Noise/Performance @ 7v

Subjective noise rating where I placed my ear next to the fan: more “+” means louder and more irritating motor noise

	CPU	RPM	dBA	Subject Noise Rating	Sound Sample	Comments
Coolermaster Ultra Silent SAF-S12-E1	80+	-	35.7	+
Aerocool Turbine 1000	53.5	-	34.5	++		does not restart when blocked
Scythe S-FLEX SFF21D	52	731	35.1	+
Coolermaster LED Silent TLF-S12	51.5	792	35.7	++
GlobalWin 1202512L	49	778	34.9	++
Nexus D12SL-12 (black/white)	49	703	34.8	++
Scythe S-FLEX SFF21E	49	959	36.5	+
Spire FD12025C1E3	49	927	36.7	+++
Coolermaster ALU AAF-B12-E1	48.5	948	40.7	+++
Coolink SWiF-1201	48.5	1017	39.3	++
Papst 4412 F/2GLL	48.5	993	36.5	+
AC Ryan Blackfire4	47.5	1035	40	++++
Arctic Fan 12	47	1180	39.7	+++
Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F	47	1096	39.5	+
mCubed X12	46.5	981	36.7	++
AcoustiFan AFDP-12025	46	1140	40.6	++
AcoustiFan AF120C	44.5	1172	41.5	+++

At 7v more fans fall into the “very quiet” category, the Aerocool is very close to ambient noise but does not move much air. The mCubed X12 offers an excellent performance/noise balance here; the GlobalWin is on par with the Nexus D12SL. The Coolermaster Ultra Silent can no longer keep the CPU running stable, although it’s still nosier than some other fans in the test.

Let’s see how they all do at 5v ->