Hi, As you may already know I am upgrading alot of components in my PC. Unfortunatly, I have to wait 2 months to get the money so until then i will just be worrying about it. I am on the hunt for a "silent"/high performance CPU cooler for a P4 Socket 478. Here are my three choices along with some Pro's and Cons and Stats. Arctic Cooling Super Silent 4 Ultra TCL (18-23dba) Pros (silent) Cons: does not give high performance cooling. Zalman CNPS9500 (23-35dba) Pros: high performance Cons: loud at anything above 5v and 5v only gives you 11cfm Thermalright XP-120 CPU Cooler w/ Thermaltake Thunderblade 120mm Fan (21 dba, 78CFM). Pros: high performance Cons: no reviews or specs because everybody uses different fans. If u think I should use a different fan for this just tell me as long as it is not over 22dba and not under 50cfm (NO TORNADO FANS!!) I am also kind of looking for looks because my new case will have an Acrylic windows so I would not like to have a big bulky heatsink staring me down. Once again keep in mind I am looking for near silence as the fans in my new rig will go no higher than 21dba and no lower than 20cfm (all of the above products can be find at xoxide.com which is an excellent site for case modders.) I will also have a fan controller so If neccesary I can undervolt the fan but not enough so it decreases performance.
You may want to check out SPCR if you haven't already, given their quiet PC angle. Vantec's Stealth line would be a second choice to check out, as well as Panaflo units. Given your stringent requirements, you seriously may want to check into watercooling, which can be near silent and use just a single fan. Of course, if the rest of your system requires airflow cooling, make sure to have an intake fan, even at a low RPM.
Unfortunatly Watercooling is out of my budget and I like to play with the fans and stuff so.... I have checked out SPCR and will consider the Vantec Stealth Fans. I dont's know, maybe I might have to go with watercooling
2 different computers maybe? In my laptop it has standard fans, you can't hear them 90% of the time, if they spin up uner heavy load it's not very audible either. In my old desktop computer all my fans were silent. The quietest fans in my desktop are in my PSU - god I love that thing.