I highly recommend ARCTIC F PWM Co. It is almost inaudiable. It substantially improve ventilation system inside the case.

id like to see see some thoughts and opinions on the cougar vortec fans to see if i made the right choice with them :D

This Noctua fan is showing lots of promise.  The design looks great, and even the price isn't bad compared to others.
 
http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=42&lng=en
 
http://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NF-F12-PWM-Focused-Bearing/dp/B00632FL8A
 
1500 RPM/55 CFM/22.4 DBA, with 2.61 mmH2O static pressure.  That's better than the Scythe GentleTyphoon AP-15, which is rated for 1800 RPM/57 CFM/28 DBA and less static pressure.  Noctua has a new version of this fan coming out as well, rated for 2500 RPM but supposedly with a similar noise rating.
 

“First working prototype of a Noctua NF-F12 120mm fan with integrated RotoSub Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) technology running at 2500rpm. The development goal is to achieve a broadband sound signature that sounds more agreeable to the human ear and a similar overall sound pressure level as the original 1500rpm Noctua NF-F12 fan, resulting in 80% more airflow and 120% higher static pressure at the same noise level. Noctua and RotoSub aim to achieve this goal and have the product ready for the market by Q3/Q4 2013.”

I might be a bit late, but here are some of my thoughts.

lordraptor1 

id like to see see some thoughts and opinions on the cougar vortec fans to see if i made the right choice with them :D 

 
 
I haven't used them, but quite a few people vouch for them so they can't be horrible.  
 

Kalell.4 

Been looking into new chassis, Boredgunner, what do you think of the 200mm fans on the new Corsair 650D?  Will that give enough flow?  Originally thinking of the Corsair 800D, the price is literally twice as much.  Is the 800 worth it???? 

 
 
The 800D is really worthless in my eyes... mostly steel and plastic with flimsy side panels, horrible airflow, water cooling support isn't even that great without modding.  The 650D looks nice, but again overpriced and Corsair 200mm fans aren't very good (but they do the job fine according to results I've seen).  For the price of the 650D, I'd go for a full tower CM HAF-X, HAF 932 Advanced, or Storm Trooper which provide more airflow, more water cooling support, and similar overall features.  If water cooling isn't on your to-do list, then go for the Silverstone RV03.  The cases like this have the best airflow.

Been looking into getting some new case fans to increase airflow (to create positive pressure) in my CM 590. The stock front fan is ok, but the rear fan is just awful barely moves any air. I hear a lot of negative things about the CM Sickleflows but I added one to my case and it actually moves quite a bit of air. I dug around in the basement and found a Delta 92mm fan and this sucker moves a ton of air for its size. How do the Yate Loons compare to the CM sickleflows?

Yate Loons tend to live for much longer and have higher static pressure.  CFM is a bit less though.

Hi,
Very nice thread. Thanks for this.
I found this 120mm fans round-up, don't know if you saw it or not.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/a...0mm-fan-roundup-3.html
 
hope it helps ;)

One fan feature that people overlooks is the ability to remove the blades. Once one has them and realizes how much easier it gets to clean and maintain the fans ,it becomes a must have factor.
From the top fans I know only two brands witch have removable blades
-Enermax Appolish/Vegas
-Noctua,the frist series
Currently I use the Noiseblocker Multiframe series ,very low noise ,very low voltage start,not great CFM ,but great for large groups on big rads.(I use them on the Watercool mo-ra 3 9x120 ,I sincerely don't hear them)
And the rubber corners makes them slide off the screws ,for easy cleaning.
The Enermax TB Vegas I currently use ,I think are the most eye-catching fans today,not great performers,not particulary silent, but very easy maintainable ...when one has 24 fans like me, the ease in maintenance becomes a very important feature.
I had my experiences with Delta fans...great fans,but ugly and noisy. I recommend them for air cooling. for watercooling the extra performance dosen't compensate for the noise they make.
If one searches for industrial grade yet silent fans ,I think there is only one brand to consider: Papst ;very sturdy,low noise,low voltage start,but ugly as Deltas.
 

I just picked up a new 140mm Hyperborea by Roswell, this fan is AMAZING! @1300rpm max it generates 91.9cfm at a meager 21db!
As far as 120mm fans go, I went with the Coolermaster Sickleflow's LED's which run@2krpm generate 69.9Cfm@ 31db.

boredgunner
This Noctua fan is showing lots of promise.  The design looks great, and even the price isn't bad compared to others.





1500 RPM/55 CFM/22.4 DBA, with 2.61 mmH2O static pressure.  That's better than the Scythe GentleTyphoon AP-15, which is rated for 1800 RPM/57 CFM/28 DBA and less static pressure.  Noctua has a new version of this fan coming out as well, rated for 2500 RPM but supposedly with a similar noise rating.

“First working prototype of a Noctua NF-F12 120mm fan with integrated RotoSub Active Noise Cancellation (ANC)  running at 2500rpm. The development goal is to achieve a broadband sound signature that sounds more agreeable to the human ear and a similar overall sound pressure level as the original 1500rpm Noctua NF-F12 fan, resulting in 80% more airflow and 120% higher static pressure at the same noise level. Noctua and RotoSub aim to achieve this goal and have the product ready for the market by Q3/Q4 2013.”

I might be a bit late, but here are some of my thoughts.

lordraptor1 

id like to see see some thoughts and opinions on the cougar vortec fans to see if i made the right choice with them :D 

 

I haven't used them, but quite a few people vouch for them so they can't be horrible.  

Kalell.4 

Been looking into new chassis, Boredgunner, what do you think of the 200mm fans on the new Corsair 650D?  Will that give enough flow?  Originally thinking of the Corsair 800D, the price is literally twice as much.  Is the 800 worth it???? 

 

The 800D is really worthless in my eyes... mostly steel and plastic with flimsy side panels, horrible airflow, water cooling support isn't even that great without modding.  The 650D looks nice, but again overpriced and Corsair 200mm fans aren't very good (but they do the job fine according to results I've seen).  For the price of the 650D, I'd go for a full tower CM HAF-X, HAF 932 Advanced, or Storm Trooper which provide more airflow, more water cooling support, and similar overall features.  If water cooling isn't on your to-do list, then go for the Silverstone RV03.  The cases like this have the best airflow.

GTs are basically made by Nidec, and their ratings along with all other industrial fan suppliers are based off of the absolute minimum performance you will see with their product. Noctua like every other consumer fan maker out there lists the average performance you will get from their fans, which makes the GTs push ahead of Noctua.
 
Noctua fans are so overrated it isnt even funny anymore. $28 for a modified rifle bearing fan is absurd, especially when I can get a ball bearing Delta AFB1212M for $8 that undervolts better than a Noctua and performs better.
 
Martins Liquid lab has very good reviews of most fans and Noctuas really show that they arent all that.
 
As for the cougars, theyre okay, I have a single 120mm 1300rpm I run on exhaust for my 780ti and it moves air, but not that much compared to deltas at the same rpm. Its slightly quieter though than a delta at the same speed.
The cougar 140mms are junk though, I returned 4 because they all were not balanced, and they just dont move much air.
 
 

SeanEJohan
I just picked up a new 140mm Hyperborea by Roswell, this fan is AMAZING! @1300rpm max it generates 91.9cfm at a meager 21db!
As far as 120mm fans go, I went with the Coolermaster Sickleflow's LED's which run@2krpm generate 69.9Cfm@ 31db.

 
Dont be surprised if the sickleflows die on you or shake your whole case, theyre really disappointing fans if you check out the reviews.
 
I had 2x 140mm hyperboras for about a year and loved them, however when I moved to 2x 120mm AFB1212Ms and undervolted them to ~1200rpm they were quieter than my hyperboras and my idle temps dropped 4C.
Hyperboras, regardless of their ratings, have trouble pushing through a restriction such as a filter or hard drive cage.

I am planing to buy Noctua NF-F12 fans for my rads , what do you guys think about those fans ? My goal is silence build, but I don't know how silent is 1200 RPM... Or do you have any suggestion for high static pressure fans like this ?