A Closer Look
THE PROBLEM
With typical bearing style fans, big performance usually means big noise. Turn up the RPM and temperatures drop fast, but noise increases dramatically.
THE SOLUTION
The ML series uses Magnetic Levitation bearings which dramatically cut down on friction. Translation? They’re quieter across the entire RPM range. So you can crank up the speed without cranking up the noise. Marty McFly’s hover board isn’t a thing yet, but the technology is. ML Series by Corsair ditches the current mechanical paradigms of standard cooling fans and takes a page from futuristic R&D, using magnetic levitation to create a nearly frictionless rotation. The result? Un-paralleled static pressure to noise ratio, and airflow on tap to keep up with virtually any task. Now that’s re-invented. ML Series groundbreaking design doesn’t stop on the interior. Keep it cool with stealth black, or light it up with colorful corner caps and a quad LED system. Groundbreaking engineering and near frictionless cooling keep your rig icy cold and running quiet.
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Corsair ML 140 Pro
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There we have it! The Corsair ML120/140 Pro LED Fans brought to us by Corsair! Let us cover a few final thoughts in the conclusion of our review.
7 comments
Cons:
– 37dB… who wants that?
– Noctua has fans with more pressure at similar sound levels or cooling at much lower sound level, for the same price.
– Absolutely no pressure at “Quiet operation”, where competitors have 1mmH2O+ for lower sound level then 16dB. And @400RPM they have no static pressure at all (0,2mmH2O).
Guys. Review also means showing the downsides… and this might be Corsais best thing yet, but its not perfect in any way.
Noctua and Corsair fans … they’re two totally different products for two totally different markets.
Both are to cool computers right?
Both are 120mmx120mm right?
Both have similar price-levels (at least in my country).
Both are for enthusiasts, and not for OEM, as their price is what they are.
So… what different markets do u refer to?
If you look at the specs for the NF-F12 industrialPPC-3000 PWM you find the ratings 43.5dB @ 3000 RPM. So I would think 37dB @2400RPM for the same 120mm size is pretty comparable in dBs. Just a side note the 2000RPM fan has a rating of 29.7dBs. I dont like dB ratings anyway. I would rather know real world noise when it comes to my fans!! Some claim to be silent but sound like a fart cannon on a Honda!!
Ofc dB scale isnt perfect, but their performance is. Issue i have with these Corair fans is that no real cooling test was done in this review to see how well they perform. So they where given a “perfect” scale, with no detail behind it. And very few care about the noise when u hit 2000+PRM anyways, as thats is OC territory. What u care about is how well they can cool without having to go that high.
Because at the end of the day, its not the dB at top RPM that matter, its the db and noise u have to have in order to cool “product A” to a specific degree, and that was my point here. The 2000 RPM one makes almost as good cooling spec as these do @ 400 RPM more, so performance is the Q here.
If we go down the RPM scale u quickly see the mid and low range cooling effect of their 1500/1300RPM for ex doing a lot more effective cooling without making ear-deafening sound around 35-40 dB. So it is possible to actually use the PC they are on, without needing headphones/earplugs.
So i stand by my claim, that these are not as useful as they seem to look from your guessing review above. And if u want to prove me wrong, show me them attached to a good cooler and compare them, both cooling pressure/airflow wise, and temperature wise. Because its here the higher static pressure matters, and its here most of us will use the fans anyways.
And yes Noctua does make a fantastic fan. No doubt about that!
Like I said… They’re targeted at different markets and different types of buyers.