Question is whether to get the normal version (1000RPM) or the High-Speed version (1650RPM)? I guess I would run the normal version at 100% since it's so quiet anyway, but what if the airflow isn't enough? Then I would be sad not to have bought the High-Speed version that I would run at 50-75% depending on the GPU load.
Since the time I bought my first Noctua fans I am amazed about how they perform. Noctua offers different fans for different scenarios. The industrial line is obviously louder (as mentioned in some post before), but those are intended for servers and the like, which are typically placed in a server room where noise is acceptable. For my private build I use NF-F12 PWM as case fans and NH-C14 as my CPU cooler (with 2011 adapter kit). With those adapters and some fine tuning in BIOS you only hear some "noise" of the moving air, really acceptable and definitely not disturbing. The loudest fan sits on my ASUS GTX970 Strixx. A big PLUS is: You get a lot of accessories with each fan. Included are (typically) a low noise adapter and an ultra low noise adapter, one "Y-cable" to connect two fans at one port (cool for CPU coolers with two fans), together with screws and those rubber thingies I always forget the name ... A NEGATIVE: The price is expensive for a fan. For my eight fans I paid about 160 Euros! But they absolutely rock! If you can afford them buy them. But do a search before to find the best price. I saw the very same fan for 19,90 Euros and for 34,95 Euros! Overview fans: https://noctua.at/en/products/fan
I have zero whine on my EK fans at ANY rpm setting using PWM. The EVO fans are even better as they turn off completely when CPU is at any temp below 40C. Maybe you had a bad batch of fans, it can happen to all vendors of fans. Just look at what happened to the glorious Noctua with the fan blades losing colour over time from a different factory in China. Happens to all manufacturers.
Hi there I would get high speed, just due you will or can run fans faster if you are really need to run, its good to have extra RPM if you are really need to I usually running intake case fans as max 1000-1200RPM that's my personal max, anything above didn't make a lot difference in temperatures If you can find in yours country Thermalright TY-143SQ or TY-147ASQ then I would suggest get these fans.. I use these fans as my intake or exhaust fans as well and used these fans on my NH-D15 Regarding the GPU load and fan linking, only way how to do it is to use Speedfan I know their UI is bit old but trust me works beautifully, have used that on friend PC Hope this helps Thanks, Jura
Hi there I have at home 6*EK Vardar F3 1850RPM and tested every fan separately on my loop, I thought so is bad batch of fans as well but this cannot be possible as I bought from 3 different sellers All of them whine in low RPM, due this I can't recommend them These EVO fans I planned to get as well but decided against Noctua fans I have at home several models like A15, F12 and few of the IPPC models and no issues with all these fans Hope this helps Thanks, Jura
@jura11 Sorry you got bad EK fans and I hope you find suitable replacements. Good morning everyone. I got the chance to test a new set of fans yesterday. be quiet! SilentWings 3 140mm (HighSpeed) Great packaging with a lot of different accessories like two different sets of corners (one hard plastic and one rubber anti-vibration) plus adapter and screws obviously. The build quality seems good enough and the cable is long. Unfortunately they're loud AF (pardon my french) at higher RPMs. I'd say they're only suitable for operation around 50% (~900 RPM) but when I ramp them up to 75% (1200RPM) they're super loud and at max (1600RPM) it's unbearable. On the other hand I'd say that they do move a lot of air, and you might wonder if it's enough at 50%? I'd say after some testing that it might be (at least now in the winter) but not sure how it will be in the summer. This is obviously not a good reference point but my card is running at 73 degrees (1650RPM) when playing games that stress the card to 99% like Fortnite or ME:Andromeda. I'll do some more testing cause unfortunately the front of my case may be the culprit here adding some wooshing when the airflow is increased. I'll still buy a pair of AF140s and compare.
Hi there Hard to say if I got bad batch, tried to RMA fans but EK won't RMA them and getting another set just to confirm that hard to say Regarding the BeQuiet Silent Wings 3,where is yours case I assume case is very close to yours ears, on table? As I said every fan can be loud in max RPM or higher RPM, I have used these fans on few builds and occasions I barely set these fans to run more than above 1100-1200RPM... What ambient temperature did you played the games? But still 73°C is very good temperatures in Mass Effect Andromeda as this game really pushing GPU to max with good utilisation Have look on these fans Did you tried to remove front panel on the case if this improve noise, Phanteks use pretty thick filters and removing these filters can improve airflow I know these BeQuiet Silent Wings 3 push a lot air like in cases or through the radiator Get cheap thermometer and place this inside the case and compare with yours ambient temperatures In my case difference between ambient and interior of case is around 0.5-1°C during the idle,during the load or gaming or mining or folding or rendering difference is in 2-4°C and I have few pairs of fans at home and always test them in my rig and compare them and is good to have more fans Hope this helps Thanks, Jura
Hey. Too bad EK won't RMA them. What about the shop where you got them? My case is on the floor. Well, I did try 75% (1200RPM) but it was really loud. My room temperature is 20-21 degrees so I would guess the ambient temperature in idle mode is just that. For an air cooled 1080Ti, I guess you're right. But the GPU fans do work some, on the other hand it's normal. I have tried removing the front panel and it does help but then there is no dust filter. I can also remove the dust filter of the front panel and just keep the front panel on (it kinda acts like a dust filter of it's own). I got a thermometer so I'll give you temps. Now to my next problem (I'm not very lucky with this case/fan thing) : I bought AF140 fans to compare and when the front panel is off they sound normal but as soon as I put the front panel back on the fans start making this weird humming noise. Even if I only take the dust filter out of the front panel and place it in front of the fans they make this noise. It's irritating since neither the ML140 or SilentWings 3 made this noise. The interesting part is that if I run the AF140s at 850RPM they cool my GPU as good as the SilentWings3 at 1000RPM. I'm thinking about selling my Phanteks Case and getting the R6 TG instead. I'm really getting frustrated and tired of all the problems.
Hi there Sorry for late reply Shop won't take them and don't want again go through this, tried twice and twice they're returned them to me as they're OK Regarding the noise at 75% or 1200RPM that's bad, if they're loud at 1200RPM, usually I run fans as max at 1200RPM but that's only when I fold or rendering or mining, during the gaming I run fans at 1000-1050RPM as max because water temperatures with 1200RPM or more is just 1-2°C higher Depends if yours room is dusty, if not you can try run without the dust filter this I run on my Enthoo Primo for while, but after I been diagnosed with the psoriasis then no way I can't run my cases without the filters If you looking at Phanteks cases they use double filters,you can try play with that, somewhere I have thread which is showing how filter can hamper airflow, will try post later on.. With fans and yours issues on this case, its strange noise you are hearing with filters or front panel on as you can't hear it with other fans, you can try use spacers for front panel this I have used on EVOLV, this case really suffers from bad airflow and usually modding front and top panel is required In yours case this I wouldn't think you need it to do that R6 TG really looks good, friend have that case and we are planning put there 2*360mm radiators for his build CPU temperatures are same with both fans like BeQuiet Silent Wings 3 or AF140 during the gaming etc? Hope this helps Thanks, Jura
Hi. It's OK! Too bad that the shop won't take them back. You are right that the Phanteks case does have one perforated metal plate that could be considered as "dust filter" The sides are filtered as well but not the bottom though this can be solved with some tape. I'll see how it goes with the TG case though. Could be that TG cases in general are warmer than non TG cases due to the tempered glass? I think the R6 TG case is better at exhausting hot air than the Phanteks since the top dust filter is so extremely dense. I don't actively monitor CPU temps but they've always been good with the new cooler I got last year. The CPU fan always takes care of things.
Hi there You can try remove first filter if this does help, which should in theory helps as I run my case without the filter Yes agree top filter is restrictive on Enthoo or on Phanteks cases in general I think, have tried or built there few builds and usually I ended with custom filter On Enthoo Primo running with top filter my temperatures has been around 3-5°C I think higher, need to check my older logs but running without the top filter I have better temperatures Regarding the Fractal Design Define R6 TG, friend bought the case and we are planning to build there loop in coming weeks and can't comment what temperatures will be there What I like on Define cases is good noise isolation or noise dampening, lots of features although front looks like can cause more restrictions,older Define has suffered from not the best supplied fans If you have opened HWiNFO then can you please measure CPU temperatures during the gaming with fans running slower or faster? Hope this helps Thanks, Jura
Hi Jura. It's not the most clever idea to have a dense dust filter if air cannot move out. After all, an open top is made for exhaust and if there are difficulties with that, there's no point in having it open at all. 3-5 degrees difference is quite a lot. I only remember testing with or without a top fan and having one did indeed help a little bit with the temps. I'm using MSIAB to monitor CPU temps but it's hard to measure since the temps go up and down all the time and are not as constant as GPU temps. Still the GPU fan does an absolutely terrific job of cooling the CPU and is not loud at all. Ambient temps seem to be 26 when I start the computer and go up to 30 after a while but I've not checked further than this.
Yes I do use them, but I have lower RPM versions and also using them at low speeds (custom curve on WC running at 600 rpm on idle and 900+ on full load, did not needed to go higher so far) using Aquaero controller. Did you got high RPM version ?
Hi there I saw only this difference in temperatures 3-5°C with AIO or when I have run push pull configuration on radiators,when I run NH-D15 there, removing top filter didn't make a lot difference or if there has been difference I would say has been marginal With custom water loop (not with AIO) my interior or inside temperatures has been within 1-2°C from ambient on idle, on load inside or interior temperatures raised by 3-5°C,that's with top filter removed With air NH-D15 inside or interior temperatures has been in 1-2°C and at load interior or inside temperatures temperatures raised by 2-3°C, that's with top filter in place, all measured by two probes on Aquaero 6XT Aha you are using only MSI Afterburner for measuring temperatures,you can use Open HW monitor and enable logging there, this I used on few builds for measuring 4°C difference in temperatures is still good, with current water loop and case(Caselabs M8 and pedestal) difference between the ambient and inside/interior temperature is on idle at 1-2°C as max, on load 4-5°C is usually max what I seen that's during the mining , lowest ambient and inside delta I saw in gaming,usually is in range of 2-3°C as max,in rendering or mining 4-5°C is what I can see I must admit adding extra 2*120 or 2*140mm fans to front would improve temperatures but this I planning add on my Caselabs M8 but first I need order flex mount for Caselabs and this I can only get from US which is pain to order But with Enthoo Primo removing top filter with custom water loop improved temperatures, later on I replaced top filter for custom one which has improved temperatures more and they're been close to like with top filter removed These filters are good to have although they can be too dense, I rather have ventilated top than have just solid one, have build in EVOLV or in BeQuiet cases and been very mad with solid top panels as they restricted airflow a lot In general ventilated top is good to have, I prefer case with ventilated top like not but that's me Sealing edges around radiators helped in EVOLV or in Enthoo Primo with better airflow and temperatures in total Hope this helps Thanks, Jura
If you combine all small temperature saving things then you could have a significantly cooler system? I could but wouldn't Open HW do the same as MSI Afterburner? What I'd like to try someday are SP fans. I tried four different normal fans and it's so clear that when putting them behind or in front of a filter it drastically changes the amount of air that is transported through. They say that SP fans move less air and are more noisy but if they simply push through the air necessary, then maybe it's OK since a normal fan would struggle. How did you even find a custom filter that would fit? Agreed that some filters are simply too dense.
Hi there Yes combing all these temperature savings I would have cooler system that's for sure, with air cooler this has been much easier to achieve than with under water,under water I would need to run fans much faster which I'm not prepare to do I just tried few days back at Enthoo Primo Asus Rampage V Extreme with 5960x and 5930k both run 4.5Ghz at similar voltage at 1.23v, both has been stable in gaming or rendering and OCCT 4.4.2 with temperatures on PKG at 68-72°C in OCCT, for cooling I used my old NH-D15, then I swapped the cooler for H115i with ML140 and I couldn't run more than 4.4GHz which has been strange, temperatures has been in high 70's with some spikes to 82°C with 4.4GHz If Open HW will do same as MSI Afterburner depends as you can log data with OHM which is good, but you can do that with any good monitoring SW I use for my monitoring Aquasuite and Aquaero Regarding testing other fans, have look on Thermalright TY-143 or TY-147A fans, these fans are my favourite as case or air cooler fans, these fans have 120mm mounting holes, for 140mm mounting holes you want SQ versions TY-143 are 2500RPM fans and you don't want to run these fans at full RPM, I run these fans as max at 1200RPM and TY-147A these I run at max and still these fans has been pretty quiet Usually with fans you need to have look on mm/H20 not CFM, because many companies release CFM ratings in open air not through the restriction due this always check mm h20 rating first Many companies use same filter materials,which can be too dense with this many people would agree Regarding the custom filter, friend made for me custom top filter, he have water cutting jet machine but few companies offer similar products or modifications For Phanteks Enthoo Primo I would check this https://mnpctech.com/phanteks-case-mods/#/product/707 And I'm sure Bill at MNPCTech will be able to help you with modifications on Phanteks cases Hope this helps Thanks, Jura
