These Corsair AF140 Silent Edition Fans Aren't That Silent

[Kilowatts]

So yeah... not really that silent. They are they loudest thing in my computer next to my GPU when at 70% fan speed. I think its just the motors that seem to make a humming that for some reason I find annoying. Kind of sucks though spend $20 each on these and I'm looking to replace them now. So what would be a good alternative. Just pick up some Noctuas? Are they better for just case airflow or static pressure? Will probably need static pressure fans soon as well because I have the Corsair SP 120s which aren't that quite either but I will be replacing my H60 with an H100i so I'm going to need another rad fan.

Thoughts anyone?

[Dave :)]

The noctuas are good, Gentle Typhoons are also good, if you can find them that is. :P

[Kilowatts]

The noctuas are good' date=' Gentle Typhoons are also good, if you can find them that is. :P[/quote']

Yeah, I've heard good things about the Noctuas just haven't been able to bring myself to buy them for whatever reason but I think now is the time. lol

[Metallurgico]

Look for those: http://www.alpenfoehn.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=160&Itemid=144〈=en

They have a very high pressure. Here's the review from an italian site: http://www.coolingtechnique.com/recensioni/75-dissipatori/925-recensione-alpenfoehn-k2.html?start=2

[brat137]

Noctuas are the cream of the crop but if you can't get over the looks of them then Silverstone Air Penetrator fans are great! For Rad fans get the AP121s as they have great static pressure. The APs also have great directed air flow and I have two 140mm fans running as case fans. The loudest part of my build is my GPU fan but I never run that at speed isn't audible most of the time. The next offender is the 2 stock 120s that came with my Corsair Carbide 500r. Even on low speed (5V) they are louder then APs on ~70%

[Eric1024]

Yeah, as much as I love Corsair they don't make the greatest fans. Check out Noctua NF-F12's. I have 5 of them in my system and it's pretty damn quiet (save for an extremely obnoxious motherboard fan), as well as some other noctua fans in another system that is literally dead quiet. Their fans are amazing.

But if you don't want to go Noctua, look at silverstone air penetrators, be quiet silent wings 2, and Scythe gentle typhoons if you can find them.

[BCreation]

Noctua NF-A14s were released not too long ago. They are basically like NF-F12s but in a 140mm size. Should be great for you.

[Kilowatts]

So it looks like noctua is the pretty safe route. lol

[Dragon_Cannon]

you would be correct sir and if you go onto the noctua website it tells you what each type of fan is best suited for.

[Toby]

Do you want "quiet fans", or "silent fans"? Noctua are quiet, but if you want the lowest noise possible, look to the Scythe Gentle Typhoon 800RPM/1150RPM, the Scythe Slipstream 12L/12M and Noiseblocker M12-S1/M12-S2.

Source #1

Source #2

[ConfusedDolphin]

Are you running them with the low noise adapters? If you really want quietness just add more fans and run them at low RPMs.

[smickoi]

I've got a set of noctua nf-f12 which are awesome in terms of static pressure for rads but they are not the quietest when running at full rpm compared to other noctuas, they do come with low noise adapters and are pwm so they can be made fairly quiet. I've got mine set at low rpm at low temps and max rpm(1500) for when the temps go up on the CPU. The noctua nf-p12 are also good, slightly quieter but lower static pressure compared to the nf-f12. The nf-s12b are so quiet but lower pressure and I just use them as a case fan.

Check out this link it goes into a little detail for the noctua 120mm

http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=which_fan_is_right_for_me&lng=en

[grigori1]

Yeah, as much as I love Corsair they don't make the greatest fans. Check out Noctua NF-F12's. I have 5 of them in my system and it's pretty damn quiet (save for an extremely obnoxious motherboard fan), as well as some other noctua fans in another system that is literally dead quiet. Their fans are amazing.

But if you don't want to go Noctua, look at silverstone air penetrators, be quiet silent wings 2, and Scythe gentle typhoons if you can find them.

is your mobo fan a 40 mm? you could get a noctua NF-A4x10 FLX

[REDMAFIA]

I don't know what your talking about.... Corsair 140 Quiet Editions are Quiet.

[Tordal]

Yeah, I bought 6 corsair quiet fans because I couldn't stand the looks of the Noctuas. But with the PC under my desk, I can still hear them when they're running at around 700RPM. Considering buying a new non-window side panel for my Define R4 and putting Noctuas in there some day. But that won't happen any time soon.

[Toby]

I don't know what your talking about.... Corsair 140 Quiet Editions are Quiet.

Nope. Definite noise at 9v, if not lower.

[Rhizo]

Yeah, I bought 6 corsair quiet fans because I couldn't stand the looks of the Noctuas. But with the PC under my desk, I can still hear them when they're running at around 700RPM. Considering buying a new non-window side panel for my Define R4 and putting Noctuas in there some day. But that won't happen any time soon.

Just get gentle typhoons and undervolt them :)

[BathroomSecurity]

Noctua's are great; good, silent performance. I've also heard good things from gentle typhoons and gellid wings

[Toby]

Oh and if you need a silent 140mm, the 140mm Antec Truequiet are good. I'm not sure how the Noctua+ULNA stacks up airflow-wise to that.

[dgtL]

maybe they just are not good undervolted.

get some GT's

[REDMAFIA]

I don't know what your talking about.... Corsair 140 Quiet Editions are Quiet.

Nope. Definite noise at 9v, if not lower.

That's why you under-volt the fans. I own these fans, and they're quiet even at full voltage.

[asusfan]

maybe you could put a discription of your fan layout or a scetch of them in your system, as if ued properly and with low noise adaptors they shouldn't be a problem.

I use Aerocool RS12 carbon fibre look edition with red led as exit fans and there pritty good (careful they only mount one way), i would say if your case and system is not set up right then your fans could be running flat out to try and cool it down, like if you are over clocking or something.

You have to try and work out why the fans would be running so fast that they make that much noise?? like how much airflow coming in vs going out, CPU specs, graphic card specs, Motherboard specs and setup.

I would say all fans make noise if running fast, and can be silent when the system is basically in idol mode.

Upgrading your CPU cooler could make a big difference to your fan speeds.

so many things can cause different results, hence its kinda cool we all have slightly or very different computer systems ( i assume most people here build them from components they selected).

hope it helps and Linus or Slick are the experts, i am just trying to suggest things and tell you from my knowledge as just an average computer builder.

[NannerBeans]

I don't know what your talking about.... Corsair 140 Quiet Editions are Quiet.

Nope. Definite noise at 9v' date=' if not lower.[/quote']

Why is there static on a sound test?

If you listen carefully the noise starts before the fan is even turned on...

[WitzTech]

yeah... I have 2 of the SP120 quiet editions that I used for a while on an Antec 620 AIO (I also used to have a tiny case, hence the crappy cooler), and while they were not terribly noisy (better than stock), they also didn't push much air. They also were not cheap, and they are not PWM. They are a safe bet if Emermax Magmas or Noctua fans don't fit with you color scheme, but I'd otherwise advise people to check out other fans first.

EDIT: Here is a great Anandtech article that overviews a bunch of pressure optimized fans:

][url=http://www.anandtech.com/show/6391/120mm-radiator-fan-roundup-part-2-fan-harder/7]http://www.anandtech.com/show/6391/120mm-radiator-fan-roundup-part-2-fan-harder/7[/url=http://www.anandtech.com/show/6391/120mm-radiator-fan-roundup-part-2-fan-harder/7]

[gatecrasherlok]

Noiseblocker Blacksilent Pro 140mm, try them, I have not looked back since buying them.