Testing:
Since most of our fan reviews are on fans marketed for quiet PC builders, it's hard to give the S-Flex G a head-to-head comparison with anything here on our test bench. Instead, I'll just be giving this fan some regular use on it's own and then connecting it to a fan controller to see what else it's capable of.

When running on it's own at full speed the S-Flex G fan definitely does not fall into the silent category. It is a louder fan because it's moving such an immense amount of air compared to your typical 120mm computer fan. Scythe has always impressed me by not hyping their decibel ratings on their fan. Some people hear 35 decibels and suddenly associate it with that old fan they used to have that sounded like a leaf blower but was only rated at 35dBA for it's sound level! This fan does not fall into that category. It's very audible when in use and it is louder than most 120mm fans but it's not a deafening or annoying type of loud. I found with the Fluid Dynamic Bearing and good blade design that this fan operates in what I like to call the "pleasing" frequency range. This is a range where the human ear doesn't associate the fan with annoying or headache causing, but rather something that is comfortable to listen to despite the loud noise it produces.

Next, I plugged the fan into the Sunbeam Rheobus Extreme fan controller that we recently reviewed. This would allow me to take it from 0 volts (off) up to full power at 12V. Since it has a quiet bearing design, when you slow down the fan you can very easily make it almost inaudible over the rest of your computer noise. While at these lower RPM levels it still maintains a fairly good airflow when I compared it to a few other low-RPM fans I have here.

Conclusion:
If you're in the market for a high performance 120mm fan then I definitely recommend you check out the Scythe S-Flex G. This fan would make an excellent addition for those trying to cool a seriously hot PC, overclockers trying to rid their case of extra heat or even those building high performance water cooling setups that need a good radiator fan. I was very pleased with it's performance and the amount of air it's capable of moving at a fairly acceptable noise level.

Pros:
Excellent performance
Not as loud as many fans in the competing airflow bracket
The noise it does produce is at a "pleasing" and not annoying frequency (Due to both good bearing and blade design)

Cons:
Wouldn't be a bad idea to include rubber noise reducing fan mounts