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EKWB Updates Their Kits With Newer, Extended Range 120 mm Fans

VSG

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EK , the leading premium liquid cooling gear manufacturer, is boosting the performance of their kits with a newer revision of EK-Vardar fans. The majority of ever-popular EK liquid cooling kits are getting new fans with a wider speed range which will allow quieter operation or more cooling power. The previous EK-Vardar F3-120 fans that had a maximum of 1850 RPM are now switched out for F4-120ER fans with a maximum RPM of 2200, which means that users will be able to get even more performance out of our liquid cooling kits. Aside from that, the ER (extended range), has a PWM duty cycle of 25-100%, compared to 50-100% on the previous F3-120 model. In practice, that means customers will be able to make their entire loop more silent in periods when their PC is not under heavy load.

Full performance on demand or whisper-quiet operation in idle mode, these are two crucial pieces which are key in liquid cooling! Flexibility is one of the key aspects of custom liquid cooling. The ability to have a completely silent high-end system, or have it perform insanely cool when gaming or doing high-load operations is key. The newly upgraded EK-Vardar fans do just that!



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I wonder if the fan driver is the same. ER and had the same vs stock, just different resistor speed values.

The most annoying thing... the motor coils tend to tick at low RPM... quit using them that why.
 
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Based on VSG's testing and my personal observations, the F4-120ER's can spin very slowly and run in near silence. I think their low end is around 350 RPM and they are pretty much silent at 750 RPM.
 
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Based on VSG's testing and my personal observations, the F4-120ER's can spin very slowly and run in near silence. I think their low end is around 350 RPM and they are pretty much silent at 750 RPM.

Even around 300RPM, I had them, it is not turbulent noise created by the blades, those are the motor coils, they sometimes resonate and create ticking sounds at certain RPM's.
 

VSG

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Even around 300RPM, I had them, it is not turbulent noise created by the blades, those are the motor coils, they sometimes resonate and create ticking sounds at certain RPM's.

Motor and bearing noise is especially audible when airflow noise is not a factor, i.e. at low fan speeds. The EK-Vardar fans have suffered from a big bad batch of ball bearings in the past, the newer EVO ones with the hydrodynamic bearings are better in this regard.
 
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Motor and bearing noise is especially audible when airflow noise is not a factor, i.e. at low fan speeds. The EK-Vardar fans have suffered from a big bad batch of ball bearings in the past, the newer EVO ones with the hydrodynamic bearings are better in this regard.

Ye you are right, I had to change to bearings after half a year of usage. But that's not the case this time. It is the motor as the click is high pitched, It happens at certain loads at low RPM (ie pressure or how dense the rad is), using as case fan(the thing it is not meant for) you cannot trigger it, less energy needed to maintain motion. Well it can't be that I had so much duds of Vardar fans, I had like 5 of them. ER's and non ER and one Furious(RIP almost cut my finger off with this one lol). I have an ultra silent system and not deaf yet and room noise is very low.

I am just hoping they updated the board.
 
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Still waiting on 140mm RGB Vardars...
 

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Is it just me as I prefer to keep fans spinning at a constant speed rather than making them speed up, slow down, up, down.... I understand the noise for some is an issue but you're never going to make things completely silent, you will have some sort of noise ...
 
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Is it just me as I prefer to keep fans spinning at a constant speed rather than making them speed up, slow down, up, down.... I understand the noise for some is an issue but you're never going to make things completely silent, you will have some sort of noise ...

Nope, you can manage to get pretty silent...

When you browse, read, silence is a must... you can have it for sure...

When doing gaming, then yeah... you can unleash the kraken...

Well, you have to work on your setup pretty hard to have it, especially if you also do OC, but on stock machines... the only thing that spins is CPU cooler. GPU and PSU are on zero mode.
 
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Nope, you can manage to get pretty silent...

When you browse, read, silence is a must... you can have it for sure...

When doing gaming, then yeah... you can unleash the kraken...

Well, you have to work on your setup pretty hard to have it, especially if you also do OC, but on stock machines... the only thing that spins is CPU cooler. GPU and PSU are on zero mode.
I go constant load with a managed noise verses temperature range that keeps it at fairly consistent points but is reactive to change ,for 9 fans it's not bad ,i love the varders but mine run at 1200 rpm ish all the time.
 
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I go constant load with a managed noise verses temperature range that keeps it at fairly consistent points but is reactive to change ,for 9 fans it's not bad ,i love the varders but mine run at 1200 rpm ish all the time.

At 1200RPM they are fine. It starts under 800, around 400 If I recall it corectly. Motor ticking sound is rarely discussed as such btw. It is in the same mythical boat with GPU or PSU Coil whine. Some people does not pay attetion to things like that at all.

Well I got old Nidec Typhoons, I am happy with them so far. They have their own flaws also, but I can live with that.
 

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Nope, you can manage to get pretty silent...

When you browse, read, silence is a must... you can have it for sure...

When doing gaming, then yeah... you can unleash the kraken...

Well, you have to work on your setup pretty hard to have it, especially if you also do OC, but on stock machines... the only thing that spins is CPU cooler. GPU and PSU are on zero mode.
Yep run Noctua Industrials 35C is my 2000rpm “Kraken”
 
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Funny how they only mention silent when in low RPM state.
I'm more interested in CFM and Db.
 
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