140mm fans for case

I've been pondering a fan upgrade too... New workstation currently has 'placeholder' ARCTIC P14 PWM PST but they 'sing'. They run mostly at 500-600rpm at idle, and they have a noticeable 'cycle' which can be irritating...
I've been pondering Noctua but there seems to be a growing agreement that they aren't worth the money... So I'd love to have more candidates!

Also, I couldn't find any 'wider' fans.... My case is *huge* and quite frankly the front fans could be 40mm and it wouldn't be a problem at all :-)
 
BusError said:
I've been pondering a fan upgrade too... New workstation currently has 'placeholder' ARCTIC P14 PWM PST but they 'sing'. They run mostly at 500-600rpm at idle, and they have a noticeable 'cycle' which can be irritating...
I've been pondering Noctua but there seems to be a growing agreement that they aren't worth the money... So I'd love to have more candidates!

Also, I couldn't find any 'wider' fans.... My case is *huge* and quite frankly the front fans could be 40mm and it wouldn't be a problem at all :-)
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As always, it's depends on what you're after and what case you are trying to fit them into.

As for the Noctua's, if it's not the A14x25 G2's - don't bother with them (older A14), they're (A14) totally outclassed by other fans since many years ago. If you're going to grab Noctua, the A14x25 G2's is where it's at.

As for them (A14x25 G2) being not worth the money, that's also dependant on your goal(s) and situation - as if you're a silence freak but want the best airflow, it will be those G2's. Sure, some will say you can get "good enough" with cheaper alternatives. And that's true. But more often than not, "good enough" is opinion based (subjective to the final user at hand). If you're lucky enough to still have excellent hearing, then the "good enough" aalternatives may not be at that point "good enough" and the G2's all of a sudden become very much worth the money. However, if your hearing is not like it used to be (age, or misuse of them, etc) then definitely go for alternatives, as more often than not, the loss of the hearing you'll have experienced would mean you won't detect the differences the fans have to make a difference.

Even minor differences matter, otherwise there wouldn't be preffered ones even amoungst the alternatives. But in this case, just keep the G2's in mind if you find that the alternatives you try aren't "good enough" an alternative.

Personally, I've had the A12x25's for some 6 years now and always loved them, as the secondary rig I have is kitted out with Arctic P12's and even has bafflers around it to dampen the sound produced, yet when I boot it up remotely and run it for stuff, even though it's some 6-8 feet away from me, whilst my main rig is only 2 feet away from me, the secondary rig can be heard very clearly over my main rig. This despite having half the fans and running at the same rpm. For me, when I upgrade later on, I'll be grabbing the G2's for the new system as I've tried the alternatives that are "good enough" for others, they're just not "good enough" for me. (cursed super hearing :mad: :p)
 
So I've now got 3 x 140 Noctua G2 fans as intakes and 3 x P14 pwm pst as exhausts. If you buy a 2 pack and a single they all run at slightly different max speeds. 1475, 1500 & 1525.
I'd say the G2s are silent to 700 rpm and annoying over 1000, but I'm quiet obsessed. Move air ok, no problems with low rpm noise, filter or restricted intake space. Look like 1970s y-fronts.
Still think the P14s are fantastic for the money but they were too thick to go in the front of the case. Running the G2s at 300-750 and the P14s at 200-750.
 
freddie64 said:
Should really have put my reason for that.

I prefer to have case fans running at a constant slow speed and not ramping up.
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i think theres a lot of sense in that. The ideal design for noise i summise is a case/fans that can achieve required cooling performance at full load...theres no value in it being quieter than quiet already and theres no value in there being noise under load.... But is there any difference is longevity between a PWM and NON PWM at a set non 100% speed...PWM has more things to go wrong i guess and pulsing the motor cant help and they cost more...so another + for non PWM then....
 
I just received these, newer blade/chassis design, higher CFM and static pressure than the P14 non max, not sure if they're in stock at OCUK
dBHKT9m.jpeg
 
ginjaninja said:
i think theres a lot of sense in that. The ideal design for noise i summise is a case/fans that can achieve required cooling performance at full load...theres no value in it being quieter than quiet already and theres no value in there being noise under load.... But is there any difference is longevity between a PWM and NON PWM at a set non 100% speed...PWM has more things to go wrong i guess and pulsing the motor cant help and they cost more...so another + for non PWM then....
Click to expand...

ginjaninja said:
I think theres a lot of sense in that. The ideal design for noise i summise is a case/fans that can achieve required cooling performance at full load...theres no value in it being quieter than quiet already and theres no value in there being noise under load.... But is there any difference is longevity between a PWM and NON PWM at a set non 100% speed...PWM has more things to go wrong i guess and pulsing the motor cant help and they cost more...so another + for non PWM then....
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I agree with setting fans so they don't ramp up under normal loads .. or ramp up without being noticeable.
Problem is if they are set so they run fast enough to cool heavy loads they will not be as quiet as they could be safely running several hundred rpm slower under lower loads .. and if they are set at lower speed and system gets hot they don't speed up to keep it cooling properly causing system to overheat until it's build-in safety shut-down.
Running fans faster than needed to keep low use system cool also causes lots more dust buildup on filters as well as inside case.

As for PWM causing fans to wear out faster or PWM not lasting as long. I have some of the original Thermalright TY-140 and TY-143 PWM fans that I got way back in dark ages .. like 2010 .. and have been in constant use. They are still working just fine, no failures or problems at all. Now that I've said that I'll probably start having problems. :(

I set my systems up so fan spin at 550-600 rpm below 60c, then ramp up to 700 rpm at 70c, then 900 rpm @ 80c, then full speed at 85c Only times it runs above 800rpm is in extremely hot weather and/or if filters are getting dirty. I don't hear systems until temps are above 70c / 700rpm. Have 3 systems plus server in home.
 
Cenuij said:
I just received these, newer blade/chassis design, higher CFM and static pressure than the P14 non max, not sure if they're in stock at OCUK
dBHKT9m.jpeg
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Any updates? How are they performing in terms of noise vs flow?
 
Bito said:
Any updates? How are they performing in terms of noise vs flow?
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I installed them all and while happy with the overall flow and temps two of them create harmonic air vibrations in the gap between the fan and the metal strips in the top mounting area of the case if they get above 1300 RPM. So I needed to cap the case fans (they are all in the same group). My fan profile caps them at 1200rpm and they still outperform the P14 normal ones they replaced.

I have a define 7, which while not the greatest airflow case it's quiet and compact which I like. I front mount a 280 AIO in push/pull config as intake.

That's four of them. Airflow noise from this I'm happy with, no hum/whine at all at any speed. 9800x3d idles at 35-38c, 50-62c gaming, 80-85c with OCCT CPU stress test, so really good result there replacing the standard Arctic rad fans. That's unclocked temps. At -40 all core curve with +200 boost override OCCT CPU stress goes 85-91c.

The next two are top front and pull air in, these are the ones that create the harmonic air vibration. If I take the top case panel and dust mesh off and place my palm over the gaps I can actually feel the air pulsing at 1300rpm and above.

I have two more, top rear which is an exhaust, and the single rear top exhaust fan. No whine/hum/vibrations from these.

The three top and the single rear are in the same fan group and use the main motherboard system temp sensor. 20% PWM from 45c up to something like 40% PWM @ 60c system temp. Max system temp I've seen is 63c under a full CPU/GPU/RAM load test. The VRM/MOS temp maxes at something like 58c under stame test, probably helped by the VRM fan on the Arctic CPU mount.

The top middle intake is nicely placed to pull air down over the ram sticks, 2x32G 6200/CL28, sticks maxed out at about 45c during an 8 hour Karhu run.

I previously had a 5950x in the case with similar setup but standard P14's, the 5950x has a lower TDP than the 9800x3D but everything was much warmer.

As a bonus, the increased CFM has allowed more cooler air to be pushed over and under the GPU (7800 xt), so I've managed to OC that even more with a stronger undervolt and keep temps well below throttling point. GPU maxes out about 2700 now up from 2500.
 
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Cenuij said:
The three top and the single rear are in the same fan group and use the main motherboard system temp sensor. 20% PWM from 45c up to something like 40% PWM @ 60c system temp. Max system temp I've seen is 63c under a full CPU/GPU/RAM load test. The VRM/MOS temp maxes at something like 58c under stame test, probably helped by the VRM fan on the Arctic CPU mount.

The top middle intake is nicely placed to pull air down over the ram sticks, 2x32G 6200/CL28, sticks maxed out at about 45c during an 8 hour Karhu run.
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Given that these have a max RPM of 2800, when I'm done with my RAM/CPU OC stress tests I think I'll be able to lower the speeds in the fan profile even more for just day to day/gaming. I think the front 4 in push/pull are certainly way past diminishing returns already for a 280 AIO rad...
 
Bito said:
Any updates? How are they performing in terms of noise vs flow?
Click to expand...
Answering the question, sorry, but the fans are much quieter than the earlier versions, which used dbb, at least the first batch of the 12cm version. I was unable to run it at low enough rpm to keep it as quiet as I like, but they move a lot of air for the noise, too bad can run as quiet as I want. Went with the much more expensive SW 4 High Speed and those can run dead quiet or fairly quiet when more airflow is required.
 
Cenuij said:
Given that these have a max RPM of 2800, when I'm done with my RAM/CPU OC stress tests I think I'll be able to lower the speeds in the fan profile even more for just day to day/gaming. I think the front 4 in push/pull are certainly way past diminishing returns already for a 280 AIO rad...
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Just added a couple of these between the top rear/top middle intake fans and the top mounting brackets/panel, has stopped all the harmonic vibration in that space:

Silverstone FF143 Fan Filter

Also, I forgot to mention but the P14 Max are fluid dynamic bearings (just like p12/p14 standard), whereas the earlier model of P12 max was double ball bearing sleeves which people found to make a motor hum at or around 1000rpm. Just in case there's any confusion around that.

I think they're pretty competitive on performance/noise/price:

 
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