be quiet! Silent Wings Pro 4 120 mm PWM Fan

[DrCR]

"Peak fan" keeps getting better, but the improvements are minute and infrequent. Decade-old "peak fans" are still 96% as good or something like that. Even some budget fans are contenders at 600-1000rpm.

The last decade has mostly been RGBLED bullshit and marketing guff.

@Chrispy_ What do you like these days for SPCR-spec quiet? My 5v undervolted 1200rpm S-Flex and Slipstreams (resulting in ~650 rpm iirc) are so vintage now, like mechtech’s, that I’m reluctant to use them in a very belated new build.

 

[Ferrum Master]

I got my T30 for 28€ each...

The pricing for these seems way off... at least 20-25€...

 

[Chrispy_]

@Chrispy_ What do you like these days for SPCR-spec quiet? My 5v undervolted 1200rpm S-Flex and Slipstreams (resulting in ~650 rpm iirc) are so vintage now, like mechtech’s, that I’m reluctant to use them in a very belated new build.

If money is no object, buy the 3-pack of T30, which are the same price as these Silent Wings 4 Pro fans. They match the SWP4 fans in terms of noise-noirmalised performance in a high-restriction scenario, but they do so at a lower RPM, which means the pitch of that noise is actually lower, even if it reads the same on a decibel meter. In terms of balance at high speeds, both the T30 and SWP fans seem excellent, but that's not really an issue at low-rpm.

For the same money as the SW4P fans, you get Sunon maglev bearings which allow the fan to start at lower speeds than the FDB bearings of the SWP4 fans and ought to remain sounding "as new" almost forever, you get a wider RPM range, a semi-passive mode that shuts off below 500RPM, and daisy-chainable connectors which helps to eliminate some spaghetti.

It's a shame VSG only tests noise levels on a radiator, because from what I've read of other comparisons, the T30 outperforms everything, no exceptions, as a low-restriction case fan.

As for budget options, the Pure Wings 2 is still excellent as a case fan and damn-near silent below 750RPM, and the Arctic P12 PWM is also excellent at low RPM levels for an even lower price but you have to be careful not to run it at a resonant frequency, the first significant one is 1000RPM which is above the SPCR-spec noise floor, and therefore irrelevant anyway.

Honestly, for budget builds I go P12 PWM the whole way and just set fan curves that stay below 900rpm. In a modern case with 4-7 fans in it, 900rpm is enough airflow to completely cycle the whole case volume in under 1 second, even at a pitiful 20cfm per intake fan. For more general builds I still prefer to use the PW2 because it's very cheap, looks nice, and is a consistently quiet performer at a wide range of speeds and applications, despite being chart topping in any way. For a third the price of a T30 or SW4 that's a tradeoff I'm willing to make.

 

[VSG]

It's a shame VSG only tests noise levels on a radiator, because from what I've read of other comparisons, the T30 outperforms everything, no exceptions, as a low-restriction case fan.

Fan reviews were part of the watercooling review category before W1zz decided to make it their own. I can't change my testing platform simply because of that, and tbh I don't have that much time anyway.

 

[Jokii]

643 RPM at the lowest is way too high IMO.
Even if the fan itself is inaudible at that speed (and that's a big IF), the air hitting the mesh/radiator can be audible.

I think any fan that wants to compete the silent category should have a minimum speed of less than 500 RPM, ideally less than 300 RPM.

Arctic fans are pretty good for the money. The packs they sell are great to just have around.

The Arctic F12/P12 fans I bought are the worst fans I've ever used. I think I bought 5 of them and every single one of them had a clearly audible resonant noise at certain RPMs, making them unusable for quiet operation at variable speeds. They were also shaking a lot when running fast, no way I'd put them on a CPU tower cooler.

Maybe I was just unlucky, but what are the odds, really?
Then again, I do have a couple of smaller Arctics that work fine, so maybe it's #NotAllArctics after all.

 

[regs]

Inaudible should be a must. Noisy fans such as the Arctic BioniX 120 should be banned with a law.

BioniX are mostly same as P/F series, just allowing higher RPMs. At same RPM they sounds pretty much same. Just like this SW Pro 4. You can control it with PWM and use it only in some scenarios when needed.

The Arctic F12/P12 fans I bought are the worst fans I've ever used. I think I bought 5 of them and every single one of them had a clearly audible resonant noise at certain RPMs, making them unusable for quiet operation at variable speeds.

Don't have with my P12. Do you have CO or non-CO?

 

[Jokii]

Don't have with my P12. Do you have CO or non-CO?

Non-CO.
I found a recording of this noise, because it's been mentioned elsewhere:

It starts at around 7:20 in that video. (It then goes away after he switches to a higher speed.)

But it's not exclusive to Arctic. I've heard it on some new Scythe fans as well, just that it wasn't as extreme.
I think it's the new bearings that these fans use, because I don't remember ever hearing it on old simple sleeve bearing fans. They had ticking and scratchy sounds, but never this resonant noise at specific RPMs. Or maybe it's just poor QC and then it's down to luck.

 

[Chrispy_]

Fan reviews were part of the watercooling review category before W1zz decided to make it their own. I can't change my testing platform simply because of that, and tbh I don't have that much time anyway.

Radiator testing is more useful because that's a worst-case scenario anyway.

As a hinted at earlier, case fans don't need to be too special these days unless you're considering a cramped SFF box because most modern cases typically have great unrestricted airflow and as long as the motor doesn't tick or growl at low speed just about any fan will do provided you complement the case with a full load of fans and limit them to speeds you cannot hear.

The Arctic F12/P12 fans I bought are the worst fans I've ever used. I think I bought 5 of them and every single one of them had a clearly audible resonant noise at certain RPMs, making them unusable for quiet operation at variable speeds. They were also shaking a lot when running fast, no way I'd put them on a CPU tower cooler.

Maybe I was just unlucky, but what are the odds, really?
Then again, I do have a couple of smaller Arctics that work fine, so maybe it's #NotAllArctics after all.

I only buy Arctic P12 PWM PST models, the 5-packs at that, since they're under €30 a pack which is a bargain. There are so many models that it's important to specify exactly which one. I've used older Arctic fans that were awful in multiple ways, so it's not like the company can do no harm, they just happened to have stumbled into a decent design for those P12 PWM PST models.

They are still terrible choices for CPU coolers - that's where you spend your money on something carefully balanced and quiet through a wide RPM range. There's too much flex in the heatpipes to afford anything vibrating or wobbling attached to them, and by the nature of CPU cooling you're going to need higher RPMs anyway.

As case fans they're no worse than many other cheaper fans, including some costing double or more but the resonance is likely the 4-pole motor at certain frequencies. There's a very faint one at 850rpm and a much stronger on at 1000rpm, but realistically the 850rpm one is irrelevant since the air noise is already dominant at that point. For use at under about 55% PWM, they're effectively in the same ballpark as fans costing 5x more. Again, I'm not really claiming that P12 PWM are the best fans on the market, just that when you need 6 or 7 of them for a build, you can do much worse than them and they're honestly indistinguishable from expensive options below 950rpm where the speed isn't fast enough to reveal their lack of precision balance, or push it to the point where it resonates/hums.

For builds where there's a 250W+ GPU in the case I'm going to buy SW2 fans. They're quieter than average jack-of-all-trades at a reasonable price and make a pleasant noise when they're spinning at 1200rpm, even if they're not silent at that point. For relatively cheap fans, the hundreds I've bought all seem to be very well balanced for the money.

 

[ARF]

BioniX are mostly same as P/F series, just allowing higher RPMs. At same RPM they sounds pretty much same. Just like this SW Pro 4. You can control it with PWM and use it only in some scenarios when needed.

I will not control anything - already threw them in the garbage where they belong

 

[regs]

It starts at around 7:20 in that video. (It then goes away after he switches to a higher speed.)

Totally inaudiable. You won't hear it inside the chassis. Still, it's 9 V. Did you try using PWM instead?

 

[Jokii]

As case fans they're no worse than many other cheaper fans, including some costing double or more but the resonance is likely the 4-pole motor at certain frequencies. There's a very faint one at 850rpm and a much stronger on at 1000rpm, but realistically the 850rpm one is irrelevant since the air noise is already dominant at that point. For use at under about 55% PWM, they're effectively in the same ballpark as fans costing 5x more. Again, I'm not really claiming that P12 PWM are the best fans on the market, just that when you need 6 or 7 of them for a build, you can do much worse than them and they're honestly indistinguishable from expensive options below 950rpm where the speed isn't fast enough to reveal their lack of precision balance, or push it to the point where it resonates/hums.

Just checked, mine were F12. Maybe they use a different motor, but I doubt it.
In my case the very much audible resonance/hum was there even at 500 RPM. Then it would disappear at like 550 RPM and then come back at 600 RPM and so on. Each fan had different "problem RPMs" with different noise intensities.

If it wasn't for that specific noise and the vibration, I'd give those fans a good rating. As it is, however, they were a big disappointment for me. Cheap or not cheap, they were unusable.
But as I said, it's possible that I had a bad batch. And most people probably aren't as sensitive to noise as I am or don't have quiet rooms.

Totally inaudiable. You won't hear it inside the chassis. Still, it's 9 V. Did you try using PWM instead?

That's not me in the video, I only used PWM. And I could most definitely hear it inside the case.

 

[Trypton]

$77.25 CDN on Amazon atm. Get bent!

 

[evernessince]

The Arctic F12/P12 fans I bought are the worst fans I've ever used. I think I bought 5 of them and every single one of them had a clearly audible resonant noise at certain RPMs, making them unusable for quiet operation at variable speeds. They were also shaking a lot when running fast, no way I'd put them on a CPU tower cooler.

Maybe I was just unlucky, but what are the odds, really?
Then again, I do have a couple of smaller Arctics that work fine, so maybe it's #NotAllArctics after all.

It depends on how you mounted the fans. For example, I recently purchased a Notcua NH-D15 for use with my 7700X and was getting an awful resonant noise with the Noctua fans. Switching them from pull to push fixed it completely. It was odd, given I've purchase so many Noctua fans and never had the issue.

For case fans the thickness of case material, how tightly you screw in the fans, whether the fans have rubber vibration dampeners, and what kind of screws you are using can all impact resonant noise. Heck as you said it might even be back luck.

 

[Voodoo Rufus]

As someone who deals with those Delta fans all day every day, it would be ugly (for the Deltas)
They are designed solely for airflow, which is the exact opposite of PC fans which are designed for quietness.

Everyone knows you can get phenomenal cooling by running a 120mm fan at 6000rpm, regardless of other details. The real question is whether you'd want to be in the same room as such a fan. There's a reason datacentres provide earplugs to any poor techs that need to service/intstall/remove/replace anything.

25mm fan frames are where the consumer PC compatilbility lies, which is why 99.x% of all fans target that size and why most of the design and research efforts go for 25mm thick. I would also like to see more effort put towards noise-normalised performance at 30mm, 38mm etc - but it's such a tiny niche that we're barely even scratching the surface with stuff like the Phanteks T30.

Oh, I have no doubt that the Deltas would suffer in the noise realm, depending on motor and bearing design. I used to run FFB1212VHEs on my radiators, and those would actually start at 3V amazingly and were quiet enough for me at the time.

I just wonder with some Deltas having PWM capability, how they would fare in the performance arena as they're throttled down. It's always been disappointing that consumer PC fans moved away from the 38mm thickness, because it is possible to have a superior fan for the RPM with a thicker frame, especially when radiators are brought into the equation.

I did buy some 140x38mm fans with stator vanes on a whim. They move some absurd air at 3600rpm but they are unsuitable for PC cooling except on a test bench, and won't run below 7V.

 

[Jokii]

It depends on how you mounted the fans.

No, not in this case. Nothing to do with mounting, airflow through nearby objects, case vibrations... it's noise generated by the fans themselves.

 

[evernessince]

No, not in this case. Nothing to do with mounting, airflow through nearby objects, case vibrations... it's noise generated by the fans themselves.

If it's being generated by the motor itself then I'd say that's a defective batch. In a previous post though you said it's resonance, which typically indicates a vibration issue.

 

[Mussels]

Fan reviews were part of the watercooling review category before W1zz decided to make it their own. I can't change my testing platform simply because of that, and tbh I don't have that much time anyway.

It's still perfectly good to do so, since it lets us know the worst case for noise - some cases are heavily restrictive just like a rad anyway

 

[R-T-B]

Inaudible should be a must. Noisy fans such as the Arctic BioniX 120 should be banned with a law.

I notice you like enforcing personal preferences legally quite a bit, partner.

Looks like another copy of Nidec Gentle Typhoon now

That's a dual ball bearing fan and this is a FDB fan so no, not at all.

 

[pat-roner]

Great review! As a fan nerd this is ofc dangerous, but swapping out my 9 T-30's ain't happening. But good to see the Be Quiet is back with a terrific product. The fan looks great, and the quality of the cable sleeve and connected really seemed nice.

 

[SOAREVERSOR]

Oh, I have no doubt that the Deltas would suffer in the noise realm, depending on motor and bearing design. I used to run FFB1212VHEs on my radiators, and those would actually start at 3V amazingly and were quiet enough for me at the time.

I just wonder with some Deltas having PWM capability, how they would fare in the performance arena as they're throttled down. It's always been disappointing that consumer PC fans moved away from the 38mm thickness, because it is possible to have a superior fan for the RPM with a thicker frame, especially when radiators are brought into the equation.

I did buy some 140x38mm fans with stator vanes on a whim. They move some absurd air at 3600rpm but they are unsuitable for PC cooling except on a test bench, and won't run below 7V.

I run deltas in a rack in a closet. They are great but they are loud.

 

[DrCR]

how tightly you screw in the fans, whether the fans have rubber vibration dampeners, and what kind of screws you are using can all impact resonant noise.

Rubber (e.g. from old, thick mouse pads, cut out of yoga mats, et al.) and zip ties ftw.
I’d share another forum’s links but the images are all dead after … wow, 18 years. Feeling old right now.

 

[Chrispy_]

Rubber (e.g. from old, thick mouse pads, cut out of yoga mats, et al.) and zip ties ftw.
I’d share another forum’s links but the images are all dead after … wow, 18 years. Feeling old right now.

Yeah, I'm a huge fan of those soft silicone studs when using cheaper fans that aren't likely to be precisely balanced. Zip ties also works, provided they're not too tight.

As far as I'm concerned, rubber corner bumpers are cosmetic gimmicks that can f*ck off. The reasoning behind them is dumb as hell because what is the point of a vibration-damping bumper if you're going to create a completely rigid mechanical lock between the fan frame and the case by screwing a metal screw directly into the hard plastic frame?! All the rubber pad is doing at that point is getting in the way!

The only situation where they have any merit whatsoever (and IMO they're still far too thin and firm to really offer significant benefit) is when you have a tower cooler that presses the fan frame directly against the heatsink fins using LOOSE wire clips. If the clips are too strong, they compress the rubber and prevent the deformation that is supposed to absorb vibrations. If the clips are too strong, they're likely also stiff enough to transmit fan-frame vibrations to the heatsink themselves,

Use the rubber studs as pictured because you can buy them in bulk for $5. They are the only things that actually ISOLATE the case fan from the frame with a flexible, vibration damping material. Regardless of whether your fan has rubber bumpers or not, If you are using metal screws you are basically guaranteeing that the unstoppable force (wobbly case fan) is directly interfacing with the immovable object (steel of the chassis).

 

[thunderingroar]

Could you test the 140mm version aswell since they re like 1€ more expensive and theres a drought of good 140mm fans, at least until noctua releases their upcoming ones in few months

 

[VSG]

Could you test the 140mm version aswell since they re like 1€ more expensive and theres a drought of good 140mm fans, at least until noctua releases their upcoming ones in few months

Unfortunately I don't have a library of 140mm fans being tested for comparison.

 

[SOAREVERSOR]

Yeah, I'm a huge fan of those soft silicone studs when using cheaper fans that aren't likely to be precisely balanced. Zip ties also works, provided they're not too tight.
View attachment 268111

As far as I'm concerned, rubber corner bumpers are cosmetic gimmicks that can f*ck off. The reasoning behind them is dumb as hell because what is the point of a vibration-damping bumper if you're going to create a completely rigid mechanical lock between the fan frame and the case by screwing a metal screw directly into the hard plastic frame?! All the rubber pad is doing at that point is getting in the way!

The only situation where they have any merit whatsoever (and IMO they're still far too thin and firm to really offer significant benefit) is when you have a tower cooler that presses the fan frame directly against the heatsink fins using LOOSE wire clips. If the clips are too strong, they compress the rubber and prevent the deformation that is supposed to absorb vibrations. If the clips are too strong, they're likely also stiff enough to transmit fan-frame vibrations to the heatsink themselves,

Use the rubber studs as pictured because you can buy them in bulk for $5. They are the only things that actually ISOLATE the case fan from the frame with a flexible, vibration damping material. Regardless of whether your fan has rubber bumpers or not, If you are using metal screws you are basically guaranteeing that the unstoppable force (wobbly case fan) is directly interfacing with the immovable object (steel of the chassis).

The rubber corner bumpers exist for people who are new at this. For them, they work. For those of us who have been building for years or have to open up rackmounts at work it's pointless.