Looking for quiet 120mm HTPC storage cooling
#1
I need 120MM quiet fan to pull hot air from a closet when my HTPC sits.

Can you recommend a good money/value fan that shines in pulling instead of pushing air?

10x
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#2
What do you think about this fan:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6835103052

would it be possible to turn it to usb fan?
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#3
There are a ton of fan recommendations in this forum, you just need to search. Look for Noctua, Factual Designs, Xilence, there are loads more. Or just go over to Quietpc.com


David
HTPC1: Intel Pentium G620, 4GB RAM, AMD HD6570, Samsung 830 SSD, Silverstone GD05 case.
HTPC2: AMD Athlon II X2 255, 4GB RAM, AMD HD5450, Western Digital HDD, Silverstone ML03 case.
HTPC3: AMD E350, 4GB RAM, AMD HD6310, OCZ Agility 3 SSD, Akasa Crypto case.
Media Server: i3-3220, 8gb RAM, WHS 2011, 8tb capacity, Fractal Design ARC Midi R2 case.
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#4
(2012-09-23, 17:56)DavidT99 Wrote: There are a ton of fan recommendations in this forum, you just need to search. Look for Noctua, Factual Designs, Xilence, there are loads more. Or just go over to Quietpc.com


David

Thanks, after reading lots of reviews - I narrowed it down to 2 fans:

scythe S-Flex SFF21E 120mm 1200rpm @20db
scythe S-Flex SFF21F 120mm 1600rpm @28db

The fan will be mounted in a closet - sitting distance 3m

should I go for the faster fan?
will I hear it from such distance?

10x
Reply
#5
(2012-09-24, 15:18)embedded Wrote:
(2012-09-23, 17:56)DavidT99 Wrote: There are a ton of fan recommendations in this forum, you just need to search. Look for Noctua, Factual Designs, Xilence, there are loads more. Or just go over to Quietpc.com


David

Thanks, after reading lots of reviews - I narrowed it down to 2 fans:

scythe S-Flex SFF21E 120mm 1200rpm @20db
scythe S-Flex SFF21F 120mm 1600rpm @28db

The fan will be mounted in a closet - sitting distance 3m

should I go for the faster fan?
will I hear it from such distance?

10x
If you want a quieter (15 dBA) and better air flow (74 CFM) fan, I'm suggesting this- SilenX EFX-12-15 Effizio Silent 120mm Case Fan


>Alienware X51- do it all HTPC
>Simplify XBMC configurations
>HOW-TO Bitstreaming using XBMC
I refused to watch movie without bitstreaming HD audio!
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#6
(2012-09-24, 15:54)bluray Wrote:
(2012-09-24, 15:18)embedded Wrote:
(2012-09-23, 17:56)DavidT99 Wrote: There are a ton of fan recommendations in this forum, you just need to search. Look for Noctua, Factual Designs, Xilence, there are loads more. Or just go over to Quietpc.com


David

Thanks, after reading lots of reviews - I narrowed it down to 2 fans:

scythe S-Flex SFF21E 120mm 1200rpm @20db
scythe S-Flex SFF21F 120mm 1600rpm @28db

The fan will be mounted in a closet - sitting distance 3m

should I go for the faster fan?
will I hear it from such distance?

10x
If you want a quieter (15 dBA) and better air flow (74 CFM) fan, I'm suggesting this- SilenX EFX-12-15 Effizio Silent 120mm Case Fan

It looks like those Scythe fans may be discontinued. You may find them somewhere...

As an owner and current user of both Scythe fans (120mm slipstreams), and the exact SilenX fans blu-ray referred to, I'll say that the Scythe fans are much quieter. Nearly silent from 12 ft. away. You say your fans will be mounted in a closet though? I imagine most high quality fans will be practically undetectable in that situation.
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#7
(2012-09-24, 16:12)thrak76 Wrote: As an owner and current user of both Scythe fans (120mm slipstreams), and the exact SilenX fans blu-ray referred to, I'll say that the Scythe fans are much quieter. Nearly silent from 12 ft. away.
I don't have the Scythe fan, but I owns several SilenX fans. It is the most Silent fan I own......I cannot hear it from 8ft away. I use sound meter to measure it from 8 ft away, and it didn't register any noise from the fan either.....if you have a sound meter, you can try to measure the noise leve at several distances. I'm curious to know what it register on sound meter from both fans.....

Going by the spec, SilenX EFX-12-15 Effizio have better air flow and silencer than scythe S-Flex SFF21F......

>Alienware X51- do it all HTPC
>Simplify XBMC configurations
>HOW-TO Bitstreaming using XBMC
I refused to watch movie without bitstreaming HD audio!
Reply
#8
(2012-09-24, 16:12)thrak76 Wrote:
(2012-09-24, 15:54)bluray Wrote:
(2012-09-24, 15:18)embedded Wrote: Thanks, after reading lots of reviews - I narrowed it down to 2 fans:

scythe S-Flex SFF21E 120mm 1200rpm @20db
scythe S-Flex SFF21F 120mm 1600rpm @28db

The fan will be mounted in a closet - sitting distance 3m

should I go for the faster fan?
will I hear it from such distance?

10x
If you want a quieter (15 dBA) and better air flow (74 CFM) fan, I'm suggesting this- SilenX EFX-12-15 Effizio Silent 120mm Case Fan

It looks like those Scythe fans may be discontinued. You may find them somewhere...

As an owner and current user of both Scythe fans (120mm slipstreams), and the exact SilenX fans blu-ray referred to, I'll say that the Scythe fans are much quieter. Nearly silent from 12 ft. away. You say your fans will be mounted in a closet though? I imagine most high quality fans will be practically undetectable in that situation.

I can find the Scythe where I live - finding SilenX is much harder task.
What do you think should I take the 1600 RPM or the 1200 RPM?

As I see it I would not hear it from that distance + closet.

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#9
(2012-09-24, 16:22)bluray Wrote: I don't have the Scythe fan, but I owns several SilenX fans. It is the most Silent fan I own......I cannot hear it from 8ft away. I use sound meter to measure it from 8 ft away, and it didn't register any noise from the fan either.....if you have a sound meter, you can try to measure the noise leve at several distances. I'm curious to know what it register on sound meter from both fans.....

Going by the spec, SilenX EFX-12-15 Effizio have better air flow and silencer than scythe S-Flex SFF21F......

I don't have a reliable sound meter (not counting the app in my phone!), so my observations are completely subjective. I'll agree that the Silenx are very quiet though - just not as quiet as the Scythe. I don't have the Silenx in a machine right now, because i replaced them with the Scythes. Since the two manufacturers produce fans at around the same price point, I'll be going with Scythe from now on.

(2012-09-24, 16:27)embedded Wrote: I can find the Scythe where I live - finding SilenX is much harder task.
What do you think should I take the 1600 RPM or the 1200 RPM?

As I see it I would not hear it from that distance + closet.

Theoretically, the higher the RPMs the greater the CFM of air flow. So I'd go with the 1600 if that's what you're deciding between. Are the Flex line available? If not, look into the Slipstream series.

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#10
(2012-09-24, 17:08)thrak76 Wrote:
(2012-09-24, 16:22)bluray Wrote: I don't have the Scythe fan, but I owns several SilenX fans. It is the most Silent fan I own......I cannot hear it from 8ft away. I use sound meter to measure it from 8 ft away, and it didn't register any noise from the fan either.....if you have a sound meter, you can try to measure the noise leve at several distances. I'm curious to know what it register on sound meter from both fans.....

Going by the spec, SilenX EFX-12-15 Effizio have better air flow and silencer than scythe S-Flex SFF21F......

I don't have a reliable sound meter (not counting the app in my phone!), so my observations are completely subjective. I'll agree that the Silenx are very quiet though - just not as quiet as the Scythe. I don't have the Silenx in a machine right now, because i replaced them with the Scythes. Since the two manufacturers produce fans at around the same price point, I'll be going with Scythe from now on.

(2012-09-24, 16:27)embedded Wrote: I can find the Scythe where I live - finding SilenX is much harder task.
What do you think should I take the 1600 RPM or the 1200 RPM?

As I see it I would not hear it from that distance + closet.

Theoretically, the higher the RPMs the greater the CFM of air flow. So I'd go with the 1600 if that's what you're deciding between. Are the Flex line available? If not, look into the Slipstream series.

The s-flex are available - I will take 2 of them 1600 RPM - one for my HTPC and one for my receiver.

you have 1600RPM?
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#11
(2012-09-24, 17:21)embedded Wrote: The s-flex are available - I will take 2 of them 1600 RPM - one for my HTPC and one for my receiver.

you have 1600RPM?

I have a 1900rpm on my CPU cooler, and 3 1600rpm on the case.
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#12
(2012-09-24, 17:26)thrak76 Wrote:
(2012-09-24, 17:21)embedded Wrote: The s-flex are available - I will take 2 of them 1600 RPM - one for my HTPC and one for my receiver.

you have 1600RPM?

I have a 1900rpm on my CPU cooler, and 3 1600rpm on the case.

Can you share the noise level of the 1600RPM?
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#13
Quiet.

Cited db ratings are a bunch of BS. Who knows what the conditions were when they "tested" those ratings. If the fans were rated in an anechoic chamber, then nobody (most likely) has those conditions at home. Maybe they weren't tested at all, and the manufacturer is just associating an arbitrary number with their product.

So, fan noise levels are subjective. One person may find a fan loud, as another person finds the exact same fan quiet.
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#14
(2012-09-24, 18:32)thrak76 Wrote: So, fan noise levels are subjective.
To prevent it from being subjective to human ear is to test the noise level at the actual seating area with a sound meter.....if it doesn't show up in the sound meter, it is dead silent......

With human ear, it will always different.......

Image
>Alienware X51- do it all HTPC
>Simplify XBMC configurations
>HOW-TO Bitstreaming using XBMC
I refused to watch movie without bitstreaming HD audio!
Reply
#15
(2012-09-24, 18:59)bluray Wrote:
(2012-09-24, 18:32)thrak76 Wrote: So, fan noise levels are subjective.
To prevent it from being subjective to human ear is to test the noise level at the actual seating area with a sound meter.....if it doesn't show up in the sound meter, it is dead silent......

With human ear, it will always different.......
maybe I know why: some sound frequencies are less tolerated by humans compared to others with the same dB level.
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