Maximum PC

You may get a dozen different answers...

Although I haven't actually tried these yet... I just ordered 4 of these which should be in my mailbox when I get home tonight, Aerocool Shark 140mm though I got them through Directron.com for $12.99 each. Everything I've seen & heard about these indicates that the 29.6dBA rating is very realistic including youtube videos of them running. Not PWM but for the price, if they're quieter than the one below, well worth it.

I also have one of these which is a good deal louder than the <18dBA that their specs indicate... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835233092 yet still "silent" compared to the 120mm case fans currently in use in my case. Pretty good fan, I would have bought more, but the price is a bit high for me right now.

EDIT: I did get the Aerocool's, & compared against the Xigmatek:

Summary: Aerocool is cheaper, has a much longer cable (about double the length), & moves more air, but is slightly louder & only has 140mm mount spacing.

Based on their performance, I will be buying 4 of the 120mm Aerocool's to replace the two front 120mm case fans & the two 120mm fans on my H100 radiator.

If the 29.6dBA rating is accurate, then the Xigmatek about is around 27-28dBA while my 120mm case fans are around 34-36dBA.

I was looking at those Cougars, along with this PWM Arctic Cooling fan before I snatched up the Sharks.


BTW, now that they've been in use for a little while, some cooling data on these sharks. With all four Shark 140mm fans installed in my Corsair Obsidian 550D the system overall is quieter, even with the loud 120mm fans still installed since they no longer have to spin up as fast. I placed one at the bottom of the case blowing up into the GPU. While folding, the GPU temps dropped from 60-62C with one of the 120mm fans to 57-59C with the 140mm depending on WU.

I then installed the other 3 to maximize the cooling potential of the H100... One pulling fresh air in from the back of the case from behind the processor, where that fresh air can then be pulled up & through the H100 radiator. While the final 2 fans were installed in a hybrid pull configuration on the H100... installed externally to the case using the cases 140mm top fan mounting spacing. Though not as effective as I'd hoped for, it still dropped processor temps about 1 to 2C Vs using the Xigmatek in the rear intake position & only the two 120mm's in push configuration on the radiator. However this is where the improved air movement of the Sharks is really reducing the computers overall noise level. With this hybrid push/pull config, the 120mm fans on the radiator went from about 1,000 RPM without the 140's to about 800 RPM with the 140's.