Case fans? Any recommendations?

[evlyons]

There seem to be so many case fans, picking the right one seems difficult. I looking for a reliable, effective, and somewhat quiet 80mm and 120mm case fan.

The fans I have been looking at are:
YS Tech
Sunon
Vantec Stealth
Enermax

So far I am leaning towards the Vantec Stealth (http://www.vantecusa.com/stealth_fan.html). I like the lifetime warranty and the quality seems good (packaged better, not just wrapped in cheap cellophane), only problem is the low CFM. Is 27 CFM too low for a case fan if I am using a Thermalright AX-7 with a Delta 80 mm or a Thermaltake Volcano 7+?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
-earle.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Alot of people go with Panaflo L1A fans for a balance of airflow and low noise. It is a simple fact that the faster the fans spin the more noise and air they will produce. I have 2 Sunon 80 mm intake and 2 Antec 80 mm exhaust that came with my case. To me its not very loud, but I also dont sleep in the room with my comp, and I turn it off at night.

 

[im2smrt4u]

THE DELTAS I'VE GOT ARE REALLY NICE!!!

Oh, sorry, had to yell over my screaming case!

Anyway, I would also recommend the Panaflo L1As.

 

[Metalloid]

Ive got two 120mm Sunon 108cfm's in my case, and they are loud as heck, but they cool awesome. My case temp is 1-2f above ambient. They also dropped my cpu temp 10c. If you dont mind the noise, they are great. I am usually playing a game or listening to music anyway so it doesnt bother me that much. I see that you are using an 80mm delta on an AX-7 so actually it might be nice for you to have these fans to drown out the screaming delta a little bit. The other loud performance fan I would recommend is the 120mm 134cfm? (its somewhere in the 130s) YS-Tech. It is only 1-2dba louder than my fans, and it is like 30cfm more.

 

[Acts837]

I am somewhat of a "quiet" freak...have had sunon, top motor, enermax, and panaflo. IMHO I would get the Vantec. The next fan I buy will be a Vantec Stealth 80mm. Specs on that baby look sweet!

 

[evlyons]

I have now narrowed it down. Now it seems to be between Panaflo PCM-FBA08A12U and the Vantec Stealth.

Perhaps I'll test out both.

 

[evlyons]

Another thing to add is, out of the Panaflo's the U1A seems to beat out the L1A in CFMs: 24.0 vs. 46.9 however, the dB-A is 21.0 vs. 38.2.

Panaflo FBA08A (80mm) Spec PDF

I like the specs on the FBA08A12UU1A.

 

[CheapGator]

This post may be useless if you've already narrowed it down to the stealth and panaflo but, since you mentioned 120mm and were considering a 38 db fan I thought i'd mention the new 120mm's I have. They are good ole delta's 72.39cfm@34.00 db. proof WFB1212M. I like them 1 because they are quiet and are moving a nice bit of air and because they're 3.75 a piece or 3.50 if you buy 2, from goldmine-elec. They come pretailed unlike some panaflo's and have a rpm monitor. The shipping is decent, was around $19.61 to have 4 shipped to my house via ups ground. Took them a week to ship it but it got here in 2 days after that, They don't answer email, but if you call the 800 number on their site they're more than helpful telling you what's going on with your order when order-status at the bottom of confirmation email doesn't work. Not sure if this will help other people so that's why I included all the stats. You should also order the 3pin to 4pin/rpm monitor cable since puttin this on the mobo with 3.96 watts is a bit much from case-mod. I'm about to order from them so i'll let you know how well shipping works with them. Even though svcompucylce is cheaper with this part, case-mod has free shipping which beats the price.