Noctua Fan Alternatives

[Nuluvius]

I'm looking for cheaper alternatives to the Noctua range preferably with LED but if good enough I don't mind so much.

The Noctua models I am interested in finding equivalents or 'good enoughs' for are: NF-F12, NF-A14 & NF-P12

All must be PWM and if there are any "industrial" equivalents I'd like to consider those as well (3000 RPM versions). Ideally I don't really want to spend over £6-£10 per fan, the cheaper the better really.

Any suggestions would be welcome. Thank you!

[TheDutyPaid]

All fans are made to a cost. My last rig was 5 years old before I replaced it and changed all the fans 5 times. Noctua always gets high review scores and rightly so, but of you are on a budget then Cooler Master or Be Quiet may be worth a look.

[peterb]

BeQuiet are - pretty quiet, but not that much cheaper than the Noctua. They seem pretty good quality on inspection at least.

If cost is the primary driver, then just get the cheapest you can find and be prepared to replace them if/when they fail. Bear in mind though that they are keeping the more expensive parts of your kit cool - is it worth scrimping a few pounds when the rest of the kit costs considerably more?

[harrisck]

I've recently bought some corsair SP120's. I got them because i needed fans with high static pressure to get through the dust filters on my new case. They aren't completely silent but they do a good job.

[Ttaskmaster]

There is no turning back...
There is no Spoon...
There is no Dana, only Zuul...
There is no try...
There is no stopping in the White Zone...
There is no way... nooo waaaaayyy... that you could come from *my* loins...
And
There is no 'alternative' to Noctua!!


Seriously, though - Noctua are pretty great.
They're about to release their REDUX range, which are the same as the current beige lot you mentioned, but in a blackish-grey colour... and only about £12 RRP each!

Corsair do some pretty high-performance fans, although they're often not as quiet as they should be.
Silverstone do very nicely for the budget end - Good balance of performance vs noise.

I also like Enermax fans.
I have a pair of Enermax 120s intaking, while the rest of my rig is Noctua everywhere.

[harrisck]

The REDUX range does look a lot nicer than the beige/brown standard colour!

[TVoJ]

I've got a Silverstone SG05. It's pretty damn small so invariably it get's quite hot.

Thinking about replacing the case fan with a Noctua but really not sure whether to go for a NF-P12 or NF-F12. Don't really care about which is quieter, I just want it as cool as possible.

Anyone here have experiance with matching a Noctua to this case?

[Ttaskmaster]

The F is mostly for radiators and heatsinks. The P is more designed around high impedance areas, such as fan grilles and HDD bays.
If it's pretty open either side of the fan point, consider an S model.

Here's the official breakdown:
http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=w..._for_me&lng=en

[Bugbait]

Aren't "cheap" PWM fans prone to "ticking" at low duty levels though? I've dropped my Noctua fans down to 30% load without any problem. Get what you pay for to an extent.

[Ttaskmaster]

Aren't "cheap" PWM fans prone to "ticking" at low duty levels though? I've dropped my Noctua fans down to 30% load without any problem. Get what you pay for to an extent.

Some tick at whatever speed you run them.
The Silverstones are probably my favourite budget fan, but they are noisier than Noctuas and Corsairs.

[TVoJ]

Been running Prime 95 and HWMonitor tonight to see where the heat is coming from.

GPU (zotac 660Ti) seems to hang around 35-40. The CPU (i5 3350P) however can easily hit 80-85 in no time at all. With the case off I can maybe shave 10 degree's off that.

In this case would I be better off increasing the airflow to the heatsink with a NF-P12? The case also has it's HDD bay blocking say the top 1/3 off the case fan.

Sorry if this seems extremely obvious, I'm just not all that clued up when it comes to cooling.

[Ttaskmaster]

In this case would I be better off increasing the airflow to the heatsink with a NF-P12?

Yes, you would - Assuming you're using a standard 120mm fan.
What are you currently using, incidentally?

There are some other things to consider too:

- Intake - Need a decent amount of cool air coming in, to feed the heatsink.
- Exhaust - You'll want to blast all that hot air out, otherwise you're just blowing hot air onto hot components.
- Thermal Paste - Make sure what you're using between the heatsink and CPU is decent quality (Arctic Silver is a common one) and properly applied.

[TVoJ]

I have an 'Unprecedented 120mm fan in mini casing for positive pressure cooling'. lol

Think thermal paste may well be a good option too as I'm using the thermal pad that came on the HS.

The case does have lots on intake/exhaust holes so that should be fine.

[Zak33]

The REDUX range does look a lot nicer than the beige/brown standard colour!

noooooooooooooooooooooo



oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo



/breathes




///NNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


it's the beige brown colour that stopped people knowing about them.. it's like a little piece of history .. hidden from the masses.

[Zak33]

I'm looking for cheaper alternatives to the Noctua range preferably with LED but if good enough I don't mind so much.

and WHY.... oh why.. LED fans?

why.....




/whimpers....


why?

[Ttaskmaster]

and WHY.... oh why.. LED fans?

The question should be - "Why don't they make LED fans less boring?".
Seriously, four beams of light making a square - That's all they can come up with?

Enermax have done a couple of nice ones (if you can find them), but that really is about it.
I gave up on pre-made lighting features and just soldered up a couple of my own. The effect is far superior!