Vantec Stealth SF9225L 92x92x25mm Double Ball Bearing Silent Case Fan (Black)

Computer was getting hot and not working right. Installed this fan in as an additional fan quiet and no more computer overheating.

The reason to buy these fans is the dual ball bearings rather than ostensible silence. Some industrial-quality ball bearing fans have (had) a reputation for being crazy loud, and I think Vantec meant to convey these were "quiet" in comparison. Have you ever heard a 6000 RPM Delta fan?These fans are not unreasonably loud, like Delta hairdryers, but they are hardly silent, and if that is important to you, these fans will not satisfy. Their subtle whirr doesn't matter at my house because it already has as much background hum as the USS Enterprise-D.Double ball bearing fans used to be standard back in the 80's and early 90's, but as everything moved toward cheapness, the standard was supplanted, first by single-ball bearing fans and finally by full sleeve bearings. Sleeve bearing is kind of a cute name for No-bearing--it's literally just plastic rubbing against plastic. Obviously, this is not ideal from an engineering standpoint and sleeve bearing fans have notoriously short lives.Sleeve bearings accumulated such a negative reputation that the fan industry invented another term, Fluid-dynamic Bearing, so they could sell sleeve bearings under a different name--one that wasn't synonymous with "junk". Supposedly fluid dynamic bearings ride on a cushion of air generated by canals in the sleeve or something, but don't confuse them with a true air-bearing, which require a high pressure air stream generated by another source and are used in special applications requiring high speeds and high durability, like large commercial copiers. In my experience, fluid-dynamic bearings last no longer than sleeve bearings, which is no surprise because that's basically what they are. They are quieter than ball bearing fans, at the beginning of their lifespan, but start making horrific noises as they age, and they age quickly.I have 4 cases with all-ball-bearing fans that are over 15 years old and they still work (maybe I replaced one fan that went bad out of the lot), although they are starting to get a little bit too noisy, even for me, so I am slowly switching them out for new ones. If they had been sleeve bearing fans, they would have needed replaced 4 times by now.Double-ball bearing fans are not very easy to find at this point. Vantec is one of the few choices on Amazon that I trust and I haven't had any problem with the Vantec Stealths I have bought from various places over the years.

I have one of these & after a couple of years of running 24/7, the bearings started to get noisy. This is the exact replacement & it is only slightly quieter. ??

Own about 20 of these in various sizes. Use them all over my ATX cases and power supplies. Solid product, high longevity.

My astron power supply built in fan was so loud, it sounded like a jet taking off every time I would key one of my bigger radios to get the current draw up closer to 20A. I have measured temperature, and I'm not seeing any large differences in temps during use. The fan is so quiet compared to the built in fan that I would highly recommend any ham radio operator to change their fan out for this. Great decision!

I should first say that I am very picky about noise in my computer so my standards are likely much higher than the average person. I needed replacement fans for my computer case after one failed. I decided on this fan after a little research. I liked the double Ball Bearing design. I have used these fans before and they are still running in an 10 year old computer. I Replaced two Silenx Ixtrema Pro fans after one failed and I did not realize how quiet the Silenx fans were. These Vantec fans are significantly louder. I'm not sure I will be able to keep them given the increase in volume. I think they are a good fan as long as noise is not an issue. If you are looking for a super silent fan, this is not it, if you are looking for an average fan with great reliability this is a good choice.

Got two of these fans (well 3, had to go to a local store to get another one since I broke off a fin on one of the fans), to put in my Chieftec HT-01B Media Center PC: nice case dumb design only relying on 20 60mm Push fans for cooling. Cut a hole in the top of the case and installed both of these fans for Pulling and drop the temp down to 25C idle, and 45C load.You can hear the fans but that is okay with me, I like the idea of hearing them spin: if I did not hear anything I would be worried. Do have to say that if it was over 32dB/s I would not be happy. The noise level with the 2 60mm, the stock 92mm Intel CPU fan and both 120mm is at about 27dB/s; the CPU fan being the loudest.

Why do you have to pay extra for a phone number to be unlisted in the phone book? Why do you have to pay more for a fan that is quiet? Whatever the answer... This is a well made fan that I believe will last a long time. It is quiet just as advertised, and will work well with a HTPC or sitting next to you at your desk. Of course, you will need to make sure it moves enough air to meet your cooling requirements. A cheap screaming 75db fan will most likely blow harder, but they are very irritating too. There are modifications you can make to the screamers (running them below the rated voltage) that quiet them down, but it is easier and safer to switch to a quiet fan like this. If you have a full size case, it is possible that you will need to extend the wires. They make (fan extension) cables for that too. I love this "stealth" fan.

i bought 2 of these to replace the noisy cheap fans astron uses on their switcher power supplies. i bought 1 for a ss-50m and 1 for a ss-30m . they produce good airflow and run very quiet vs the factory ones. i will buy stealth brand again !

Después de 6 meses de uso, puedo confirmar que este ventilador funciona perfectamente, no es 100% silencioso, pero no es tan ruidoso como el que traía originalmente el gabinete de mi pc, El original solo duro 3 meses antes de hacer el clásico ruido de carcacha, en cambio este trabaja a la perfección despues de 6 meses. Recomiendo altamente su compra si cuentas con un gabinete slim.

It's not overly loud, but it's not as quiet as Noctua NF-A8, which is very quiet.

I can't hear them.

Super silent.