Quiet 80mm case fan recommendations?

I'm looking to replace the intake fan on my case. My only requirements are that the fan is 80mm, and that it is quiet.

Can anyone steer me either towards some good fans, or away from the bad fans?

 

Do you have a drill or a dremel?

I think silverstone is your best option.

 

Silenx are expensive but some say they are quietest.
http://www.silenx.com/productcart/pc/viewCat_Z.asp?idCategory=3

Vantec Stealth are less quiet, but cheaper. (still more quiet than other fans)

 

Panaflo

www.heatsinkfactory.com

 

Panaflos ratios suck, They were great 4 years ago. Even with a controller, you can do better than them. Much love for PFs, but much hate for the lack of getting on with 2006.

 

I've always used vantec stealth case fans. I recently stumbled upon the Arctic Cooling website and noticed their fans had a better CFM/db ratio. The Arctic Cooling 80mm fans put out more CFM and a lower db than the vantec stealth fans.

http://www.arctic-cooling.com/fans2.php?idx=95&data=2&disc=

 

if you want silent, nexus fans are the way to go.
i heard quite a bit about silenx as of late, but i dont trust it, 14, 11 or 9dB? no way in hell, unless they measured at about 10 to 15 metres away from the fan.

 

80mm i wont recomend a silenX, and I own 7 SX fans now. 14db is right. Quiet fans arent new, just ones that come with a connector on them are new. SX isnt new either, they've been releasing quiet fans for over 3 years... nobody even mentioned them on the forum until i made a big stink about them LOL! 120mm SX's rock. even AD's arent close.. oops, thats another name people dont know since newegg or zipzoom doesnt sell them.

 

quiet, ok, but 14dB, no way, not at 64cfm. if it were that good, the guys at silentpcreview would be using nothing else, and they keep on saying the nexus is the best silent fan around.

 

SXs cost too much. Almost $25 a fan is ridiculous! Thats why they arent favored.

 

i dont think the price is the reason, but that the claimed specs are impossible to believe.
just compare with other fans: nexus/YL is 28dB, 47CFM, 1350rpm, scythe sff21e is 20.1dB, 49CFM, 1200rpm, vantec stealth is 28dB, 53cfm, 1500rpm, arctic cooling 120 is 23.5dB, 56.3cfm, 1500rpm. those fans spin at about the same, or lower, and all have way higher claimed noise ratings.
the only ones i found that come close are aerocool turbine fans, 19.66dB, 37cfm, 950rpm, the coolermaster ultra silent, 13dB, 11.27cfm, 720rpm, and the scythe sff21d, 8.7dB, 33.5cfm, 800rpm(also bogus claims imo, untill it gets proven). all these numbers are claimed by manufacturer btw.
the point i am trying to make is that those silenx numbers are impossible to believe compared to other fans. im not saying that they are bad or loud fans.
sorry mate, burden of proof is on the believers.

 

Okay, NP I have stealths, I have YLs, all good fans. SX just has a better bearing design. Have you seen the middle of these things? They're tiny! smaller axis than a lot of 40mm fans.

 

From hearsay, they claim that Vantec Stealth uses ball bearings, while Sx uses hybrid sleeve,which is quieter at low speed/early life.

if 50 people are willing to donate $1 each (paypal), i will be happy to buy a decibel meter on ebay and silenx fans, and vantec stealth fans and do a test for you guys. (im serious tho, $1USD aint much right?)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7598724241&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT&rd=1
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103667&cp=&kw=decibel&parentPage=search
I know it says min. 50db, but im sure my entire pc would reach that. I can run the pc without the fans, then with the fans, and the difference in db will be the db of the fan itself. right?
(im no sound expert, maybe it doesn't add up that way)

 

What are the fans with the golf ball-like indentations on them?
I remember them beeing exeptionally quiet, and rather cheap.

 

im willing to give it a shot godzilla, im sceptic about the ratings, but wont let you miss a chance to prove me wrong.
im no sound expert either, i know a bit about it, but far from all.

 

Godzilla, does this worry you:

50-126? Wouldnt you want i to measure lower than that?

 

Short and Simple, Go for Coolermaster or Antec. If you've got heavy pocket then definitely go for Zalman's solutions!!

Bye.

 

right, thats why i said, i'll take the difference between my overall system with and without the fans im testing. I can put the meter really close, so for sure my overall case should be over 50db on full blast. Maybe the difference is a linear subtraction. But again, i am no sound expert. Even if i can't give you the exact dB on each fan, I can tell you the relative difference.

Kwak, what do you mean give it a shot? Meaning you will buy silenx or donate $1? Just to let you know (my disclaimer ), i've only pointed them out based on paper specs. I've never owned a silenx b4. My quiet pc comes from fan controller slowing down my 120mm fan.

 

i mean the donating. i havent got the cash to buy a silenx myself, im pretty much broke since i bought my raptor from benktlottie.
before we should go through with it, it would be best to have somebody who knows that can tell us if your way of thinking is correct or not.

 

http://www.papst.de fans for years now, solid and silent.