The Fan Database
After the success of shinji2k's PSU review database here; I thought it would be great to get a similar thing going for another crucial aspect of your system, fans.
There are often many misconceptions floating around OCN and the internet regarding fans, what their true CFM to dba ratio is, static pressure, bearing type, motor size etc, and this often leads people to blindly recommend fans just based upon the noise level or CFM rating. While this can be true and is pretty much spot on for case and open air fans, when you add the slightest obstruction to the fan, these levels can fluctuate and performance can drop (Such as adding to a heatsink or radiator with a dense fin array).
Below is a Google spreadsheet document which I have linked, please fill out the columns and rows with any fans you have (Please keep it Chronological/Alphabetical) and your experiences with them (These will vary, but I am certain most will follow a similar trend); I want people to be able to distinguish the good, the bad and the damn right aweful!
Legend:
CFM: Cubic feet per minute, the amount of air pushed, per minute, in cubic feet, from a stationery position. This is used to measure the amount of air pushed or pulled, ideal for case fans, and a contributing factor for heatsink/rad fans.
dBA: A difficult one to explain, but in layman's terms, this is the noise level of the fan, relative to your hearing. A fan does not have to be 0dBA to be "Silent", as this does not necessarily scale like that, and it all depends on your level of hearing.
RPM: or Revolutions Per Minute, this is the speed of the fan, many are PWM (see below) adjustable, so this figure can vary, in that instance, please put the lowest and highest figure.
PWM: Pulse Width Modulation, a method of monitoring and modulating amounts of electrical power between fully on and off. This is great for fans, as it allows the speed of the fan to dynamically adjust according to heat and/or the load level of critical components.
Pa: or Static Pressure, in laymans terms, is the amount of pressure exerted upon an area, so if this was on a heatsink or radiator, that would be it. Important for the above uses.
Size: Fan size in mm, measured corner to corner, common sizes included 80, 92, 120, 140 and 200mm, but feel free to add others!
Width: Fan width, common widths are 15,25 and 38mm, but again, custom sizes are welcome
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Bearing Type: Common types include Sleeve, Ball, Rifle, Fluid and Magnetic, but again, if your's is unique, feel free to add it.
Typical Usage: Does this fan exceed as a case fan? or does the high level of static pressure make it ideal for mounting on your Radiator? Feel free to give your opinion on this, after all, this is only going to help others!
For adding entries, make/brand name does not need to be alphabetical, but keep model/part no alphabetical, keeps it nice and tidy then
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http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=0ArBH0nGz95pMdFFaRmVwRGt3QnI1YnNzb0k3c2hJcHc&w=100&h=500 Google Spreadsheet
After the success of shinji2k's PSU review database here; I thought it would be great to get a similar thing going for another crucial aspect of your system, fans.
There are often many misconceptions floating around OCN and the internet regarding fans, what their true CFM to dba ratio is, static pressure, bearing type, motor size etc, and this often leads people to blindly recommend fans just based upon the noise level or CFM rating. While this can be true and is pretty much spot on for case and open air fans, when you add the slightest obstruction to the fan, these levels can fluctuate and performance can drop (Such as adding to a heatsink or radiator with a dense fin array).
Below is a Google spreadsheet document which I have linked, please fill out the columns and rows with any fans you have (Please keep it Chronological/Alphabetical) and your experiences with them (These will vary, but I am certain most will follow a similar trend); I want people to be able to distinguish the good, the bad and the damn right aweful!
Legend:
CFM: Cubic feet per minute, the amount of air pushed, per minute, in cubic feet, from a stationery position. This is used to measure the amount of air pushed or pulled, ideal for case fans, and a contributing factor for heatsink/rad fans.
dBA: A difficult one to explain, but in layman's terms, this is the noise level of the fan, relative to your hearing. A fan does not have to be 0dBA to be "Silent", as this does not necessarily scale like that, and it all depends on your level of hearing.
RPM: or Revolutions Per Minute, this is the speed of the fan, many are PWM (see below) adjustable, so this figure can vary, in that instance, please put the lowest and highest figure.
PWM: Pulse Width Modulation, a method of monitoring and modulating amounts of electrical power between fully on and off. This is great for fans, as it allows the speed of the fan to dynamically adjust according to heat and/or the load level of critical components.
Pa: or Static Pressure, in laymans terms, is the amount of pressure exerted upon an area, so if this was on a heatsink or radiator, that would be it. Important for the above uses.
Size: Fan size in mm, measured corner to corner, common sizes included 80, 92, 120, 140 and 200mm, but feel free to add others!
Width: Fan width, common widths are 15,25 and 38mm, but again, custom sizes are welcome
Bearing Type: Common types include Sleeve, Ball, Rifle, Fluid and Magnetic, but again, if your's is unique, feel free to add it.
Typical Usage: Does this fan exceed as a case fan? or does the high level of static pressure make it ideal for mounting on your Radiator? Feel free to give your opinion on this, after all, this is only going to help others!
For adding entries, make/brand name does not need to be alphabetical, but keep model/part no alphabetical, keeps it nice and tidy then
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=0ArBH0nGz95pMdFFaRmVwRGt3QnI1YnNzb0k3c2hJcHc&w=100&h=500 Google Spreadsheet
