Best 140mm fans for radiator.

Too Tall · 2 Jan 2019 at 15:35

As title, looking to upgrade the fans on my kraken X62.

I've been looking at:

Corsail ML140
Be Quiet Silent Wings 3 140
Noctua NF-A14

Ideally I'd like something under 30db but with high static pressure.

Has anyone bought any of the the above after a smiler search?

Ross Thomson · 2 Jan 2019 at 15:39

I use cryorig QF140's.

ToTheMax · 2 Jan 2019 at 16:29

I'm running ML140's in push/pull (yields excellent static pressure), amazing performance at whatever noise level you want. The massive speed range these have allow maximum flexibility and you don't get any hub friction/noise since they are mag lev.

NMBlack · 3 Jan 2019 at 11:14

I'm also using ML140 fans in my system and they shift a lot of air while being quiet (the only part of my system I can hear, even sitting right next to the case, is the AIO pump). Any of the fans that you listed are going to do the job well, though.

doyll · 3 Jan 2019 at 11:33

Phanteks PH-F140MP 2-pack is my go-to fan .. at £16.26 for a 2-pack a pair cost less than a single fan of any of the other suggestions except QF140 costing £10.99. ML140 is £24.95, Silent Wings 3 is £20.99 and NF-A14 is £18.95

rn2 · 3 Jan 2019 at 11:47

I have the Silent Wings 3 PWM (BL067) Max 1000rpm and it seems to not be very silent at low rpm, I can hear it starting to make a quiet but low frequency noise at below 500rpm and it gets louder the faster it spins. I always thought that it was near silent until I put it into a silent case and now it's the only thing that bothers me. So I may look atthe ML140's myself.

Arctics are good though and cheap.

doyll · 3 Jan 2019 at 12:22

rn2 said:
I have the Silent Wings 3 PWM (BL067) Max 1000rpm and it seems to not be very silent at low rpm, I can hear it starting to make a quiet but low frequency noise at below 500rpm and it gets louder the faster it spins. I always thought that it was near silent until I put it into a silent case and now it's the only thing that bothers me. So I may look atthe ML140's myself.

Arctics are good though and cheap.

If you do change, please let us know what the difference in sound from Silent Wings 3 140mm to ML140 is. I've heard a few people say they didn't like the ML as much as Silent Wings 3, but fan sound profile is subjective.

Too Tall · 3 Jan 2019 at 13:39

I've ordered a pair of the ML140's, I'll report back.

Loxa · 3 Jan 2019 at 15:46

ToTheMax said:
I'm running ML140's in push/pull (yields excellent static pressure), amazing performance at whatever noise level you want. The massive speed range these have allow maximum flexibility and you don't get any hub friction/noise since they are mag lev.

I have had nothing but issues with those fans, producing strange noises after periods of time.

ToTheMax · 3 Jan 2019 at 16:29

Loxa said:
I have had nothing but issues with those fans, producing strange noises after periods of time.

Weird as there is no friction in the system. Got 9 of em and way quieter than any other fan I've seen.

Loxa · 3 Jan 2019 at 18:09

ToTheMax said:
Weird as there is no friction in the system. Got 9 of em and way quieter than any other fan I've seen.

I currently have 7 and have had multiple replacements with some now again making the same noise, i used to love the quiet series sp fans which these replaced.

ToTheMax · 3 Jan 2019 at 18:28

Loxa said:
I currently have 7 and have had multiple replacements with some now again making the same noise, i used to love the quiet series sp fans which these replaced.

Out of interest are you running them 12V PWM or voltage controlled as there are 2 ways to wire a 4 pin fan controller? Eg my motherboard has 6 4 pin headers but only 1 true 12V PWM? These fans don't like voltage controlled 4 pin connections.

Loxa · 3 Jan 2019 at 19:29

ToTheMax said:
Out of interest are you running them 12V PWM or voltage controlled as there are 2 ways to wire a 4 pin fan controller? Eg my motherboard has 6 4 pin headers but only 1 true 12V PWM? These fans don't like voltage controlled 4 pin connections.

PWM, i remember when i was purchasing them reading about this. The issue either happened out of the box (faulty) or took a month or two to start.

rn2 · 3 Jan 2019 at 20:50

doyll said:
If you do change, please let us know what the difference in sound from Silent Wings 3 140mm to ML140 is. I've heard a few people say they didn't like the ML as much as Silent Wings 3, but fan sound profile is subjective.

I have been looking for a month to see what maybe quieter with a long time spent watching fan noise tests on youtube, still not sure what to go for but I think I will end up trying with an Arctic and reducing the fan curve to match as it's a 1350rpm fan as apposed to the SW3 1000RPm I have.

The Artics I do have are 800RPM fans but are 3 pins and although they are only 800RPM they seem to make a lot more wind nosie comapred to my SW3 1000RPM which is strange but I prefer fan wind noise over fan tonal noises though

doyll · 3 Jan 2019 at 21:03

Lots of mixed feelings about MLs. I have not used MLs' myself, but have heard and talked to several people who were unhappy with their MLs .. some from day one and others after using them for awhile.

The Arctic while having similar happy and unhappy owners are probably not quite as good as the MLs, but for a fraction the cost they are a darn good fan for the money.

Anyone using fans at speeds above about 850rpm has to expect some noise .. and the faster they spin the more noise they make. I have never seen a fan that was quite above about 950-1000rpm, but some have a more pleasant sound profile than others do.

rn2 · 5 Jan 2019 at 08:39

I've ordered a Noctua NF-P14s Redux 1200rpm PWM 140mm fan today and will let you know how it goes

I used to have a couple of NFb9 92mm Redux's and they did make a noise at high speeds but it was a pleasant low noise and if I remember rightly, the only reason I got rid of them was due to them not cooling my GPU well. New case and a huge backplate on my GPU now wish I kept them haha, I'll try this one out soon anyway.

ElBurge · 8 Jan 2019 at 22:53

i just replaced all my corsair fans with Noctua chromax. The noise from the horizontal mount at any speed was doing my head in so i splashed out. The bearing is soo much better so my system runs MUCH quieter now. The vertical mounted one didn't make loads of difference though.

rn2 · 11 Jan 2019 at 10:42

rn2 said:
I've ordered a Noctua NF-P14s Redux 1200rpm PWM 140mm fan today and will let you know how it goes I used to have a couple of NFb9 92mm Redux's and they did make a noise at high speeds but it was a pleasant low noise and if I remember rightly, the only reason I got rid of them was due to them not cooling my GPU well. New case and a huge backplate on my GPU now wish I kept them haha, I'll try this one out soon anyway.

Dodgey fan, already creaking when starting up lol, returned.

Be Quiet Silent Wings 3 140mm will be your best bet.

clone · 11 Jan 2019 at 10:44

Can't go wrong wthe the corsair ml fans I have 5 in my phantek evolv x.

doyll · 11 Jan 2019 at 13:11

clone said:
Can't go wrong wthe the corsair ml fans I have 5 in my phantek evolv x.

Some users like you have been happy with MLs, but many have not. Did you try the Elvolv X incuded fans? They are quite good, so good peeps who have used both 140mm MLs and Phanteks new included 140mm fans prefer the Phanteks fans.