Fans

A good quality chassis fan will not only make your PC cooler, but will significantly reduce its noise output too. We round up 55 fans to see which deserve to be spinning away in your PC.

AcoustiFan

Manufacturer:	Price:
AcoustiFan	£5.88 inc VAT
Reviewer:	Review Date:
James Gorbold	Aug 2006

	OVERALL RATING

SCORE

4/6

The first type of AcoustiFan fans that we tested was the C-Series. All of these fans are made from the same transparent plastic and were supplied with a resistor cable, which reduces the voltage supplied to the motor from 12V to 7.5V, thus reducing the fan's rotational speed.

The AF120C spins at either 1,300 or 2,000rpm, and AcoustiFan claims it will produce 41.8cfm at 26.3dBA, or 66.7cfm at 34dBA. We measured the AF120C as being capable of moving 38cfm at 28.4dBA, or 87cfm at 42.7dBA, which means that the AF120C is one of the loudest 120mm fans, even when running at 7.5V.

The smallest C-Series fan is the AF80C, which runs at either 1,300 or 2,000rpm. AcoustiFan claims that the AF80C can produce 9.7cfm at 14.5dBA at 1,300rpm, and 25.4cfm at 21dBA at 2,000rpm. At 1,300rpm, the AF80C was unable to complete our 'black sack' test, which suggests that its airflow is less than 6cfm at this speed. Upping the input voltage to 12V increased the airflow to 22cfm, but increased its noise level to 27.1dBA.

As if the name isn't clear enough, the AF92C is the 92mm model of the C-Series, and runs at either 1,300 or 2,000rpm. AcoustiFan claims that it can shift 20.5cfm at 21.2dBA at 1,300rpm, and 41.7cfm at 35.2dBA at 2,000rpm. In our tests, the AF92C measured closer to 14cfm at 21.2dBA, and 40cfm at 35.2dBA, which is very close to its claimed figures. However, the AF92C also makes an irritating whining noise.

AcoustiFan also produces the DustProof series of fans, which, as the name suggests, are dustproof. This doesn't mean that the DustProof fans are fitted with dust filters to prevent air getting into your case though; instead, the motors are sealed to keep out any dust. The DustProof fans are supplied with a three-resistor cable, which allows you to set the voltage input to the fan to 5V, 7.5V or 12V. However, because the motors spin so slowly at 5V, none of the DustProof fans would complete our 'black sack' airflow test at this setting.

The AFDP-12025B is a 120mm fan that spins at 1,050rpm at 7.5V, or 1,500rpm at 12V. In our tests, the AFDP-12025B shifted 40cfm at 25.8dBA at 1,050rpm, although this was marred by an annoying, low-frequency buzzing noise. At 1,500rpm, it moved 67cfm at 30.8dBA.

The AFDP-8025B is an 80mm fan that spins at either 1,000 or 1,600rpm. AcoustiFan claims that the AFDP-8025B can produce 11.7cfm at 10dBA at 1,000rpm, and 19.9cfm at 15.6dBA at 1,600rpm. Our tests prove that the AFDP-8025B can move 6cfm at a noise level lower than the background noise level of the listening room (20.1dBA) at 1,000rpm, and 15cfm at 20.8dBA at its higher speed, which is also very quiet.

The 92mm DustProof is the AFDP-9225B, which runs at either 950 or 1,600rpm. It claims to move 17.4cfm at 10dBA at 950rpm, and 28cfm at 22dBA at 1,600rpm. However, in our tests, the AFDP-9225B moved 12cfm at less than 20.1dBA (the background noise of the listening room), and 24cfm at 21.5dBA at its higher speed, which makes it a great choice for a low-noise PC.

Click here to see full reviews report.

Submit to:

Slashdot | Digg | Stumbleupon | Del.icio.us
Reddit | Technorati

Print-friendly version

Browse Labs Tests by Category