XS Fan Review - Part 2

[Vapor]

The Nanoxia's CFM specs look plausible, and considering the fin design, they probably are close. And considering the fin design, radiator performance is probably not their strong suit. As for noise...I haven't tested a colored/translucent fan that I would consider 'good.' The plastic probably causes a lot of minor excitation that standard black ABS doesn't. I have heard good things about this fan though...

Ultimately, if you're looking at that fan, it's for looks. You should buy it for looks as well.

As for the Ultra Kazes....I find them interesting. There's no real 'need' for high static pressure fans. S-Flex fans have decently low CFM drop (26% at 50CFM), the Zalman has kinda low CFM drop (27.5% at 50CFM), PTS Yates have low drop (26.7% at 50CFM), and even the Minebea 1900 has respectable drop (32% at 50CFM), the Sharkoon has low drop (25.5% at 50CFM)...and all are great open air fans.

I'm not sure if I agree with making fans that sacrifice either open air performance for radiator performance or vice versa (I guess it makes sense that the Slip Streams came out at the same time)...the overall design loss of trying to get any worthwhile in gains hurts the 'otherside' too much. For instance...Noctua S-12 is damned good in open air....but ANY sort of restriction hurts it below competitive levels....in the other direction, I suspect that the Ultra Kaze's motor is very high torque, which often leads to extraneous 'efforty' noises (Panaflos are one example IMO...). That said, I've always presumed it to be a good fan like the S-Flex and the Minebeas. BUT, the few users who have bought one and reported back have not been impressed.

[shaolin95]

Excellent job!
Did you ever get to try the Delta in my sig?
Also, have you seen that 120mm Sanyo in a 25mm version? I dont think I would be able to fit that in my current rig WC setup.
Thanks again for your efforts.

[cegras]

Some Deltas are in Round 1. They're beastly...but don't undervolt particularly well (even the tri-blade LE). I must say that Deltas ratings are really consistent with mine...I can calibrate my equipment for any one Delta and every other one gets its exact ratings. NMB-MAT fans get theirs too on the same calibration...really enjoyable to see that YL SL and FN121 and a few others also get their ratings on the same calibration, so it's also good to see a few consumer fans accurately rated (well, consistently...I'm sure SilenX is accurate with w/e calibration they use ).

Yate Loon write up added....didn't say anything I hadn't said before, but it's good to have it all in one place I reckon

Delta triple blades are rated at 30 dba.

What does 30 dba sound like (a subjective rating is fine)? I've been setting my eyes on a 92mm fan and I want something that moves air at a decent noise level.

[gymenii]

Thanks Vapor, very informative!

I recently replaced all my case fans with YL D12SM-12 from Petra's. I also bought some D12SL-12 and a few others from another place, because they were on sale. Well, to make a long story short, I frizbeed those down into the canyon the next day. Your review confirms exactly what I experienced. I don't know why they would be different but I'm glad I bought from PTS. I even rigged one up to my TRX120 (after a bit of sawing and drilling) and it works great, near silent and you just can't beat the price.

Thanks again and I look forward to round 3.

[septim]

very nice finally the round 2 we've all been waiting for...
thanks Vapor...

[troisanh]

thanks for review!

[flexo_fk]

thanks vapor for your very quick and in-depth analysis! helped me much, i decided myself for the zm-f3..

[Tortel]

we need some reviews on 80mm fans, I use those more right now.

[axakira]

All-purpose awesome fans:
San Ace 1011 - This fan really is in a league of it's own....yeah, the Zalman may 'catch up' on the radiator...but the San Ace isn't a sleeve bearing and is overall better construction. It is the real deal and somehow better than every other fan...ESPECIALLY in open air.

Zalman ZM-F3 - The surprise of the bunch catches up to the San Ace on the radiator, but overall it's still not quite as good....though definitely an awesome, awesome fan.

Scythe S-Flex F - Another great fan a lot like the Zalman, but also not a sleeve bearing fan. No excitation, no extraneous noise....just a great fan (gets near-'silent' at 5V too, which is rare for a medium speed fan).

Yate Loon D12SM-12 Petras - An unbeatable value....98% the performance of the S-Flex and the Zalman for fraction of the cost. It's overrrated (surprising considering the SL is slightly underrated), but a very, very good fan

Scythe S-Flex E - The silent-friendly fan of the bunch...easiest to make 'silent' while also having great otherwise performance. It's also a wonderful S-FDB bearing fan that has little downside.

Excellent job!
Did you ever get to try the Delta in my sig?
Also, have you seen that 120mm Sanyo in a 25mm version? I dont think I would be able to fit that in my current rig WC setup.
Thanks again for your efforts.

A WC tyro here.....

How about these Fans???
Sanyo Denki F12 series 120mm Fan
Sanyo Denki F9 series 92mm Fan
Sanyo Denki F8 series 80mm Fan
They seem to be the new staff of Sanyo Denki

Sorry about my terrible english.....

[shaolin95]

Very nice...if I cant fit the current 38mm then I will wait for those 25mm...thanks for the info!

[Ar3s]

Great Write Up Vapor, Have to agree on the San Ace 1011 yes they are still available here. Have the S-Flex & NMB Minebeas 1600 / 1900. Good Fans but slightly expensive. Got the Panaflo 1212H cheap like you said just for keeps, way too noisy on full. Used the Silverstone FN121 for a while. Ordered Another FN121 just to keep my stock casing fans, some yate loons and getting the noctua P12 fans to silence the rig without the fan controller.

[AndyM]

Any opinions on the 11 blade Silverstone fans that come in a TJ07? Better than the 9 blade versions or ???

[SRV]

Can someone post pictures with marked differences between Petra and non-Petra YL D12SM-12, please?

BTW I have two YL D12SM-12 fans (just to mention, they are sold here as Chieftec), but one have clicking noise. Must be bearings.

TIA!

[maxmil2224]

for anyone that didnt know. it seems that frozencpu has just picked up the san ace 1011. so there are at least 2 known us distributors

thermal fx - http://store.thermalfx.com/merchant2...egory_Code=120

and now frozen cpu - http://www.frozencpu.com/products/68...11.html?tl=g36

[Vapor]

Can someone post pictures with marked differences between Petra and non-Petra YL D12SM-12, please?

BTW I have two YL D12SM-12 fans (just to mention, they are sold here as Chieftec), but one have clicking noise. Must be bearings.

TIA!

There are no marked differences, that's one of the problems. From what I know, the Chieftec rebrands are the good ones.

GREAT to see more carrying the San Ace 1011!

Supply to us is a huge problem...I really know no places overseas either

[Deux]

Any opinions on the 11 blade Silverstone fans that come in a TJ07? Better than the 9 blade versions or ???

I've been wondering too. I tried putting one on my MCR320 and it seemed to move very little air compared to my high speed YL.

[[XC] DragonOrta]

Great to see someone else carrying the San Ace fans. ThermalFX had ridiculous shipping charges. it was like $15 to ship 3 fans.

[AndyM]

I've been wondering too. I tried putting one on my MCR320 and it seemed to move very little air compared to my high speed YL.

Would be great to get some numbers on that one for sure. I did a quick comparo to a Petra's SL and the 11 blade'er at 7 volts for another build...the YL seemed to have more air moving out of it. Kind of hard to tell as the Petra's YL's have more of a linear output flow pattern and most other fans have a semi radial output pattern to the airflow it seems. More testing please!

[atlr]

And there was much rejoicing. Yayyyy

[SRV]

There are no marked differences, that's one of the problems. From what I know, the Chieftec rebrands are the good ones.

GREAT to see more carrying the San Ace 1011!

Supply to us is a huge problem...I really know no places overseas either

Thanks for your reply. I have few frends with same those Chieftec fans, and all of them are satisfied. It's just bad example I have that produces clicking noise. They are cheap, for that price in my country you can buy only Zalman ZM-F3.

[Navanod]

Great piece of work. Didn't know the Zalman could be such a performer

However, I cannot help noticing the dismissive comments on the Slip Streams...they seemed to work pretty well for me

[phelan1777]

thank you for doing the review.

I have been using San Aces since I first got into water cooling.

I was particular to their under volting vs panaflos I had, and have stuck with them since and recommend them to pretty much everyone looking for fans for RADs. I run mine @ 12v and they are not loud to me.

I grab them when ever I can find them. Though only use 3 now, I have 9 all together .

[AKHandyman]

Vapor, just wondering when you'll test the NEW Noctua NF-P12 120mm fan? I would be curious as to what you come up with ...

[Vapor]

Vapor, just wondering when you'll test the NEW Noctua NF-P12 120mm fan? I would be curious as to what you come up with ...

Plan to test it for part 3.

Love the SSO-bearing motors but the S12's had just a bad blade design that just DIED with any impedance....P12s have definitely piqued my interest.

[AndyM]

I've been wondering too. I tried putting one on my MCR320 and it seemed to move very little air compared to my high speed YL.

Just found a comparo between the 11 blader and what looks like a straight blade Yate that a guesstimate can be made with...


http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...-review-5.html