I've been using a iUniker case with aluminum heatsinks and 5v fan setup for my Raspberry Pi 4. Initially, I connected the fan to 3.3v, and the temperature in idle mode was around 40 degrees Celsius.
iUniker fan connected to 3.3v
However, one day the fan started making strange noises and vibrating, so I had to disconnect it.
Then I switched to a GeeekPi controllable fan, connecting it to 5v. It turned out to be quite loud, and at less than 100% speed, it produced weird noises.
GeeekPi fan connected to 5v with 100% power
At first, I set it up as a thermostat: it would turn on when the CPU heated above a certain temperature and then turn off. I set the limit to 40 degrees
GeeekPi fan working like thermostat
This meant it was activating every three minutes, which I found annoying, so I switched it to 3.3v. At this power, the fan was inaudible and the temperature remained stable at 40 degrees without load.
GeeekPi fan connected to 3.3v with 100% power
However, after reading that it's not recommended to connect a 5v fan to 3.3v, I purchased an Argon Fan HAT.
This fan also allows speed control without strange noises at lower power settings.
At 1% power, it maintains the temperature at 34C with a noise level of 42db (measured directly next to the device).
Argon Fan HAT, 1% power
At 10% fan power: temperature is 31.2C with a noise level of 49db.
Argon Fan HAT, 10% power
At 50% power: temperature is 30C, noise at 51 db.
Argon Fan HAT, 50% power
At 100% power: temperature remains at 30C, noise increases to 52 db
submitted by /u/zakerik
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Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/raspberry_pi/c ... argon_fan/