Subjective noise rating: +++++

The Blackfire4 comes with a separate connector for the LED which gives you the choice to use the LED or not, or when you hook up the fan to a fan controller you can connect the LED to a separate 3-pin connector and have the same amount of light emitted no matter how fast/slow the fan is spinning.

The Blackfire4 series comes in different colors combinations.

Subjective noise rating: ++++

Although the product name would lead you to believe it’s ultra quiet, at 12v this is definitely not the case. Performance wise however it did score the best.

Subjective noise rating: +++

The Dustproof fan offers a decent performance noise ratio, although at 12v it not extremely quiet. It features a nifty system which restarts the fan when it’s blocked. You can view it in action here

Subjective noise rating: ++

This fan features quite a lot of fan blades compared to the others, at 12v performance is not spectacular but the fan is also close to dead silent

Subjective noise rating: ++

This custom designed fan by Arctic Cooling has build-in anti-vibration but is limited to be used as an exhaust case-fan. Although it’s quite loud at 12v – only a minimum of motor noise can be heard

Subjective noise rating: +++

This heavy duty fan seems to be build for servers – there a noticeable “hum” coming from the motor. It features a nifty system which restarts the fan when it’s blocked. You can view it in action here

Subjective noise rating: ++++

This fan lights up nicely and has offers decent performance but it’s has a rather noticeable motor noise at 12v

Subjective noise rating: ++

This fan lives up to its name, at 12v is already extremely quiet, but unfortunately the performance is not very good, worse of the bunch in fact. This fan also features a nifty system which restarts the fan when it’s blocked. You can view it in action here

Subjective noise rating: ++

A good performance/noise balance, light weight and no overly noticeable motor noise

Subjective noise rating: +

Very impressive fan, excellent performance/noise balance and I had a hard time hearing the motor of the fan, all I could hear was the air movement. The Nanometer Ceramic bearings do their job well

Subjective noise rating: ++

Excellent performance, little motor noise, but at 12v quite noisy overall. Comes with rubber mounts, but since this is a bridged fan they’ve included a small metal clip to pull the rubber through the whole so you can attach it.

Subjective noise rating: +

One of the most silent fans at 12v in the test with okay performance, Nexus send me two fans, black/white and an orange one, since the specifications of both fans are the same I only tested the black/white. At the end of all temperature/dBA/recordings when I was taking the photo’s and doing the subjective listening tests I hooked up the orange fan and noticed a very small difference… I verified it through a 3-pin connecter; the Orange version runs ~100rpm slower than the black/white. Motor noise wise both sound the same.

Subjective noise rating: +

This golden oldie from Papst still stands its ground, it’s not the quietest fan in the roundup but still offers solid performance and generates little to no motor noise

Subjective noise rating: +

Scythe has partnered with Sony to provide Fluid Dynamic Bearings and it pays off, this fan is whisper quiet with practically no motor noise audible. At 12v this fan is the most silent one from the bunch, its low RPM also leads to higher temperatures though. It features a nifty system which restarts the fan when it’s blocked. You can view it in action here

Subjective noise rating: ++

Spinning slightly faster than the “D” version this fan offers a better noise/performance balance, keeping CPU temperatures down; it does have slightly more audible motor noise. It features a nifty system which restarts the fan when it’s blocked. You can view it in action here

Subjective noise rating: ++

This fan ranks near the top temperature wise, providing lots of airflow at a reasonable sound level – motor noise was not more pronounced compared to the “E” version. It features a nifty system which restarts the fan when it’s blocked. You can view it in action here

Subjective noise rating: +++

Our last fan in the roundup from Spire offers a performance/noise balance on par with the Scythe “E” and Papst, but has a slightly more pronounced motor buzzing noise