Corsair Air Series Fans Review SP120 AF120 Review

[coalminer071]

sorry to add on. this is the first time i have to deal with fan controller and the rads. the slight hum reminds me of the ac back in taipei but that buzz is really killing me

 

[tinytomlogan]

so i recently put these together, on low and medium speeds u hear a buzz on them. theres no buzz on high. So I contacted coolermaster asking about them and they said that the SP120 fans are not compatible at low speeds. is this true or bs?

Dude you need to understand the controller on the Cosmos 2 is set in steps.

Some fans will not even start with the cosmos 2 controller on low.....

 

[coalminer071]

oh it started for sure.

 

[Resident]

so i recently put these together, on low and medium speeds u hear a buzz on them. theres no buzz on high. So I contacted coolermaster asking about them and they said that the SP120 fans are not compatible at low speeds. is this true or bs?

I have my SP120 performance fans on PWM (via custom adaptor) and I get no buzzing from them when they're running. My PWM curve takes them down as far as ~750rpm (2200 max)

I also have AF120 quiets on a fan controller (NZXT LXE) and they don't buzz either.

If there is an incompatibility, it's not on the side of the fans.

 

[Ulijin]

so i recently put these together, on low and medium speeds u hear a buzz on them. theres no buzz on high. So I contacted coolermaster asking about them and they said that the SP120 fans are not compatible at low speeds. is this true or bs?

I had the same experience running them off my NZXT Sentry 2. Because it uses 12 Volt pulses it makes noise when you aren't running them at 100% (turning the fan on creates a tick noise). It's debatable whether this is Corsairs fault or NZXT. My solution was to go back to my Scythe 1450 GT's which don't make a noise when attached to my cheapy fan controller.

People here seem to think this is not Corsairs fault, to be honest I don't think it is anyone's fault just a "feature" of the Corsair fans that some other fans don't have (in my experience Scythe GT 1450s). If you buy a decent Fan controller that reduces the Volts instead of sending pulses of 12V current the Corsair fans won't create the noise. But if like me you already had the fan controller it's important that you are aware of this "feature" or you too may be left in a position of
-putting up with the noise
-replacing your fan controller
-using voltage reducers and running at 100%
-leaving your Corsair fans in the cupboard gathering dust (my choice)

Cheers,
Ulijin.

 

[jamesriley94]

I had the same experience running them off my NZXT Sentry 2. Because it uses 12 Volt pulses it makes noise when you aren't running them at 100% (turning the fan on creates a tick noise). It's debatable whether this is Corsairs fault or NZXT. My solution was to go back to my Scythe 1450 GT's which don't make a noise when attached to my cheapy fan controller.

People here seem to think this is not Corsairs fault, to be honest I don't think it is anyone's fault just a "feature" of the Corsair fans that some other fans don't have (in my experience Scythe GT 1450s). If you buy a decent Fan controller that reduces the Volts instead of sending pulses of 12V current the Corsair fans won't create the noise. But if like me you already had the fan controller it's important that you are aware of this "feature" or you too may be left in a position of
-putting up with the noise
-replacing your fan controller
-using voltage reducers and running at 100%
-leaving your Corsair fans in the cupboard gathering dust (my choice)

Cheers,
Ulijin.

I had the same problem with the Sentry 2...
That's why I recommend everyone on here uses fan speed reducers/voltage resistors and not fan controllers.

There are certain fans that hate the rapidly turning on and off fan controllers - coolermaster, corsair, xigmatek 140mms... Whilst others are absolutely fine.

I have to say the fault is on NZXT's side, just because the fans aren't built to be rapidly turned on and off, and they work fine without the controller don't they...

In the end - it works out cheaper and better to just use 7v/5v fan speed reducers such as:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CM-101-BX

Or buy fans that come with adapters to start with such as BeQuiet fans and Silverstone Air Penetrators.

+the corsair ones

 

[Ulijin]

I had the same problem with the Sentry 2...
That's why I recommend everyone on here uses fan speed reducers/voltage resistors and not fan controllers.

There are certain fans that hate the rapidly turning on and off fan controllers - coolermaster, corsair, xigmatek 140mms... Whilst others are absolutely fine.

I have to say the fault is on NZXT's side, just because the fans aren't built to be rapidly turned on and off, and they work fine without the controller don't they...

In the end - it works out cheaper and better to just use 7v/5v fan speed reducers such as:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CM-101-BX

Or buy fans that come with adapters to start with such as BeQuiet fans and Silverstone Air Penetrators.

+the corsair ones

I'm a real stickler for noise, the only reason I use the fan controller is so I can convienently turn these fans on and off. (by using Auto as on and Manual set to 0% as off).

The vast majority of the time the 4 fans I have hooked up to the side mesh panel of my 600T are off. Only when I'm gaming with headphones and my GPU's are starting to heat up do I flick the switch on the Sentry to Auto which sets the fans anywhere between 60% to 100%.

I should really just invest in a switch and hook up voltage reducers, but my solution with the Scythes works fine. Also I did find the Corsair AF120 QE's didn't shift much air through the 600T wire mesh (even without a dust filter) another reason I've relegated them to the cupboard.

Anyway it's useful for people to know that this is an issue even if it is NZXTs fault