Originally Posted by
MicroCat
The Apache is an older design (2009), so have to look in the review archives. ;-) Here's a
comparo from 2012 at vortez. In that test it performs slightly worse (3c) and is 3dB louder than a 1450rpm GT.
That's my experience as well. It's not quite as good as the GTs/Vardars and is a bit noisier. However, where I live it's also less than half the cost. So I've happily used it in budget-driven builds.
Also, the thing that fan tests on the internet don't reveal is the sonic noise profile of fans. The Youtube reviews are a total fail as most are amateur recordings that make all sound hideous and generally are tested free-air, not in situ.
What I'm hinting at is that the perfect fan for me, may not be the perfect fan for you. And that's why real enthusiasts (or idiots) have a closet full of unused fans.
There is no perfect fan. It's a mechanical noise-generating air-moving device. We get to pick the best compromises for ourselves.
That's the fun of it tho. We make the best semi-educated choices we can from the sometimes conflicting info on the internet. Then we can test in our own systems and make our own choices. It just costs a little (a lot) more.