Help me decide on fans...

[Zagi]

Hey all, I finally got sick of looking at led's and hearing my loud fans... so I'm going to replace them all. I just can't make up my mind what to go with.

I've been looking long and hard at the Scythe Gentle Typhoon (1450 rpm), and the Noctua NF-F12 pwm. And I can't decide between the two. Is there a reason to pick one over the other? Or is there something better than both out there that I just don't know about?

They will be pushing through an xspc rx360.

 

[ShrimpBrime]

Well buy one of each? Test them out, and purchase more of the one you like the best?!

 

[sobe]

My vote would go towards the GT AP14's, the GentleTyphoons are tried and proven.

 

[Supertrucker]

At full blast they are going to be very similar, probably close enough that you would need dedicated testing equipment to tell them apart, from either a performance or noise point of view.

I have 4 of the ap-14s on a swiftech rad and they are very quiet, but not silent. my computer makes a very light hum that is easy to drown out with jsut about any noise, but in a silent room you can hear it from a couple of feet away. Thats with the pwm turned down on the mcp-35x. That pump at full blast is unacceptably loud to me, bordering on annoying.

If you want the rig to just be very quiet, i would order the ap-14s from http://www.jab-tech.com/120mm-fans/scythe-gentle-typhoon-d1225c12b3ap-14-1450rpm/ before they go out of stock. Its a great price for the quality of fan you get, and i am fully pleased with mine.

However if you want it to be really quiet, have already invested in a psu that can run fanless, and dont mind spending the extra money, i suspect the pwm throttled noctuas will be better.

 

[jimthenagual]

i suspect the pwm throttled noctuas will be better.

If only they looked better.Why, noctua? Why that color?!?

 

[GTXJackBauer]

OP, take a look at the fan roundups at Martinsliquidlab. Very informative. My personal preference would be between Helix120s, AP-15s and Noiseblockers. The only thing that pushes me away from the APs is since they are no longer in business.

 

[mtdewcowboy]

Like jack said

 

[Zagi]

Thanks for the input guys, I went with the Gentle Typhoons. Here's another question for y'all though... Could I use a splitter to hook 3 of these up to one fan header on the mobo, or would they draw too much current? I don't have enough 5.25" bays for a fan controller but I'd really like the ability to control the fan speed. With the Noctua's I planned on using a PWM splitter with molex power. Not sure if something like that is still an option?

 

[RnRollie]

Non-PWM fans need some kind of controller... although a single pot sticking out of the rear of the PC might work also .. like a zalman fan-mate (+3way splitter)
Of course there are automatic fan controllers that dont use a drive-bay, but are software controlled like the mCubed T-balancer http://www.aquatuning.de/index.php/cPath/141_68_232

Then again, if you have a good MB, there is a chance that the MB fan header can sustain 1 Amp... and might be able to handle 3x GTs

In the end.. you might have been better/cheaper off with PWM fans

PS: scythe or silverstone also have 3.5" fan controllers.. if you have a spare "floppy drive" bay... or with some modding you could mount that to the side or rear of the case

 

[GTXJackBauer]

There are a few options. I believe these power sources would set the fans at max speed. Make sure, if you were to get one that it is powered by the PSU and not the fan header on the MB.