be quiet! Silent Wings 4 White
Introduction
be quiet! has changed quite a lot throughout the years and has expanded from the once all-black design to white-colored variant to its ever-expanding product lineup, something which I never thought of seeing. It’s understandable as the interest in white-colored theme builds has been growing throughout the years. Be quiet! is increasing its portfolio of white products and in that range, they have released the white version of their Silent Wings 4. Six years after the presentation of the highly appreciated Silent Wings 3, which have become a real point of reference in the sector, the company has removed the veils on the brand new fourth generation proposals, making two different variants official: the Silent Wings 4, focused on air-flow and suitable for use inside traditional chassis, and the Silent Wings Pro 4, even more flexible and suitable, on the contrary, for all those users who intend to make the most of the potential of the most impressive air heat sinks or radiators of traditional or All-in-One (AIO) liquid cooling systems. The Silent Wings 4 White are available in 120mm and 140mm sizes in different configurations. We are taking a look at the Silent Wings 4 140mm PWM. The user of PWM indicates that DC-based versions are also available. All the cooling fans belonging to this new family of products do not have LEDs or other types of lighting, nor are there any holes for manual mounting of the latter.
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The specifications declared by the German manufacturer, for all types of cooling fans, are absolutely top-notch, as we can see in the summary tables that we propose below:
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Packaging & Contents
The fans are shipped inside a paperboard packing box in the typical black color theme from be quiet!. The tagline is “No compromise Silence and Performance”. A render of the fans on the front is accompanied by the company logo and product name.
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On the back are technical specs and certification information along with a QR code. The QR code, if appropriately scanned, will take you to the web page dedicated to the product, where the user can easily find further information on the same.Furthermore, there are some details regarding the certifications compliant with current European standards. Among these certifications, the RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive) stands out , which imposes certain restrictions on the use of certain hazardous substances in the construction of various types of electrical and electronic equipment.
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A double flap on the side helps keep the contents in place on their way to you. Opening the box we see even more features of the fan called out on the inner lining of the lid, accompanied by more renders.
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The fan itself is placed in the main compartment inside a cardboard box of its own and there is another smaller accessory box above it.
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Underneath all boxes comes paperwork in the form of the same product manual you can find online too, so I don't understand why be quiet! is using so much paper and cardboard here. The manual comes in multiple languages, walking you through how to use the replacement fan corners to make use of the fan in different applications.
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The bundle includes the following:
Fixing bolts (4 pieces)
Push pins (4 pieces)
Hard plastic washer (4 pieces)
Rubber & hard plastic mountings
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What makes the Silent Wings 4 series special is the use of switchable fan corners, with one set pre-installed and two others included in the accessory box in the form of anti-vibration mounts with a silicone rubber padding and another set with just hard plastic.
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A Closer Look
These are all white color fans which are non-RGB. The main focus here is the ultimate performance that a fan can deliver. be quiet! has come up with a new blade design and they have reduced the clearance for the tip of the blades meaning that the gap between the frame and blades is reduced. The tip clearance plays a key role when it comes to sustaining the high pressure while delivering the flow as it reduces the turbulence. We almost have a square shape design of these fans. The fan’s frame is sturdy. At 100% use, they spin at 1100 rpm for an air flow of 51.3 CFM / 87.16 m3/h. The static pressure is rated at 0.92 mm H₂O and the sound level at 13.6 dB(A). Completely white, they are equipped with anti-vibration pads and seven blades. There is a be quiet! branding over the sides. We can spot two carved arrow indicators on the frame. These are there to identify the direction of airflow and the direction in which the blades will spin. The fan has 7 blades with a textured surface in an altered layout. The center of the fan has a large diameter. The branded fan sticker is also in white color. The main frame is circular with detachable mounting corners. Compared to Silent Wings 3, there is another key difference. We have a circular frame on the Silent Wings 4 which was not the case on the predecessor. Also, the funnel shape design was implemented on the inlet of Silent Wings 3 which is now on the outlet of Silent Wings 4. These always differ by a lower maximum speed and also use ordinary corners that don’t fit too well on radiators. They’re already great for cases though, that too for the anti-vibration mount. The white Silent Wings 4 fans are therefore available in four variants, where both the 120 mm and 140 mm formats have their slower (BL114 a BL116) and faster (BL115, BL117) variants.
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The backside of the fan shows a four-arms assembly with one arm widened to provide passage for the wires. The manufacturing date is also mentioned. The fans are made in China. Each fan draws 0.40A. These fans don’t have a slider button on the backside to control the speed of the fans. This option is only available in the PRO series. Looking at the arms, we can see that they are designed in an angular manner to facilitate air outflow. This goes to show the length be quiet! has gone to provide good performances from these fans. be quiet! is using Fluid Dynamic Bearing in these fans having a life span of 300,000 hours. These bearings reduce the vibration which helps in reducing the overall noise output. On top of that, these fans are using 6-pole, 3-phase motor. The ripples in the fan blades in particular are a clear be quiet! design that helps identify the fans accordingly, and we now get a predominantly white fan without LEDs to be found anywhere, for those desperately looking for a clean cooling solution.
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These fans have detachable mounting corners and be quiet! has provided one more set in the accessories bag which can be put on conveniently subject to the requirement. The pre-installed corners can be used in tandem with the push pins and allow the user to install these fans in the PC case for ventilation with less noise output occurring from the vibration. You would need to change the corners if installing these fans over the radiator.
The above picture shows the fan with all corners removed. There are two plastic clips on each corner that hold the attached corner.
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The above picture shows the inner side of the radiator corners. They all have the number 3 mentioned there.
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The pre-installed corners have a number 2 mentioned on the inner side.
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The power cable is long enough at 500mm and fully sleeved. It is also flexible enough, so its routing will be relatively easy. Each fan has a 4-pin PWM connector using a well-sleeved cable.
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Test System and Methology
Test System:
Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Motherboard:ASRock B550 Steel Legend
Cooler:Pure Loop 2 FX 360mm AIO(@ the top of case)
Memory: 16 Go HyperX Fury 3200 MHZ DDR4
Graphics Cards: Sapphire RX 5700 XT Pulse
Power Supply: be quiet! Pure Power 11 FM 1000W
Boot Drive: SSD Samsung 970 EVO NVMe M.2 1 T
OS: Windows 10 64bit
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To test the thermal performance of the be quiet! Dark Base 701 i loaded my test system for 15 minutes using OCCT and Fire Strike Stress Test (3DMark) and recorded the maximum temperatures reached using CPUID Hardware Monitor. CrystalDiskMark 8.0.0 to measure SSD temperature under load and Rise of the Tomb Raider: 30 minutes of gameplay. The graphics card always in auto mode, Meterk MK09 placed 50 cm from the box to measure the sound level. The measurements are carried out in 2 situations: at rest and under load. Room temperature was maintained at 20 degrees C for the duration of my tests.
Performance
The be quiet! Dark Base 701 did a fine job in our Temperature Tests with three Silent Wings 4 White inside it. The mesh design of the front panel makes airflow easy and the fans don’t have to work hard at all to keep things cool. In our case, with an AIO-cooled system, it shows that low temperatures can be achieved through a lot of space in the interior and many individual holes, through which more air comes into the interior.
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The be quiet! Silent Wings 4 PWM 140mm fans stayed relatively quiet across the RPM range.
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Final Thoughts
After black there comes white. Nothing has changed in terms of geometry or speed. be quiet! delivers us fans with a nice evolution. The construction is solid and the fans smell good. Regarding performance, the Silent Wings 4 offer great performance, especially the High Speed versions. The more classic versions will be sufficient to ventilate a case for example. In fact, what some users will probably miss is the lack of lighting on these fans. Having had the opportunity to touch these new products first-hand, we can assure you that from the first moment the perception of having to deal with premium class high-end solutions is clear. The fans are in fact excellently built, free of any defects in the assemblies and with attention to the smallest details. The feeling of robustness is undoubtedly remarkable. The fan offers a very classic design with completely white fans. The construction quality is excellent, with reduced flexion on the diagonal axis and with rubber anti-vibration supports integrated into the four corners of the structure, for which a particular quick release system has been provided, in order to offer the end user different mounting options, facilitating installation inside a traditional cabinet or maximizing its performance on a heat radiator, thanks to less dispersion of the air generated. The engineers of the German brand, consequently, have developed this new family of cooling fans by providing specific measures to satisfy the current needs of users. Among these it is necessary to start by mentioning the most important component, without which there would be no movement of the impeller and the consequent generation of the air flow by the fan. We are obviously referring to the engine. Compared to the previous generation solutions, the Silent Wings 4 family features a completely redesigned motor, based on a six-pole three-phase design in order to ensure greater power, combined with lower energy consumption and a lower level of vibrations generated for maximum operating silence. The manufacturer specifies that thanks to this new technology, practically imperceptible operation with a medium speed fan is guaranteed. The rotation system used ensures that there are no mechanical parts in contact, thus avoiding wear and ensuring greater longevity and durability over time, estimated at 300,000 hours of use . The Silent Wings 4 fans reconfirm the implementation of Fluid Dynamic Bearing ( FDB ) technology, which involves a floating bearing in a particular fluid to reduce friction, and consequently vibrations and generated noise, to a minimum. The new fans also boast a revised blade arrangement to ensure unrivaled performance in any usage scenario. Specifically, we observe a smaller distance compared to the external edge of the fan itself, equal to just 1 millimetre , an aspect which certainly required greater efforts at the production level, undoubtedly contributing to the higher final cost of the product, but which allowed us to maximize the pressure level of the air emitted, as well as reaching significantly higher rotation speeds. The blades are made of high quality PBT ( enriched with 30% glass fibre ), robust and capable of guaranteeing greater resistance to wear, traction and excellent rigidity, so as to reduce unwanted vibrations to a minimum. Their layout presents itself with an irregular line, starting from a narrow profile near the rotor and then lengthening, until reaching its maximum extension, near the frame. The now typical surface pattern is reconfirmed, characterized by the presence of numerous aerodynamic grooves on both sides of the blade, expressly designed to reduce turbulence and to better concentrate the outgoing air flow.
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A quality product is often synonymous with a high price. That's not really the case here. The fan costs either €23.90 for the 120 mm, or €24.90 for 140 mm. It is therefore a rather economical solution. Thanks to its professionalism and the high production standards adopted be quiet! offers 5-year warranty coverage on the entire Silent Wings 4 range. Across the entire price spectrum, you are dealing with some of the most efficient fans you can buy for computers. And not just among the white ones.
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