Hi,

First of all let me introduce my casing which is I use currently;


Cooler Master Centurion 590

My current fan setup is as below;

Intake;
Front 4in3 3.5" HDD bay - 1 CM SickleFlow X
Additional 4in3 3.5" HDD bay - 1 Sunbeamtech Fan from Sunbeam CCF fan
Side - 1 CM SickleFlow X

Exhaust;
Back Panel - 1 CM SickleFlow X
Top Exhaust - 2 XIGMATEK 14CM FAN BLACK XLF-F1455
Bottom - Corsair TX750 PSU Fan

Looks like I am SickleFlow X fetish...
That CM SickleFlow X is the fan from the past 4,5 years as that time only can afford CM Sickleflow as it is Cheap and rated much Airflow.

Right now feel a bit rich, so wanna make sure My Rig get the most out from the best Parts ( in this case the Fans ). I aim for the best Air Flow yet silent setup, that's why I aim for the 140mm exhaust fan.

So after numerous study, I found that for Horizontal Mounted fan, it is best to stay away from Sleeve Bearing Fan. Right Now my XLF-F1455 is using FCB Fluid Circulative Bearing. Which is I dunno much of it. But now when I On my PC, the fans produce some noise. Summore the built quality is somewhat doubtful, If I look at the propeller, it seems it gonna drop anytime soon. So I have Shortlisted these fans.

Prolimatech Ultra Sleek Vortex 14;



Key Features I'm looking at from this fan are;

Bearing Double Ball Bearing
Net Weight 91g
Fan Speed 300 ~ 1000 RPM (±100RPM)
Noise Level 9 ~ 18 dBA
Airflow 166.503058 m³/h @ 98 CFM
As it is 15mm in thick, I will get additional space between the NH U12s edge to the top fan

Noctua AF-14 PWM 140mm;



Key Features I'm looking at from this fan are;

Bearing SSO2
SSO combines the proven concept of oil-based hydrodynamic bearings with an additional magnet that supports the self-stabilisation of the rotor axis. Due to the axis being stabilised by the magnetic field, Noctua’s SSO Bearing achieves higher precision and better longevity than conventional ball-, sleeve- or hydrodynamic bearings.
Rotational Speed (+/- 10%) 1500 RPM
Rotational Speed with L.N.A. (+/- 10%) 1200 RPM
Min. Rotational Speed (PWM, +/-20%) 300 RPM
Airflow 140.2 m³/h @ 82 CFM
Airflow with L.N.A. 115.5 m³/h @ 68 CFM
Acoustical Noise 24,6 dB(A)
Acoustical Noise with L.N.A. 19,2 dB(A)

Built Quality I can say Noctua is top Notch. It is also silent event at full speed ( according to my Stock NH u12s stock fan which is NF F12 PWM rated @ 1500 RPM )

Can somebody help me decide. I'm more into the Prolimatech Ultra Sleek Vortex 14 as it is Double Ball Bearing fan. And I am not familiar with the so called SSO2 type of bearing.

The Prolimatech is over Noctua in terms of dBA and airflow so I'll go for it..

im on noctua for my entire pc setup with custom watercooling that have fans mounted vertically/horizontally.

built it around april and i can vouch for their silence/performance.
can't say much bout longevity though.

reference:
https://plus.google.com/+JasonLimQuazacolt/posts/9AP51CV5GDr

How long, 2 3 years before it stop working?

Help!!! I got 2 Quotation. Both also same price for 2 Prolimatech and 2 Noctua (used). Which one will be better? I know Noctua is the best quality and silent, but the Prolimatech have better Air Flow and known the best Bearing type (double ball bearing) for Horizontal Mount.

mmmmm http://www.amazon.com/Cougar-Vortex-Coolin...viglink20390-20 lol

Why buy "used", same price better find new unit.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_bearing

http://www.overclock.net/t/1230070/gentle-...s-noctua-nf-f12

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/the-truth-a...ing-fdb-fans/5/


now for noctua's:
http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=sso2_bearing
http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=sso_bearing