hey everyone, i need to replace my two 120mm case fans. they are just to loud for the room they are in. you can sit anywhere in the room, up to 20 feet away and still hear them. so i would like something that is not as loud, not audible from more than 5 feet or so. price is somewhat of an issue, i would only like to spend around 30-40 bucks total for the fans. preferably ones without LEDS so they aren't annoying me at night. i was looking at tigerdirect and newegg as I'm from the US, and found some cool masters that i think would work but just wasn't sure. here is a link to the newegg ones: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103061 my only worries about this item is that the reviews on the main page are pretty negative, holes don't line up, stop working after a few months, etc. so if anyone could suggest some good fans, that aren't all that loud and move a decent amount of air, i would greatly appreciate it. thanks in advance.
Coolermaster fans are really weak. (For ref that 19dB fan at newegg is actually around 42dB) I'd recommend Scythe S-Flexes. SFF21G for outright cooling, SFF21F for a reasonable balance of high performance and acceptable noise, SFF21E for low noise.
thanks. i figured they werent going to be as quiet as they stated they were due to being cheap. i'll have a look at your recommendations. well im going to rule out the first ones, just because they are the loudest of the three. but between the other two, would i really notice an 8dB increase all that much. usually i sit around 10 feet away from my desktop unless im actually using it and it sounds really annoying from here currently. and my bed is around 25 feet away and i would rather not hear it at all from there.
25 feet is a considerable distance, you probably wouldn't hear much from there. I presume your PC isn't in the same room as your bed, or you have a very big house! Unfortunately how noisy something is to someone is entirely relative. The 31dB of the SFF21F is a bit noisy to me, but to other people it's practically silent.
well the pc is in the room i sleep, but the house is still pretty big. i live with my parents while im working on my masters so save some money. so i get the room above the garage which is fine with meas its pretty much all by itself and has everything i need in it other than a bathroom. but i think ill go with the quietest ones you suggested. just because im sure i wont hear them and with having two. thanks for the help sam.
sam-- thanks for the advice, just got the fans today. after putting them in, it is sooooooooooooo much quieter. you can barely hear it when you are sitting next to it. it does seem to push a little bit less air than before, but the temps are holding only about 2 degrees higher (15 instead of 13 degrees Celsius).
