Review on Silent Power: be quiet! Pure Wings 2 120mm PWM High-Speed Cooling Fan BL081 by Pradeep Dhimal

Calm to one person may not seem calm at all to someone else. Because of this, fan ratings are rarely reliable. Testing with a decibel meter can technically prove that one fan is quieter than another, but it doesn't affect sound quality. Subjectively, Pure Wings fans are quiet and sound comparatively nicer than many other fans. mainly because I have tested and used many fans (see photo). This is a subjective comparison from someone who has tested many fans. Pure Wings aren't the quietest fans, nor do they move the most air. But they are pretty quiet and the sound they make is very pleasant. I can't detect any noticeable noise from the hub, and there is a soft noise from the air from the blades. Below 600 rpm they are silent from any distance. From about 800 rpm they are hardly audible, up to 1200 rpm I would describe them as quiet. At 1500rpm they're loud, but the noise is never harsh and not boomy at all. I run mine in a corner from 500rpm idle and 1200rpm under load. All fans make noise if you spin them fast enough. The most important thing is the tone of this noise. I have fans that are technically silent but produce an objectionable noise from either whirring blades or hubs that hum, tick or whine. Pure Wings has none of these negative traits and is comparatively better than anything else I've tested. As an alternative, Noctua is closest to Redux in terms of turning speed and price. Redux comes in the same packaging as Pure Wings which has only 4 screws, both are an economy range. The Redux has a higher static pressure than the Pure Wings, but this blade design is also a little grumpy. Arctic P12s cost about the same and get rave reviews. But I would turn them down. Two of mine make noticeable ticking and all have a whirring engine noise around 1200 rpm. Best options under $15 are Pure Wings or Redux. If you are willing to spend more, Be Quiet Silent Wings and Noctua Brown are the best in terms of performance and sound quality. NZXT retail fans aren't bad either. I wasn't impressed with the Cougar Vortex or Arctic P12 fans. Avoid Cooler Master MF at all costs, they have a subjectively loud ticking that makes them unusable. Every Corsair fan I've tested moves a lot of air but is always noisy. In my opinion, Be Quiet and Noctua are the best choices, even their economy models are better than the vast majority of what other brands have. This model has a rated speed of 1000 rpm. I had some trouble getting to 1000 RPM with my digital fan hub, but instead I got 900 RPM. I usually see a drop due to dust filters and the overall resistance of the case, but it's typically 50 RPM Or less. What I can say is that the 140mm is subjectively quieter than the 120mm at the same RPM, which is impressive considering how quiet the 120mm is. I recommend if you want the 140mm option to buy the high speed version and set your own fan curve. Or buy the regular version and just let it run at 80-100% all the time, which works because it's very quiet. If you found my comparison helpful, please click this button.