Need a 120 mm fan

[dAvies.lOcker]

Hi

I need a couple of 120mm fans, i've been looking into the Panaflo FB-120-L1A as it offers both a high CFM @ 12 and low noise when knocked down to 7V.

What is the general consensus on this fan? Is there a better panaflo model?

I'll be picking the fan up from the dorothybradbury site, for £12.99

Is there a better option of fan for that price?? Nexus/SilenX

Thanks

[Rusty075]

Use the search, or at least spend 15 minutes cruising the forum. It probably wouldn't even take that long to get a pretty understanding of what 120mm fans have been recommended around here lately.

Don't mean to be rude, but this is probably the 4th "what 120mm fan should I buy?" that has been active in the past week. The answers are already here, just take the initiative to go hunting for them.

[Chunker]

I used to be a Panaflo purist. Nowadays, I just use Nexus as it's quiet, easy to get and around the same price.

I always found Panaflos hard to get. But, I was always impressed with their noise levels. If you can easily get a Panaflo or a Nexus, pick the cheaper one.

[dAvies.lOcker]

Use the search, or at least spend 15 minutes cruising the forum. It probably wouldn't even take that long to get a pretty understanding of what 120mm fans have been recommended around here lately.

Don't mean to be rude, but this is probably the 4th "what 120mm fan should I buy?" that has been active in the past week. The answers are already here, just take the initiative to go hunting for them.

I think my question is totally valid. I DID use the search button and browse the forums before starting my thread. I also looked through the stickies and list of recommended fans.

As far as i was concerned, none of the threads seemed to be active or recent and i was asking for the "consensus" on the fan, i want opinions not just the facts about the fans. Often, as im sure you are aware, the specs of the fans are grossly exaggerated and aspects such as sound level are not tested uniformally across the industry.#

Another point, i have heard that reliabilty of the panaflos has reduced to some sort of company/manufacturer change, so i wanted to know if the fan is still recommended.

I realise you arn't trying to be rude, but i think you should realise i have and do read the forums before posting.

Thanks

[BrianE]

Another point, i have heard that reliabilty of the panaflos has reduced to some sort of company/manufacturer change, so i wanted to know if the fan is still recommended.

As far as I know, it wasn't a reliability issue, it was a problem with the fans having more motor/bearing noise than they used to. In this thread, Dorothy Bradbury mentioned how current/later production Panaflo (80mm) fans were back up to snuff (look for the 1st in her LONG post) http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=22598

I contacted her about 120mm Panaflos, and she helpfully told me if I wanted to try and buy them locally, any recent 120mm L1A models 4H (Aug '04) or higher were okay. She sells the even newer 5D.

After failing to find anything around my area or anything significantly cheaper in NA, I now expect to get a 120mm L1A from her this week or so.

[sthayashi]

The Top SPCR Quiet 120mm Axial Fans Compared + 120mmAC Fans. It's stickied at the top of this very forum.

And in the very first post:

Quiet 120mm x Thicker than 25mm Fans

The Panaflo L1A 120mm, unlike the Japanaflo L1A 80mm fans, is not really considered in the most quiet fan category. It still can be pretty quiet though, esp. a 'good' one on a lower undervolt, and it is not uncommon to see it being used by some of the more hardcore quiet gurus. Most (basically all) will want to look at other options though unless you are willing to accept a lot of not so good to pretty bad samples in the hunt for good ones.

This accurately sums up the general forum consensus in my opinion.

[BrianE]

Hmm... good point. There seems to be quieter fan options than the 120mm Panaflo (forgot the "silencing" element ). I swear I also read somewhere that Dorothy DID say that the wider (38mm) fan blades would create more noise than thinner fans.

I'm buying mine because I need the extra power for what I have planned, but if you don't really need lots of airflow or power you might be better off looking at more common 25mm fans.

[frankgehry]

You need a yate loon D12SM-12 or Globe from silencio. Look in the vendors and deals forum or search for the user silencio.

[agus_c_o]

I have two Panaflos L1A 120mm and they are noisy even at 5volts I although have
one Coolermaster A12025-12CB-5BN-L1 and one Coolermaster A12025-12CB-4JN-L1
and they are a lot better. hope it helps.