Test ResultsWhen faced with almost 300 results, coming from dBA meter readings, CPU temperatures and subjective motor noise rating we discussed how to best present the obtained data to our readers.
On the previous page you’ll find the raw data sheet for those who’re interested. Balancing the noise and performance results we decided that for most users out there a quieter fan is more important than a high performing fan. Meaning: a drop of 1dBA should be more important than a 1°C CPU temp drop.
We came up with the following formula:
Efficiency Rating = (10000 / ((2/3 * CPUtemp) + dBA))) – (MotorNoiseRating)
Subjective Moto Noise Rating can be found on previous page in the data table, to penalize those fans which are really irritating and definitely not silent, those rated 3 & 4 had their scores doubled so their Efficiency Rating drops noticeably; the dBA meter and CPU temp tells us some fans did fairly good, but subjective noise rating detected very noticeable and irritating motor noise, resonance.After running this formula on the results, the Efficiency Rating gave us a single value between 92~140; the higher the score the better the fan is at delivering good performance at low noise levels. The subjective weighing is just that, subjective, so in chart below we provided both values, with/without the Motor Noise Rating deducted from the Efficiency Rating.
Here are the results:
For those who like a more classic X/Y scatter chart:
(click image for huge edition, 1577x1451)Not very clear…
It would be nice to have multiple scatter graphs with different groups of performers so differences can be seen better. I still prefer them over the MER.