SeekingTravelerSeekingTraveler
I really like the Corsair "Quiet Edition"fans; I replaced all of the fans in my new Corsair Vengeance Series Military Green C70 Mid Tower Computer Case (CC-9011018-WW) with "Quiet Edition" fans.You can find out all the technical details about Corsair fans at the Corsair website (Products, Cooling, Air Series Fans). There are two lines of fans: the "Performance Edition" fans and the "Quiet Edition" fans. As these names imply, the former have higher air flows while the later operate more quietly (at lower air flows).There are two "Quiet Edition" models: the AF model and the SP model. The AF model is used when air flow is unrestricted (such as the exhaust fan at the back of the case); the SP model is used when air flow is restricted (such as air flow through drive bays or through a radiator/cooler).The AF120 and the SP120 are 120 mm fans while the AF140 is a 140 mm fan: Corsair Air Series AF120 Quiet Edition Single Fan (CO-9050001-WW), Corsair Air Series SP120 Quiet Edition Single Fan (CO-9050005-WW), Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition Single Fan (CO-9050009-WW).There are some really great review videos for the Corsair fans on a popular video website. The review on the TastyPC channel was particularly helpful to me, since it quite clearly compared the air flows and noise levels of the various fans. I made the decision to buy the "Quiet Edition" fans based on that video. The CorsairMemoreyInc channel also has good video reviews.Each fan comes with: three color rings in red, white, and blue (these are very easy to swap without tools); a voltage step-down adapter; and four fan screws.The voltage step-down adapter (which looks like a short extension cable) reduces voltage to the fan from 12 VDC to 7 VDC. This voltage reduction lowers fan speed and air flow, resulting in further noise reduction. If your system can be adequately cooled with the fan operating at 7 VDC, you might want to install the step-down adapter to achieve even lower noise levels. Be sure to monitor your temperatures with the CPU and video card at maximum use.The only thing I do not like about these fans is that the provided fan screws are not wide enough: the screw heads can slip through the screw holes in the Corsair Vengeance C70 case. I secured most of the fans with screws that were used with the original "stock" fans.I recently built a new desktop-style computer using the Corsair C70 case and the Corsair Hydro Series H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CWCH100). The C70 case comes with three stock fans; the H100 CPU cooler comes with two stock fans for the radiator. Although the Corsair "stock" fans are very good, I decided to replace the three case fans and the two H100 fans with "Quiet Edition" fans.In my Corsair Vengeance C70 case, I:- removed the front center drive bay (to reduce air flow obstruction) and replaced the stock fan with an AF140 "Quiet Edition" fan mounted outside of the case as a supply fan (these changes maximize air flow to the video card),- installed an AF140 "Quiet Edition" fan in the side panel as a supply fan,- replaced the stock fan at the exhaust with an AF120 "Quiet Edition" fan,- replaced the remaining drive bay's stock fan with an SP120 "Quiet Edition" fan as a supply fan, and- replaced the two stock fans on the H100 CPU cooler with two SP120 "Quiet Edition" fans as exhaust fans.As advertised, these "Quiet Edition" fans are very, very quiet in operation, and they are keeping the CPU, motherboard, and case temperatures very low. I disconnected the AF140 fan in the side panel because it is not needed.If you are on a budget, you might want to keep the stock fans that come with your case and CPU cooler. Those fans are somewhat noisier; but they have really great performance curves. I just wanted to experiment with the "Quiet Edition" fans; I am glad I used them for this build. I really appreciate the lower noise levels and the air flows are more than adequate (CPU and case temperatures are low). I highly recommend these fans.
Mitch
This is a downright amazing fan. It's absolutely huge compared to 120mm fans, and Corsair really delivers on their "Quiet Edition" branding. The rubberized mounting areas are really helpful for that and the bearings for the fan motor seem to be completely silent. The fan itself feels that it is made of nice quality material and the addition of the ability to swap out the colored ring to match the build, was a great idea, and very simple to do and surprisingly makes a big difference in the look of the fan. Having no LED is a pro, or a con, depending on what you're looking for. This fan is getting mounted in the bottom of my case, next to the power supply, so there really was no reason to have a LED down there.The only real thing I have to say, is mostly my own fault. I attempted to screw the fan to the case, through the hole itself (screw downwards, from INSIDE the case). Which is totally my stupidity. You must screw INTO the case from the outside to attach this fan, I have no idea what I was thinking. Doing as I did, caused the rubberized screw housing with the threading, to rip out of the fan entirely, screw stuck in it and all. Even when I did discover my stupidity, when screwing in the fan, be careful, because the rubber on the corners, will twist with the screw a bit, and you may want to hold onto the rubber to prevent it from twisting too much and ripping/tearing somewhere.Great fan though, 9.5/10
FifthPlum
Like my title says, this fan pushes air. Not only does it push air, it does so quietly, as the product is labeled to do. While some are reading "Quiet Edition" as "Silent Edition" for some reason, there is noise involved with running any fan and you shouldn't expect any differently.I purchased one of these fans around a year ago for my Arcade Cabinet. I built an Arcade Cabinet from scratch, and when picking fans I wanted quiet fans that would not to audible during operation. While I do have this fan hooked up to a fan controller, I was able to adjust it to be completely silent while still maintaining air flow inside of my cabinet- and it's a small and crowded cabinet! It's a bartop arcade, and this fan is the only fan pushing air into the case from the outside.That being said, I can jack the fan up to max and hear it. I have owned other Corsair fans in the past, and I have to say that it is most definitely QUIET compared to them and I still recommend this fan to anyone looking. It has vibration dampening material on the corners which is nice, and cool color rings for anyone who puts the fan somewhere visible. I am very pleased with the temps in the Arcade Cabinet thanks to this single fan, and near silent!In fact, I liked this fan so much I purchased another one for the 140mm spot in the back of my Corsair Obsidian Series 900D Super Tower Computer Case CC-9011022-WW - Black which works great. Now I am start to sound like a Corsair fanboy, but when I say you are paying for quality, Corsair quality actually means something compared to other brands.I will say there are plenty of other fans to pick from out there that perform really well, but speaking for this one, you can't go wrong. Paired with a good fan curve and/or fan controller, this fan will blow as hard or as loud as you want it to. Sounds like a keeper to me.