Trouble finding a silent 92mm fan

[keif]

Hi guys

I'm having trouble finding a 92mm fan that is silent. I have a Scythe Tatsumi and the included 92mm Slipstream is very clicky and gets really buzzy at higher RPM. So far I've tried the Arctic F9 PWM Rev. 2 which was very, very quiet. At low RPM there was some audible chatter but it was very, very faint and was inaudible from about two feet. At high RPM the chatter disappeared and just produced a smooth turbulent noise. I thought I could do better and after reading good things about Noiseblocker I bought a BlacksilentPro PE-P which turned out to be really disappointing. It's just as clicky as the Scythe Slipstream but it also produces a noticeable humming. Maybe I got a bad one?

So now I'm looking at either the Noctua NF-A9 or Nexus Real Silent PWM. From what I've read it seems Noctuas aren't that great in terms of noise. I've read good things about Nexus and you guys seem to like them here but it's clear and purple which I'm not crazy about but wouldn't mind if it's silent at low RPM and doesn't click or chatter.

But I thought I'd post here first to see if anyone had any suggestions.

Also, I am pretty limited to other coolers as I have a Rosewill U2 and an Asrock Z97e-itx which has a very high CPU socket. There's only about 10mm between the Tatsumi and PSU. I've included a picture of it.

Thanks!

[xan_user]

I really doubt you need that many fans. one 120mm exhaust and the PSU fan should be enough...

what GPU and CPU?

and what are their temps at max load?

[fuzzymath10]

I replaced the original Scythe fan on my (non-big) Shuriken with the Noctua. It's actually pretty good. Mine doesn't click, and at high RPM it's just a whooshing noise.

I have it in a fairly tight case (a Lone Industries case; they've posted here before), and it just fits with the Shuriken. It does spin fast at high sustained loads (trying a cool a regular i7 3770), but stays quiet most of the time.

[keif]

I really doubt you need that many fans. one 120mm exhaust and the PSU fan should be enough...

what GPU and CPU?

and what are their temps at max load?

I actually tried running without the CPU fan since that's the only component that's bothering me and the CPU temperature went up by 20C under load, reaching 80C, compared to having a fan at 1300 RPM. Which would probably be ok but I'd like to keep things cooler if possible.

CPU is a 4670K at 4.1 GHz/1.050 Vcore. GPU is an Asus Strix 960. In Realbench the CPU hovers around 60C. In games at 90-100% usage the GPU is also around 60C. The case fans (Slipstreams) are at 900 RPM under load.

I replaced the original Scythe fan on my (non-big) Shuriken with the Noctua. It's actually pretty good. Mine doesn't click, and at high RPM it's just a whooshing noise.

I have it in a fairly tight case (a Lone Industries case; they've posted here before), and it just fits with the Shuriken. It does spin fast at high sustained loads (trying a cool a regular i7 3770), but stays quiet most of the time.

Thanks for your reply. Yeah at load I don't mind air turbulence, I just want silence at idle/low RPM. I may grab a Noctua just because I'm interested to see how they are since they're so popular.

[Arbutus]

I, also, was going to suggest that you didn't need a cpu cooler fan for your particular setup. As you have tried this option with inadequate results, I will the suggest ducting. You my get your desired requirements if you duct one or both of the chassis fans. The ducting may not need to be closely coupled. I have used garbage fans as 1" ducts by cutting out the fan guts.

[keif]

I, also, was going to suggest that you didn't need a cpu cooler fan for your particular setup. As you have tried this option with inadequate results, I will the suggest ducting. You my get your desired requirements if you duct one or both of the chassis fans. The ducting may not need to be closely coupled. I have used garbage fans as 1" ducts by cutting out the fan guts.

I haven't thought about that. I'd have to work around the 24 pin cable but I'll keep that in mind. Thanks.