For case or CPU fans, I tend to use Noctua. They are a bit on the expensive side, but have always been reliable in my experience.

I've found the challenge with PSU fans is some will require a minimum amount of current or they won't spin. This can make using modern efficient fans problematic.

Shponglefan wrote on 2025-10-01, 20:31:

For case or CPU fans, I tend to use Noctua. They are a bit on the expensive side, but have always been reliable in my experience.

I've found the challenge with PSU fans is some will require a minimum amount of current or they won't spin. This can make using modern efficient fans problematic.

It seems kind of important to consider the fan's designed level of CFM of the power supply.

Could be valid a 12v modern 80x80 fan, then?, i don't know what more has to be considered about this.

Airflow (CFM) is one measure, pressure is another.

See if you can find a datasheet for the original one and be sure to at least match its specs.

That said, so long as you don't go for an extremely low RPM fan, any good modern case fan should be more than equivalent to a consumer-grade PSU fan.

I'd second Noctua's quality, but there are cheaper alternatives. For starters Noctua Redux; which apply the Pareto principle (80% of benefit can be gained from 20% of features). I acutally prefer the sound they make to the 'real' Noctuas despite half the price. Beyond that, I like Arctic Cooling's options. My son bought a pile of P12s to turn his case into a wind tunnel and they do the job quietly and efficiently, and that at half the price of my Noctua Redux.

With modern fans which are not broken vast majority of noise comes from airflow itself. Fan bearings are nearly silent and made completely inaudible by noise generated by airflow.

So if you want the same airflow you'll get ~similar noise, no way around it.

That's why i personally consider noctua stuff to be borderline-scam. There is nothing special about their fans. They are usually just slow enough to be perceived as "silent", resulting in appropriately low performance. And severely overpriced, at times like 10x overpriced.

What specific fan to get? Does not really matter all that much. If there is no fan control look for something with RPM you'd like and fluid dynamic bearing - no reason to even consider anything else nowadays. I commonly buy stuff from zalman and arctic cooling, but there are other manufacturers which sell good fans too.

Quiet PC used to have a table showing CFM, noise, etc
Cant seem to find that now but their page now has a filter with the same options allowing you to exclude fans over a certain dba or whatever.
From this page you can create a shortlist of options pretty quick

https://www.quietpc.com/casefans

dionb wrote on 2025-10-01, 22:47:

Airflow (CFM) is one measure, pressure is another. […]
Show full quote

Airflow (CFM) is one measure, pressure is another.

See if you can find a datasheet for the original one and be sure to at least match its specs.

That said, so long as you don't go for an extremely low RPM fan, any good modern case fan should be more than equivalent to a consumer-grade PSU fan.

I'd second Noctua's quality, but there are cheaper alternatives. For starters Noctua Redux; which apply the Pareto principle (80% of benefit can be gained from 20% of features). I acutally prefer the sound they make to the 'real' Noctuas despite half the price. Beyond that, I like Arctic Cooling's options. My son bought a pile of P12s to turn his case into a wind tunnel and they do the job quietly and efficiently, and that at half the price of my Noctua Redux.

Also using those Noctua Redux fans when they're available in the size I want. Performance and quality seems more or less identical to "regular" Noctua fans, they're cheaper, and not brown. There's really nothing to dislike about them.

Arctic Cooling fans are dirt cheap where I live, works well enough, and are generally relatively silent. Sure, not the same longevity as Noctua Redux, but guess that's not all that critical when it comes to sporadically used retro computers.

chinny22 wrote on 2025-10-04, 03:23:

Quiet PC used to have a table showing CFM, noise, etc Cant seem to find that now but their page now has a filter with the same […]
Show full quote

Quiet PC used to have a table showing CFM, noise, etc
Cant seem to find that now but their page now has a filter with the same options allowing you to exclude fans over a certain dba or whatever.
From this page you can create a shortlist of options pretty quick

https://www.quietpc.com/casefans

All right, this is pretty awesome, thank you!!.

Thank you all.

P.D: I think i will need to apply resistors to the cable to reduce noise, at least at the box fan.

I'm thinking in an copper heat sink 60x60x10mm... little tight within my aptiva 2134, but seem it fits, What about noise differences between 60x60mm fans, and 50x50mm?.

Molex?, or direct plug in... or is it always 12v...

Señor Ventura wrote on 2025-10-01, 21:55:

Shponglefan wrote on 2025-10-01, 20:31:

For case or CPU fans, I tend to use Noctua. They are a bit on the expensive side, but have always been reliable in my experience.

I've found the challenge with PSU fans is some will require a minimum amount of current or they won't spin. This can make using modern efficient fans problematic.

It seems kind of important to consider the fan's designed level of CFM of the power supply.

Could be valid a 12v modern 80x80 fan, then?, i don't know what more has to be considered about this.

To be clear, I was referring to electrical current (e.g. amps). Modern fans tend to be more efficient and draw less current. However, this can cause issues when using a modern fan in an older power supply, where the fan will fail to spin because the electrical current draw is too low.

I've seen this happen in multiple instances where people have tried replacing PSU fans with modern fans, but the fans either fail to spin or will spin inconsistently (sometimes spinning, sometimes not).

You don't just want to match the voltage, but also the amps used by the older fan. You can test a newer fan with lower current draw, but if it fails to spin up, that is the reason.

This isn't an issue for case or CPU fans that plug into the motherboard. But it can be an issue in a PSU.

Señor Ventura wrote on 2025-10-04, 17:23:

I'm thinking in an copper heat sink 60x60x10mm... little tight within my aptiva 2134, but seem it fits, What about noise differences between 60x60mm fans, and 50x50mm?.

If you are finding 50x50mm available to buy, please tell me. All the ones I can find seem like garbage.

I would believe that 60x60mm are better, but sometimes, that's just too big.

Shponglefan wrote on 2025-10-04, 17:33:

To be clear, I was referring to electrical current (e.g. amps). Modern fans tend to be more efficient and draw less current. How […]
Show full quote

To be clear, I was referring to electrical current (e.g. amps). Modern fans tend to be more efficient and draw less current. However, this can cause issues when using a modern fan in an older power supply, where the fan will fail to spin because the electrical current draw is too low.

I've seen this happen in multiple instances where people have tried replacing PSU fans with modern fans, but the fans either fail to spin or will spin inconsistently (sometimes spinning, sometimes not).

You don't just want to match the voltage, but also the amps used by the older fan. You can test a newer fan with lower current draw, but if it fails to spin up, that is the reason.

This isn't an issue for case or CPU fans that plug into the motherboard. But it can be an issue in a PSU.

Better don't touch, right?, PSU's are serious things...

the3dfxdude wrote on 2025-10-04, 20:06:

If you are finding 50x50mm available to buy, please tell me. All the ones I can find seem like garbage.

I would believe that 60x60mm are better, but sometimes, that's just too big.

Not with copper, all the heat sinks with it i'm seeing are 60x60, and clearly are less noisy, so, in my case here is where i am in a crossroad... 60x60 might not fit in my aptiva, and 50x50 are all alluminium.