Be Quiet 140mm Silent Wings 3 1000 RPM vs Shadow Wings 2 1000 RPM

[Wolverine2349]

Which fans are quieter and more importantly which have a smoother less or no harmonic/unpleasant/rattling noise.

 

And is the non-PWM version of the fans better as I heard PWM can induce harmonic noise especially if I intend to run at quiet 1000 RPM all the time if I get that version of either. 

[PDifolco]

You shouldn't really compare 120mm and 140mm fans at same speed because larger fans move more air at a given speed...

If you're focused on noise get 140mm 800rpm

Didn't ever heard of pwm induced harmonics...

[Wolverine2349]

2 minutes ago, PDifolco said:

You shouldn't really compare 120mm and 140mm fans at same speed because larger fans move more air at a given speed...

If you're focused on noise get 140mm 800rpm

Didn't ever heard of pwm induced harmonics...

 

 

I am just talking about 140mm fans 1000 RPM. No where did I mention 120mm fans.

 

I am specifically talking about Shadow Wings 2 vs Silent Wings 3 both of which are available in 140mm versions. 

[Wolverine2349]

I have a few Silent Wings 3 140mm 1000 RPM fans and do notice a little bit of harmonic noise with ones that are 2 years and 3-4 months old that came with Dark Base 900. When installed in Silent Base 802 and Phanteks Enthoo Pro 2, they had a slight bit, but not too bad and only slightly noticeable, but would like a little smoother, but tolerable

 

I had ordered some more almost 1 year ago and they had worse harmonic noise like an up and down pitch that was bad and I had wondered if there was an issue with the case mounting but switched fans back and it went away back to very  mild amounts.

 

I am hoping maybe the Shadow Wings 2 900/1000RPM 140mm have less.

 

Is it a reality that all fans even silent well made ones have a slight bit of harmonic/unpleasant noise just no way around it meaning no such thing as fan with absolute 0, just very slight or minimal.

[OddOod]

The Silent Wings are probably the way to go. PWM harmonics don't seem to really be a concern, my guess is that they are hitting the resonant freq of the case.

[Wolverine2349]

9 minutes ago, OddOod said:

The Silent Wings are probably the way to go. PWM harmonics don't seem to really be a concern, my guess is that they are hitting the resonant freq of the case.

 

 

Are Silent Wings 3 actually quietier than Shadow Wings 2. I had thought so then found out my googling was comparing Pure WIngs 2 to Silent Wings 3 and how everyone says Silent Wings 3 are better.

 

I found nothing from comparing Shadow Wings 2 and SW3 so thought I would ask here.

 

Be Quiet themselves says Shadow Wings 2 are actually quieter than SW3 to my surprise. Anyone have any experience on that?

 

yes airflow not as good, but 140mm 900/1000 max RPM still good enough. for an all air cooled system with only 8 P cores (e-cores all disabled) and one powerful RTX 4090 and no HDDs nor any other cards and a good air flow case.

 

[OddOod]

The 3s are slightly louder than the 2s, 15 vs 14db. But 15db is still below the noise floor of most rooms

[Wolverine2349]

6 minutes ago, OddOod said:

The 3s are slightly louder than the 2s, 15 vs 14db. But 15db is still below the noise floor of most rooms

 

Which is betetr in terms of smoothness and noise quality? Like no harmonic noise

 

[OddOod]

Honestly I can't notice a difference. I'm wondering if you're suffering from some mild audiophile delusion, or some form of audio hyperacuity. 

[mdk777]

52 minutes ago, Wolverine2349 said:

 

Which is betetr in terms of smoothness and noise quality? Like no harmonic noise

 

Well I just bought 4 be quiet! SILENT WINGS PRO 4 120mm PWM

 

I understand your concern about harmonic noise, but you are confused about the source.

 

The fans are not the source of the noise, but the air that then moves across your case grill or AIO cooler fins.

 

It turns out there is no free lunch....

yeah you can get very very quite fans....

but the air they generate will still make noise when it hits whatever obstruction you have in your case.

 

Hence, GO FOR PMW fans so that you can set them at the speed that you can tolerate the sound.

 

Going for single speed fans is a crap shoot as you have already determined.

 

 

[Wolverine2349]

8 minutes ago, mdk777 said:

Well I just bought 4 be quiet! SILENT WINGS PRO 4 120mm PWM

 

I understand your concern about harmonic noise, but you are confused about the source.

 

The fans are not the source of the noise, but the air that then moves across your case grill or AIO cooler fins.

 

It turns out there is no free lunch....

yeah you can get very very quite fans....

but the air they generate will still make noise when it hits whatever obstruction you have in your case.

 

Hence, GO FOR PMW fans so that you can set them at the speed that you can tolerate the sound.

 

Going for single speed fans is a crap shoot as you have already determined.

 

 

 

Well does it always create harmonic noise cause some fans I hear it even when I have it not installed i a case. Shouldn't it just sound like a whish of airflow and nothing more. No rattling nor buzz?

 

I did notice that at certain lower RPM of Silent Wings 3 even half speed, you could hear the blade clipping noise. at like 500 RPM.

 

Want fans that avoid that type of noise and such.

[mdk777]

yeah you are running down a rabbit hole.

 

Yes, fans are designed to run at certain speeds, it you try to run a fan designed to run at 1000 rpm at 500 rpm you risk affecting the design of the bearings.

Many fans are designed to run on a fluid layer on the bearing surface.

You will notice that they click when you start them as they spin up.

 

Too low of a speed and the bearing surface is not suspended like designed, the position of the blades are not centered in the case, they may wobble.

 

Solution:

 

DON'T RUN AT TOO LOW OF A RPM.

 

Just saying, if you only run a fan at 500 RPM, do you really need that fan?

perhaps one fan at 800 or 1000 RPM will be ideal for you rather than 3 at 500.

 

 

PS, my MB test the fans 

attached is the profile of the silent wings 4 I own.

as you see, it at 600 RPM at the lowest setting.

they are dead quite at 1121 RPM

 

at 1675 RPM you start to notice them.

They are not really annoying until about 2150 RPM.

 

With 140 mm fans, 1000 RPM is dead silent.

 

 

 

[Wolverine2349]

9 minutes ago, mdk777 said:

yeah you are running down a rabbit hole.

 

Yes, fans are designed to run at certain speeds, it you try to run a fan designed to run at 1000 rpm at 500 rpm you risk affecting the design of the bearings.

Many fans are designed to run on a fluid layer on the bearing surface.

You will notice that they click when you start them as they spin up.

 

Too low of a speed and the bearing surface is not suspended like designed, the position of the blades are not centered in the case, they may wobble.

 

Solution:

 

DON'T RUN AT TOO LOW OF A RPM.

 

Just saying, if you only run a fan at 500 RPM, do you really need that fan?

perhaps one fan at 800 or 1000 RPM will be ideal for you rather than 3 at 500.

 

 

 

 

 

No I do not want only 500 RPM. I just noticed it by default and wondered why is that.

 

I mean many fan have faster than 1000 RPM speeds and if I lower to around 1000 RPM, they have an odd noise.

 

Fortunately does not happen with the Dark Rock Pro 4 included fans which are smooth and quiet noise at around 1000 RPM both of them.

 

But a pack of 120mm 2200 RPM Silent wings 3 when lowered to 1000 RPM, they made a weird unpleasant noise. 2200RPM max speed noise is smooth but a little loud.

 

[mdk777]

Yeah, like I said, simply dial in the optimal sound you like, 

that is the beauty of 4 pin  PWM fans.

2200 RPM too loud, set it at 1800RPM 

 

but you question about the be quite fans:

 

They do have ridges to offset the buffeting noise of fans ( we hear changes in noise more than continuous sound...it's evolution...that twig breaking behind you will set your hair on end much more than the loud waterfall )

 

so, one of the harsh noise that humans hear on fan blades is actually the air snapping off the end of the blade.

The fins/groves on the blades on the be quite break that sound into smaller less parts....more continuous rather than abrupt.

 

So, that is one reason they are considered one of the quietest fans out there.

 

That said, could there be a specific speed where the effect is negative rather than positive???

Its possible I guess.

 

Avoid that speed.

[Wolverine2349]

The Be Quiet fans where they snap the air off the fins of blade to make sound more continuous. Are there any fans that could be quieter without that if run at low enough RPM that do not have that. Like these would be 140mm fans at 900 to 1000 RPM types. Or is that the range where what Be Quiet does good for low noise even though 900 to 1000 RPM is generally very quiet in most cases to begin with?

[mdk777]

Well that is hard to say. While I have some understanding on the subject, I can't speak for the entire universe of fans.

 

Be quite certainly seems to think there is a benefit across the board and several review sites have given them top reviews.

 

 

Obviously Nocturia begs to differ.