140mm Fan Testing on a HWlabs SR1 Radiator Round 7

[Martinm210]

Same as my round 6 testing and methods with the exception of using a Hardware Labs 140mm SR1 radiator. Seems as though we're getting more and more 140mm radiator options, so it would be nice to get a feel on how a fan performs on one from a noise perspective. This thread is devoted toward more real world like testing of fans physically mounted to the HWlabs SR1 radiator.

Special thanks to the many generous sponsors:

Here is the list of fans, sponsors and results currently complete. I plan to do these 140mm fans as well as a few of the top performing 120mm fans on an adapter for 120mm options.



First the APPLES TO APPLES COMPARISON


and the APPLES TO ORANGES COMPARISON
The 120mm fans are tested on a BGears slim profile 120>140 adapter. Soo...the 120's will be getting a small shroud benefit from being further from the radiator fins. In order to see how much if any this diffence means, I'm going to retest my top 140 fans with a shroud and include them in the below chart.
The below chart is sort of a mix, not all tested equally, so take that into account when reviewing:


I will update this post with results as they get complete:

140mm FAN DETAIL PAGE LINKS

Aerocool Shark 140
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...0&postcount=20

Thermalright X-Silent 140
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...8&postcount=19

Noise Blocker Black Silent Pro PK-3
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...5&postcount=24

NZXT 140
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...4&postcount=25

Yate Loon D14SL-12 PPCS
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...91&postcount=8

Yate Loon D14SM-12 FCPU
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...31&postcount=2

Yate Loon D14SH-12 PPCS
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...2&postcount=10



120mm FAN DETAIL PAGE LINKS

Gentle Typhoon AP-15 + BGears 120>140mm Adapter
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...7&postcount=26

Delta 38mm AFB1212VHE Rev3 from SWC + BGears 120-140 adapter
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...5&postcount=42

Yate Loon D12SL-12 PTS on BGears 120>140mm adapter
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...0&postcount=43

CONCLUSION SO FAR
140mm fans only: It's pretty tight with most of the results within the 3dbA or lower "Barely Perceptible" limit. There are however some fairly notable sound quality issues, particularly with the 7 blade fans at higher speeds including the yates. For low speed, I would tend to favor the Thermalright X-Silent, for high speeds, the Aerocool Shark.

120mm fans on an adapter: This is a bit apples to oranges with the adapter, but it's fairly surprising just how close 120mm fans perform to 140mm fans on a CFM per dbA ratio perspective. The 140mm fans do have some CFM per RPM advantage and seem to produce a slightly lower frequency tone, but their noise levels were pretty much the same. This makes some of the stronger performing 120mm fans a very viable option on 140mm radiators. I had really hoped the 140mm fans would be a huge benefit over 120s, but I'm just not finding that. There is a good sized advantage to the larger 140mm radiator and reduced restriction, but the gain is in the radiator frontal area, not the 140mm fan itself.

I have a few more 140's coming but that's what I think so far...
Cheers!
Martin

[Martinm210]

Yate Loon D14SM-12 FCPU

Special thanks to Vapor for sponsoring this fan..

NOTES
Not much to say since this is the first of the fans, but it did good down at low RPMs and had a blade type resonance issue above about 9V or 1100 or so RPM. As expected producing a fair amount of more air flow per noise level than the 120 sized rad test, but I threw it in here for something to compare. Power consumption is about the same, perhaps a touch better. Good at low RPM, but pretty harsh at 12V. Listen to the video for your own take on that.

VIDEO LINK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH7vrcFWIE0

[Johnny87au]

awesome cant wait for full results, always good to know which 140mm fans are good on these 140mm rads, seems as if we are kept in the dark when it comes to 140mm rad/fans, great test martin!

[Church]

Hmm, interesting rating system for noise quality.

[antiacid]

I like these preliminary results, we could expect about 15-16% increase in performance from the surface area and it looks like overall you're getting above 14-16% increase in performance. Nice.

[Boogerlad]

different amount of restriction with the different rad though.

[Martinm210]

Thanks!
Not quite sure what to think yet, just need to work through the results and take a step back at the end.

And sorry for the apples to oranges on the yate SM 120 vs 140, but since I didn't have anything to compare, I figured I'd start with that. All the latter results will compare to the yate SM like I did with the 120mm round.

I have all the videos ran, just need to process through as I get time...

[Martinm210]

Yate Loon D14SL-12 PPCS

Special thanks to SeeingRed for sponsoring this fan..

NOTES
Has about equal noise performance to the SM at like CFM levels, it's just a much slower speed is all. I was however a bit surprised that it wouldn't start up until nearly 8V. This one doesn't spin up fast enough to run into that blade resonance issue, so the noise quality is equally good pretty much everywhere. RPM range is fairly limited, but it might just be the ticket for someone looking for very low noise levels at 12V.

VIDEO LINK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BdGkvngzoc

[Church]

Hmm. Seeing such results of 120mm vs 140mm yates, i already start doubting 120mm GTs+adapter combo winning. As in probably just like GTs do most good 140mm fans will give more airflow at same noise level but even without being exceptional in any way.
Sigh, i can only keep on dreaming again about seeing 140mm gentle typhoons realeased

[Martinm210]

Yate Loon D14SH-12 PPCS

Special thanks to SeeingRed for sponsoring this fan..

NOTES
Similar to the SM in that it does good at very low volts and has some sort of blade resonance issue that develops at higher speeds. This one also seems to have a slightly different blade and generally seems to have a slightly lower noise level, but the noise quality is equally rather poor at higher volts.

VIDEO LINK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxMDObdAed4

[mingbogo]

I am not sure if it is related to this test, but it would be nice to test these 140s with some double or triple SR-1 rads to see if the 15 mm vs. 20 mm pitch has any affect on cooling efficiency. Thanks!

[Martinm210]

I am not sure if it is related to this test, but it would be nice to test these 140s with some double or triple SR-1 rads to see if the 15 mm vs. 20 mm pitch has any affect on cooling efficiency. Thanks!

Probably to small to measure. Frontal area is important, but even if it was 1:1 with frontal area, that would only amount to 10mm/420mm or 2%. You're better off going over width, which the SR1 does.

[the finisher]

Hmm. Seeing such results of 120mm vs 140mm yates, i already start doubting 120mm GTs+adapter combo winning. As in probably just like GTs do most good 140mm fans will give more airflow at same noise level but even without being exceptional in any way.
Sigh, i can only keep on dreaming again about seeing 140mm gentle typhoons realeased

+1 on that churchy.

This testing has proven the GT's are the fan to beat. Wishing for a faster model for my PA160's.

Also looking at M speed Deltas now, They also have some 140's, but like Sanyo Denki, they are hard to get. Cheaper than San Ace 140's but still expensive.

Seems to me Nidec could corner the market with just 1 model of a GT 140.

The new Aerocool 140 shark could be promising I sure don't believe the claimed 96.5 CMF
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835129057


Martin, great work as usual, I like the new spreadsheet, can't wait for more 140 testing.

Edit: To give credit where it's due AndreaBZ SPREADSHEET LINK_http://ultrashare.net/hosting/fl/6cf...1/FANS_MLL_v02

I could maybe contribute some 140's you don't have. Can't send till next week, when home. I'll keep following happily along.

[Boulard83]

Still some great test Martin !

[baldux]

Some great testing there, thanks for sharing.

[antiacid]

Hmm. Seeing such results of 120mm vs 140mm yates, i already start doubting 120mm GTs+adapter combo winning. As in probably just like GTs do most good 140mm fans will give more airflow at same noise level but even without being exceptional in any way.
Sigh, i can only keep on dreaming again about seeing 140mm gentle typhoons realeased

I don't remember whom but someone on these forums sent an email and was told that 140mm gt's would only happen if they could sell 100 000 units/year and more. At that point, it would be easier to get Dell to swap to 140mm on their normal case fans lol

[Church]

antiacid: it was me who pasted that from mail i got from Nidec Servo

Note: just for 1000 pc we cannot produce
When your demand is over 100.000 ps a year minimum, than we can investigate
better because we need to invest in many ways... technical / tooling etc..

So only option is for someone like Scythe to step up and place big bulk order. And as scythe answered to mail that they have no plans in nearest future for 140mm GTs, i doubt a bit that aswell. After all, market share/niche for 140mm is way smaller then for 120mm fans ..

[OldChap]

I did a quick inquiry about Delta 140mm and only found 24 and 48 volt versions the datasheet says the working voltage is from 14v but above all they have been built for more performance and certainly not quiet @ 61.7db

refurbished $70.80 dell version and $49.56 on sale for which you get 273cfm best price I found was http://www.codemicro.com/store/produ...8X/Refurbished

The slower slightly quieter version is like rocking horse sh1t for availability

Oh yea, there is a bigger faster one....FFB1424UHE-M DC Fan Ball 24V 3.35A 80.4W 5500RPM 367.62CFM 74dB Flange Mount $38.15 http://www.onlinecomponents.com/buy/.../FFB1424UHE-M/

Not likely that getting one tested here would provide any shocks.....anyone think we need it? or the fast one?

[Martinm210]

Thermalright X-Silent 140

Another 140 sponsored by SeeingRed...thanks!

Overall a slower speed fan, but it's taking the lead. The motor is silent and the air/blades noise is smooth as can be. However, just like the 120mm 2000RPM thermalright...this one also has a bit of a rubbing noise. Earlier, I could tap the fan hub and it would come and go, so I suspect it's one of those minor little casting flaws that are rubbing and will eventually go away. Otherwise the sound quality would be perfect. The larger number of blades on this one also seems to give it a fair advantage in the CFM per RPM ratio. Noise level is a bit lower than everything tested so far, but the RPM range is a bit limited.

VIDEO LINK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKYPhjT3PmI

[Martinm210]

Aerocool Shark 140

Another fan sponsored by Seeing Red...thanks!!

This fan seems to be leading the pack at the higher RPM area and only about average at low speeds. Fortunately there isn't any blade resonance that the yates had problems with at high speeds, although there was one small resonance bump at 11V. Overall the best fan so far at high speeds from both a noise quality and noise level perspective of the fans tested so far. It does consume a fair amount of power though (4 watts). Regarding CFM/RPM it is very good, gaining almost a 200RPM lead over the 7 bladed yate at high speeds.

So far, it seems like a higher number of blades is a good thing. The thermalright leads the slow speeds and this one for high speeds. I did notice a small amount of rubbing noise at very low volts, but that seemed to go away at medium to high.

VIDEO LINK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXmp7Rvb0e8

[OldChap]

This is getting interesting. I'm looking forward to seeing how the 120mm winners look on this rad ...just how much less cfm there will be

[Martinm210]

Yeah, me too...I'm getting there..

[Waterlogged]

IDK, I think the AP-15 still stands a decent chance still on the lower restriction rad.

[Martinm210]

Noise Blocker Black Silent Pro PK-3

Another fan sponsored by SeeingRed, thanks!!!

The noise blocker has near perfect sound quality at 4-5V. No rubbing, no motor ticks, just smooth sound. Unfortunately...like the yate loons, this fan starts having what I would describe as blade resonance with the radiator at higher speeds. You can barely notice it at around 7V and it gets progressively stronger on upwards. Noise level is about average down low and perhaps a bit higher than average at higher speeds. It does have very good RPM range and electrical efficiency is a fair amount better than the yate SM.

VIDEO LINK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLS7rUlWsGw

[Martinm210]

NZXT 140

Another fan sponsored by SeeingRed...thanks!!

I picked this one when SeeingRed was looking to sponsor most of the 140s, I figured with the high blade count, it would do really well. Unfortunately, I think the motor on this one is a bit whiny. It's not really strong, but there is a little motor noise throughout. Noise level turned out higher than average at the low RPM area, to about average at the high end. Range was good, electrical efficient not bad (about 2.5 watts), and CFM per RPM was a fair amount better the the yate SM.

VIDEO LINK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgfiE5WfTfA