Where do you guys get your fans?

[Yellowhello]

Originally Posted by NoctisReitop

About fan controllers that can display the rpms of the fan, do I need to have fans with an rpm sensor for that to work?

I don't think they do. All a fan controller does is adjust the voltage going to the fans. So it may display the voltage, but I believe you need an RPM sensor to get the RPM.

[NoctisReitop]

Well, this one, for example, has the ability to display rpms. I wasn't sure if I needed to go out of my way to make it display or if all fans would do it.

[Yellowhello]

Oh, well, I guess that's specific to each fan controller...

Just remember that the fans with the 3-pin connectors have RPM sensors, but the fans with Molex connectors do not.

[NoctisReitop]

Got it =). 4 pin (not molex) is PWM?

[Yellowhello]

Originally Posted by NoctisReitop

Got it =). 4 pin (not molex) is PWM?

That has an RPM sensor also, but I haven't seen it on any fan (other than the stock Intel one).

[screwballl]

The fans that have the 3rd wire (typically yellow) is needed to monitor the speed but for the fan controllers can use 2 or 3 wires to reduce the speed. Any fan that has the molex 4 connector can be controlled speed wise but not speed monitored.

[polobunny]

It really depends what you need and what kind of fan controller you will get. Some fans will not undervolt very well.
If you want cooling performance and don't mind about the noise than you can hop on Scythe SY1225SL12SH, 120mm x 25mm, 37dBA and 110CFM. Those are freaking loud by the way and I honestly do not know if they can be undervolted well.
I've put those in systems for guys that don't care AT ALL for the noise.
If you need higher pressure you can get the Scythe DFS123812-3000, 120mm x 38mm, 45dBA and 133CFM. Be sure your case can take it, obviously.
I'm myself replacing my Antec 900 fans (2 times 120mm x 25mm in front and 1 time in the back) by much slower fans 40CFM, 11dBA 800RPM Scythe fans. The original fans were Antec tri-cool and at minimum they provide 39CFM and 25dBA @ 1200RPM. So one can safely say the the Scythe fans are rather effective :)
As for 92mm fans, I have nothing to recommend honestly. I never work with this size, it's either 120 or 80mm, and even then rarely the last one.

[NoctisReitop]

What's the ratio at which a 92mm should compare to a 120mm fan? Thinking about it, if I were to have a 92 and a 120 pushing the same amount of air, it'd seem that one would be working more / less than the other.

[Yellowhello]

Originally Posted by NoctisReitop

What's the ratio at which a 92mm should compare to a 120mm fan? Thinking about it, if I were to have a 92 and a 120 pushing the same amount of air, it'd seem that one would be working more / less than the other.

That's correct. The reason smaller fans are generally frowned apon is because they make more noise in order to push the same amount of air as a larger fan. There is a slow progression towards larger fans that push more air with less noise. I have seen some 140mm fans recently, and it would be interesting to test those out.

I would stick with 120mm fans for the time being, mostly because the majority of cases don't support the 140mm fans yet.

About your question, I don't know the exact ratio in numbers between a 92mm and a 120mm fan... but hopefully this post helped a little.

[polobunny]

Originally Posted by NoctisReitop

What's the ratio at which a 92mm should compare to a 120mm fan? Thinking about it, if I were to have a 92 and a 120 pushing the same amount of air, it'd seem that one would be working more / less than the other.

You can't really compare a 120mm and a 92mm. The 92mm will push less air for more noise.
The loudest (and the one that pushes the more air) that I know of in 92mm size would be the Thermaltake 92mm @ 4000rpm. It comes with a controller you put in an empty PCI slot. Pushes 79CFM for 49dBA.
DC Fan Series- LED Fan Series- Smart Case Fan Blue LED 8.9.12CM
Pricey, too. Round 15$ if I recall correctly.