It's not often when somebody pitches a cooling product as "Quieter than the competition". Ok, that'd be my lame pitch, but I'm not in marketing. Vantec recently contacted us about some new cooling fans that are up to 80% more silent than the competition. Since my computer is loud enough to scare our dog, I'd figure it'd be something worth checking out.

We received 3 of . They come packaged in nice company colours, with punchouts for it to be hung on display racks. Considering most case fans I see are simply bundled in plastic, and thrown in a pile, the look of quality is certainly apparent here. The three fans Vantec has made available are...

SF6025L - A 60MM fan.

Fan Size: 60x60x25mm, 2.36x2.36x0.98"
Rated Voltage: 12 V
Rated Current: 0.08 Amp
Air Flow: 12 CFM
Rated Input Power: 0.96 W
Noise: 20 dBA
Rated Speed: 2600 RPM
Bearing: 2 Ball Bearings

Some ATX cases can accommodate 60mm cooling fans. Most instances though, the only 60mm fan in your case would likely be that found on your heatsink. It only puts out 12cfm, so it's not really something I'd place on a high end processor, but slower ones may be cool enough to use the fan.

SF8025L - An 80MM fan.

Fan Size: 80x80x25mm, 3.15x3.15x0.98"
Rated Voltage: 12 V
Rated Current: 0.10 Amp
Air Flow: 27 CFM
Rated Input Power: 1.20 W
Noise: 21 dBA
Rated Speed: 2050 RPM
Bearing: 2 Ball Bearings

This will probably be the most popular, as it's application is plentiful. It's CFM output is high enough to be used on the larger heatsinks, so long as you don't plan to overclock. It can be used to replace your standard case fan, which will likely be the most popular scenario.

SF9225L - A 92MM fan

Fan Size: 92x92x25mm, 3.62x3.62x0.98"
Rated Voltage: 12 V
Rated Current: 0.07 Amp
Air Flow: 28 CFM
Rated Input Power: 0.84 W
Noise: 20 dBA
Rated Speed: 1750 RPM
Bearing: 2 Ball Bearings

I used this to replace my Enermax PSU fan. The Enermax fan isn't really noisy, but it was the only 92mm fan I had in my case. For those of you with modded fan brackets, or blow holes, this would be a suitable replacement.

All the fans come packaged with case screws and a 3 to 4 pin Molex adapter. The fans were intended to be used as case fans, so Vantec was wise to include the necessary tools. Most case fans I see in stores don't even have screws. Unfortunently, no fan grills were included. It is rare that fan grills are needed for case fan application, but it would have been a nice extra to throw in.

Performance

I replaced the following with the Vantec Stealth fans...

60mm Delta
80mm Sunon rear exhaust fan
Enermax 92mm Secondary fan

The system is as follows...

Thunderbird 1.4GHz, 1.75v
KT7A-RAID
2x40GB Quantum 7200rpm
ATi Radeon 8500DV

All of this was housed in our Lian-Li PC60, with a Vantec CCK-6027D heatsink attached to the CPU.

Well, as I actually expected, overall temperatures increased after the changes. Luckily, even though 51C for the CPU is higher than we'd like, it's well within the "safe" zone of the Thunderbird. Heck, the stock AMD cooler performs worse, so I'm not worried.

Final Words

I know true performance enthusiasts are gonna look at the numbers and say "bah!". As one of these users, I'll have to agree. Performance is not as good as the 7000rpm screamers, with 68cfm case fans blasting through your system.

As an "older" (or going deaf) performance enthusiast, these fans have found a permanent home in my server. Despite housing an older CPU, I do use the computer as my PVR, and DVD player. I've been meaning to install a slower CPU (thus requiring a quieter fan), but haven't got around to it. Before, when working on my main rig, I'd hear the "PVR", 10 feet away, buzzing away next to our TV. With the new Vantec fans, sometimes I'd glance over to see if the computer was even on! It's that quiet now.

Sure, there's still a slight hum, and it runs warmer than before, but if you're the type to leave a PC on all night in your bedroom, you might want to give these Stealth fans a hard look.

Vantec:

Pros: Silent. Attractive packaging, and includes the parts you need for installation. Silent.

Cons: Not a high performer, no fan grill.

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