Case fan choice question

I have an older Ultra case that's cooled with a couple of Thermaltake 120mm fans. They cool very well but they are fairly loud. Wanted to replace them with something a little quieter but that still provides good cooling.

I have a Corsair 600T case that's packed with AF-120 fans and I have to say that they are VERY quiet. They don't move a ton of air but there isn't a lot of heat being generated in that box so they don't have to. But I'm thinking that the AF-120 may be insufficient for my Ultra case.

Been reading up on the SP-120 series. The quiet edition could work out although it doesn't move near the air that the performance model does.... at a higher noise penalty.

My cable management in this box is pretty decent... seems like the SP-120 is designed more for radiator cooling than case cooling although I've seen comments about it being suitable for case intakes.

I don't want to over-think this.... the current fans are running at ~2,800 RPM. Don't know the rated CFM but I'm guessing it's a lot. What fan(s) should I be looking at to get similar cooling characteristics but with a lot less noise?

Many thanks in advance.

Number 1 question - do you have Performance Edition or Quiet Edition AF120 fans?

If you have the Quiet Edition currently in the 600T, get some Performance Edition models for your old Ultra case.

They are more powerful, albeit a bit louder.

fan noise determines its power and measured in dba.

find out the dba of your current fans and decide what dba would suit you.say you have a 50dba fan,,a 25 dba fan would be @ half as quiet,,, checking each at max rpm.

I have five Performance Edition AF-120's (30 db) in my Corsair 600T case as well as the 120 and 240 that came with it (specs unknown). The case is pretty quiet and I can't really tell of the AF's are more or less quiet compared to the case fans that came with the box. I'd be very happy if my Ultra ran as quietly while still giving the same or better cooling compared to what's in there now..

Are you saying to go with the AF-120 PE or the SP-120 PE? At 35 db, the SP's don't seem like they would be much noisier but could possibly push more air into the case. I don't know (but perhaps you can tell me) if an SP would be right for the case exhaust or if an AF-120 PE might be better in that application.

When I built the Ultra PC I'm sure I selected the fans based on CFM and they certainly do move a lot of air. Basically, what I'm looking for is the best Corsair 120mm fan(s) for this application (case input and output).

fan noise determines its power and measured in dba.

find out the dba of your current fans and decide what dba would suit you.say you have a 50dba fan,,a 25 dba fan would be @ half as quiet,,, checking each at max rpm.

I appreciate the time you took to respond but for the benefit of others who might be reading, your opinions have no basis in fact.

The decibel is a logarithmic unit. A fan (or anything else) that generates 50db of noise would be substantially louder than something that generated 25 db. Hundreds of times louder, not twice as loud as you stated.

Further, there is only a coincidental relationship between fan noise and it's "power".... and I'm not even sure what you are relating "power" to. That is to say that a fan that is "louder" does not necessarily produce more real work than one that is quieter.

I appreciate the time you took to respond but for the benefit of others who might be reading, your opinions have no basis in fact.

 

The decibel is a logarithmic unit. A fan (or anything else) that generates 50db of noise would be substantially louder than something that generated 25 db. Hundreds of times louder, not twice as loud as you stated.

 

Further, there is only a coincidental relationship between fan noise and it's "power".... and I'm not even sure what you are relating "power" to. That is to say that a fan that is "louder" does not necessarily produce more real work than one that is quieter.

i could have listed hundreds of fans you could use but apparently you wanted a single particular to be mentioned.while ive been told i have an above normal iq,i still cant seem to guess your particulars of your computer such as hard drives, video cards and other components that generate heat,nor the particular layout of your fans.,so my response was simply a comparable answer that was meant to give you an ''easy' idea on how to decide what degree of noise would be acceptable to you but still have ''sufficient ' [not poweeer:roll: airflow for your needs.

if you actually knew about fans,the higher the airflow generally means increased noise.

how am i able to ascertain your degree of knowledge regarding your question except by reading your post,which is limited in description.

perhaps in the future you can simply dismiss a response that you disagree with,rather than first complement then directly proceed to flame and rag on.

I'm sorry Jones but without more information there's no way to determine what fans would be similar to what you have. Do you have any other information about them, e.g. make / model / part number / CFM / voltage / etc. ?

2 x Thermaltake A2018 120mm Blue LED Case Cooling Fans

Using Google I found this:

A2018

Fan Dimension: 120x120x25 mm

Rated Voltage: 12V

Started Voltage: 6V

Rated Current: 0.12~0.48A

Power Input: 2.4~5.76W

FAN Speed: 1300 20% RPM at 20C ~ 2800 10% RPM at 55C

Max. Air Flow: 38.6 ~93.7CFM

Max. Air Pressure: 1.5~4.1mm-H2O

Noise: 17dBA at 1300 RPM ~ 46.5dBA at 2800 RPM

Bearing Type: 1 Ball 1 Sleeve

Life Expectation: 50,000 hrs

Connector: 3 Pin

Weight: 126 g

So, this is a variable speed fan with a mfg rated airflow of up to 93.7CFM.

Mfg often post figures that aren't necessarily accurate, but this does seem to be a very powerful fan that can get pretty loud - up to 46.5dBA.

The Corsair AF120 Performance Edition has rated specs that have been proven during reviews to be quite accurate:

Airflow: 63.47 CFM

Static Pressure: 1.1 mm/H20

Sound Level: 30 dBA

Speed: 1650 RPM

Power Draw: 0.13 A

So it may be less powerful in terms of airflow but will definitely be quieter!

I wouldn't think that your system will overheat with the reduced airflow - 63.47CFM is still a very capable amount. I don't know if your existing fans are running at max RPM all the time, anyway - with them being of the variable speed type.

I wouldn't use the SP120 over the AF120 unless you have noticeably restrictive fan grilles/filters directly in front of the intake locations. Also, I would never use an SP120 as an exhaust - case exhaust locations have plenty of unobstructed area in front of them from which to draw air.

I like to think of the AF-Series as high-horsepower sports cars and the SP-Series as high-torque diesel trucks. That's just me... :dunno:

Yes - you can use the SP120 Performance Edition as an intake to deal with obstructions in your intake area, but like a diesel running at high speeds down the interstate, it's going to get louder to put out the same airflow as an AF120 - 5dBA louder, to be exact. Still - it's notably quieter than the 46.5dBA of your existing fans!

Corsair SP120 Performance Edition specs:

Airflow: 62.74 CFM

Static Pressure: 3.1 mm/H20

Sound Level: 35 dBA

Speed: 2350 RPM

Power Draw: 0.18 A

Much obliged Stratosrally. That was exactly the information I was looking for.

The current rear fan is on a pot and I usually have it set at it's lowest value except on really hot days. The input fan is on a temp sensor which causes the fan to run at ~ 80% of it's rated speed even when the box is cold. Therefore, it's pushing a lot of air... probably needlessly, with the associated noise penalty.

From what I read, it looked to me that the AF-120 would be the right choice for the exhaust. Thanks for the confirmation. I'm pretty impressed with the five that I recently installed in my new C600-T although these Thermaltakes move a LOT more air (but they sound like a 747).

The intake has no restrictions to speak of but I liked the concept of "pressurizing" the airflow. I don't know enough about thermodynamics to know if there would be any benefit employing this sort of thing in my application. But part of the reason for posting was to increase my knowledge in this area.

If this forum supported a "best answer" function, I'd definitely give you one here. Again, many thanks.

Quick question on some fans for a front intake. Been looking at the Corsair AF/SP 120MMs I have an Antec P280, with a front panel door, when closed has only air coming in through the edges of the door (pic: http://img.hexus.net/v2/chassis/Antec/P280/P280-05.jpg).

I know the SP fans are better designed for heatsinks and radiators, just wondering if they would be viable in in this case's situation vs the AF fans when the front panel is closed, been looking around and getting different answers... just trying to figure out what the best option would be for front intake fans.

For that sort of application, the SP may be a better choice. I have read where people have used them as intakes on the front of a Corsair 550D - which also has a similar case layout, front door with small side grilles allowing air in.

Also - if there are HDD cages directly behind the fans, an SP Performance Edition may work better at dealing with that obstruction, too.