# Case Fan Noise Levels



## crpm1589

I just built my own PC, and was thinking of adding more fans to it, but not sure of the rating system for noise levels. Does anyone know the dBA of an average case fan? Also, this may seem like a stupid question but i really don't know, does the fan get louder or quieter the higher it's dBA is?


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## pharoah

the higher the db level is the louder they are.


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## GDkitty

Only things i can sujest.. cheap fans normaly wont run as well, and over time will wear down and start to make more noise.. better quality ones will cost you more money, but will work better in the end. Look for ones that say that they are quiet.

Other thing i have found, is if your case supports it, go with the 120mm fans, the larger ones. With the larger size, they can move slower and move the same volume of air, so they do tend to be quieter.


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## TheMatt

When you are browsing fans, avoid fans with sleeve bearings as these will fail first and have a lower lifetime.

Fluid dynamic bearing fans are the most quiet, however they are not high performance. The highest performance fans are ball bearing and dual ball bearing fans.

dBa is the measure of amplitude or noise. It is usually proportional to the fan speed or RPM but it also depends on the bearing.

RPM is the measure of fan speed. With the same bearing, a faster fan will produce more noise.

CFM is the measure of airflow. Factors that affect it include fan speed, fan size, and blade design.


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## minster9

:wave:generally speaking,larger slow(er) 120mm fans move the same amount of air. Buy a temp monitor for your hardware. Nobody likes little whiners or baby turbo jets.:grin: Low front & side intake(smashing air right against your mobo,particularily the vidio card)fans would probably help. Top rear exhaust fan (s) are a necessity. You can get by w/side fan,but you need top rear exhaust also. Put rubber o-rings between fans & sheet metal. Sheet metal can **** up acoustics if not damped. Capiche?:wave:


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## ebackhus

Another way to combat noise is to use acoustic dampeners. They comes in sizes that fit 80mm fans, ATX PSUs and often include small rubber rings for odd-size fans.


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## DenverTheVirus

Get a water-cooling system


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