So I just bought 5 Noctuas NF-F12s and 2 weeks later I buy a Phanteks Enthoo Luxe -.- So I have a Thermaltake 2.0 Water Extreme 240mm AIO with 2 of the NF-F12s on it. I want to get a GTX 880 and a Kraken G10 to use my Water 2.0 Performer with a NF-F12 on it placed at the exhaust. So I have 2 NF-F12s left to use in my case.
I haven't switched to my new case yet. So my question is: Should I keep the 200mm stock fan or swap it with the NF-F12s?
I want my case to be quiet, real quiet, which it is now. I run my front noctuas at 900rpm, so based on the specs, I'm guessing around 15dB and around 50cfm each. Now the 200mm has more surface area than 2 x 120s, but runs 800rpm +-250, 25dB, 110cfm. Also the static pressure of the noctuas may help since I'm leaving the faceplate on.
So what do you think I should do? Anyone know if that 200mm is loud? Does that +- mean it changes speeds a lot or if I can PWM it to 800-250= 550rpm with Fan Expert?Should I keep it, or possibly replace it with a 200mm noctua? I could put the included 140mm top fan on the floor by the psu and put a NF-F12 on top with the third spot, or have noctuas on my water extreme which won't help cooling that much if it will even fit.
What do you think?
Phanteks Enthoo Lixe White with 3 x NF-F12s
XCILO 1000w Gold PSU
Asus P8Z77-V
i5 3570K @ 4.5ghz
Thermaltake Water 2.0 Extreme w/2 NF-F12s
2way SLI GTX 670 MSI Power Edition
G.Skill 2 x 4Gb DDR3 1600Mhz 8-8-8-24 @1.5v
HyperX 3K 120Gb SSD
2 x Seagate 1Tb 7,200 HDD
Seagate 2TB Red NAS
Samsung Bluray Burner
NZXT Hue LED Controller
Win 8 Pro 64 bit
Asus VG248QE 24" 144hz
Asus VH242H 23.6"
Haier 19" monitor
AudioTechnica M50s
Blue Snowball Ice
Logitech G110 Keyboard
Logitech G500 Mouse
Logitech C270 Webcam
Asus Bluetooth
Microsoft Xbox 360 adapter
Hy!
IMHO I would keep the 200mm, maybe with a resistor to keep the speed down. Since you use Noctua you know that they offer this sort of option for ultra low noise adaptors.
A 200mm is always more silent than a 120mm and the noctua 120s would create a far too focused airflow, great for radiators but not really for a big case.
Noctua will be releasing a 200mm as you know, I would keep the 200 you have now and get the noctua when it will be available with the low noise adaptor. You'll be ok, you're extracting a lot of hot air out of the case and a 200m will bring more than enough cool air from the outside.
I'm not a fan of bottom mounted fans, but it could be a good way to bring just a bit more air in.
In short, if it were my pc, keep the 200mm and wait for the 200 nocutas. Maybe consider using a push/pull on the rads, just not to have a couple of fans laying about.
I think that's what I'm going to do. I'm gonna switch cases tonight so we'll see. I planned on using my Asus board's Fan Expert to turn down the speed. I'm just worried about the minimum speed of it. Also I know 200mm are generally quieter but in this case according to spec sheets the noctuas are quieter even at higher rpms, and wondered if the static air pressure would help the noctuas pull more air through the front vent cover.
I do have another question. The low noise adapters that come with the noctuas, do they reduce the voltage overall, say -200mv or does the voltage go up like normal and then hit a ceiling/max voltage or say 11v?
Sorry for the lateness of my reply!
I belive the reductors are much more 'aggressive' than you think, I'm almost sure they bring the 12V power supply down to 7V and 5V, as many fan voltage regulators do (as those in a NZXT case for example). Basically the supply from the mobo is 12v and the adapter just puts a resistance in series (not a voltage controlled relais), so the output voltage is just 5V or 7V, starving the fan of power and causing it to move slower. Very low tech.
One last thing about the noctuas, I am positive they are quieter than any other brand of fans, but sound pressure data is to be taken with a pinch of salt. There is no real standard process to mesure audio emission from PCs. Is the reading done at 1m or 50cm? At what height and angle? What was the temperature and pressure of the room? Was the fan free or bolted in case? Too many variables to compare specs of different brands and even the data from the same manufacturer might not be that consistent.
I wouldn't worry too much about it, a 200mm with the low noise will be barley audible at all, considering the quality of the noctua fan bearings, and will be drawing as much air as you'll need. But remember to install them with the brown pins they come with!
So I switched cases and have it all set up. I moved the top P 140mm to the right and put my water 2.0 extreme in the left/middle. It has 4 NF-F12s on it now. I moved the rear P 140mm to the bottom of the case blowing in. NF-F12 in the rear. I left the P 200mm in the front.
All the fans are loud when full speed but I turned them down. I have Fan Xpert set to be lower rpms when under 44c CPU temps and raise when higher. So for those interested here's my settings.
Im at work ame trying to remember my settings, I just lowered them again before I left.
CPU 4 x NF-F12s low 600rpm high 800rpm
Rear NF-F12 low 600 high 700
Front P 200mm low 430 high 550
Top/Bottom P140s Y Splitter low 400 high 550
My PC is near silent now, even when gaming. I moved my case from the floor to a night stand and now the psu is pointing at my head at head level and it's the loudest fan in my case and making a whining noise so Im working on replacing it (machine oil didn't help). But my MSI Power Edition 670s are loudest when maxed at 50% fan speed but I'm hopefully getting a GTX 880 with a Kraken G10 on a Thermaltake 2.0 Water Performer and mount it with the rear NF-F12 So I won't have that issue anymore.
If anyone has questions feel free to ask.