Question Inexpensive but good quality fans ?

[ReveurGAM]

Please recommend low-cost fans to me, especially if you have seen few (or no) data-driven reviews about them. Any size that is typical for PCs (120-200mm?). No server fans, and no known POS fans, please.

 

[Avro Arrow]

You know, it's a funny thing but I've never really paid attention to what kind of fans I've used because I've never had one fail on me, like ever.

I've used Arctic, Cooler Master, Deepcool, Zalman, Thermaltake and god-knows how many other brands I've had that I can't even properly pronounce. I grabbed a bunch of dirt-cheap RGB fans from AliExpress years ago and they all still work today.

The original intake fans (2 x 120mm) in my U12-40670 case which I bought over a decade ago still spin happily when I turn my PC on. They'll be a real turd to change if they ever fail but, knock on wood, they never have. They're probably some cheap generic fans since they were already buried in the front of the case when I bought it.

Hell, the fan on my original AM2+ CPU cooler that came with my Phenom II X4 940 back in 2009 still works:

I used that thing for three years and then I bought my FX-8350 which came with this cooler:

I thought "Oh, cool, a new CPU cooler! I bet it'll be better than the AM2 cooler!", but, nope. The AM3 cooler (which came with ALL AM3 and AM3+ CPUs) was capable of cooling the FX-8350 but, as you can see, it has that little fan with fewer broad, stubby blades. It sounded like a jet engine so I went back to the AM2 cooler (which also fits AM3/4/5 sockets) and it was so much quieter.

I used the FX-8350 for five years in total and while I experimented with a Cooler Master Hyper 212 and a Zalman AIO, I ended up going back to this. So I used it for 8 years straight and its fan still spins to this day.

You'd have a hard time finding fans that won't last at least a decade, no matter what they cost because at their core, they're very simple devices.

 

[ReveurGAM]

You know, it's a funny thing but I've never really paid attention to what kind of fans I've used because I've never had one fail on me, like ever.

I've used Arctic, Cooler Master, Deepcool, Zalman, Thermaltake and god-knows how many other brands I've had that I can't even properly pronounce. I grabbed a bunch of dirt-cheap RGB fans from AliExpress years ago and they all still work today.

The original intake fans (2 x 120mm) in my U12-40670 case which I bought over a decade ago still spin happily when I turn my PC on. They'll be a real turd to change if they ever fail but, knock on wood, they never have. They're probably some cheap generic fans since they were already buried in the front of the case when I bought it.

Hell, the fan on my original AM2+ CPU cooler that came with my Phenom II X4 940 back in 2009 still works:

I used that thing for three years and then I bought my FX-8350 which came with this cooler:

I thought "Oh, cool, a new CPU cooler! I bet it'll be better than the AM2 cooler!", but, nope. The AM3 cooler (which came with ALL AM3 and AM3+ CPUs) was capable of cooling the FX-8350 but, as you can see, it has that little fan with fewer broad, stubby blades. It sounded like a jet engine so I went back to the AM2 cooler (which also fits AM3/4/5 sockets) and it was so much quieter.

I used the FX-8350 for five years in total and while I experimented with a Cooler Master Hyper 212 and a Zalman AIO, I ended up going back to this. So I used it for 8 years straight and its fan still spins to this day.

You'd have a hard time finding fans that won't last at least a decade, no matter what they cost because at their core, they're very simple devices.

I wish everyone had such great experiences with fans. I've seen some people recently who've had a fan die within months of purchase, Arctic being one. Can't remember the others. Maybe you're in an ideal environment in your room? 😉

 

[Avro Arrow]

I wish everyone had such great experiences with fans. I've seen some people recently who've had a fan die within months of purchase, Arctic being one. Can't remember the others. Maybe you're in an ideal environment in your room? 😉

Oh I doubt that because the last time I checked, Canada is far from an ideal environment. We can experience as much as a 70°C temperature swing over the year from -35°C to +35°C with desert-dry winters and swamp-humid summers. It's possible that I've just been lucky and it's possible that my experience isn't typical.

Although, I do remember back when I worked for Tiger Direct that fans, like light bulbs, quite often had their production sub-contracted to some nameless OEM regardless of what brand name was on the central sticker.

It might just be that those people were unlucky. Fans are pretty much a commodity and have been for a long time. It might have just been a case of "Out of 1,000,000 units, there will always be X-number of bad ones, no matter what it is." which has always been the rule of mass-production and computer fans definitely qualify as mass-produced. Of course, if someone is unlucky enough to get one of the X-number of bad ones, they will assume that the whole brand is garbage.

The only time I bought brand-name fans was when they were on sale (Thermaltake or Arctic) or I wanted a specific level of performance (Cooler Master Sickleflow). Other than that, when reading the specs and differences between them, it's like trying to compare two brands of thermal paste. Sure, there might be some difference and there are some that are high performers, but for the most part, they're all "good enough" to do the job. 😊👍

 

[ReveurGAM]

True.
I'm kinda familiar with your weather. I'm from Milwaukee. Not quite as extreme, but I've been in -70F weather (including windshield). Never want to do that again.

 

[ReveurGAM]

I was wondering if anyone thinks it's worthwhile to review sub-120mm fans? I accidentally bought a 92mm Zalman, and I'm really not sure if I should waste money on small fans.