Better than my high expectations
Quality:Using 2 of these pulling as an intake through a corsair H110 (the original fans had that horrible bearing rattle they are known for). These are very impressive, people have written at length on the internet about noctua quality, and I now understand why, very high build quality, solid, those rubberised corners seem to work very well, and the braiding on the cable is rubberised which is really nice to work with. Even the packaging is nice.Noise:2000rpm is gonna be audible no matter how you do it. I find the noise from these at full tilt more tollerable than any other fan I have used yet. You can hear the motor, but I had some xigmateks years ago that went up to 1100 and they had horible phase noise from the motors. Put it this way, I was watching snooker while they were at full speed.Performance:I'm using these in pull mode as a top intake through the 240mm radiator of the H110 I mentioned earlier, hooked up to an FX9590, 220watt TDP, about the same as a highly clocked intel I5 (so I hear).In push almost no air will get through the radiator, because they move so much air at a high pressure it buffets on the radiator fins and becomes turbulent (you get lots of noise and little heat exchange). That aside, I managed to hit 75 degrees C (and inevitable shutdown) using stock fans in pull mode after 20mins of Prime95. Put these on, same configuration, reached 58 degrees after 20 mins, 59 degrees after 45 mins. Nice to know they have the extra cooling ability if needed.It is in Idle to medium load situations where these fans show how good they really are. They flow so much air through a radiator at medium to low speeds that they can run ~200-300RPM slower than the stock fans. Might not sound much but the difference between 1000rpm and 1200rpm is pretty audible. I can hear my mechanical hard drive over them. Its not silent, but having the window open is louder...In conclusion, worth every penny. Perfom as well as I had expected, given the price. (and they arent the usual noctua brown!)
