Silent fans for case, CPU, and switch.

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I'm thinking about upgrading main system fans and CPU fans to
quieter models. I've heard good things about the Zalman 7000A/B.
Regular system fans are mostly Antec 80mm double-ball-bearing .

I've also got a Linksys gigabit switch with a little 40mm x 40mm x
10mm fan that's louder than anything else in the system. (What's
going on with Linksys? Shouldn't Cisco know how to design a
friggin' switch?). It's an annoying noise, too.

I may ditch the Linksys and go with SMC (no fan), but if not, I'll
need to swap the fan. I found this Papst 412FM:

http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/40mmpapst.html

Rated at 19db. Are there quieter alternatives? Any
recommendations for better CPU and system fans?

LL
 
_|_|_ said:
I'm thinking about upgrading main system fans and CPU fans to
quieter models. I've heard good things about the Zalman 7000A/B.
Regular system fans are mostly Antec 80mm double-ball-bearing .

I've also got a Linksys gigabit switch with a little 40mm x 40mm x
10mm fan that's louder than anything else in the system. (What's
going on with Linksys? Shouldn't Cisco know how to design a
friggin' switch?). It's an annoying noise, too.

I may ditch the Linksys and go with SMC (no fan), but if not, I'll
need to swap the fan. I found this Papst 412FM:

http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/40mmpapst.html

Rated at 19db. Are there quieter alternatives? Any
recommendations for better CPU and system fans?
Click to expand...

Papst is about as good as it gets. The problem is that
10mm -- it's impossible to get decent airflow with a
10mm fan unless you run it at insane speeds. I'm not
sure 4800rpm will do the job on your Linksys.

Is there enough room for a 15mm (or even 25mm) fan?
 
_|_|_ said:
I'm thinking about upgrading main system fans and CPU fans to
quieter models. I've heard good things about the Zalman 7000A/B.
Regular system fans are mostly Antec 80mm double-ball-bearing .

I've also got a Linksys gigabit switch with a little 40mm x 40mm x
10mm fan that's louder than anything else in the system. (What's
going on with Linksys? Shouldn't Cisco know how to design a
friggin' switch?). It's an annoying noise, too.

I may ditch the Linksys and go with SMC (no fan), but if not, I'll
need to swap the fan. I found this Papst 412FM:

http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/40mmpapst.html

Rated at 19db. Are there quieter alternatives? Any
recommendations for better CPU and system fans?

LL
Click to expand...

That fan is rated at about 3 CFM (cubic feet per minute) airflow, which is
why it is so quiet. You might need to find out how much the OEM fan puts out
to get equivalent airflow.
 
Papst is about as good as it gets.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'll look into Papst for system fans as well, though no
single 80mm in my systems is exceptionally loud (I think all are
Antec double-ball-bearing).
The problem is that
10mm -- it's impossible to get decent airflow with a
10mm fan unless you run it at insane speeds. I'm not
sure 4800rpm will do the job on your Linksys.
Click to expand...

That may be why the current fan is so annoying. Plus, they
took no steps to isolate vibration from the case. It's a bad
mechanical design.
Is there enough room for a 15mm (or even 25mm) fan?
Click to expand...

Not sure, as I haven't had the case open. It's a small case
and I've seen pictures of the insides. There's a particular
bracket that holds the fan, so it may not be easy to adapt.

Good idea though! I was originally thinking about unplugging
the little fan, opening the back panel, and putting a larger fan
outside the case. I'd probably get about as much ariflow, and
I can't imagine that it would be as loud as the current fan.

Lots of manufacturers of switches manage to get by with no
fans at all, and I believe the chipset spec says it can be used
with just effective heatsinking. Evidently the fan was cheaper.

A year ago I thought Linksys was competent. Ironic that with
Cisco's aquisition, they've gone downhill. Their tech support is
generally horrible now as well.

I've heard that Linksys/Cisco answers complaints about their
noisy systems with "well, you're supposed to use it in a server
room"---the tech support equivalent of the "Doctor, it hurts
when I do this..." joke. Evidently tiny $100 5-port switches are
high end server products when it suits them. They should warn
about use in recording studios, offices, labs, and other lower-
noise environments.

LL
 
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