120mm Case Fans: Gelid FN-PX12-15 vs Enermax UCTB12P

Kissyface69

Honorable
Jan 2, 2014
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10,510
I am purchasing 5 case fans and I think I have narrowed it down to these two.

Generally looking for a nice balance of noise/performance. Has anyone an opinion or experience with either of the two?

Gelid FN-PX12-15
Enermax UCTB12P

Leaning towards the Gelid as it seems to be a more popular brand, and honestly I've never even heard of Enermax before. But the Enermax boasts higher CFM supposedly and this is my main draw away from the Gelid.

Or if anyone has an experience with a fan better than the Gelid I'd love to hear it.
 
The gelids are pretty good, yes...

but if you want the best fans out there, period... you buy noctuas. Yes, they're ugly, and I tried to avoid them because of that, but then I bought a pair... they are so far and beyond other fans out there it's not even funny.

The only other fans that come even slightly close would be Corsair's fans, but they're a fair bit noisier (still quiet, but you can hear them, as opposed to the dead silent noctuas)... but they look way better. It's a trade-off.
 

Kissyface69

Honorable
Jan 2, 2014
17
0
10,510
Yeah my cpu cooler is Noctua. I don't really care about their color (I kind of like it honestly), but the Noctua 120mm pwms are a bit too rich for my blood at the moment. Especially given that I have to get 5 of them, otherwise I'd definitely have gone with those by now. Any suggestions off hand as far as Corsairs that might be in a range similar to those Gelids? With 5 fans and having a very quiet room, I'm trying to find that perfect middle ground without breaking the bank, or wasting money on cheap fans that are gonna eat it in the next year.
 
Ooh, ouch. Okay, here's my next question, then - what exactly are you doing that you need five fans for? Because it's going to be a heck of a lot quieter if you can get away with using two or three noctuas for the same price as five less expensive fans. Remember that maxxing out your case fan options often actually hurts cooling airflow and cooling, rather than helping it.

The corsairs are $30 for a 2-pack, I think, or $20 for one. What you want are the Air series SP120 or AF 120 depending on your need. (I've only used the solid ones, but apparently they have light up ones now that are getting very good reviews and appear to be based on the same design.)