120mm Fan Testing on an MCR120 Radiator Round 6

[Martinm210]

Martin thank-you so much for all your amazing work, I'm in awe of the time you're able to set-aside to help the community!

Coming back to this for the 1st time in months, only just been advised by a local retailer (aust) I pre-ordered with, that my AP-15's are available.
Apparently they've been ready to pick-up for many weeks!

I plan to read this latest round in it's entirety tomorrow, but as it's now 320am I must get some shut-eye.
Just wondering if anyone can summarise, is the AP-15 still considered the noise/CFM king, or is there a new contender or contenders?

How does the 2150 & 3000 RPM compare to the 1850, are either a better alternative IYO?
Perhaps the 2150 is not a substantive enough improvement over the 1850?

I have some AP-15's ordered as rad fans, but if the CFM to noise ratio of the 2150 or 3000 is as good, & one can still make them comparatively quiet (as needed)...
...then perhaps they're a better option?

Any thoughts/experiences greatly appreciated, thanks/night!

Thanks!

GT's are still doing very well in the 1000-1850RPM range, although it does have some quirks. I've had two AP-15's with resonance issues depending on the radiator, so some sound quality issues to be aware of. Below 1000RPMs, I think they are all fairly close (within the 3dbA "barely perceptible" range, so plenty of options to choose from at the low end.) 1850+, some of the newer Delta's are also performing similarly like the VHE which came out a good 5dbA lower in noise level than the next best high speed fan. Unfortunately, the Delta VHE is pretty much high speed only and don't like turning down much. This is why there has been alot of interest in exploring some of the other Deltas....hoping to find one that bridges the gap a little better. Plan to test a few more this weekend...

Unfortunately, it seems you're still always best off picking a fan that can run at or near 12V at your desired noise level if possible. Same goes for the GT family, no sense buying GT15s and undervolting them to 7V all day...the AP13 or 14 performs slightly better at slower speeds and has less of an issue with resonance.

In the end, I try not to get hung up on any one fan...none of them are perfect, and as noise always goes...pretty subjective. I tend to be one not to trust numbers or meters anywhere near as much as my own ears, and that's why I've put much of my time into recording the whole process. Trying to record it in the best video/audio quality that I can so you can do you're own review.

My suggestion will always be...let YOUR ears do the review.. Compare multiple videos and match up like air flow numbers, and see which one "sounds less annoying" Just don't put too much emphasis in the noise level numbers, I've been tempted many times to completely remove the sound level meter and just have the audio to listen to. I'm still just not very happy with the common tools we have to quantify "annoying sound"...but it is what it is..

As far as the higher speed GTs...I have no idea. I know some folks on OCNs air cooling forums managed to find them by special order through some Japan sites, but it looks like they are paying $60+ a piece for them and their subjective tests seem to indicate they were fairly loud... So until they become readily available, not much sense in testing them.

But, I'm always willing to try one (if someone wants to sponsor) until the wife kicks me and my test rig out of the walk in..