Index 3: Airflow to Noise

The title of this page is a simplification - what we actually measured was airflow (in cubic feet per minute, cfm) and sound pressure (in dBA).

This is the most useful way to gauge how efficient a fan is at moving air, but you might also want to consider how loud that fan is and how much air the fan can push in the first place.

The 120mm Scythe Gentle Typhoon and Sharkoon Silent Eagle 1000 have been included for reference as they're our favourite 120mm fans. The Antec Big Boy 200mm fan is our favourite supersize fan. Please read how we tested to see how we generated these results and what they mean.

Airflow vs Sound Pressure

(cfm to dBA)

  • Antec Big Boy 200 (200mm, max speed)
  • Scythe Gentle Typhoon D1225C12B4AP-14 (120mm)
  • Sharkoon Silent Eagle 1000 (120mm)
  • Antec Big Boy 200 (200mm, medium fan speed)
  • Scythe Kama-Flex SA0825FDB12L (80mm)
  • Noctua NF-B9 (max fan speed, 92mm)
  • Revoltec RL042 (92mm)
  • Be Quiet Silent Wings 92mm (92mm)
  • Noctua NF-B9 (medium fan speed, 92mm)
  • Sharkoon Silent Eagle 2000 (80mm)
  • Scythe Kaze-Jyu Slim SY1012SL12M (92/100mm)
  • Revoltec RL037 (80mm)
  • Noctua NF-R8 (80mm, medium fan speed)
  • Noctua NF-B9 (min fan speed, 92mm)
  • Enermax Magma UCMA8 (80mm)
  • Noctua NF-R8 (80mm, min fan speed)
  • Antec Big Boy 200 (200mm, min fan speed)
  • Sharkoon Silent Eagle 1000 (80mm)
  • Noctua NF-R8 (80mm, max fan speed)
  • 3.2
  • 2.1
  • 1.7
  • 1.6
  • 1.0
  • 0.9
  • 0.9
  • 0.8
  • 0.6
  • 0.6
  • 0.6
  • 0.3
  • 0.3
  • 0.3
  • 0.3
  • 0.3
  • 0.3
  • 0.3
  • 0.2
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
cfm to dBA (higher is better)

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