Where have all the good fans gone?

Josh_Hayes · Post by **Josh_Hayes** » Sat Oct 09, 2004 12:43 am

I have been looking to buy 3 x 120mm and 3 x 92mm fans for my new Chenbro SR107 server case.

The case arrived with some very loud Delta fans that I have on fanmates at the moment but I am having to turn them almost all the way down and they are proving very little airflow. I do not need a silent computer, but quiet would be nice. I think anything 32dBA or lower should suffice running at 12v (I'd like to move away from fan controllers and fanmates). This case uses plastic brackets which hold the fans into mounting holes in the chassis. The use of these brackets forces me to use standard-housing fans. Fans that have a solid housing like the Aluminum 120mm fans cannot be used. I see that the globe fan comes highly recommend and they even offer one with a thermal probe, however I don't want to spend $100 on fans if I can help it. I'm located in the US and am having a hard time finding any decent fans for sale at the standard locations. I was using Panaflo 80mm L1A's in my last case and so I looked at the 92mm and 120mm Panaflo's. I found that the 120mm L1A's provide some decent CFM's at 30dBA and the 92mm M1A's provide less CFM's but at the same 30dBA. I was thinking it may be smart to stick with acoustically-similar fans. I've been searching the web and the forums and the only place that I can find that still sells these fans is Digikey.com but they want nearly $20 per fan and it comes with no RPM monitoring or even a power connector! I do not like/need the adjustability of the Enermax fans (I'm trying to eliminate clutter in the case if at all possible). Is there anyone that sells good quality 92mm and 120mm fans for under $15.00 shipped thats 30dBA or quieter?

burcakb · Post by **burcakb** » Sat Oct 09, 2004 12:58 am

Josh_Hayes wrote:I see that the globe fan comes highly recommend and they even offer one with a thermal probe, however I don't want to spend $100 on fans if I can help it.

Bill Owen at mnpctech sells them for $8 each. 3 of them would be $24

92mm fans are another story however. But I don't see why you need more fans or such high CFMs. That case looks perfectly cooled to me with 3x120 fans and I bet you could still undervolt them and have several times more airflow in your case than most of us here.

Becks · Post by **Becks** » Sat Oct 09, 2004 1:16 am

I just got 2 globes, I'm impressed with them, was suprised. However, I wouldn't say they're quiet @ 12v. They're just spinning very fast... 2000rpm. You'd have to put them on a fanmate imo to get them down just a little.

Really nexus and a few papst are the only 120mm fans that are quiet @ 12v... however they're quite expensive too. 3 nexus are $60 vs 3 globes for $24 + 3 fanmates $10. Anyways I'm too tired to think... ima go to bed.

frosty · Post by **frosty** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 11:43 am

Sweet dreams Becks, dream of silent whoosing fans undervolted. : )

Actually Josh just get comfee with higher temps within reason and undervolt, will make a world of difference. Servers normally run super hot on cpu's and yet few ever go down or die from heat

Zyzzyx · Post by **Zyzzyx** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 10:27 pm

Actually Josh just get comfee with higher temps within reason

That's definitely true. When running Folding@Home, my systems were seldom below 60C, occasionally seeing 70C. No problems.

ferdb · Post by **ferdb** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 8:40 am

I am also having trouble finding quiet 120mm fans. I got some 120mm x 38mm panaflo L1As, but they are not quiet when undervolted, the motor makes a chugging noise sort of like a diesel engine idling. I then shelled out for some Papst 4212Ls. They also have a lot of motor noise and vibration. Even my Sunon 120x38's make less noise than the panaflo and papst. The Globes and Nexus are decently quiet but have poor airflow, especially against backpressure.

matt_garman · Post by **matt_garman** » Mon May 23, 2005 7:59 am

Josh_Hayes wrote:I have been looking to buy 3 x 120mm and 3 x 92mm fans for my new Chenbro SR107 server case.

How has this case served you since you first posted this message? I'm in the market for a nice server case, and the Chenbro SR107 looks like it's got a lot going for it.

Thanks!
Matt

frankgehry · Post by **frankgehry** » Mon May 23, 2005 9:01 am

Matt,

I posted a thread today asking about the Chenbro SR105 and if anyone had built a system in it. I never looked at the SR107 but it is incredible with two 120's in front and the separate area for the psu.

You can also search for chenbro sr10569 or sr10568. They are smaller than the 107, but similar in some ways. - FG

Where have all the good fans gone?

Where have all the good fans gone?

Re: Where have all the good fans gone?

Re: Where have all the good fans gone?