AF120 performance edition loud

I bought some AF120 performance edition fans to replace the fans in my case. They have a rated noise level of 30dBa at full 12v speed, this is supposedly equivalent to a whisper at 3 feet away. However these fans are very loud, even using the speed reducing adapter these fans measure ~60dBa at 3 feet. Did I get bad fans? Or is the product information on the website and box incorrect?

Hi Toddyt1,

 

The 30 dBA is not a whisper, it´s a bit louder. Off-course, more fans, more noise and don´t forget that the air is going through the case grills, so it makes more noise, turbulence. The 30 dBA is specified for the fan, let´s say held in hand and turned to max speed (I´m sure it will be not more). The third important point is the mounting of the fans. Are You using some rubber screws or ruber pad between the case and the fan ?

 

But, can happen that the fans are faulty ... bearings can do humming or vibrations.

 

PS.: my Noctua fans (these are really silent ones) are also loud at full speed mounted into my case (mounted with supplied corner rubber pads). There is one rule, You would like to have silent system than You should go for the biggest size fans with lower RPM and same or better airflow (140 mm or above). Also some noise dumpening material or special silent cases can help a lot.

 

BR,

 

Peter

The fans are installed with the included screws, into the rubber corner mounts the fans come with still the measure decibel equates to 8 times as loud which even accounting for grills etc... is a lot louder(and that's using the speed reducing adapter). My mobo doesn't have fan headers placed conveniently for the location of the fans so I have them plugged into molex adapters with the speed reducing adapters. I'm just a little disappointed TBH. The dual pack was reduced on Amazon to ~£18... Perhaps I should've forked out for the quiet editions...

 

http://www.industrialnoisecontrol.com/comparative-noise-examples.htm relative noise with examples.

I wonder if you could jerry-rig a test to see what's causing the noise by wrapping rubber bands around the screws so that they sit between the fans and the case.

Perhaps, but the rubber corner mounts should be reducing the vibration anyway. I should be able to plug one of them into a motherboard fan header I can try this...

Yes, the rubber corner mount is ok and enough. Have You tried to measure the noise of the fans when these are not mounted into Your case ? Your case has lot of vent holes, no sound dampening material and the construction is from let´s say thin steel material so it´s not blocking to much noise, and also these fans on full 12V are moving lot of air, so it causes more noise. You are already using speed reduction (7V or 9V) so I´m affraid it will be not better. But as I wrote before, my Noctua fans in my really sound dampened Fractal Design R5 case are making also lot of noise when the system get serious load (my 980Ti heats like hell when overclocked and loaded) but I was considering this when I installed the 3x140mm and 4x120mm fans. At idle state or standard gaming load the system is quiet (up to 30-35 dBA), all fans are controlled through the CPU coolers PWM signal.

 

I can´t help You more here, just as I wrote, test a fan when standing on a desk (on a rubber or some soft material) kick it in to 12V and measure the noise level. Bearing vibrations (some extreme one) You can even fell if the fan is in Your hand (nothing is perfect, can be some faulty one (s) ).

 

BR,

 

Peter

Unfortunately, I think the answer is you're just spinning too fast. 9V should put you at about 1250 rpm. I don't know of any 120mm fan that is truly quiet at that speed. Most everything is noticeable above 1000. Normally, I would not recommend the Quiet Editions over the Performance, but no speed control would be the exception. If you have the option to exchange, you might want to pursue it. Before you do, see if you can hook up one of the fans to a speed controlled header to simulate the 12/9/7V speed for the Quiet Edition. Sometimes a particular fan blade and case just don't go together well.

 

It's hard to make much sense out the manufacturer noise specifications. You can't test on your own an compare to the specs, unless you turn the spare bedroom into an anechoic chamber. Real life readings will always be substantially different and more often than not, the pitch makes all the difference rather than the actual sound pressure levels. You can try and compare between manufactures, but many are less than straightforward with their "methods". To their credit, Corsair's published numbers are fair and generally hold up in comparison with other manufacturer's published information.