Case fan 140mm Question

[cvaldes]

Don't use the fans' acoustic specs numbers without considering how fast the fans are spinning at maximum speed.

In my various cases, I never run the exhaust fans at 100%. The fan curves are set up to run around 75% tops. Typically these fans have a window of optimal performance and it's usually in the middle of the speed range.

If you run a Noctua 140mm fan at 1200 rpm (via motherboard control or the Ultra Low noise Adapter on the 1500 rpm models), the various models basically move the same amount of air 115 m3/h (~67 CFM) and are about 19 dBA.

I do not use the 140mm fans for case exhaust, my fan of choice is the Noctua NF-S12A. At full blast (1200 rpm) it moves 107.5 m3/h air at 17.8 dBA. That's almost the same volume of air as the 140mm fan but at 1.2 dBA less (3 dBA difference is about twice the noise). The NF-S12A fan design is optimized for moving lots of air quietly (the static pressure is low).

 

[dimitris1]

Just get these and be done with it: run them at roughly 30-60% and youre golden

Hi,

I have recently been dissecting the internet for information on 140mm case fans (thermal results, noise levels (dBa/Sone/spectral density/sound profile etc.), and finally ended up with a relatively small selection of options.

The reason I post here is that I'm ultimately curious to hear from anyone who has experience or knowledge on the particular fans that I have ended up with, and if you would like to share your thoughts with me.

The fans of interest:

Phanteks PH-F140XP (600-1200RPM - 85CFM - 19dB/A) Sound test
Noiseblocker eLOOP P14-S (300-1200RPM - 84CFM - 24dB/A)
Kaze Flex 140 Square (300-1800RPM - 101CFM - 26.5dB/A)
BeQuiet! Silent Wings 3 (300-1000RPM - 59.5CFM - 15.5dB/A)

As you can see, I have not listed Noctua or Arctic, as none of their models fulfill my desired standard of overall noise profile, despite their excellent thermal performance.

I will be installing 6x140mm fans in a Fractal Design Meshify 2 case. (3x filtered front & 1x filtered bottom intake, 1x rear & 1x rear top exhaust)

I have seen several reports on the P14-S producing a displeasing noise pulling through a filter (eg. front intake), and the PH-F140XP producing displeasing noise from a horizontal installation (eg. top exhaust).
The Silent Wings 3 push the lowest amount of air by far, but they are the absolutely most desired option in terms of noise, at the cost of sacrificing thermal performance.

Any input on the topic is greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,

Ive not had exactly the same fans from your listed one, but ive had two similar ones:
Phanteks PH-F140SP which i use as back exhaust. This one is a fantastic fan, pretty silent at top speed and has been working flawlessly for its purpose (approx 80-82 cfm at top speed with only 19db). Highly recommended.

The other similar to your list is Scythe Ultra kaze 3000rpm(that one is a 140x38mm since 2011 from the good old LGA 775 days and was strapped on a QX9650).Not using it anymore though.
After a lot of research i went for these: Silverstone FHP141 & Silverstone FHP141-VF (http://www.dvtests.com/silverstone-fhp141-vf-test-and-review/)
Never need to run them more than 20-60% speed and the static pressure is just amazing, not to mention the airflow! Ofcourse if you do run them at 100%(which will never probably be necessary for any kind of operation) they can be quite loud . However, at 20-60%(750rpm-1200rpm) speed they have a much greater static pressure and push the same or more air than other fans at top speed and if you do run them at top speed...well...there's just no comparison. An added feature of theFHP141-VF is you can actually rotate the fan;s airflow which tbh i havent used it so far.

 

[The red spirit]

ive never heard of noseblocker though

They are decent local German brand of fans. They have been in market for a while, probably since 2006. Their stuff is high quality and well made. They also seem to have some original ideas too. I only bought BlackSilent and BlackSilent Pro fans, BlackSilents are just solid basic fans, meanwhile BlackSilent Pros are slightly better fans, but some with tons of accessories. I got rubber gasket to reduce vibration, screws with nuts, detachable fan cables (one long other short). Considering their price, they offer a lot of value and are competitive against bigger brands. Their halo products are multiframes and eLoops, both offering something different in fan market.

 

[MentalAcetylide]

Based on CFM alone, I call Bs to most of those audio specs. Bequiet are the only audible numbers I would call close to reality.

Not going to say it doesn't exist, but at 80 to 100 CFM, expect to have your ears hammered with noise! There could be a more tolerable option, but I sit confused. You mentioned other fans do not fit your noise profile.... Are you looking for the loudest PC, because most of the fans you picked will give you that.

Yeah, I just don't get it that some people expect silent & high airflow. Quiet + high airflow will never be possible with a desktop case. There are things that can be done to minimize it, but nothing short of having the case in a separate room is going to eliminate the resulting noise of moving large volumes of air.
The real issue is more of what an individual tolerates.

 

[GorbazTheDragon]

There is quite a bit of difference from one fan to the next, I've found for example deep blade sweep fans with relatively narrow chord (cross section length) and a decent amount of camber (cross section curvature) to generally be the best performers in terms of air noise, tight tip clearance helps a lot too. GTs, A12x25s, and P12/14s for example fall into this category.

Certain lower sweep fans generate an interference noise when used pulling through panels and heatsinks (noiseblockers and A14/15s in particular), I believe this is an interaction with blades that have a sweep that causes a pressure wave to be generated as a wide part of the blades span crosses in front of the heatsink fin or row of panel/filter holes simultaneously (think chopping Vs slicing action at the boundary).

Lower sweep fans also generate more air noise more quickly when raising RPM, I believe this is down to an increase in centrifugal forces causing spanwise motion and therefore greater pressures around the tip and edges of the housing.

Blade tip clearance also generates more possibility for noise of air passing around the tip but does not eliminate the interference with the housing.

Weak bearing design causes various problems, thermalfake toughfans have a lot of motor noise, P12s and 14s have a "red zone" around 1000 RPM where there is a lot of whine, Gentle Typhoons tend to get squeaky at all RPMs after a few thousand hours of use. I'm currently running some P14 COs to see how they do endurance wise.

All of these effects have different noise characteristics but there are fans that perform well across the board. Unfortunately you really need full spectrum analysis along with subjective testing to decide which ones fit you best. I personally find sqeaks from e.g the Arctic P12/14 bearings and the GTs really irritating, but the low hum of these fans at higher RPMs quite fine, I also dislike the more "propeller" or "helicopter" like sounds the pulling NBs and A14/15s produce.

Unfortunately you are kinda stuffed at the moment if you want an all RPM 140mm fan, the P14s are close but are IMHO unusable around that 1000 RPM range, I previously ran them at 1150 in my enthoo pro M and they were the loudest part of my system (2 P14 intake, 3 A12x25 exhaust through rads), now at 800 or so they are below the noise floor of my apartment and way quieter than anything else in the system... More fans is always a good thing. But if your use case dictates using them at around that 1k rpm mark they are awful and I'd honestly rather take the lower performance of some other rando fans...

 

[eidairaman1]

You should watch fan showdown by major hardware on youtube

 

[mtcn77]

You should watch fan showdown by major hardware on youtube

Major Hardware 3D Fan Contest

I'm sure you have seen this. Major Hardware is petitioning people to design their own 3d printed fans. It is pretty exciting since one of the makers almost challenged Noctua 12x25, so there is plenty of reason to go and watch it.

www.techpowerup.com

Yeah, I just don't get it that some people expect silent & high airflow. Quiet + high airflow will never be possible with a desktop case. There are things that can be done to minimize it, but nothing short of having the case in a separate room is going to eliminate the resulting noise of moving large volumes of air.
The real issue is more of what an individual tolerates.

Disagree. Some are better than others. Silent Wing 3's are very much up there.

 

[MentalAcetylide]

Major Hardware 3D Fan Contest

I'm sure you have seen this. Major Hardware is petitioning people to design their own 3d printed fans. It is pretty exciting since one of the makers almost challenged Noctua 12x25, so there is plenty of reason to go and watch it.

www.techpowerup.com

Disagree. Some are better than others. Silent Wing 3's are very much up there.

Of course some are better than others. My point is you're never going to achieve complete silence & high airflow, its just not possible. Sure, you can minimize the dBA to where its not noticeable, but then you're going to sacrifice static pressure, which might not be ideal depending on the build & the components inside the case. Its always a balance between fan quality, appropriate case cooling, dBA, and CFM + static pressure in relation to fan RPMs.

I could put all noctua fans in a case, run them full blast, and have it about 2/3 of a meter away from me on my desk and I would still hear the fans, but it would be more of a loud whisper whereas my Alienware laptop sounds like a small whiney jet engine. Sometimes I ask it if it wants some freakin cheese with that wine!
My current build in progress is going to have 10 fans total with 6 of them in two 360mm radiators. There's no way its going to be quiet when the fans are running @ full, regardless of what brand I go with.

 

[mtcn77]

My point is you're never going to achieve complete silence & high airflow,

Oh, that is indeed the case. Air flow is going to have its own noise profile no matter what.