Would you go for the "Noctua Nf-P14s" or "Fractal Design GP-14" 140mm fans

Hi, I have just bought the Cooltek W2 case... The case cooling is ok but not great, so I would like to change the stock 140mm front intake fans and replace them for better fans. But I have no idea of the spec of the 140mm fans that come with the case.

So I have narrowed it down to these 2 fans...
Noctua NF-P14


Fractal Design GP-14

MTBF 40000hrs
Static Pressure 0.71 mm H2O

Now I am just going by the "sound noise" "speed" and "airflow" and the fractal comes out on top. What are your thought as I want the case as quiet as possible with good airflow?

I always buy noctua fans.

Im using the new Corsair ML fans they are really good

Yeah I have heard about those corsair magnetic levitation fans, but apparently they need to be run at the full 12v or a PWM connection, I do have a 12v/7v fan control connection on the case but its only the 3pin not the 4pin, so the corsair fans would work Im guessing but not very well.

I have come across these Aerocool twin blade fans, dont know if they would be anygood? https://www.overclockers.co.uk/aerocool-ds-edition-fan-black-140mm-fg-044-ae.html
Specifications:-
Dimensions : 140 X 140 X 25mm
- Net Weight : 190g
- Gross Weight : 270g (Retail box included)
- Bearing System : FDB (Fluid Dynamic Bearing)
- Rated Voltage : 12V
- Starting Voltage : >= 3.0V
- Rated Current : 0.2A
- Power Consumption : 2.4W
- Power Connector : 3-Pin with signal cable
- MTBF : 100,000 hours
- Performance : 12V, 7V
- Speed : 1000 RPM±10%, 700 RPM±10%
- Air Flow : 64.8 CFM (109.8 m³/h), 39.8 CFM (67.5m³/h)
- Air Pressure : 1.21 mm H2O, 0.74 mm H2O
- Noise : 14.2 dBA, 10.8 dBA

They come in a very nice fancy black and white, but they are £15 and I would have to change the rear 120mm fan aswell, so thats like £50 on fans.

Those Aerocools are one of the best case fans I've tried in terms of pushing air and noise. Also pretty good as rad fans (slim ones anyway, tested on H100i).

I hear the white leds on the black and white model aren't very white, if that'd be a bother. They have that white + rainbow/purple effect common among white leds that aren't top notch. Only the grey and black version comes without leds.


My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Aerocool DS Edition Fan - Black - 140mm= £14.99
• 1 x Aerocool DS Edition Fan - Blue - 140mm= £14.99
• 1 x Aerocool DS Edition Fan, White - 140mm= £10.99
• 1 x Aerocool DS Edition Fan - Red - 140mm= £10.99

The white/black, and the red/black, are on offer just now.

Danny75 said:

Those Aerocools are one of the best case fans I've tried in terms of pushing air and noise. Also pretty good as rad fans (slim ones anyway, tested on H100i).

I hear the white leds on the black and white model aren't very white, if that'd be a bother. They have that white + rainbow/purple effect common among white leds that aren't top notch. Only the grey and black version comes without leds.


My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Aerocool DS Edition Fan - Black - 140mm= £14.99
• 1 x Aerocool DS Edition Fan - Blue - 140mm= £14.99
• 1 x Aerocool DS Edition Fan, White - 140mm= £10.99
• 1 x Aerocool DS Edition Fan - Red - 140mm= £10.99

Total: £61.86
(includes shipping: £9.90)
​

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The white/black, and the red/black, are on offer just now.

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I think I am going to give these a whirl as the noise levels look very impressive from the specs, while pushing a decent amount of air through. Hopefully they will move more air around then my unknown fans that come with case.

The Aerocool fans are ordered 2x 140mm and 1x120mm, in black and grey, as I dont want the LEDs

I'll post a pic of the inside of my case once there installed and hopefully they will have decrease my case temps a bit.

What are the actual speeds of the 120mm and 140mm, because for the 120mm fan spec, some etailers say 1500rpm, others say 1000rpm and you get the odd ones saying 1200rpm and 800rpm... So what speeds are these bad boys?

smilertoo said:

I always buy noctua fans.

Click to expand...

+1

The air pressure and airflow on the noctua and aerocool, are roughly the same, but the areocool can achieve this at a slower speed and quieter. Or thats what the specs say anyhow.

Phil2008 said:

What are the actual speeds of the 120mm and 140mm, because for the 120mm fan spec, some etailers say 1500rpm, others say 1000rpm and you get the odd ones saying 1200rpm and 800rpm... So what speeds are these bad boys?

Click to expand...

Curiously, there are at least two versions, an "American" and a "rest of the world", the American having faster RPM and obviously a bit more noisy.

In theory, you should get the rest of the world version that has a very nice balance of performance-to-noise.

The 800 RPM figure is with 7v operation not full 12v.

Your 120mm fan should run at 1200 RPM maxed, give or take (my pair ran at nearly 1300 RPM).

The 1500 RPM is American version.

One thing about Noctua v these - the Noctuas will last longer for sure. They are built to be more reliable and have better quality control.

Well my fans came today and I got them installed, But I an not too impressed by performance.... with the fans at full speed they are quite a bit louder then the stock case fans, but I think thats mainly down to air noise and a bit of case vibration. When set at 7v the fans are quieter then the stock fans, but I dont think the temps are as good.. So getting expensive fans hasn't seem to of paid off,, but I keep my eye on the temps and report back in a few days.

Here is a pic of the fans installed(not a great pic as you can only really see the rear fan. Also heres a pic of my new gaming mat that came from china. (looks like the dragon from the MSI stuff)

Phil, did you have a listen to them unmounted first? These are known for having no perceivable mechanical noise. As you mentioned, case (fan mount mesh/reverb hollows etc) design can affect noise. Also, if you plug them in the motherboard you can check what RPM they have, maybe they are the US version.

Danny75 said:

Phil, did you have a listen to them unmounted first? These are known for having no perceivable mechanical noise. As you mentioned, case (fan mount mesh/reverb hollows etc) design can affect noise. Also, if you plug them in the motherboard you can check what RPM they have, maybe they are the US version.

Click to expand...

No I just installed them as I cant really do much testing, because I cannot manage to do stuff on my own, as my hands are not great, So I try and make things quick and easy as possible for other people todo for me......The spec on the box of the 140mm is 1000rpm and 1200rpm for the 120mm

Phil2008 said:

No I just installed them as I cant really do much testing, because I cannot manage to do stuff on my own, as my hands are not great, So I try and make things quick and easy as possible for other people todo for me......The spec on the box of the 140mm is 1000rpm and 1200rpm for the 120mm

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Understood. It's just that in case one or some aren't in tip-top condition (which is possible), you could send them back but you'd probably be asked to listen to them unmounted first, to eliminate case noise from the equation.

And yeah those specs will be the rest of the world edition.

I decided, that I cannot make do with the fans as they are too loud at 12v and 7v isnt enough to keep the case cool... So the Im going to stop each fan 1 by 1 and hopefully 1 will be faulty. Failing that remove filters, grills until I find the problem...

They are just too much money to make do, plus driving me insane as the pc is in my bedroom.

Well guys, I think I have found the main cause of the problem, its the rear 120mm fan grill, all the air cant get out of the rear fan grill because the holes are too small.. I did think this before, because I used the same fan from my old case on the new case and the fan wasn't chucking as much air out of the new case like it was on the old case.. so tomorrow I am going to turn down the fan speed to 7v on the rear fan with the reducer, and buy a better fan grill..... Heres a pic of the rear of the case and you can see the rubbish grill,, no wonder its making a noise..



The other thing thats making things a bit noisy is the front panel, as it can only get air at the bottom of the panel, so there's resistance their too, but its not too bad. the worst thing is that the front panel vibrates as it just clips on to the case. So I am going to try those sticky round pads you can buy to stop any vibration from the front panel.

Interesting findings there. You know, I wish all case manufacturers would just use an old-style circular fan guard on the rear, like the Corsair Carbide 540 Air (see pic below) and others have. Hardly any "blowback". Think it's the best at preventing noise and allowing good air exhaust. I suppose they might insist on the holed grill in case some want to change fan orientation to intake, but the holes would then be too big to catch dust anyway, so not sure why they think it's a good idea.




Hope you can get it, and the front panel, silent somehow. Beautiful case.

Phil try it without fan at back see if air can get out any better?

I haven't managed todo today, but I have found a old-style circular chrome fan guard in my bits an bobs box. I have sprayed it black to match the rear of the case. So hopefully I will be able to change the grills over tomorrow and leave the fan running at full speed with lower noise levels, fingers crossed.

Plus with a bit of luck I will feel more air coming out of the case and this should lower temps even more, if the fan can suck the warm/hot air out faster. Or thats the idea anyway.

But yeah I knew this case would be a bit of a pain with the temps, but I really wanted a small and minimalistic case, and this case was the only decent small one I could find that took a full size atx board. Because to my amazement the Corsair Carbide 540 Air is as tall as a normal midi atx case. But this case I think is worth spending a bit more money and time on, to get the best temps, while trying to keep the noise levels as quiet as possible.

Well guys I have just changed the fan grill over and padded the front panel as much as I can without the panel popping off. I would say its halved the noise level, so Im well chuffed. Plus the fan is sucking so much more air out of the case now, that fan grill was trapping loads of air from being sucked out, so hopefully I will see a nice temp drop when gaming and I'll report back later.

Here's a pic of the decent round wired fan grill, the paint has sprayed on really nicely....