Fan Upgrade... What to buy...

2

2Old2Geek

New member
I am seeking advice on an upgrade that is LONG overdue.

I want to upgrade my current Bgears b-Blaster 140mm fans. Nothing wrong with them (other than some ticking at low RPM). I have been very happy with the performance, but when I got these I neglected to notice they were 3 pin with a converter. I wanted true 4 wire fans I so could get full use of the fan headers on my motherboard using fan expert II.

With that said, here is what exactly I am looking for.

140mm PWM fan
Quiet but I am not going to use a decibel reader so “the best money can buy” is really not that important.
Future proof, if I decide to add radiators in the near future I would like to use the same fans so static pressure as well as CFM is important. (I know, that is a tall order)
Noctua is not an option, that is the ugliest thing I have seen, no matter how good it is I still have to sit next to it LOL.

I have read the reviews and the tests until my eyes fell out but nothing beats “real life” usage. The best on a test bench is not necessary the best in your home. Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks for looking.
 
Well here is an all grey Noctua, not bad tbh.. http://www.performance-pcs.com/noct...-140mm-quiet-computer-fan.html#Specifications

Found a few others but not worth mentioning. Your choice for 4pin pwm fans at 140mm is extremely hard to come by.. tbh you are better off getting a normal 3 pin 140mm fan and either connecting it directly to the psu with a volt reducer to keep it at a constant rpm/queit. Other option is to buy a fan controller that plugs into the boads cpu header fan and you can control it through that instead. Plugging it into the board and using it's bios to control it isn't ideal and looks tacky. It's really only used if you have no choice..
 
My personal favorite is The "SILENT WINGS 2 | 140mm PWM more info can be found here about them http://www.bequiet.com/en/casefans/321 it does state this about the fans

Variable Speed Function

  • Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) allows compatible 4-pin controllers (including those built into many motherboards) to intelligently vary the speed (and thus the noise level) of the fan. With PWM your system can ramp up the cooling when it’s needed, or operate in maximum quiet mode when it’s not."



 
TheDuke said:
My personal favorite is The "SILENT WINGS 2 | 140mm PWM more info can be found here about them http://www.bequiet.com/en/casefans/321 it does state this about the fans

Variable Speed Function

  • Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) allows compatible 4-pin controllers (including those built into many motherboards) to intelligently vary the speed (and thus the noise level) of the fan. With PWM your system can ramp up the cooling when it’s needed, or operate in maximum quiet mode when it’s not."
Click to expand...

The don't have high static pressure. It wouldn't be ideal for rads.

the Variable Speed Function and PWM are esentially the same, being that they both allow the fan to speed or slow down based off set parameters(in the bios). Don't let the marketing term fool you.. just because other PWM fans aren't listed as "Variable Speed Function" doesn't mean they aren't. The fans do look sexy though.
 
Sorry that you hate them, but Noctua really are outstanding performance. And the new line of fans are dark grey should that be an issue. My question is if you are after pure performance or performance/aesthetics.

I see many people after fans who say no, when they see Noctuas original colour theme, yet their pc case is completely closed with no windows, so you can't even see the fans ;)
 
NeverBackDown said:
Other option is to buy a fan controller that plugs into the boads cpu header fan and you can control it through that instead. Plugging it into the board and using it's bios to control it isn't ideal and looks tacky. It's really only used if you have no choice..
Click to expand...

Legitimate statement, something to consider. Maybe the Corsair Link Commander or something. Guess I need to keep looking at options. I really do not like fan controllers. I haven't use a drive bay in years. My BR/DVD connects to 2 USB 3.0 ports so I keep it in a drawer, only comes out when my nephew comes over. :)

WOW... 140mm with a 120mm bolt pattern. This thing has flexibility.

http://www.amazon.com/Bearing-Cooli...&sr=1-1&keywords=Noctua+NF-P14r+Redux+1500PWM

You are popping up and helping with it all aren't you. Thanks.

**EDIT:
http://www.dvtests.com/noctua-nf-p14r-redux-1500pwm-noctua-nf-p14s-redux-1500pwm-test-review/


TheDuke said:
My personal favorite is The "SILENT WINGS 2 | 140mm PWM
Click to expand...

Those are just sexy, but at almost $60US each, I am going to call them eye candy (look but no touching). Thanks for the option, I had not seen them before.
 
Last edited:
Warchild said:
I see many people after fans who say no, when they see Noctuas original colour theme, yet their pc case is completely closed with no windows, so you can't even see the fans ;)
Click to expand...

I can see where you are coming from there, but I honestly have no idea what my case will look like. Past couple weeks I have been looking at case reviews and have a basic idea what direction I am going but I am torn between three cases at the moment. If I don’t make a choice soon I guess I will be in the case forum too, hate to be a bother though. Fans however can be ordered ahead of time. I hope to start building in the next month.

For over a year I have been happy with a Lian-Li test bench I modified to hold additional fans for, what I think is, open air cooling. But I am getting tired of looking at the tacky mess and every couple months taking it apart to clean.

I have a ton of money invested in this rig (overkill for 98.9% of the planet) so I want to do it justice. When I look at fans I guess I see them in my current build rather than a future one.

In my defense, this is the first I have seen the darker Noctua fans though.

Thanks for looking in and suggestions welcome.
 
2Old2Geek said:
Yea. I like the Sp140's and I am a huge fan of Corsair, but I looked past them because they are 3pin fans... Now NeverBackDown has me rethinking my PWM choice and I don't know what to do :( :( He just wont backdown :( :(
Click to expand...

Corsair makes PWM fans but only in 120 and non LED version that is from the place i buy
 
2Old2Geek said:
Yea. I like the Sp140's and I am a huge fan of Corsair, but I looked past them because they are 3pin fans... Now NeverBackDown has me rethinking my PWM choice and I don't know what to do :( :( He just wont backdown :( :(
Click to expand...

Aren't the SP140s a little on the loud side though in comparison to others?
 
What's the overall picture here? What hardware are you trying to cool, in what case and with what chance of actually investing in watercooling kit?

PWM or Voltage control are both great options and in the end the cost difference isn't that profound either way, you just need the right controller. In general i'd always so go PWM if you demand a huge range of fan speeds and there are far more controller solutions available than bay mounted stuff.

As it is all I know is you want some epic quality 140mm fans and off the back of that i'd say Noctua's every time.

JR
 
If you are looking to get all these new things.. i think it would make sense to open a New Build Advice thread and ask all your questions there. Keeps everything in one spot instead of multiple threads. Just allows for more people to come in and give help if its all one spot.
 
Isn't it better to have your fans set up at a reasonable speed which doesn't spin up?

eg. I have all my case fans at 700rpm, and push/pull on my heatsink at 800rpm, constantly. This way it's silent on any load and you don't get the sound of fans spinning up which is very annoying.
 
WOW, I am feeling a little like an @$$ here.


NeverBackDown said:
If you are looking to get all these new things.. i think it would make sense to open a New Build Advice thread and ask all your questions there. Keeps everything in one spot instead of multiple threads. Just allows for more people to come in and give help if its all one spot.
Click to expand...


Maybe you are right, if I start a thread there and list what I currently have, what I am considering to buy next, and the ultimate goal I want to achieve, it might be a little less stressful on your part and more understandable on mine.


Sorry if I have rattled any nerves, that was not my intention. I will write the new thread in New Build Advice (even though I thought this to be an upgrade).


:( If I keep starting threads everywhere I am going to get the reputation of a troll.
 
I just can offer you the BeQuiet Shadow Wings 140mm pwm fans. They are quiet and have a really good performance. I use them almost for two years now (8-10 hours a day) and they still good... ;)

Here you can find info about it:
http://www.bequiet.com/en/casefans/264

The price tag here (Hungary) is about 12-14 GBP

I saw it at the SpecialTech's webshop as well....
 
You can get an 11 fan hub from Phanteks that takes a signal from the CPU PWM header on your motherboard and uses it to control up to 11 3-pin fans, and it's powered by a SATA power connector. Costs about £12 in the UK.

http://www.phanteks.com/PH-PWHUB.html

PH-PWHUB_02.jpg
 
Not a bad splitter, looked at a few but that is the first in a housing. Something to add to my ever growing list :) thanks.

BTW. Posted in new build now.
 
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