QUIETIEST 80mm fan with AT LEAST 50CFM?

003 · Post by **003** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:17 pm

I am in need of what sounds like an impossibility. I need the absolute best (quality, low noise, etc...) 80mm fan that pushes at LEAST 50cfm of air. No joke. It MUST be a single 80mm fan, please do not suggest something else, because it won't work.

I know I'm not going to get something whisper quiet here, it just has to be as quiet as possible by any means necessary, and push 50cfm of air, and be 80mm.

What fan am I looking for?

Redzo · Post by **Redzo** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 4:08 pm

Delta and DO NOT CALL IT QUIET because anything that moves that much air and is 8cm big will sound like a dentist drill at best.

Shaman · Post by **Shaman** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 4:13 pm

You would need a 4K rpm Delta. Not exactly 50CFM buy very close.

I believe you can purchase a Delta fan+Earplugs or a Delta fan+Straight Jacket combo in some stores.

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 4:14 pm

You're looking for something that does not exist. Quiet, 80mm, 50CFM ? Not likely ever to exist. 50CFM from a 120mm fan is not quiet, much less from 80mm.

Reconsider your cooling solution if you really want something quiet.

Shukuteki · Post by **Shukuteki** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 4:15 pm

This Panaflo High Speed 80x25mm pushes 46cfm

http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/pa80ulhisp.html

Here is a Petit Ace 80x32mm that pushes 53cfm

http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/sadedcpeace8.html

cpemma · Post by **cpemma** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 4:17 pm

For quality, I suggest the NMB-Mat range, the 3112KL-04W-B50 is specced at 51.5cfm, 41dBA, which is about as quiet as you'll get. It's 32mm thick, if that affects your choice.

That Panaflo linked looks like the old 'U' model in numbers, shown near the top of the graph.

Shaman · Post by **Shaman** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 4:21 pm

cpemma wrote:51.5cfm, 41dBA, which is about as quiet as you'll get.

003 · Post by **003** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 4:40 pm

Ok what I specifically need to cool is a PC Power and Cooling Turbo-Cool 860 power supply.

What about using a 120-to-80mm fan adapter, and tacking it onto the back of the power supply?

I need ideas here...

Shaman · Post by **Shaman** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 4:43 pm

Why do you think that PSU needs such high CFM? Isn't the stock fan doing it's job?

Shaman · Post by **Shaman** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 5:03 pm

But if you must, with a 80mm-120mm fan adapter you could use a Nexus @ 12V that blows 47CFM at 22dBA, that's closer to quiet. But I'm not sure how effectivively the PSU would be cooled with a fan mounted outside in a 'cone' as opposed to a fan mounted inside. The best solution would have been to get a 120mm or 140mm fan PSU in the 1st place.

BTW, why do you want to change the fan in your PCP&C PSU? Is it too loud? Have you tried removing the grill and soft-mounting the fan?

And I still don't see why you would need 50CFM to cool that PSU....

003 · Post by **003** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 5:48 pm

Yes the stock fan would do it's job. I don't have the PSU yet, but I will be getting it. I've owned the Turbo-Cool 510 ASL previously which has the same fan, and it's no better than any of the 80mm fans listed here.

It is variable, controlled by the PSU depending on temp, and it's max CFM is 52CFM @ 44dB, so I was hoping I could replace it with something that pushes the same amount of air, but quieter.

Trust me, removing the grille and soft mounting won't do anything, I did it on the 510 ASL and it was still noisy like a mofo.

Why would a fan adapter be bad, as long as I seal the air path so no air was escaping before it got to the PSU?

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 6:38 pm

I don't have the PSU yet, but I will be getting it.

why do you need an 860W power supply?

Why would a fan adapter be bad, as long as I seal the air path so no air was escaping before it got to the PSU?

fan adapters present resistance to flow, so there will naturally be a reduction in flow from the nominal numbers quoted here. so you should actually be looking at fans that have a nominal CFM rating in the 70's, if you want it to actually deliver 50CFM thru an adapter.

003 · Post by **003** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 7:20 pm

I see... what is the best and most quiet 120mm fan that will deliver 70cfm of airflow? With all my hardware, the eXtreme PSU calculator says I should have a ~690W power supply, and I was not able to account for my heavy video card overclocking in that calculator, and I happen to have the most power hungry video card you can have, the 1gb GDDR4 2900Pro, overclocked to 901/999 on water (1.35vcore, 1.675vmem, 1.946vmembuf), and my CPU an E6750 overclocked to 3.8GHz also on water @ 1.71v.

Also the Turbo-Cool 860 is one of the best quality power supplies money can buy, wattage aside, as it is very efficient (84%). And I want headroom for future upgrades.

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 7:35 pm

Hello,

There is absolutely NO WAY that any desktop computer can come close to requiring a 690watt PSU!!!

sjp010 · Post by **sjp010** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 7:52 pm

Well, if the desktop has a sump pump it might need that much power.

003 · Post by **003** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 8:08 pm

NeilBlanchard wrote:Hello,

There is absolutely NO WAY that any desktop computer can come close to requiring a 690watt PSU!!!

Not really, especially if you are using TEC cooling. The over clocked 2900Pro uses well over 300W, the CPU uses close to 200W, then factor in all the fans, the pump (I am on water cooling) and all the other hardware, and suddenly 690 dosen't seem so unreasonable. Now, this figure assumes that the CPU and GPU are both at 100% load, which they both are when I stress test them for stability.

Let's forget the why for now, and concentrate on what the quietest (factoring in the resistance/turbulence from the adapter) 70cfm 120mm fan is

Will this adapter work:
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1743/ ... apter.html

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 8:18 pm

Hello,

Do you already have this PSU -- or could you use a Corsair HX620? It is very quiet and very efficient w/o messing with the fan.

I have seen real numbers for a dual quad core with high power SLi systems that peaked a bit over 400watts...

003 · Post by **003** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 8:28 pm

I don't have the power supply yet, but I want to get it. I have the HX520 right now, and yes I know how quiet they are. But they are not as high quality as the PCP&C, and have an MTBF of 100,000 hours at 25C.

The PCP&C has 100,000 hour MTBF at 50C and 200,000 hour MTBF at 40c, and is extremely efficient, with unbelievably low ripple, tight voltage regulation and is just all around a significantly higher quality product -- except for the noise.

I really would like to know what the best 70-80 CFM 120mm fans are so I can mount one on the back of the power supply.

I know it won't be quiet, but 120mm fans make a noise that is much more bearable than 80mm fans, so I will live.

Shaman · Post by **Shaman** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 8:35 pm

Any adapter should work, but won't the adapter get in the way of the power cord? Have you thought of that?

There's quite a few 120mm and 140mm fan PSU's in that power range that will be quieter as you can see here You should really consider one of those since you haven't bought the PSU yet.

Also what case do you have? Getting one where the PSU sits in a separate chamber with direct access to cool outside air should be a priority.

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 8:40 pm

Hello again,

Do you already have this machine? If so, is the HX520's fan ramping up at all? Is the machine stable? I'd be very surprised if it "breaks a sweat"...

Specs are just numbers.

Also what case do you have? Getting one where the PSU sits in a separate chamber with direct access to cool outside air should be a priority.

An excellent point.

003 · Post by **003** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 8:59 pm

I can get one of those power cords with a 90 degree plug. My case is an NZXT Lexa.

Actually I've already pushed the HX520 to it's limit. If I try to set the voltage on my 2900Pro to 1.4v, and I run the ATITool artifact scanner, the power supply over current protection is tripped after a few minutes and shuts off, even if the 2900Pro was 100% stable. This does not happen on the CPU though, it is on a separate +12v rail, and that is also one of the problems, multiple 12v rails, which almost all the power supplies listed on newegg have. The PCP&C has a single, powerful 12v rail, so that no power is wasted and you don't run into the OCP getting tripped even if you have more power on another 12v rail that is not being used.

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 9:14 pm

Hello,

Are you using the stock cooling on the video card? Is the fan ramping up a lot? And what is the stock voltage?

003 · Post by **003** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 10:01 pm

No, the video card is on water cooling as well, Swiftech MCW60 with PA120.3 and an MCP655. The stock voltage is 1.15v.

Sendorm · Post by **Sendorm** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 11:15 pm

Instead of getting a power supply why not get rid of your 2900 and get a 8800gt, which offers greater performance with less power.
And TEC cooling? Simply put: WHY?

I am also a-bit eager learning about your cpu which you say is using around 200 watts.Why not get a new q9300 when they are avaliable, they're using around 60 watts.
Thus you can also keep your current power supply.

A system using 500 watts is not an optimised system.

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 1:58 am

Or get cheaper HD 3870 and get very good performance without need of changing drivers and with lower power consumption than with 8800GT and get fan that exhaust outside of the case and doesn't sound like dentist drill when stressed at worse... And with 8X AA HD 3870 rocks ^^

003 · Post by **003** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 9:51 am

Look.... I like my system overclocked to the maximum. I'm not interested in getting it to be inaudible. It can make noise, just not insane ammounts of noise. My definition of insane and your [people on this forum] definition of insane is probably very different.

I do agree though, 45dB is too much. I am not replacing my video card or my CPU. The 3870 does not overclock as nicely as the 2900Pro, and clock for clock [meaning when GPU and memory speeds are set equal] the 2900 is faster, so I am keeping the 2900Pro.

But I am rambling now. Please. All I want to know is what ~70CFM 120mm fan will work the best [quietest] when blowing into a 120mm to 80mm fan adapter.

Please don't try and talk me out of this, because it's not going to work. I'm sure the answer to my question is an easy one and I really would like to know what it is.

Shaman · Post by **Shaman** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 10:04 am

003 wrote:Please. All I want to know is what ~70CFM 120mm fan will work the best [quietest] when blowing into a 120mm to 80mm fan adapter.

You see the thing is, literally no one here uses fans that blow 70CFM to give you 1st hand advice or opinion on which one is the 'quietest'. SPCR has not tested such high CFM fans either, so there's no accurate dBA/CFM numbers to guide you.

Basically what you're asking us to do is to google the specs of all the 50-70CFM fans then tell you which one has the lowest dBA rating, something that you can do yourself. And seeing as the manufacturers dBA numbers are almost always exagerated, it can be a pointless search.

Shaman · Post by **Shaman** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 10:14 am

Ok I take some of what I said above back. SPCR did test some fans that blow ~70CFM at 12V. You can read for yourself and take your own conclusions HERE

Just don't ask us what they sound like at 12V because we don't know.

003 · Post by **003** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 10:15 am

Well... what are some of the best 120mm fans that you do use here? Perhaps I could look at the higher up models of the ones that are used here. Is Papst good? I heard Panaflo/NMB has gone down in quality.

Shaman · Post by **Shaman** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 10:23 am

See above, looks like it's a tossup between the medium speed papst and the 1600rpm S-Flex.