smart_Fan_Cable_AK-CBFA03-

Then I seem to have found some decent looking fan controllers here for under $45:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...e KAZE&name=Controller Panels&Order=BESTMATCH

Thanks for the feedback

 

[Diggrr]

Every one of the Scythe controllers are for 3 pin normal fans, and NOT 4 pin PWM fans that you ordered...just so you know.
I figured you already own a controller (your motherboard) so you only need to spend $10 to hook up your fans..

 

[Fakum]

Thanks for the info on those controllers,, I got off track thinking they were 4 pin,,,
I suppose the cable would be the way to go off the MOBO header,,,