New xBits 120 mm Fan Roundup, Part I: 1350 RPM or Lower

[ces]

New xBits 120 mm Fan Roundup, Part I: 1350 RPM or Lower Rotation Speed

Over 23 fans including:
Arctic Cooling ARCTIC F12 PWM
Nexus 120mm Real Silent
Noiseblocker NB-BlackSilent PRO PL-1 and PL-2
Scythe Kama PWM (DFS122512L-PWM)
Scythe Slip Stream 120 mm Slim (SY1212SL12SL, SY1212SL12L)
Triebwerk TK-121 (120 x 55mm, 1200 rpm)

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cooler ... dup-1.html

[ces]

Here is the link to the original chart:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/picture/?src=/i ... ec_big.png

My big disappointment is that they didn't measure static pressure and didn't include the Gentle Typhoons.

I'm looking forward to SPCR's next fan roundup.

[frenchie]

This chart is more interesting I think : it shows the measured noise level of all those fans.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/picture/?src=/i ... 33_xbt.png

Also of note for me :
- the testing methodology uses a home made air straightner made with straws (like the one SPCR tested some time ago)
- the Nexus fan that they test is the D12SL-12BL (the PWM clear platic version with LEDs) while SPCR uses the D12SL-12 (test results is "Although they do not make it into the top four, they should be appreciated [...] by any user who prefers quiet computers")
- the Noiseblocker NB-BlackSilent PRO PL-1 and PL2 performed really well in the tests.
- the Scythe are once again at the top of the chart.
- the Floston Red Impeller 120Q (in the top 5) returns no results in google shopping.
- no Gentle Typhoons, no Noctuas

[EDIT : content rephrased]

[ces]

Yeah... I would have selected a much different group of fans. And the xbits reviews just don't seem as thoughtful as SPCR's. Sort of the difference between a gourmand and gourmet.

[CA_Steve]

Still, it's a nice roundup...and helps separate the grain from the chaff. Too bad the Noiseblockers sell for $20 and not $13 as mentioned in the article. Maybe he meant Euros

[dhanson865]

The other big downfall is the sound floor being so high. They gave editors choice to a fan that claims 11 dBA but their sound floor during testing was over 30 dBA (I scanned the article but couldn't find mention of what sound meter they used).

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=47290 is the long running thread where we've discussed how easy it would be to buy or rent a proper sound meter for a roundup like this.

Sound floors over 20 dBA just don't do low RPM fans justice. I'm not going to ask every site on the planet to make a anechoic chamber like SPCR did I'm just saying buy or rent a better sound meter. One of the Casella models would be good

The CEL-430 was rated down to 17 dBA
The CEL-620 is rated down to 20 dBA

I mean sure it's ~$2000 to get the meter and a mic calibrator or ~400 + the cost of a silent PC (SSD, CPU, HS, etc) to do it Mike's way. But we are talking about a review site that tests hardware on a constant basis.

[CA_Steve]

It's the meter, not the test area. The test equipment is shown in the 140mm review they referenced. The Center 321 meter has a floor of 30dB...and can be set to A weighted.

[continuum]

Xbitlabs' first language is NOT english if memory serves.. and yeah their graphs were awesome-- but a bit hard to break down...... I too would like to see Gentle Typhoon's too, but hey, it's not too bad...

[MikeK]

Any comments on the Nexus' finish? Well it's not really bad I guess, just beaten by 5 or so fans. It's quite good in CFM/dBa. The Noiseblocker NB Multiframe and the Scythe Kama Flow 2 and Nanoxia seem really great though... Triebwerk too.

Those charts at the end are pretty darn awesome. dBa vs CFM is really handy. Mike, get us some charts like this

Interesting:

We’ve got the same leaders here (in dBa/CFM) while the group of losers has been joined by the Scythe Slip Stream 120 Slim fans which cannot pump large amounts of air due to their design and slimness.

Lowest noise level bar chart available-

(source: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cooler ... html#sect0)

My notes:

• The leader fans all cost more than the Nexus so we can still call it king.
• The Nexus and the Scythe Slip Stream have the highest start voltages at 9.9 and 11.4.
• The Nanoxia is a very good competitor though as one of the noise to airflow leaders, and just $3 more than the Nexus.
• Nanoxia DX12 not available, except for one site - lots of German text but based in Malaysia, and really slow for me
• Noiseblocker NB-Multiframe available at FrozenCPU.com
• Scythe Kama Flow 2 available lots of places
• Triebwerk available at FrozenCPU.com

[Jordan]

[*]The leader fans all cost more than the Nexus so we can still call it king.

Hmm, on a performance/$ basis, maybe. But to get the quietest I really don't mind paying more. Even double the price if we're only talking about fans.

[CA_Steve]

Perhaps...but at some point you get to the threshold where you can't tell the difference but still pay more $'s.

[firehorse]

Hi,

Any comments on the Nexus' finish?

I was looking into this.

xbits state starting voltage was 9.9V whereas spcr has it at 5.5V.

I checked the models and found this
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cooler ... html#sect0 - the 'basic' fan without LEDS, for the similar sound level 33.9 vs 33.4 @ 1050rpm, the basic model pushed 25.58cfm vs 16.8cfm. Can changing the plastic and adding leds make such a difference?

But then you check the cfm measurement methodology and they are different. Measuring the 'basic' they had a short bottle. Measuring the transparent Nexus, they used a 400mm length tube.

Also the xbit starting voltage for the 'basic' fan was 6.5–13.8 V, more in line with the spcr result.

So I think they are different fans!

[Parappaman]

The LED Nexus performs much worse than the regular one, that's a fact.
I'm surprised by the Arctic fans. Not by their relatively poor performance, but for the high price they mentioned. Here, I got my PWM fans for 5 euros each. At that price, they're a steal, but not for twice as much. By the way, the 92mm variants are better than anything out there.
Still, my all-time favorite fans (the Noiseblocker BlackSilent Pro) are confirmed to be the best ones around. Here, they're just as expensive as Noctua fans, but look and perform better in my opinion. Also, the mounting assembly is just so much better than anything else!

[andymcca]

Perhaps...but at some point you get to the threshold where you can't tell the difference but still pay more $'s.

Blaspheme!
Edit: but I'm sure this depends on the location of the machine, case, other components, and ears. Lots of big ears around here

[MikeK]

The leader fans all cost more than the Nexus so we can still call it king.

Hmm, on a performance/$ basis, maybe. But to get the quietest I really don't mind paying more. Even double the price if we're only talking about fans.

It's just a matter of preference then. You're willing to pay more for a diminishing increase in performance due to your needs for a certain absolute performance (the quietness). The Nexus is quiet enough for me. I just bought several for a new system and I'm not as hardcore as I used to be. Gaming is a higher priority right now - I have to keep a couple gaming systems up to date and saving money certainly is an issue with the expensive components I have... and I've decided against modding the video cards right now so those are the noise leaders.

Blaspheme!

Haha, so true Kind of funny I've backtracked on quietness now. I may not be the most faithful SPCRer anymore.

So I think they are different fans!

The LED Nexus performs much worse than the regular one, that's a fact.

Hmmm, so we can't go by that report for the Nexus performance, argh. This baloney is the reason we visit SPCR. Good review definitely but an SPCR version would really fit our needs best.

[appletree]

I bought couple of Nexus LED fans just because the basic ones were out of stock and they all start at 7V without problems. Of course the main problem with those fans is that the LED light is really annoying especially when used as case rear at night so it was only matter of time to replace them with proper basic fans. Also I think that reasonable way to compare CFM of LED to basic fan is to look at the review of PWM fan http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cooler ... up_13.html and compare to basic version http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cooler ... up_12.html

RPM per RPM the LED and PWM fan should produce equal CFM because of they practically identical impeller shape. Of course it sucks that you have to compare it this way (just because xbitlabs seems to use different methodology for each of their fan roundups) and it still isn't too revealing about dB per RPM between LED and basic, yet to me the acoustics were subjectively very similar to basic fan.

[loimlo]

I'm surpised to learn that Arctic Cooling ARCTIC F12 PWM scored so poorly in Xbitlab's review. I found nothing but good experience with this AC's PWM fan which was very quiet below 800RPM. That said, I'm now using Enermax Magma PWM fan for its better bearing/noise characteristics.

Also, Scythe SlipStream Slim looked like an average joe in the review that somewhat surprised me given Scythe's established reputation with regard to silence.

[Rekonn]

Yeah... I would have selected a much different group of fans. And the xbits reviews just don't seem as thoughtful as SPCR's. Sort of the difference between a gourmand and gourmet.

I agree. In the comments of the article they explained that they excluded some fans because they already reviewed them in a previous roundup. But, they change testing methodology with every roundup so the results aren't comparable, ugh.

To those that would like SPCR to do a fan roundup, please visit the Donate forum. I tried unsuccessfully a while back to get one going, but in the last thread MikeC said he'd try to get fan testing started in Jan. Maybe he just needs a few posts of encouragement.