New Mid-Priced Coolers from OCZ and Scythe: The Small and the X of It
by Wesley Fink on October 1, 2007 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Noise
For many enthusiasts looking to upgrade their cooling, the goal is maximum stable overclock and they will live with the inconvenience of a louder system. For other users silence is the most important factor, and these users will forgo maximum overclocking if that increases system noise levels.
Smaller fans are generally noisier than large fans, so we really didn't expect super low noise with these mid-level air coolers. What we found were very good results, below the system noise floor, with the Scythe S-FLEX SFF21 on the Kama Cross and poorer than expected noise levels on the Vendetta.
The new test bed is successful in lowering the systems noise floor slightly in some measurements and dramatically in the 6" noise floor measurement. This had an impact on several earlier measurements, lowering the water cooling system measurements (quieter performance) on most benchmarks. Noise measurements on the new test bed will be discussed in detail in a future review when we have completed several other noise reduction measures in the updating of our cooling test environment.
No matter how you approach it, noise levels of the OCZ Vendetta 92mm fan were a disappointment. We really expected the elastomeric attachments and very good noise specifications of the fan to shine in these tests, but fan noise will be too much for many users at the effective higher speed of the Vendetta fan. Noise at the lower speed is below the noise floor, but performance suffers pretty dramatically. Since the Vendetta fan ran at high speed in almost all our testing, the best solution may be to replace the fan with a high output, ultra low-noise 92mm fan.
A good substitute for the Vendetta fan might be the Scythe Kama 92mm with a PWM connector and air flow to 55 CFM at around $10. Another good choice might be the Thermaltake 92mm smart fan at around $14. It is extremely loud at the top 78.7 CFM, but the speed varies from 1300-4000 RPM with a corresponding output of 24.6 to 78.7 CFM at noise levels from 17.0 to 48.5 dBA. However, most middle output levels that would match the needs of the Vendetta are reasonably quiet. You would also have the option to overclock higher with the greater output if that is your goal, but the trade-off is higher noise.
For many enthusiasts looking to upgrade their cooling, the goal is maximum stable overclock and they will live with the inconvenience of a louder system. For other users silence is the most important factor, and these users will forgo maximum overclocking if that increases system noise levels.
Smaller fans are generally noisier than large fans, so we really didn't expect super low noise with these mid-level air coolers. What we found were very good results, below the system noise floor, with the Scythe S-FLEX SFF21 on the Kama Cross and poorer than expected noise levels on the Vendetta.
The new test bed is successful in lowering the systems noise floor slightly in some measurements and dramatically in the 6" noise floor measurement. This had an impact on several earlier measurements, lowering the water cooling system measurements (quieter performance) on most benchmarks. Noise measurements on the new test bed will be discussed in detail in a future review when we have completed several other noise reduction measures in the updating of our cooling test environment.
No matter how you approach it, noise levels of the OCZ Vendetta 92mm fan were a disappointment. We really expected the elastomeric attachments and very good noise specifications of the fan to shine in these tests, but fan noise will be too much for many users at the effective higher speed of the Vendetta fan. Noise at the lower speed is below the noise floor, but performance suffers pretty dramatically. Since the Vendetta fan ran at high speed in almost all our testing, the best solution may be to replace the fan with a high output, ultra low-noise 92mm fan.
A good substitute for the Vendetta fan might be the Scythe Kama 92mm with a PWM connector and air flow to 55 CFM at around $10. Another good choice might be the Thermaltake 92mm smart fan at around $14. It is extremely loud at the top 78.7 CFM, but the speed varies from 1300-4000 RPM with a corresponding output of 24.6 to 78.7 CFM at noise levels from 17.0 to 48.5 dBA. However, most middle output levels that would match the needs of the Vendetta are reasonably quiet. You would also have the option to overclock higher with the greater output if that is your goal, but the trade-off is higher noise.
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strikeback03 - Thursday, October 4, 2007 - link
should be better, but fitting them would be a problem as they would have to be really thin. Plus small fans are usually loud. Best way to make this cooler worth anything would probably be a shroud to block air from heading straight out the bottom or to the sides.DrMrLordX - Monday, October 1, 2007 - link
Were it not for the noise on the Vendetta, I'd say it would be entirely preferable to the ever-popular Arctic Cooling Freezer HSFs. At that price point, with that performance, the only reason I could see going for a Freezer 7 Pro would be the noise were I sensitive to that sort of thing.