Which 140mm Fans for Radiator?

Toothy1911

Toothy1911

Toothy1911

Associate
Joined
27 Nov 2006
Posts
1,328
Location
Coventry
Ordered a Corsair 650D and would like to put a 140.2 rad in the roof. Specifically the "Hardware Labs Black ICE Radiator GT Stealth 280".

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-021-BX

Which 140mm fans would you guys recommend? I know that rad has a high amount of fins, so guess it will need good air pressure. But I'm struggling to work out what's best. I would like the fans to be silent though, probably run through a fan controller too.
 
I don't really have an answer for you but I am looking at a 140mm triple radiator so have a similar question.

I've seen a few suggest that the best 140mm fan is a Scythe GT 120mm fan and an adaptor. I've also seen the Yate Loon suggested as a good true 140mm fan. Personally, I'm interested in the Aerocool Shark 140mm fans, but they don't seem to be mentioned as much (however when they are, they are very positive).

For info, these are the stats I found:
Scythe GT: 5400 RPM, 150 CFM, dBA 50
Yate Loon: 2300 RPM, 103 CFM, dBA 43
Aerocool Shark: 1500 RPM, 96 CFM, dBA 29

Unfortunately, I don't have the static pressure to hand, which I understand will matter on a high FPI radiator like that one (which is 30, vs the one I am looking at which is 8.5).

For me, I am unsure I would ever want to run a fan at 5400 RPM (at that point, I suspect I'd want more radiators/fans instead?!). The next highest Scythe GT is 4250 RPM and 116 CFM so getting a bit too close (and RPM still too high) to the other fans to be considered.

One last consideration I haven't figured out yet...not sure if you know. Do the operating ranges of fans differ (i.e. need to check the fan spec), even when used with a fan controller? Or will a fan controller give complete control over the fan, regardless of the particulars of the fan...
 
I decided on the Bitfenix Spectre pros in the end. Seemed to offer good performance, are quiet, and I could get matching 120mm, 140mm and 200mm versions for my new setup. The akasa viper looks good on paper too. But got put off by the yellow blades
 
Don't get "ultra quiet" Akasa Vipers - 3 of them are unbearably loud. I had hopes the "S-flow" would yield more airflow but I was badly mistaken. They are closer to 50dB than the 26dB in the specs. Perhaps the name is some kind of joke?

I recommend Akasa white LED illuminated 140mm fans. They are cheap and quiet.
 
I use YL d14sl and some gelid wing 14's on my sr1 420 and pa140.3 and both are good. For a high fpi rad i'd probably go for the gelid wings or the apache/vipers.
 
I'm now wondering about Prolimatech's Vortex fans, Phanteks fans and the Noiseblocker's Black Silent (Pro) fans (saw rjkoneill using them on a megahalems (so guessing if they work on a heatsink they'll work on a rad?))

Advantage with the Prolimatech and Noiseblockers is that they do matching 120mm versions.
 
PanMaster said:
Don't get "ultra quiet" Akasa Vipers - 3 of them are unbearably loud. I had hopes the "S-flow" would yield more airflow but I was badly mistaken. They are closer to 50dB than the 26dB in the specs. Perhaps the name is some kind of joke?

I recommend Akasa white LED illuminated 140mm fans. They are cheap and quiet.
Click to expand...

I've got lots of Apache's all over my case (including rad's) and its true the 140's are quite loud which is weird as the 120's are really quiet. When I say loud its more the sound of air moving, they do push a lot of air, but they are by far the loudest part of my build even at 600 rpm.
 
wissel said:
I've got lots of Apache's all over my case (including rad's) and its true the 140's are quite loud which is weird as the 120's are really quiet. When I say loud its more the sound of air moving, they do push a lot of air, but they are by far the loudest part of my build even at 600 rpm.
Click to expand...

Disappointing...

I was planning on getting Apaches/Vipers, now not sure what to get.
 
Does anyone have any idea what sort of static pressure is required or recommended for a given radiator FPI?

Just looked up the fans mentioned and by all accounts the Aerocools are one of the weakest in terms of static pressure. However I do have the 120mm versions and they seem pretty quiet.

I would be tempted by the Akasas (either the Apache or Viper would be OK) except the comment above does concern me re: noise levels.

For info, here's the specs I've managed to find:
Aerocool Shark: 96.5 CFM, 1.069mm-H2O static pressure, 29.6 dBA, 800-1500 RPM
Akasa Apache: 89.55 CFM, 2.76mm-H2O static pressure, 22.19 dBA, 600-1300 RPM
Akasa Viper: 110.61 CFM, 3.12mm-H2O static pressure, 26.01 dBA, 600-1600 RPM
BitFenix Spectre Pro: 86.73 CFM, 1.38mm-H2O static pressure, 22.8 dBA, 1200 RPM
Yate Loon: 103 CFM, ?? static pressure, 43 dBA, 2300 RPM
Silverstone Air Penetrator: 64.34 CFM, 1.55mm-H2O static pressure, 30.1 dBA, 700-1500 RPM
Prolimatech Vortex: 87 CFM, 1.05mm-H2O? static pressure, 18.1 dBA, 1000 RPM
Phanteks: 78.1 CFM, 1.21mm-H2O static pressure, 19 dBA, 750-1200 RPM (note: 120mm mountings)
Noiseblocker Black Silent Pro (PK3): 90 CFM, ?? static pressure, 27 dBA, 1700 RPM
 
Trust me guys - DONT get the apaches - I have two on my Koolance 280 rad on the top of my 650D - pants for static pressure. They are more suited to case fans where CFM is their strong point. (oh and their noisey too!)

Best if possible to get some scythe gt's with adapters - as the 140mm fans just ain't up to scratch when it comes to radiators (they're perfectly fine as case fans but not for rads!)
 
zoomee said:
Trust me guys - DONT get the apaches - I have two on my Koolance 280 rad on the top of my 650D - pants for static pressure. They are more suited to case fans where CFM is their strong point. (oh and their noisey too!)

Best if possible to get some scythe gt's with adapters - as the 140mm fans just ain't up to scratch when it comes to radiators (they're perfectly fine as case fans but not for rads!)
Click to expand...

Is it a particular GT you thinking of? I know the manufacturer specs should be taken with a pinch of salt, which is what I've listed above, but it would mean they are hugely off to be better than the 140mms, wouldn't it?

I found the Scythe datasheet here - to be fair, it gives massive static pressures!
GT 5400 RPM: 150.1 CFM, 15.24mm-H2O static pressure, 50.5 dBA
GT 4250 RPM: 116.5 CFM, 9.65mm-H2O static pressure, 44 dBA
GT 3000 RPM: 83 CFM, 5.08mm-H2O static pressure, 36.5 dbA

Again these are all manufacturer numbers but you can see how much higher the noise level is...not sure how easy it would be to live with that...and if you drop the RPM below 3000 surely it is getting into similar territory to the 140s above?
 
I've just spent the last half hour with the sides of my PC adjusting the fan controller. I have 5 Apache 120's running at 900 rpm which are almost silent, I have 2 Apache 140's as case fans (front and rear) and after adding rubber washers the only noise at 670 rpm is the sound of air being pushed through.

To be fair to Akasa I'm a bit OCD about noise and after re-fitting with the washers they are very acceptable. To give a better idea my motherboard fan (Sabertooth X79) now makes more noise than the 140's (guess what's getting water cooled next ;))

I also have a couple of Fractal Design 140's which are almost silent but do not shift anywhere near enough air to cool rad's IMO, the Apache's at 670 rpm do.

Hope this helps.
 
Good spot about the Phanteks being 120mm screw holes, that's annoying.

I used the 1850rpm Scythe GTs on my Black Ice SR1 and preferred them to the 120mm Vipers, but their specs aren't the best, even compared to 120mm fans.

I just wish there were 140mm version of them!
Using adaptors would be a bit of a pain for me due to the space they would take up. Wondering if I'd be better off with 120mm radiators, but it seems a shame if I can use 140mm rads.

As for the OP, I think you'll struggle to find fans that will work well on a thin high FPI rad that are also quiet.
 
hlennie said:
Areocool sharks good on my set up
Click to expand...

Forgot to ask...any detals of your setup? Trying to understand if a ~1mm-H2O static pressure works on an 8.5 FPI radiator...

wissel said:
I've just spent the last half hour with the sides of my PC adjusting the fan controller. I have 5 Apache 120's running at 900 rpm which are almost silent, I have 2 Apache 140's as case fans (front and rear) and after adding rubber washers the only noise at 670 rpm is the sound of air being pushed through.

To be fair to Akasa I'm a bit OCD about noise and after re-fitting with the washers they are very acceptable. To give a better idea my motherboard fan (Sabertooth X79) now makes more noise than the 140's (guess what's getting water cooled next ;))

I also have a couple of Fractal Design 140's which are almost silent but do not shift anywhere near enough air to cool rad's IMO, the Apache's at 670 rpm do.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

That's useful to me :) have you run the 140s any higher? How does the sound compare to other fans? Btw from looking at the Viper it looks like it is just an Apache but it can go 300 RPM higher.

GoogalyMoogaly said:
Good spot about the Phanteks being 120mm screw holes, that's annoying.

I used the 1850rpm Scythe GTs on my Black Ice SR1 and preferred them to the 120mm Vipers, but their specs aren't the best, even compared to 120mm fans.

I just wish there were 140mm version of them!
Using adaptors would be a bit of a pain for me due to the space they would take up. Wondering if I'd be better off with 120mm radiators, but it seems a shame if I can use 140mm rads.

As for the OP, I think you'll struggle to find fans that will work well on a thin high FPI rad that are also quiet.
Click to expand...

I think the OP already went with a fan choice a while back (I found this slightly older thread to reply to with my similar question) - BitFenix Spectre Pro. Interestingly it's not got that high of a static pressure - 1.38mm-H2O - OP, would be interested in how your setup is performing for you? Is it as expected? If 1.38 works on a 30 FPI radiator I may well go for the Aerocools (1.07) on my target 8.5 FPI radiator, hopefully they would be as quiet as the 120mm versions.
 
Last edited:
Toothy1911 said:
I decided on the Bitfenix Spectre pros in the end. Seemed to offer good performance, are quiet, and I could get matching 120mm, 140mm and 200mm versions for my new setup. The akasa viper looks good on paper too. But got put off by the yellow blades
Click to expand...

Bad choice IMO. I have one and they cannot channel air properly, just chucks it sidewards, very strange.

Check this: http://www.overclock.net/t/1270005/bitfenix-spectre-pro-feels-incredibly-anemic/10

I would advise against them for general use, let alone rads.
 
I had three 4000rpm scythe gt's running on my previous thermochill 120.3
Using an aquaero controller I throttled them down to 1000rpm each and they were awesome for performance.

Since downsizing from a 700d to a 650d I was forced to use a 140.2 rad. The 140 Alaska apaches even whilst being throttled to 1000rpm seemed noisier to me with lower performance. Before I bought them I was looking for some 120 to 140 converters so I could slapp my scythes on it but couldn't find any (without having to pay stupid prices!!).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom