Quiet CPU Fan for AMD Phenom IIX4 960T?

[2wheelfan]

Just completed my build with Fractual R3, AsRock 970 Extremer4 mobo and AMD Phenom II processor.
Computer was built with the objective of being quiet...hence the Fractual R3 case. I am running two chassis fans that came with the case which are decent with no audible whine...but...the AMD Phenom II fan...the CPU fan that came with the processor, while providing adequate cooling...my CPU temps run around 40 deg C or so...the CPU fan has a clear whine to it...which is RPM dependent. I have gone into the BIOS several times and changed CPU fan speed which pretty dramatically affects overall noise level....in particular frequency of the whine. My belief is the noise footprint of this fan, isn't specific to airflow...but rather the fan motor itself. This CPU fan is noisey.

So am searching for a plug and play CPU fan I use with the Phenom II that is quiet.
Many thanks in advance for any suggestions?

 

[Uther39]

Just completed my build with Fractual R3, AsRock 970 Extremer4 mobo and AMD Phenom II processor.
Computer was built with the objective of being quiet...hence the Fractual R3 case. I am running two chassis fans that came with the case which are decent with no audible whine...but...the AMD Phenom II fan...the CPU fan that came with the processor, while providing adequate cooling...my CPU temps run around 40 deg C or so...the CPU fan has a clear whine to it...which is RPM dependent. I have gone into the BIOS several times and changed CPU fan speed which pretty dramatically affects overall noise level....in particular frequency of the whine. My belief is the noise footprint of this fan, isn't specific to airflow...but rather the fan motor itself. This CPU fan is noisey.

So am searching for a plug and play CPU fan I use with the Phenom II that is quiet.
Many thanks in advance for any suggestions?

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/be-quiet!-dark-rock-advanced-bk014-cpu-cooler-lga775-1155-1156-1366-2011-am2-am2plus-am3-754-940

or even quieter and cooler

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/be-quiet!-dark-rock-pro-bk016-cpu-cooler-socket-lga775-1155-1156-1366-2011-am2-am2plus-am3-754-940

 

[Onus]

Any 120mm direct-touch tower style cooler should be fairly quiet. If you do not overclock beyond "mild," you might put a fixed-speed (rather than PWM) low-speed fan on it; afaik it is the PWM modulation which can add quite a bit of whine, although my PWM-controlled Xigmatek Gaia's fan is quiet.

 

[Rockdpm]

Well. Considering you canse is noise canceling, it doesnt have good airflow. So i would probably get a dual fan heat sink. Or even a Corsair Hydro series cooler. You want good temps without the noise. Your gonna want a high quality cooler

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103057
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181015

Or

The Cooler i use. Ill provide both variants:
Mine: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181011

A cheaper version of the cooler (Doesnt come with a Spare fan or spare fan mount. 1 fan only) : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181012

 

[Rockdpm]

ANd on a second note the coolers uther recommended looks like a good one to!. i +1 that

 

[Unolocogringo]

Best bang-for -buck is the Hyper 212 line. 212, 212+ ,212 EVO. Arround $30.00 US

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/coolermaster-hyper-212-evo-4-heat-pipes-direct-contact-with-120mm-quiet-fan-lga775-1155-1156-1366-am

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/coolermaster-hyper-212-quiet-cpu-cooler-4-heat-pipes-120mm-fan-intel-s775-am2-am2plus-am3-754-939-94

I have the EVO model. 960t black unlocked to 6 cores@3.4 1.35v maximum temperature running Prime95 is 47c with 50% fan speed.

 

[regularguy290]

i've used this cooler for 3 builds:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134
it's very quiet and has kept all of my cpu's cool, even inside cases with poor airflow and sound deadening that seem to act like insulation.

 

[2wheelfan]

Thanks a lot gents for your comments...greatly appreciate it. After reading too many reviews, I have decided on what is considered a great value CPU fan:

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible

Low cost, quiet and good cooling and should fit my Fractual Define R3 case which has 165mm clearance.

A couple of questions please since you guy know more about CPU fans than me:

- Is there a preferred thermal paste or should the paste that comes with the fan be OK?

- 3 versus 4 pin set up? The ASRock mobo I have has both 3 and 4 pin male connectors side by side on the board. Which is preferred? I believe the 4 pin has a tach signal correct? Is 4 pin PSW or automatically adjust fan speed based upon CPU temp?...is this programmable in the BIOS or via software in Windows? I have UEFI BIOS with my mobo and have been able to manually adjust the RPM of the stock CPU fan I want to replace that came with the Phenom II 4X...which btw I opened up to 6 cores. I haven't overclocked it however as I don't see the need for my modest usage.

Not sure whether a 3 or 4 pin connector comes with the Hyper 212 or not. Do you guys generally run external RPM controllers aka knobs for your CPU fan...or go into the BIOS and control it?

Thanks for any further perspective.

 

[jeffredo]

Not the best for maximum overclocking performance, more a low noise replacement for the stock cooler. It will still allow for OCing though.

http://www.arctic.ac/en/p/cooling/cpu/473/freezer-a30.html?c=2181

 

[2wheelfan]

To update, I just installed the Cooler Master Hyper 212+ with Artic Silver 5 and pleased with this cooler's performance. Bought from Newegg and read all their reviews. Install went pretty well...I run the Phenom II as mentioned. Plug is 4 pin...and I adjust CPU and other two case fan speeds in the UEFI 1.50 BIOS. I monitor temps though don't adjust fan speed with Speedfan freeware...and because the fan pushes air onto the much larger than stock heat sink and is oriented in front of the heat sink and pushes air front to back, it augments air flow...in the path of front and rear fans...it drops CPU temps by on average 5 deg or so...and board temps by about 1-2 deg. I do have to throttle the fan way back to get it quiet however. I guess I expected the Fractual R3 with its padding to be quieter overall. At lower RPM the cooler still provides decent temps..around 30 deg C...with my modest usage...no gamer but everything else but if speed up the CPU fan which will manifest more CPU cooling...it becomes more audible. On caveat is...and will give you guys a technical nuance...based upon what I perceive as fan balance or lack thereoff..and slightly higher RPM the fan can create a vibration. This is a function of not only the balance of the fan itself...but also the compliancy of the mount to the motherboard. No doubt this issue is fan and motherboard specific. But running underneath the RPM that creates this resonant frequency, the fan is almost inadible...which is where I run it. In my experience it is always a tradeoff of noise versus cooling performance. I believe its possible that replacing the Cooler Master Fan with a better 120mm example...like Nexus...would allow higher fan speed and maintain low dB with improved cooling.
For those considering his cost effective heat sink, make sure you have the clearance... stands 158mm from the motherboard...clearance within the Fractual R3 is 165mm so fortunately it fit fine.

 

[2wheelfan]

Best answer selected by 2wheelfan.