I am happy to announce success with the
Corsair SP120 PWM. With a room temp of 26c or less, I'm seeing device temps that have not exceeded 45c. Usually, they hover around 41-42.
The fans are dramatically quieter and are suitable for home use (where, one would presume, the temperature of the space would also be well-regulated). My wife, who was unable to stay in the same room with the two units before now reports that the calm sound of the fans is "pleasant".
While the high-flow stock fans will always be better, these are suitable if you need to cut down on the noise.
Some notes:
- Corsair sells a 3 and a 4 pin version of this fan. Get the 4 pin. Also, get the high performance one, not the "quiet" one. The difference in airflow between the two is dramatic.
- These connectors are keyed for a narrower power connector than used in the S3, but I was able to trim the key off of the center of the connector and it works perfectly.
- The fans are not as tall as the factory-supplied ones, meaning it would be best to get some shorter screws. The original ones (if screwed in completely) get closer to the hashing board than I would like.
- It also appears that my pair of S3+ (B8) units are subtly different - one has straight fins on the heat sink, while the other has a slight arc. On the unit with straight fins, the temps tend to be cooler at one sensor and warmer at the other; it also tends to vary in temperature the most. The one with curved fins seems to have a consistent temperature on both sensors and it doesn't seem to vary much.
- Both units are hashing at around 453, at 225mhz.
https://i.imgur.com/ZgSvhcRl.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/9NoiF3Wl.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/QSMrllcl.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/i27ribAl.png