[Martinm210]

New rules do not allow 3rd Party Sponsored Testing or Reviews.

 

[ljason8eg]

Great tests! That must have been a ton of work.

Looking through the videos, anyone who still thinks the Ultra Kaze 3000 doesn't have problems undervolting needs to watch that video. That was horrible.

 

[Martinm210]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ljason8eg Great tests! That must have been a ton of work. Looking through the videos, anyone who still thinks the Ultra Kaze 3000 doesn't have problems undervolting needs to watch that video. That was horrible.

Yeah, while the 38mm fans measure generally pretty low in dB noise level, the sound quality doesn't match that. I think in general, the larger the hub and motor, the more pulsing and ticking type noises you get at lower RPMs. There is a bit of a tradeoff though. there's more motor pulsing/ticking...but on the positive, you get less noise level and a lower tone. The UK1 is pretty smooth though, so I think that's more of an undervolt with large motor type of thing.

Some people may prefer that over a smoother but higher pitched noise. But that's why I wanted to do the videos so you can decide for yourself.

I've still got a few more fan videos to record and upload, but I should be done with this in the next few days. I'll update as that gets done.

 

[javier]

Martin, great job. This is really gonna be helpful for people trying to quanlify what loud and quiet are to them.

Do you want a UK2? I have a bunch collecting dust and I'll gladly send one your way to test.

Do you have any ambitions to test push/pull scenarios? I'd love to quantify what that does to total noise as well as total cfm through the rad...

 

[ljason8eg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martinm210 Yeah, while the 38mm fans measure generally pretty low in dB noise level, the sound quality doesn't match that. I think in general, the larger the hub and motor, the more pulsing and ticking type noises you get at lower RPMs. There is a bit of a tradeoff though. there's more motor pulsing/ticking...but on the positive, you get less noise level and a lower tone. The UK1 is pretty smooth though, so I think that's more of an undervolt with large motor type of thing. Some people may prefer that over a smoother but higher pitched noise. But that's why I wanted to do the videos so you can decide for yourself. I've still got a few more fan videos to record and upload, but I should be done with this in the next few days. I'll update as that gets done.

I still like that San Ace 1011 though. Very little in the way of ticking compared to the other 38mm fans when undervolted, yet it doesn't get too loud even at 12v. Guess you get what you pay for.

 

[nafljhy]

man martin, you are just brilliant.

thank you so much for your hard work! don't burn yourself out man!

 

[loop0001]

amazing work man, research and study like that is extremely rare. well done!

 

[SubstancenUnknown]

wow very nice man ...thank you very much

 

[gbyss]

first of all, great work man

now on the measuring the noise part, you should put some distance between the fan and the meter say about a foot or a yard

the reason is that sound will travel further depending on the frequency

if its low, then it will travel further than high frequency

so a fan might be noise when put next to the ear but when placed some distance away like in real life, it will be hardly noticeble

 

[Martinm210]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gbyss first of all, great work man now on the measuring the noise part, you should put some distance between the fan and the meter say about a foot or a yard the reason is that sound will travel further depending on the frequency if its low, then it will travel further than high frequency so a fan might be noise when put next to the ear but when placed some distance away like in real life, it will be hardly noticeble

Thanks!

I'd recommend the videos over the noise numbers. The sound level meter I have and used for these tests was a cheapy (Under $100). To use a method where you measure sound level from several feet away would require that you purchase one of the high end lab grade meters that have a range down well below 30dB. Those can cost as much as $200-300 and way outside my budget.

My meter will only read down to somewhere around 39dB, so the only way I was going to get a number and a large range of useable numbers to plot and look at, I had to measure point blank range. I also added a constant background noise to keep the ambient level fixed. It's what I had to do for the tool I had to use.

But I'd be happy to run some more tests if you want to donate me one of those high grade sound level meters..

If there's one thing I've learned in this excercise, measuring sound level is very tricky. To do it right you would really need to build a sound room, then you need a sound meter that costs a fortune, then you're only measuring noise level and you're still missing the whole sound quality piece. Then you realize this was supposed to be for fun!...

 

[gbyss]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martinm210 Thanks! I'd recommend the videos over the noise numbers. The sound level meter I have and used for these tests was a cheapy (Under $100). To use a method where you measure sound level from several feet away would require that you purchase one of the high end lab grade meters that have a range down well below 30dB. Those can cost as much as $200-300 and way outside my budget. My meter will only read down to somewhere around 39dB, so the only way I was going to get a number and a large range of useable numbers to plot and look at, I had to measure point blank range. I also added a constant background noise to keep the ambient level fixed. It's what I had to do for the tool I had to use. But I'd be happy to run some more tests if you want to donate me one of those high grade sound level meters.. If there's one thing I've learned in this excercise, measuring sound level is very tricky. To do it right you would really need to build a sound room, then you need a sound meter that costs a fortune, then you're only measuring noise level and you're still missing the whole sound quality piece. Then you realize this was supposed to be for fun!...

ooh i see,

i will go out and buy a lottery then, if i win you will get yourself a highest qualty sound meter i can find

until then i guess its time to look for decent one on Ebay

 

[gbyss]

one more thing, arent the noise rating on the fans are based on fan noise plus the ambient noise?

so for the testing, you would measured the ambient noise first then measure the fan noise from the distance and subtract the ambient noise from it.

I can hardly believe that a fan can have 19 dB absoulute noise level which is inaudible

 

[Martinm210]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gbyss one more thing, arent the noise rating on the fans are based on fan noise plus the ambient noise? so for the testing, you would measured the ambient noise first then measure the fan noise from the distance and subtract the ambient noise from it. I can hardly believe that a fan can have 19 dB absoulute noise level which is inaudible

Yeah there is some different methods out there for testing fans, most of which consist of the fan unmounted in free open air, but this doesn't at all represent the noise you get from the fans vibration against a radiator. There's also some that test differently than others and why you really can't trust fan noise specs because there isn't an agreed upon convention that everyone follows.

I chose the simple route and kept ambient noise as constant as possible and simply recorded the actual dB. Because my measurement was so close to the fan I found the couple of dB in ambient noise fluctuation or measurement error had very little affect on the total dB that the meter read.

Measuring noise is a PITA, the biggest issue is finding silence. You have no idea how frustrated I got trying to find a place and time to keep things silent for the video recordings. It really brings you perspective just how noisy the world is, especially with young kids in the house. I was just glad to get it done.

Now go buy that lottery ticket...I need a better meter..

 

[gbyss]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martinm210 Now go buy that lottery ticket...I need a better meter..

here are the tickets for your new meter

Lets all cross the fingers for Martin's new meter and for more accurate testings

:

 

[Martinm210]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gbyss here are the tickets for your new meter Lets all cross the fingers for Martin's new meter and for more accurate testings :

LOL!!! You actually did...that's awesome. I'll cross my fingers for that million bucks too so you can buy a new house while your at it..

 

[Martinm210]

Alright, I got the rest of the fans done, all the videos are linked in the OP.

This test is DONE!!

Cheers

Martin

 

[CrazyJoe]

Thanks for all the hard work and time you dedicate to these tests Martin !

 

[ira-k]

I thought I had already put this one up in the stickies, I just went to look at it and it wasn't there..

..

That's a lot of work, it will give the guys a real good idea of the tone of the fans.

Good stuff! Thanks for all the work Martin, its always appreciated.

 

[Sparky6string]

Yes thanks a lot! This opened my eyes to some nice fans out there that I had never heard of like the Nanoxia. If you ever get a chance to test out the Noctua NF-S12 I'd be interested to see how it stacks up.

Also I am very interested in a similar testing of 140mm fans out there. I don't have the wherewithal to do it myself but I may be able to contribute.

+ rep

 

[gbyss]

hey martin

would you willing to test Nidec Beta V TA450DC fans?

Im willing to send you 2 fans

i put 2 drops of 5w-30 engine oil on the bearing and the other one is bone stock

it would be great if it could be compared to the other fans

pm me if interested