Noctua 40mm vs Fractal 50mm for GameCube fan mod

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Noctua 40mm vs Fractal 50mm for GameCube fan mod

Noctua NF-A4x10 40mm Fan
3
75%
Fractal Silent Series R3 50mm Fan
1
25%
 
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Ikaruga11
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Noctua 40mm vs Fractal 50mm for GameCube fan mod

Post by Ikaruga11 »

Which one is better? The Noctua 40mm is the most recommended fan as it's the quietest. The Fractal 50mm fan is the same size as the stock fan and is supposedly quieter too. Will the 40mm Noctua fan provide enough airflow for a GC Loader GameCube with tray mount?
Last edited by Ikaruga11 on Sat Nov 27, 2021 5:36 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Guspaz
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Re: Noctua 40mm vs Fractal 50mm for GameCube fan mod

Post by Guspaz »

The Fractal has more airflow (~11.6 m3/h for Fractal versus 8.9 m3/h for Noctua), but the Noctua has more static pressure (1.41 mm h2o for Fractal versus 1.95 mm h2o for Noctua).

The manufacturer noise measurements are useless for comparing between manufacturers because they don't measure the same way, they can only be used for comparing within the same manufacturer (probably). But the Noctua fan, being a 40mm fan, spins faster (5000 RPM) than the 50mm Fractal (3500 RPM), so I don't know that it's guaranteed to be quieter.
Ikaruga11
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Re: Noctua 40mm vs Fractal 50mm for GameCube fan mod

Post by Ikaruga11 »

Guspaz wrote:The Fractal has more airflow (~11.6 m3/h for Fractal versus 8.9 m3/h for Noctua), but the Noctua has more static pressure (1.41 mm h2o for Fractal versus 1.95 mm h2o for Noctua).

The manufacturer noise measurements are useless for comparing between manufacturers because they don't measure the same way, they can only be used for comparing within the same manufacturer (probably). But the Noctua fan, being a 40mm fan, spins faster (5000 RPM) than the 50mm Fractal (3500 RPM), so I don't know that it's guaranteed to be quieter.
Thanks. Those numbers are for the PWM version of the Noctua NF-A4x10 though, not the FLX version that most people who mod their GameCubes with Noctua fans use. The PWM version (5000 RPM and 19.6dB (A)) is louder than the FLX version (4500 RPM and 17.9dB (A)), but pushes out more air (8.9 m3/h vs 8.2 m3/h, respectively). I did some calculations.

The Noctua NF-A4x10 FLX 40mm fan moves 4.8CFM of air, while the Fractal Silent Series R3 50mm fan moves 6.8CFM. That means the Noctua fan only moves 70% of the air that the Fractal moves. If we use the 11.6 m3/h for Fractal vs. 8.2 m3/h for Noctua, the Noctua moves 70% of the air that the Fractal does.
The Noctua NF-A4x10 FLX 40mm fan has a noise level of 17.9 dB(A), while the Fractal Silent Series R3 50mm fan has a noise level of 19.0 dB (A). That means the Noctua fan is only 6% quieter than the Fractal fan.
The Noctua NF-A4x10 FLX 40mm fan has lifespan of 150,000 hours, while the Fractal Silent Series R3 50mm fan has a lifespan of 40,000 hours. That means the Noctua fan lasts 3.75x longer than than the Fractal fan.

The Noctua NF-A4x10 FLX 40mm fan moves 4.8CFM of air, while the Noctua NF-A4x10 PWM 40mm fan moves 5.24CFM. That means the FLX moves ~90-91% of the air that the PWM moves.
The Noctua NF-A4x10 FLX 40mm fan has a noise level of 17.9 dB(A), while the Noctua NF-A4x10 PWM 40mm fan has a noise level of 19.6 dB (A). That means the FLX is only ~8-9% quieter than the PWM. The speed and noise seem to have an exact correlation.
If the FLX and PWM are slowed down with the L.N.A, they both drop to 6.6 m³/h air flow amd both have a noise level of 12.9 dB(A).

The real question is if the Noctua 40mm fan (FLX mostly, but also PWM) supplies enough air flow for a GameCube without a DVD Drive. I've heard various comments online about people who say their GameCube runs warmer with the Noctua fans (presumably FLX) compared to the stock Nidec D05U-12TS1 12v 50mm fan, Noiseblocker X1 50mm fan that's most popular for GameCube fan mods, and the Fractal Silent Series R3 50mm fan. But Todd Gill says a 40mm fan like the Noctua is more than enough to cool the GameCube (presumably without the DVD Drive), even with the low noise adapter (6.6 m³/h air and 12.9 dB(A). But Greg Collins says the Noiseblocker X1 is the recommended fan for the GameCube fan mod.

Image

https://gbatemp.net/threads/ultimate-co ... su.588981/
iVirtualPlays of GBATemp recommends getting the PWM version of rhe Noctua NF-A4x10 over the FLX Version.

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Most people use the FLX version though and don't seem to have any issues.

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Extrems
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Re: Noctua 40mm vs Fractal 50mm for GameCube fan mod

Post by Extrems »

FYI, there are two revisions of the Nidec fan (01 and 02). The latter can be found in DOL-101's and some DOL-001's, and I found it to be much quieter.
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TooBeaucoup
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Re: Noctua 40mm vs Fractal 50mm for GameCube fan mod

Post by TooBeaucoup »

Both fans are fine and as long as you aren't playing games with your GameCube 12 inches from your head, you won't hear either fan. Both offer good cooling. I don't know what that Paul Brennan dude in the screenshot is talking about or how he's concluding that temps went way up. LOL! So many people have put Noctua fans in their GameCubes, there would be widespread stories of problems if there were any. I've been using a Noctua for months and my air exhaust and console feels no warmer than when running the stock fan and has never had an issue. Swiss measures my temps around 50c after gaming for a few hours. That is not a dangerous temp at all. Not even close. Old testing info I came across online shows the GameCube will shut itself off when it hits like, 130c.

In fact, this was the result after 15 min of testing with no fan - "After 15 minutes, no fan and covered with plastic shell = 57.22ºC." While cooler is better, you could probably run your GC with no fan so long as it had the heat sink on and the console would run fine for another 20 years. Hell the later revision OG Xbox removed the fan from the CPU completely and just made the heat sink a little larger. People make way too big a deal out of the fans. Get either and you'll be fine.

You ever see how tiny the fan in the Dreamcast is? That console pumps out a ton of heat and is fine with that dinky-ass stock fan.
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Extrems
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Re: Noctua 40mm vs Fractal 50mm for GameCube fan mod

Post by Extrems »

TooBeaucoup wrote:Swiss measures my temps around 50c after gaming for a few hours. That is not a dangerous temp at all. Not even close. Old testing info I came across online shows the GameCube will shut itself off when it hits like, 130c.
Note this is only measured from the CPU, with dubious accuracy, and Flipper could easily be a dozen degrees hotter.
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TooBeaucoup
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Re: Noctua 40mm vs Fractal 50mm for GameCube fan mod

Post by TooBeaucoup »

Extrems wrote:
TooBeaucoup wrote:Swiss measures my temps around 50c after gaming for a few hours. That is not a dangerous temp at all. Not even close. Old testing info I came across online shows the GameCube will shut itself off when it hits like, 130c.
Note this is only measured from the CPU, with dubious accuracy, and Flipper could easily be a dozen degrees hotter.
Well, either way, is there any published info on what the TJ max is on the Cube's chips? I doubt they ever come close to it.
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Extrems
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Re: Noctua 40mm vs Fractal 50mm for GameCube fan mod

Post by Extrems »

It's 97.35°C for Gekko. Tj isn't specified for Flipper, but Tc is 90°C.
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TooBeaucoup
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Re: Noctua 40mm vs Fractal 50mm for GameCube fan mod

Post by TooBeaucoup »

Extrems wrote:It's 97.35°C for Gekko. Tj isn't specified for Flipper, but Tc is 90°C.
I appreciate that. I always wondered, but couldn't seem to find much info online.
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