Quiet, cool LED fans?

[Novaric]

Anyone have any experiance or knowledge on the Coolermaster LED fans? http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?description=11-999-051
I'm planning on using 4 of these in blue to cool my case and then 1 red for the CPU. Are these extremely low dB ratings a lie? I mean it seems like that is a lot of CFM for only 25 dB. And would 32 CFM be enough to cool a OC P4 2.8 ghz? Planning on getting a Swiftech MCX4000 heatsink.

Overall, i want fans that will keep my system cool, generally quiet (this 42 dB fan is killin me) and BLUE . Are these fans gonna fit the job?

 

[mrman3k]

I used to have an Antec LED fan on my Swiftech MCX462+ and it did a nice job and was very quiet. All was fine up until two days ago when the temps around here decided to head to 105F. My CPU temps skyrocketed to 60C as the fan was low CFM and the temp in my room was/is 38C (don't have A/C ). I went and got a Thermaltake Smart Fan 2 which is fully adjustable and can push at max 75cfm while not sounding excessively loud.

Use LED fans for the case fans as they look very spiffy, but I would get the Smart 2 for the CPU fan, especially if you are OCing.

 

[EeyoreX]

I have a couple CoolerMaster Purple LED fans. I find them to be really quiet. Much quieter than the ones I picked up from SVC (though those are fairly quiet themselves).

\Dan

 

[mrman3k]

Novaric, you know how in my other post I discouraged you from using an LED fan for the CPU fan, well I forgot to mention that is only the case if your house is not AC controlled or does not get very hot, if the temps in your house remain mild, you should be fine with an LED fan.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: mrman3k
Novaric, you know how in my other post I discouraged you from using an LED fan for the CPU fan, well I forgot to mention that is only the case if your house is not AC controlled or does not get very hot, if the temps in your house remain mild, you should be fine with an LED fan.

I'm just a bit curious here...what do you mean by "not AC controlled?" And you mention the house not getting very hot - why do you mention this? Just wondering why an LED fan wouldn't make a good CPU fan, in your opinion.
Ok, reread the post; half asleep here.
I think I see now - AC refers to air conditioning, not alternating current. Duh.

And the LED fan thing - maybe a thermally controlled LED fan would be ideal then. Of course, it'd need a way of keeping a steady flow of power to the LED's, or maybe a way of keeping it proportional to their light output abilities, so that they'd dim and brighten according to the fan's rotational speed. That would probably be tough, due to the different voltage curves (and inputs) of the fan vs the LED's.

 

[Novaric]

Ok, then i'll probably go ahead and use these coolermasters for case fans

Mrman3k- thanks for responding in my other post...i either missed you or your post is just not coming to mind atm, but i've decided to go with the big zalman CPU cooler over a swiftech and some sort of fan. The zalman cools well, is quiet and is only 42 bucks for the whole HSF. So, even though my house is air conditioned and i COULD get away with a LED maybe, i won't be tryin it. Thanks though

 

[mrman3k]

Yes when I said AC I meant air conditioner. For case fans LED fans are great, but if the room temps that the computer are in get hot, using LED fans for the CPU might not offer the best performance. But I see this is not a problem anymore since you are getting the Zalman, which I would probably have gotten if it were available several months ago. Which model do you plan on getting?

 

[Novaric]

the all copper one. CNPS7000Cu

 

[EeyoreX]

Incidentally and after the fact, I use an LED fan (2500 CFM max) with a ThermalRight AX-7 heatsink. I was cooling a Barton 2800+ and had temps about 45-48C under load. I have no AC and the room temps have been pretty high, outside temps had been in the 90s(F). A low CFM fan of any kind may cause bad cooling, especially if there are other cooling issues in the case. Many people use low CFM (LED or non-LED) fans to cool their CPUs and have no trouble at all. I know I have had none whatsoever.

[EDIT]The AX-7 was used with the SVC LED fan which didn't cool as well as the CoolerMasters.[/EDIT]

\Dan

 

[0roo0roo]

using led fans for your cpu fan is not a problem, i don't see why others are saying it is. if your fan is not thermally controlled, it is running at 100% speed all the time, it is at max cooling. your cpu will never be in danger.

now if your saying that a thermal controlled fan would be quieter in the cold of ac, well maybe. assuming the thermal probe works, which they generally sorta suck at. thermal control works best when all parts are engineered to work together, which would mean embedding the sensor inside the heatsink, for that specific heatsink/case etc. the temperature range at which they change speeds don't always messh all that well with what you'd want them to do. besides, the rest of your case fans are running at 100% and creating a racket anyways. better to feed lots of cool air into the case for the cpu cooler and not worry about cpu fan speed.


that being said, i find all led fans or well.. most any fan of any type to be loud. i guess i have a different concept of loud. i think vantec stealths are kinda loud even. i use a vantec nexus nxp-201 fanbus to control all my fan speeds. works damn well for lowering noise levels to near silence. and yes, if you hook up an led fan to a fan speed controller, the leds will dim and brighten based on the speed. just install a bunch of fans (i have 5) and run em slow, keep your case tidy and the total airflow will be very good. measure temps at this low speed setting, if its fine then its fine. if its too hot for your liking then turn em up full control is nice.

my cases

i connected the psu fans to the fanbuses too.

if you don't have enough case holes, cut em. its not hard, there are tutorials all over the web. i couldn't fit a blowhole ion the inside of the older case because of a partial obstruction, so i just put it on the outside

 

[Tab]

Now, which led fan should I get. Anyone have any quiet led fan suggestions? CPU Led Fan that is

 

[0roo0roo]

just look up some reviews. certain fans are brighter/more well lit then others. the generic ones at svc.com are pretty bright. i've seen some pathetic ones though, mostly ones with leds at the center hub instead of the corners. most any fan is quiet if you pair it iwthia speed controller.

uv led fans are even kewler