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Forum Discussion
A really silent fan!
The fan of my ReadyNAS NV+ was too noisy for desktop use in the long run, I actually had it tucked away in a closet to keep the fan noise away from my desk. Searching the net for a more quiet option, ...
The original NV+ fan rarely ran faster than slightly above minimum speed, and its sound was still very annoying (not to mention the noise at startup!).
The Noctua NF-B9 has three fixed settings by using three different connectors, it doesn't vary automatically in the NV+. But it doesn't really matter, it's noise level/CFM ratio is remarkable (specifications by the manufacturer):
Lowest setting = 24 CFM at 7.9 dB(A), 1000 RPM
Medium setting = 31 CFM at 13.1 dB(A), 1300 RPM
Highest setting = 38 CFM at 17.6 dB(A), 1600 RPM
As a comparison, Fractal Design 92mm Silent Series Cooling Fan specifies 24 CFM as its highest possible flow, which is the same flow as Noctua at its lowest speed. At that speed the Fractals noise level is specified to 12 dB(A), which should actually rather be compared to Noctuas medium speed: 13.1 dB(A) at 31 CFM.
On top of that Noctua specifies MTBF > 150.000 hours, and it comes with a six year warranty.
As I said in my first post I currently run the Noctua at its lowest speed (24 CFM). At that speed it's hardly noticable before the harddisks start, and once the first Seagate 1 TB starts the harddisk noise is far louder than the fan.
After the forums worries about possible inefficient cooling I decided to do a stress test. I copied countless small files from my computer to two shares at the same time for three hours, which resulted in tremendous harddisk activity. About 40 GB was copied to each share. The results:
Room temperature: 23C
Harddisk 1: 50C
Harddisk 2: 48C
Cabinet: 39C
This being the lowest speed of the Noctua, there must be ample reserve capacity for long time use.
Regards
The Noctua NF-B9 has three fixed settings by using three different connectors, it doesn't vary automatically in the NV+. But it doesn't really matter, it's noise level/CFM ratio is remarkable (specifications by the manufacturer):
Lowest setting = 24 CFM at 7.9 dB(A), 1000 RPM
Medium setting = 31 CFM at 13.1 dB(A), 1300 RPM
Highest setting = 38 CFM at 17.6 dB(A), 1600 RPM
As a comparison, Fractal Design 92mm Silent Series Cooling Fan specifies 24 CFM as its highest possible flow, which is the same flow as Noctua at its lowest speed. At that speed the Fractals noise level is specified to 12 dB(A), which should actually rather be compared to Noctuas medium speed: 13.1 dB(A) at 31 CFM.
On top of that Noctua specifies MTBF > 150.000 hours, and it comes with a six year warranty.
As I said in my first post I currently run the Noctua at its lowest speed (24 CFM). At that speed it's hardly noticable before the harddisks start, and once the first Seagate 1 TB starts the harddisk noise is far louder than the fan.
After the forums worries about possible inefficient cooling I decided to do a stress test. I copied countless small files from my computer to two shares at the same time for three hours, which resulted in tremendous harddisk activity. About 40 GB was copied to each share. The results:
Room temperature: 23C
Harddisk 1: 50C
Harddisk 2: 48C
Cabinet: 39C
This being the lowest speed of the Noctua, there must be ample reserve capacity for long time use.
Regards
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