be quiet! Pure Wings 3

Introduction

In addition to its top-of-the-range Dark Rock Pro 5 and Dark Rock Elite fans, be quiet! released a number of new fans. Yes, the Pure Wings 3 series is in the spotlight. In fact, these are mills already found with some of the brand’s products… These include the Pure Loop 2 360 and the Shadow Base 800 DX we tested. With this new reference, the brand is actually introducing two fan sizes: 120 mm and 140 mm. Then there are three versions for each size, with PWM and non-PWM models. The third version has to do with the higher operating speed, known as ” high speed “. Compared to the Pure Wings 2, the fans have wider blades and a greater curvature. However, it’s clear that we’re dealing with an entry-level model here, as the frame has no silentblocks to dampen vibrations.

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Before we move on to the Pure Wings 3 from be quiet!, let's first take a look at the specifications. If we focus on PWM models, there is always one slower and one faster (high-speed) variant across formats. In terms of 120mm fans, this means that the slower one (BL105) officially tops out at 1600 rpm, while for the high-speed one (BL106) it’s 2100 rpm. The 140mm Pure Wings 3 fans are slower – with a maximum of 1200 rpm (BL108) and 1800 rpm (BL109) respectively – but still, because of the larger cross-section, they are supposed to achieve higher airflow at a lower noise level. The maximum airflow of the Pure Wings 3 140mm fans is advertised at 97.5 and 122.6m3/hr. For the 120-millimeter ones, it is 84.8 and 101.2 m3/h.

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Packaging & Contents

Since the packing of all these fans is similar, hence we will be showing only one fan’s unboxing here which is Pure Wings 3 120 PWM High Speed. The fans are shipped inside the cardboard box. The top side of the packing box has be quiet! logo printed in themed colors on the top right side. There is a picture of the fan printed in the main section. Pure Wings 3, 120mm high-speed is printed below the picture. It has essential printed at the bottom in a vertical layout. This is the category of these fans.

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The backside of the packing box has be quiet! brand logo printed on the top right side. The salient features are printed in several languages here. The specifications of the fan are printed in tabular format on the lower right side. A serial no sticker is at the bottom right. The fan is made in China.

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To get to the fan, you flip open the box and simply pull out all the contents. The fans come in a bare minimum packing. Following are provided:

1x Pure Wings 3 fan in the desired sizing
4x screws

This is understandable given the pricing of the fans and the nature of the product.

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A Closer Look

The be quiet! Pure Wings 3 looks very elegant and is extremely well made. Their unique selling point is the inclusion of the be quiet! closed loop motor control. Rather than relying upon the motherboard to actually read the fan speed, compare it to the desired speed, and then adjust it on the fly, most systems just set it to what you tell it and never actually find out how quickly the fan is or isn’t spinning. The Pure Wings 3 goes for a closed loop controller which actually does what you might expect your motherboard to do, namely see if the speed the fan is actually spinning is what it should, and adjust it constantly. Even as your fan ages and thus slows, it’ll speed things up to ensure you get the full cooling effect. It’s a genius bit of technology, particularly key on a set of fans designed for radiator use as we have here.

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The sticker is as usual on the non-rotating side and contains all the important data for the system assembler like the short form BQ PUW3 and the part number 12025-HR-PWM as well as the voltage DC 12V and a maximum possible power consumption of 0.45 amps and some test seals like CE and TÜV. As for the frame, we’re dealing with something basic with a square frame. However, there are no rubberized silentblocks to reduce any parasitic vibrations generated when the mill turns. It is important to add that the high-speed variants use nine blades instead of seven, which is the number used with the slower models. Those fan blades with optimized angles make for increased air pressure.

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Pure Wings 3 comes with a 4-pin PWM connector, which makes it possible to adjust the speed of the fan in the BIOS, with their PWM models, but can also be obtained as a 3-pin on their standard model. It gives the possibility to adjust the speed based on the temperature of the CPU, and they can reach a maximum of 2100 rpm, with a noise level of 30.9 dBA. Rifle bearing technology contributes to a very long lifespan of up to 80,000 hours.

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The high-speed version tested here is better suited for radiator use.

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Testing & Methology

The volume measurement was performed in the installed state from a constant distance of 100cm.

The following PC setup was used as test system:
Intel Motherboard ASRock X299 Creator
CPU Intel Core i9-7900X Skylake-X CPU
Cooler Arctic Freezer 34 eSports
Thermal Compound ARCTIC MX4
Graphics card ASRock Radeon RX 5700 Challenger D 8G OC
SSD Crucial MX200 SSD
PSU Cooler Master Silent Pro M 600W
Chassis Cooler Master Testbench v1.0
Operating System Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit

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To get a high load on the cooler, we ran an Intel Core i9-7900X CPU on the ASRock X299 Creator Intel LGA2066 motherboard using Prime95 Small FFTs to a package TDP of about 213 watts.


Performance

Under load, the BioniX P-Series 120mm PWM fan’s volume went up to about 45.1 dBA and the temperature was about 87°C with 213 watts TDP.

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Under load, the noise level of the be quiet! Pure Wings 3 High-Speed 120mm PWM fan only went up to about 40.8 dBA and the temperature was about 86°C with 213 watts TDP.
So be quiet! manages to top the quiet Arctic BioniX 120mm fan on the Arctic Freezer 34 eSports cooler with the Pure Wings 3 High-Speed 120mm PWM at a slightly lower cooling capacity and reduces the noise again significantly!

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Final Thoughts

After I spent several days examining the fans, the structure of the products and their performance I am really happy with what I’ve experienced. Overall, the fans are very interesting and most of all very effective products, which makes them an amazing choice for all possible cooling setups inside every modern rig. The plastic frame is very stable - the bearing is designed for a long service life. The fan design is rather straightforward and overall, without the RGB, the fans look exactly as you would expect. The fans are made as a set of advanced technologies to provide quality and stable airflow and wide operational range, which is good news either for users seeking quiet operation at low voltage operation and also extreme performance for the gamers, overclockers and enthusiasts. Throughout the tests they performed really well and achieved good results, which led me to think that they will be a good choice to be installed on a case fan slot to boost the overall airflow inside every modern case and also be a main cooling unit for CPU heatsinks or watercooling radiators compatible with either 120mm fans cooling low, middle or high grade processors working at default or seriously overclocked frequencies. Regarding the noise I was able to observe a really quiet operation. It is important to add that the high-speed variants use a different rotor shape with nine blades instead of seven, which is the number used with the slower models. Systematically, this is nothing new, and be quiet!’s Silent Wings 4 fans, among others, are no different. Pure Wings 3 are also geometrically based on the latter in terms of the rotor, with the difference of a larger active cross-section. Pure Wings 3 have larger blades, which are a bit shorter on the Light Wings fans due to the implementation of the ARGB LED light guide. Pure Wings 3 do not have this, making room for more airflow at the same speed. With the high-speed variants, be quiet! also emphasizes achieving high static pressure, which naturally makes sense given the “dense” rotor design. The third, DC variants (BL104/120 mm and BL107/140 mm) geometrically and speed-wise replicate the “slower” Pure Wings 3 PWM, but optimized for a different (linear) type of voltage regulation.

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At the end of the day, be quiet! Pure Wings 3 fans deliver cool and quiet airflow. The manufacturer’s suggested retail prices are 13.90 EUR (for all 120 mm models) and 14.90 EUR (for 140 mm models).

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