I had outfitted my new FreeNAS box with Noctua fans, but my HDD were still getting a bit hot during scrubs.\u00a0 Both fan placement and fan performance are crucial, and I had to go back down the rabbit hole to find a solution.<\/p>\n
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A good review site<\/a> is a great start.<\/p>\n You might need a cubic meter per hour to cubic foot per minute calculator because everyone seems to love using alternating units.\u00a0 Here’s one<\/a>.<\/p>\n tl;dr – If your focus is keeping the noise down and you won’t be using PWM, go for the Phanteks PH-F140HP PWM<\/a>.\u00a0 If you’re using PWM, go with the Bitfenix Spectre Pro PWM as it is similarly quiet when spinning slowly, and pushes far more air when spun up to speed.\u00a0 For a lark, I’ve included the fan I have in all my cases.\u00a0 Not very “stealthy” when you’re nearly as loud as a leaf-blower and push only 40% of the air.\u00a0 Has fan technology really come that far, or was I just a terrible consumer back when I bought them?<\/p>\n One thing to note is that the Phanteks PH-F140HP<\/strong> is a 140mm fan but it’s mounting points reside at 120mm<\/em>.\u00a0 If your case can’t accommodate that, opt for the\u00a0Phanteks PH-F140SP. <\/strong><\/p>\n I ended up getting two Bitfenix Spectre Pro PWMs because I could source them locally.\u00a0 The build quality on both of them was garbage, but they’re cheap and whisper quiet when running off PWM power.\u00a0 They only get loud when your computer decides temperatures have risen to unacceptable levels, or your SuperMicro motherboard thinks the fans have died.\u00a0 A fantastic solution to that is posted here<\/a>.<\/p>\nVantec Stealth SF12025L 53 CFM @ 28dB<\/code><\/p>\nNoctua FLX 67 CFM @ 19dB
\nNoctua PWM 82 CFM @ 26dB
\nPhanteks PH-F140HP 88.6 CFM @ 19dB
\nPhanteks PH-F140SP 82.1 CFM @ 19dB
\nBitfenix Spectre Pro PWM 122 CFM @ 29dB<\/code><\/p>\n
\nPlacement<\/h4>\n