Case fan recommendations

[bgowland]

My npvr box has 2x 80mm fans and 1x 120mm fan. One of the 80mm fans has died completely, the other rattles and the 120mm fan sounds like an asthmatic gorilla when it's being ramped up from slow to high speed when things get too hot.

Any recommendations for makes/models of possible replacements would be gratefully received. As quiet as possible would be nice.

Cheers,
Brian

[gEd]

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlis...&subid=819

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlis...catid=2331

Noiseblockers are considered one of the best but quite $$. Not used them myself.
The other very well regarded brand are Noctura. Again not cheap!! I have a couple in my main server and they work very well.

you're going to respond and say "how much!!!" aren't you?

[ACTCMS]

My NPVR servers are up in the loft, so I just use the cheapo, noisy ones and it's not before now that I've taken the sides off and used a desktop fan in an emergency

Alex

[bgowland]

you're going to respond and say "how much!!!" aren't you?

lol - actually not too bad. Earlier I was looking at an Arctic 120mm priced at £17.

Thanks for the recommendations - I probably need to spend a fair amount as the server is going to be put into an integral cupboard in my nerd room so it'll need better cooling than it has now.

Cheers,
Brian

[bgowland]

My NPVR servers are up in the loft, so I just use the cheapo, noisy ones and it's not before now that I've taken the sides off and used a desktop fan in an emergency

Alex

My server is a rack-mount currently sitting on the floor by my desk and the top has been removed. That probably explains a bit about the noise but with the top on it overheats.

Cheers,
Brian

[Sykor]

+1 Noiseblocker.

Noiseblocker's (now called BlackNoise?!) BlacksilentFan series are cheap as cheap gets (I can get the 80cm models for 4/5 euros, and 6/7 euros for the 120cm), and will wield the results you're looking for... And although they're near silent for most uses, add a simple speed regulator/potentiometer to the mix, and you'll never hear them again
I usually choose the higher airflow version, and tune it's speed if need be.

For my htpc-inside-vcr-case hack I replaced the cpu and psu coolers with a couple noiseblockers I had laying around. I have focus hard in order to notice their noise when I boot it. Even in the middle of the night.

[bgowland]

+1 Noiseblocker.

Noiseblocker's (now called BlackNoise?!) BlacksilentFan series are cheap as cheap gets

Indeed I Googled and the company is called BlackNoise. NoiseBlocker is their trademark name for the range of fans. Their specs look really good but they do quite a few so I need to compare them all to get the best noise level for air flow.

Cheers,
Brian