All the outputs all turned out to be underestimates, to one degree or another. The SPL varied. In some instances the fan made fewer dBA than specified. My, how time flies! Enermax released PWM fans with their three-position switches three years ago. We reviewed their fans then. I hauled two of those fans out of their case to compare them with other PWM fans. Although each of these fans has three speeds, we only test them with their switches in the H position, otherwise, I’d never get done. PWM fans can be used with PWM splitters, where they all get their power directly from the PSU while tghey get speed control from the motherboard.

The first picture shows you an NF-F12. This fan has relatively high static pressure compared to its nominal output. It should. It was invented to be a radiator fan. But then it entered a new life. It became an industrial fan, the NF-F12 industrialPPC. Noctua tells us: The GlideStream PWM fan was supplied indirectly by Scythe when they provided the Ninja 4 for testing. The Glidestream has a 3-way switch, but the switch was left in H when the GlideStream was tested. Moreover, the refined ninja-knife impeller design not only improves the laminar airflow, but it also lowers the noise level. Tested by hundreds of simulations, the results are significant, airflow is over 20% higher compared with a generic 7-blade case fan. Higher airflow / higher noise level

Customer Reviews

First the fans were placed in a test stand, where their free air RPM was observed. Then the fans’ noise was assessed. The standard proxy for what you can hear is the Sound Pressure Level (SPL), measured in decibels and given a type A weighting (dBA). A silent room is about 30 dBA. An older fan among the Noctua lineup is the NF-P12 PWM. It was designed to have higher static pressure than the S12 line. It provides a middle ground between the higher static pressure of the NF-F12 and the airflow-focused NF-S12A. The only other problem to consider is that occasionally, components immediately adjacent to the motherboard fan header can get in the way of the larger 4-pin fan connector, physically preventing connection. This problem also occurs if you try to use an in-line fan speed controller such as the one made by Gelid.

The Blade Master family of fans by Cooler Master have been around for some years. They have a wavy blade, and they’re pretty quiet. The two specimens in our testing were obtained at retail. Too bad they’re sleeve bearing fans. I won’t trust sleeve bearing fans on a heatsink.The next column shows the nominal fan speed in RPM. The next to the last column tells you how much noise the fan makes, the Sound Pressure Level at 1 meter, stated in decibels with an A weighting (dBA) which is reasonably close to what you might hear. And finally, the last column shows the airflow the fan produces, stated in cubic feet per minute, or CFM. The fans will be introduced, first, individually with descriptions and pictures. Next we see their specifications as a group. Then we shall look at their actual performance by comparing them with each other. So let’s get started. PWM Fans Arctic Cooling The Deepcool UF120 has been around since 2009. It is still for sale. This fan’s claim to fame is its rubber coating which attenuates vibrations. Further, it comes with four silicon vibration isolators. I have used most vibration isolators, and these are the best kind. Other accessories include a PWM-style 12-volt power tap (a so-called Molex adapter) and wires that shunt 12 volts and 5 volts together to get you a 7 volt Molex adapter. Both the GF120 and the UF120 were supplied by Deepcool. The ambient noise for the current testing was 30 dBA. To measure noise levels that were softer than that, the sound pressure level was measured 10 cm from each fan. The sound pressure level was adjusted to 1 meter by subtracting 20 dB. The sound pressure meter was a Tenma 72-942. This fan tester has a microphone that is not accurate under 30 dBA. That means an adjusted measurement of 10 – 15 dBA is not accurate; the fan could easily be quieter than that. But this is the limit of all but the most expensive SPL meters. Test Stand Remembering all of these caveats you should be able to make an intelligent decision on which PWM fans to get. Thanks for reading our case fan roundup. Let us know your favorite PWM fans in the comments below.

On the other hand, Cooler Master has brought out the Jet Flo fans, in 120 mm and 140 mm. They have a POM bearing, where a combination of oil and plastic lubricate this fan. Given that the POM, which is like Teflon, forms the mainstay of this bearing, it seems safe to use this on your rads. Jet Flo fans come with red, white, blue, or no LEDs. The six examples here were provided by Cooler Master.SPL testing on a rad might be misleading because fans -- even when mounted on a rad -- can use the CFM box as a sounding board. I have thought about building a testing chamber out of something large and stiff, but I would have no place to put it . . . and there would still be no assurance that fans did not use it to make a sounding board. Think guitar or violin to get a notion. Noctua is a partnership between Rascom, an Austrian company, and Kolink International, a Taiwanese corporation. Noctua products are legendary, with heatsinks for enthusiasts and industry, and fans with diameters of 40 mm up through 140 mm, also for enthusiasts and industry. In this review, we are looking at a number of fans, two with Low Noise Adapters, which bring our total number of fan sets to 26. Kolink International Corporation is a Taiwanese cooling specialist, one of their brands is called Coolink. Kolink says this about Coolink: “Kolink’s retail brand Coolink stands for an effective conjunction of no-frills performance, excellent quality and attractive pricing.” As of this writing it is unclear that Coolink still exists, but the fans are still for sale at various places. The SWiF2 120: Coolink produced a fan with a unique impeller. It has a bullet hub and eleven blades. It came with vibration isolators as well, in electric green. The specimen here was bought at retail. Coolink 120P Corsair Conceived for industrial heavy duty applications that require enhanced cooling performance and advanced ingress protection, Noctua’s industrialPPC (Protected Performance Cooling) line comprises ruggedized high-speed versions of the company’s award-winning retail models.

I thought I would never do it again, but soon I expect to see non-PWM voltage-controlled 120mm fans for review. It seems that OEM's still make them.Well, I got my Noctua NF-S12A fans tested, with their various resistor wires. Next come the Scythe Slip Stream 120DB's, the San Ace 9S fans, and a variety of oldies but goodies. I really didn't know I had so many! Answers to comments: SPL I can measure and put numbers to. The "tone" of a fan is highly subjective. Ask Noctua and Nidec. The Deepcool GF120 was a fine runner-up. Notice how much quieter the two winners were than their neighbors. They also pushed a lot more air through the restrictive rad than fans of similar unobstructed output. What made the Deepcool fan a runner-up and not one of the winners was the fact that it was a lot noisier than they were.

Top Quiet Fans

Sleeve bearing = the fan shaft is held in place by a diaphragm. The lubricant is held in place by a plug or the label. See here for a photo essay.