Quietpc.co.nz PC Quiet Case Fans

Whether you need to use extra fans in your PC will probably depend on a combination of whether you have a multitude of heat-generating goodies installed inside it and the average temperature of your local climate. Unfortunately, fans are notorious for generating a large amount of noise simply because of the amount of air they shift and the type of bearings used in their design.

Now, you can have the cooling without the noise, with these quiet fans! They are designed specifically to minimise the amount of noise being generated, while keeping the air moving at a sensible rate. We offer various sizes of fans , most of which connect directly to motherboard fan headers. For customers who are short of motherboard fan headers, we would recommend using the Zalman Multi-Connector Cable ZM-MC1 to convert 3-pin fan to a 4-pin connector or opt for the AcoustiFan™ DustPROOF fans, for connection to a free 4-pin power supply drive power cable.

The AcoustiFan™ C-Series fans use the very quietest oil-impregnated sleeve bearings for noiseless motor operation. The fan motor and construction for this range is also low vibration. A fan motor may be quiet in free air, but the amount of motor vibration is very important when that same fan is attached to a computer case! C-Series clear case cooling fans have both a quiet and low vibration motor - so the induced resonance when they are fixed to a case is kept to a minimum. C-Series fans are only suitable for case cooling (not for CPU or graphics card cooling) - as with any sleeve bearing fan - because they are not high-temperature tolerant for long periods.

Each C-Series fan is also shipped with a dual-speed in-line fan resistor (3-pin connector) which, when fitted between the fan and the motherboard, can further reduce the RPM so that fan operation is even quieter. This gives you an option of two speeds.

The fan motor for the DustPROOF range of fans is extremely quiet. The AcoustiFan™ DustPROOF series use the highest quality double-ball bearings available for reliability, use-anywhere inside a PC and extra long life expectancy (upgrade your PC and take these fans with you!). One of the unique features of these fans is that the motor has been completely sealed from the outside environment. This prevents dust entering the motor and also reduces the amount of noise perceived to be coming from the bearings within the motor.

Each DustPROOF fan is also supplied with a unique 3-speed fan cable which offers maximum flexibility (3-pin or 4-pin power connectors), along with the ability to select a fan speed suitable for your PC and noise sensitivity. However, if you opt for the lowest fan speed, (virtually silent at 5VDC), be certain to design the airflow through your PC system carefully and monitor system and component temperatures. Acousti have even included four handy cable ties with each DustPROOF fan!

The DustPROOF fans also incorporate an Auto Start safety feature. This feature is built into the fan's PCB and automatically restarts the fan after the release of any obstacle which has prevented the blades from spinning.


Fan size (edge to edge)	50 mm	80 mm	80 mm	80 mm	80 mm
Manufacturer	-	-	Zalman	Acousti Products	Acousti Products
Model	-	-	ZM-F1	AF80C	AFDP-8025B
Air volume at Full Speed (12V), CFM ±10%	7.4	19.4	36.5	25.4	19.9
Noise level at Full Speed (12V), dB(A)	18.0	20.0	34.2	21.0	15.6
Fan speed at Full Speed (12V), RPM ±10%	3500	1700	3000	2000	1600
Air volume at Medium Speed (7.5V), CFM ±10%	-	-	20.6	9.7	11.7
Noise level at Medium Speed (7.5V), dB(A)	-	-	20.0	14.5	<10
Fan speed at Medium Speed (7.5V), RPM ±10%	-	-	1700	1300	1000
Air volume at Low Speed (5V), CFM ±10%	-	-	-	-	5.7
Noise level at Low Speed (5V), dB(A)	-	-	-	-	<10
Fan speed at Low Speed (5V), RPM ±10%	-	-	-	-	500
Power consumption, W	0.60	0.60	0.63	1.44	1.44
Weight, g	26	95	82	84	86
Approximate cable length, cm ±10%	25	25	33	46	40
Life expectancy @ 25°C continuous use	2	3	3 years	3 years	6 years
Power connector	3-pin	4-pin	3-pin	3-pin	3-pin, 4-pin
Bearing type	Ball	Sleeve	Sleeve	Sleeve	2-Ball
Accessories	None	None	RC56	RC56	3-Speed fan cable
Mounting hardware included	None	None	Screws	Screws	Screws
Fan depth, mm	10	25	25	25	25
Rated voltage, VDC	12	12	12	12	12


Fan size (edge to edge)	92 mm
Manufacturer	Zalman	Acousti Products	Acousti Products
Model	ZM-F2	AF92C	AFDP-9225B
Air volume at Full Speed (12V), CFM ±10%	53.9	41.7	28.0
Noise level at Full Speed (12V), dB(A)	36.0	25.9	22.0
Fan speed at Full Speed (12V), RPM ±10%	3000	2000	1600
Air volume at Medium Speed (7.5V), CFM ±10%	40.0	20.5	17.4
Noise level at Medium Speed (7.5V), dB(A)	20.0	17.6	<10
Fan speed at Medium Speed (7.5V), RPM ±10%	1600	1300	950
Air volume at Low Speed (5V), CFM ±10%	-	-	10.1
Noise level at Low Speed (5V), dB(A)	-	-	<10
Fan speed at Low Speed (5V), RPM ±10%	-	-	550
Power consumption, W	0.65	2.16	2.16
Weight, g	88	86	101
Approximate cable length, cm	33	46	40
Life expectancy @ 25°C continuous use	3 years	3 years	6 years
Power connector	3-pin	3-pin	3-pin, 4-pin
Bearing type	Sleeve	Sleeve	2-Ball
Accessories	RC56	RC56	3-Speed fan cable
Mounting hardware included	Screws
Fan depth	25 mm
Rated voltage	12 VDC


Fan size (edge to edge)	120 mm
Manufacturer	Acousti Products	Acousti Products
Model	AF80C	AFDP-12025B
Air volume at Full Speed (12V), CFM ±10%	66.7	56.3
Noise level at Full Speed (12V), dB(A)	34.0	24.7
Fan speed at Full Speed (12V), RPM ±10%	2000	1500
Air volume at Medium Speed (7.5V), CFM ±10%	41.8	41.5
Noise level at Medium Speed (7.5V), dB(A)	26.3	15.6
Fan speed at Medium Speed (7.5V), RPM ±10%	1300	1050
Air volume at Low Speed (5V), CFM ±10%	-	25.2
Noise level at Low Speed (5V), dB(A)	-	<10
Fan speed at Low Speed (5V), RPM ±10%	-	675
Power consumption, W	2.16	2.16
Weight, g	134	156
Approximate cable length, cm	46	40
Life expectancy @ 25°C continuous use	3 years	6 years
Power connector	3-pin	3-pin, 4-pin
Bearing type	Sleeve	2-Ball
Accessories	RC56	3-Speed fan cable
Mounting hardware included	Screws
Fan depth	25 mm
Rated voltage	12 VDC

The 3-speed fan cable supplied with the DustPROOF fans gives you maximum flexibility in terms of how the fan is connected inside the PC, and at what speed (therefore noise level) it operates. Fitting this cable is easy - it just looks a little complicated!

OPTION 1: The 3-speed cable can be left unused and the fan can be plugged directly into a spare 3-pin fan header on the motherboard. This runs the fan at 12VDC (full speed). The fan's speed (RPM) can then be monitored via the motherboard.

OPTION 2: Use the 3-speed fan cable to power the fan from a 4-pin Molex connector from the PC's power supply. The 3-speed cable can then be used to run the fan at three different noise levels/speeds:

If RPM-monitoring is required, then use the same colour 3-pin female connector and plug this onto the motherboard 3-pin header (male). The motherboard will be able to detect the speed signal from the fan.

ONLY use the 7.5VDC (Blue) connector to power PC fans rated up to 4.5W (that is a maximum of 12VDC & 0.38A). The resistor will become too warm when used with higher rated wattage fans. This limitation does not relate to the 5VDC and 12VDC connectors (White and Black), as these do not have a resistor.

The majority of 'quiet' PC fans available are rated below 2W, so this is only an issue with higher than normal wattage fans. If you choose to use the 7.5VDC speed option with fans rated over 4.5W, then please accept this is at the installer's own risk.

Please note: Although all our fans support speed feedback monitoring through the motherboard only, some customers have reported this feature does not work (BIOS reports zero or erratic speeds). This is not due to a fault with the fans, but rather that some motherboards are unable to monitor the RPM of fans which operate below a certain speed. Occasionally, upgrading the motherboard BIOS to the latest version solves this, but otherwise nothing can be done to fix the problem. It is not a serious issue - it just means that you will not be able to monitor how fast your fans are running. Most customers feel that the ability to monitor fan speed is well worth trading for fans which operate in near silence.

1. Minimise Case Fan Vibration
The noise generated by cooling fans can largely be attributed to vibration transmitted from the fan itself into a case chassis or case side panel rather than the fan motor noise per se. The transmitted vibration causes case resonance, which changes the vibration energy from the fan into noise (i.e. oscillating side panels). This type of 'secondary' noise generation can be reduced by decoupling (essentially 'un-joining') the fan from the case in various ways. This is best achieved by mounting the fan in isolation from the case using AcoustiFan™ gel fan mounts or AcoustiFan™ fan gaskets. But whatever material is used to achieve decoupling, it needs to be soft and designed to absorb the vibrations transmitted from the fan motor.

If you can use case fans that are low vibration as well as low motor noise in the first place - 'case amplified' fan vibrations can be tackled at source and therefore kept to a minimum.

2. Install large fans with a slow RPM
A larger fan can revolve more slowly than a smaller one and provide the same airflow. The lower the blade revolutions per minute (RPM), the lower the fan motor noise, vibration, and air turbulence (wind noise). For those who would like to achieve almost silent fan operation, we recommend opting for 92mm or better still, 120mm fans where possible.

Before you buy a case have a look at the size of fans that the case can accommodate, and try to opt for a case that can take larger fans. However, if this is not possible for whatever reason, then you can always opt for installing the maximum number of smaller fans all with reduced RPM.

3. Position case fans in parallel where possible
For MAXIMUM airflow, set cooling fans to work in parallel with each other (side-by-side) rather than in series (one in front of another). In the majority of cases, parallel fan configurations will increase the rate of airflow through a case over that from fans located in series. This is not an 'absolute certainty', but in the majority of situations where the case design allows for easy air intake - fans working in parallel will increase air though-flow.

SCENARIO: If you have a Power Supply Unit (PSU) with a fan inside it and a single extra case fan. The PSU is normally expelling air from the rear of the case. Locate the single case fan also to expel air from the rear and you will have two fans working together in parallel. They will work to lower the air pressure inside the case and to draw air in from the front of the case, over internal components and then push it out from the rear of the case. The 'throughflow' will be close to the sum of the two fans. If however, you install the single case fan to draw air into the case from the front, you may only have throughflow that is just above either the PSU fan or the single case fan.

For MAXIMUM quietness, set fans to work in series! Generally, fans working in parallel will be working 'harder' than fans in series. This is because fans in parallel with each other will be working 'against' each other to an extent (both fans are trying to move air from the same low pressure area), but fans working in series will be working 'with' each other, and therefore each fan in series will be under less operational stress. The pressure gradient over fans in parallel (located side-by-side) is higher than if the same two fans were located in series, and therefore wind turbulence is also likely to be higher for fans in parallel (increased wind turbulence = noisier). If you do not require high airflow, then set your fans in series with one another and they will operate under less stress than in parallel, and generally more quietly as a result.

4. Optimise installed fans
Once fans have been located, you may like to adjust fan speeds for optimal quietness, whilst still ensuring adequate cooling. This is nearly always a balance. There may be some fans that can safely be disconnected - which will obviously result in a much quieter system! Remember that some motherboard components require at least SOME airflow to keep them cool (and your PC stable).

For TWO SPEEDS: perhaps the most simple and cheapest fan speed controller is a RC56 - this can be used to slow down your fans (the downside is this does generate a little extra heat, and cannot be adjusted). For THREE SPEEDS: use a fan speed cable - this uses 12VDC and 5VDC directly from the PC Power Supply (so does not generate any extra heat), and also a resistor at approx. 7.5V DC. For MULTIPLE SPEEDS: a fan speed controller may be the most convenient and flexible way to control fan RPM, such as the Zalman Fanmate or the Zalman ZM-MFC1, Multi-Fan Speed Controller.

Always install enough fans to adequately cool internal components! We also recommend that you test and monitor system and component temperatures whilst re-configuring fans.

Looking for accessories for your new fan? Take a look at our Case Fan Accessories page.

Speed	Noise Level	Voltage	Plug the AcoustiFan™ into:
Full	Quiet	12VDC	Black 3-pin male socket
Medium	Very Quiet	Approx. 7.5VDC	Blue 3-pin male socket
Low	Virtually Silent	5VDC	White 3-pin male socket