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Which fan to put on an XP-120?

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WeaponX6X

Member
Joined
Apr 10, 2003
Location
UT
I don't want to have a jet engine but I want it to be goood. Should I get something like a Vantec Stealth or should I get a Delta and just lower the RPMs? If I get a Delta which one should I get? The one with the highest CFM?

Update:

So now I don't know what to get once again. I'm hearing:

Delta 3 Blade Low or High Speed
Panaflo H1A/BX or M1A/BX

Which is it?
 
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In my experience the sweet spot seems to be anything around 100 CFM. Even a 70 CFM fan is only around a 2C increase when using it with a decent amount of voltage. on my A64. The XP-120 can definately get the job done without having to wear earplugs.

If I were picking a Delta I'd go with the EFB1212LE.
 
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mitro said:
In my experience the sweet spot seems to be anything around 100 CFM. Even a 70 CFM fan is only around a 2C increase when using it with a decent amount of voltage. on my A64. The XP-120 can definately get the job done without having to wear earplugs.

If I were picking a Delta I'd go with the EFB1212LE.

though quite a bit louder the High Speed one is also a good choice. However you could tame it easily with a fan controller to your own needs.
Delta 120x38mm Triple Blade High Speed
 
I agree that the high speed one would also be a good choice and depending on the processor (since the XP-120 doesn't workon Socket A I'm assuming this is for a new rig) the original post mentioned not wanting a "jet engine". So I'd say for a Pressie the high speed whould be my choice (on a controller) but for an A64 the low speed should do the job, and the 220CFM bad boy would most likely be not up for consideration. :)

MY question is: How is the motor noise on either of the 38mm 3-blades? Particularly the high speed one at lower voltages. I just ordered both and I'll post a comparison when I get them.

I've tried every fan under the sun (minus these Deltas :p ) and to this point my Panaflo H1BX and M1BX have been the best balance of noise and cooling for my A64 setups. Too bad I wasted money on a a half dozen of the well-praised Sanyo-Denkis ALL of which exhibited ridiculous amounts of motor noise at low voltages. Oh well... thats the price you pay.
 
mitro said:
MY question is: How is the motor noise on either of the 38mm 3-blades? Particularly the high speed one at lower voltages. I just ordered both and I'll post a comparison when I get them.
Ive owned a large number of fans. Overall this one is the best. I dont like how it looks (looks ugly to me) But on a controller it is 100% dead silent. Not even my 92mm Tri blade could do that. This has abo****ly no motor noise to speak of. Pix:

IMG_1885.jpg
 
Wow...if thats the case I may have to revise my initial recommendation :) You're right, they are ugly. :p But then again my orange Yate Loon case fans aren't exactly pretty, but thats not what counts!
 
What's a fan supposed to look like, some babe at the nude beach? LOL
A fan is only a thing of beauty to another fan. Yes, as I said before the Delta 3 blades are great, and they put out a lot of air pressure, which is more important than cfm when using them on a heatsink.
 
I was planning on using Speedfan to control the speed. So what I'm gathering here is to get the low speed 3 Blade Delta. But if I can just control the speed why don't I Just get the high speed 3 Blade Delta.
 
why are the 3 blade deltas recommended over the normal (AFB) series? the EFB has less pressure and less CFM than the AFB at the same noise levels. it uses less power, but not much less, and its a lot more expensive.

Code:
MODEL       POWER   CFM         PRESSURE   NOISE
AFB1212HE   3.84W   105.94CFM   7.6mmH2O   41.0dB-A  (normal)
EFB1212HE   3.24W   102.41CFM   6.6mmH2O   41.0dB-A  (3-blade)

EFB document

AFB document

all of the AFBs have better specs than the EFB (L, M, H, HH, VH, SH)
 
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Panaflo High Speed
115 cfm @ 45 DBA , not bad ..... on a fan controller keeping it around 35 ~ 38 dba it wont be loud at all and still blow a decent amount of air.
If not panaflo then I suggest the delta fans. Tri Blade or the Dual Blade , either will do .
 
A quote from Sidewinder:
"This triple-bladed impeller design allows allows for better directional flow, increased air pressure and less resistance when compared to traditional fan design."
The three blade design is really perfect for heatsinks. They sound quietrer to me too despite higher dba ratings.
 
well, the "increased air pressure" is obviously a lie, and i have no idea what they mean by "less resistance". sounds like BS to me. the fan specs are pretty clear the EFB is not an improvement. right now, i think the EFB is just marketed as better fan since it looks different, when really its just not as good.

"They also give your case, radiator or heatsink a unique look. " :rolleyes:

i could understand a sound difference, but is it an improvement, or just a difference? it could also just be your mind telling you its better (since you payed $14 more than you had to)
 
zip22 said:
why are the 3 blade deltas recommended over the normal (AFB) series?

Well, I recommend the 3-blade Deltas because I like the one I'm currently using, 38mm low speed.

I bought the low speed one because a) it has very similar specs to the Aluminum Evercools that I like very much, b) the Evercools wont mount on an XP-120 since the corners are solid aluminum and the XP-120 needs open corners for the clips to attach onto, and c), they do look very nice.

If I was buying a lot of them, say for use on a radiator, then I'd think twice about the price difference, but for one fan (or two actually, since I got both 25mm and 38mm versions so I could compare them) the extra US$10-12 didn't make that much difference. If a person is on a tight budget, then sure, get the less expensive ones, but if one can afford them the 3-bladed ones do look a lot better.
 
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