Where can I find 140mm case fan reviews?

[ChiefBigFeather]

Dear Anandtech community,

I have been trying to find out what case fans to buy. My OC disorder tells me to read a review first, but there does not seem to be comprehensive case fan reviews by respectable sites (or they are very outdated).
Do you happen to know why this is the case? Do you know someone who did the measurements to find out which fan is the most efficient in terms of airflow vs noise?

Thanks in advance!

Chief

 

[Ajay]

Do you mean 140mm case fans? You may want to change the title.

 

[ChiefBigFeather]

Yeah, I meant 140mm fans :/

I cannot edit the thread title though, at least not on mobile.

 

[Johnny Lucky]

Here is a link to quite a large number of Noctua case fan reviews:

https://noctua.at/en/reviews

Google is your friend. You should not have experienced any problems searching for 140mm case fan reviews. Here are a variety of links to the reviews:

https://www.google.com/search?sourc.........0....1..gws-wiz.......0i131.PW5zZjPN4Cc

At the bottom of that page you will find more related search terms for 140mm case fans

 

[UsandThem]

The all powerful and all-knowing Google search returned:

https://us.hardware.info/reviews/66...-fans-test-results-the-best-cooling-case-fans

https://www.overclockers.com/15-case-fans-tested-ultimate-140-mm-roundup/

In general, the quieter the fan, the lower the CFM. The higher the CFM, the higher the noise. What most people look for is a good balance of the two.

 

[ChiefBigFeather]

Google is your friend. You should not have experienced any problems searching for 140mm case fan reviews.

Yeah, I did a google search. But like when clicking that link, most of those reviews are unreadable clickbait.

The all powerful and all-knowing Google search returned:

https://us.hardware.info/reviews/66...-fans-test-results-the-best-cooling-case-fans

https://www.overclockers.com/15-case-fans-tested-ultimate-140-mm-roundup/

In general, the quieter the fan, the lower the CFM. The higher the CFM, the higher the noise. What most people look for is a good balance of the two.

Must have missed the hardware info one, that one actually has a nice summary. I don't get why they mixed in PWM fans though.

There seems to be information missing from the overclockers one: Did he normalize for air flow? The way I see it, he just tested noise and airflow at different rpm.

It would be even better to have an updated review that lets you hear the noise profiles of the fans for normalized CFM, like this one: https://www.hardwaremax.net/reviews...ltek-a-phobya-140-mm-luefter?showall=&start=6
Sadly, that's from 2012 and is mostly targeting cpu cooler fans.

Edit: Thank you for your links! Sorry for my manners.

 

[UsandThem]

One thing to think about is they are just fans. It isn't like comparing stuff like different CPUs where your decision would affect the performance. Read a couple reviews, maybe see what a few people half to say about the potential choices, and pull the trigger.

That's the beauty of PWM fans as you can customize them in your BIOS/UEFI, and run them at the RPM you want based on how quiet you want your PC to be. Noctua, Be Quiet, Phanteks, and Corsair are just a few higher-end companies out there. They all offer fans tailored to quiet or to performance, and everything else in between.

If you're not looking at spending too much on a fan, consider the Noctua Redux line, Artic, or Rosewill fans.

 

[ChiefBigFeather]

You are probably right. But I am the type that reads 30 minutes of reviews before buying a mousepad...

There are some things to watch out for though, as some fans that produce really annoying noises and others become very ineffective when run at "silent" speeds.

Considering what I've read and heard, the Noctua FLX seems like a decent choice. While they charge a small premium, they are not that much more expensive then other well performing fans. A friend of mine told me that he found evidence that the Phanteks PH-F140HP are probably best. But they are barely sold anymore and I do not know how good the HP2 are in comparison. Unfortunately they are not included in the tests.

For PWM fans, the Phanteks PH-F140MP seems like a great choice at their current price point.

 

[UsandThem]

With my 4 computers here, they are all cooled by Noctua NF-A14 FLX, NF-A14 PWM, NF-A15 PWM, NF-P14s Redux 1200, and Phanteks PH-F140XP.

So I configured and tested these things every which way to get the best balance off cooling / noise, and my favorite fans out these is the Phanteks and the NF-A15 PWM (uses 120mm mounting holes). The Phanteks fan in particular have amazing bearing quality. I've never had a fan that I could manually spin with my hand, and have it spin for such a long time. Plus, they push more air through my filters compared to the Noctua fans.

 

[aigomorla]

Title changed to 140mm

Cases and Cooling Moderator Aigo.

 

[ChiefBigFeather]

With my 4 computers here, they are all cooled by Noctua NF-A14 FLX, NF-A14 PWM, NF-A15 PWM, NF-P14s Redux 1200, and Phanteks PH-F140XP.

So I configured and tested these things every which way to get the best balance off cooling / noise, and my favorite fans out these is the Phanteks and the NF-A15 PWM (uses 120mm mounting holes). The Phanteks fan in particular have amazing bearing quality. I've never had a fan that I could manually spin with my hand, and have it spin for such a long time. Plus, they push more air through my filters compared to the Noctua fans.

Thanks for the info!

I'd still be very interested in more controlled test. The most recent one I found is this:

http://thermalbench.com/2017/10/12/corsair-ll140-rgb-140mm-fan/4/

The chart to the bottom is the interesting one. I'd love to know what difference that makes in an actual case and see a broader study of 140mm fan performance to get more reliable test data.

 

[GrumpyMan]

I like the new magnetic levitation fans from Corsair, very quiet and move some air for me. Comes in RGB too if you are into that kind of thing. Reviews are good for them too. Noctua's are great too, but hate the brown.