be quiet! BL070 Silent Wings 3 120mm PWM high-speed, cooling fan, Black

Product Information

Anyway, AquaComputer eventually added similar circuitry to the SPLITTY9 Active and QUADRO products, which helped mitigate the problem down the road.

SW3 fans were originally designed by BeQuiet to be used with their cases, which included additional circuitry to "pull up" the pwm signals applied to them to 5 volt levels (you couldn't control pwm SW3s using the Aquaero unless you added additional circuitry to raise pwm signal levels to 5V; a similar issue was experienced using pwm pumps with the Aquaero). This was determined by IT DIVA on OCN, and she eventually designed an addon circuit that provided properly spec'd pullup resistance. To make the SilentWings 3 into an absolute high-end product, be quiet! utilizes an advanced fluid-dynamic bearing with a brass core. The combined technology in this fan allows a lifespan of 300,000 hours. This applies to all four variants of the two available sizes (120 and 140 millimeters): be quiet! offers the SilentWings 3 in a 3-pin and PWM variant, and these are both also available as High-Speed editions. A speed range under PWM of greater than 500 %! Quite the range. If the highspeed version of the SW3 is like this it will be a fabulous rad fan. Availability and Price

Where the Silent Wings 4 finds more success is when it comes to pressure. The standard 120mm model manages 1.79 mm/H₂0 at 1,600 RPM, but up to 3.86 mm/H₂0 at full speed. That makes it a great fit for radiators, and up there with the likes of Corsair's SP120 static pressure fans at 1.45 mm/H₂0 at 1,400 RPM. The Noctua NF-S12B isn't the fan you'd want for this purpose at 1.31 mm/H₂0 at 1,200 RPM, instead you'd be better off with something like the NF-P12 redux. So the 1000 RPM slow speed version is not a radiator fan. For that one should try the highspeed version that nominally runs at 1650 RPM. But let us now look at the PWM control: For the SilentWings 3, be quiet! has also developed a new installation system. The system doesn't just feature special anti-vibration properties, but also allows for an easier assembly. Thus the SilentWings 3 can be mounted to coolers, radiators and to corresponding fan mounts in a PC case. Compared to its predecessor, the modular corners of the frame can be exchanged easier. Two included sets lead to a higher flexibility during installation.

NB – this and some of the subsequent photos were supplied by be quiet!) Fan with anti-vibration fittings The headquarters are located in Glinde near Hamburg. Since 2002, here is where all products have been conceived and designed, and quality inspections and controls have been carried out. This is how be quiet! ensures that all products meet the high standards. Regular awards in categories such as "Best Fan", "Best Power Supply", "Best Cooler" and "Best PC Case" from specialized media as well as a high level of customer satisfaction ensure healthy and steady growth. Fluid dynamic bearings are an expensive option. FDB adds to the cost of a fan. Frame-shaping we have seen before. Specifications The ambient noise for this set of testing is 31 dBA. To make sure we could measure noise levels that were softer than 30 dBA, the Sound Pressure Level (SPL) was set 10 cm from each fan. SPL was adjusted to 1 meter by subtracting 20 dB. The sound pressure meter is a Tenma 72-942. This fan tester has a microphone which is not accurate under 30 dBA. This is the limit of all but the most expensive SPL meters. At low levels sound measurement by extrapolation is not accurate, so that sound measurements are approximate. Despite its high performance, the SilentWings 3 from be quiet! is almost inaudibly quiet: the 120-millimeter variant produces a sound level of 16.4 decibels, while the 140 mm model produces only 15.5 decibels. The highly efficient, three-phase 6-pole fan motor and the rubberized frame contribute positively to this: both parts reduce vibrations to a possible minimum. In addition, the advanced, high-quality IC motor control effectively prevents electrical interference.Could be BeQuiet phased out the SW3s because there was a problem with using the pwm versions with AquaComputer Aquaeros. The fans were placed on a test stand, where their free air RPM was observed and their noise was assessed. The standard proxy for what you can hear is the Sound Pressure Level (SPL), measured in decibels and given a type A-weighting (dBA). A silent room is about 30 dBA. Here is a closeup of a corner mount that has been removed, showing how the frame holds it in place. Note that the corner shows its rubber core in this picture. Corner Closeup

be quiet! SilentWings fans stand for state-of-the-art technology, virtually inaudible operation and superior cooling. The third generation of this award-winning fan series offers unrivalled and uncompromising performance with a broad range of meticulous optimisations. They feature a smooth-running 6-pole motor, an advanced fluid-dynamic bearing, a unique airflow-optimised fan blade design and a fan frame with funnel-shaped air inlets. The six poles of the motor produce a smoother transition between the magnetic poles. This results in very low vibration and silent operation with less energy consumption. As you can see on both intake and exhaust, these fans offer “optimized airflow” by providing their blades with a wavy shape. The furrows follow the air across the blades to smooth the airflow. It seems to work: these are quiet fans. But all in all there's definitely something to like here for PC gamers. Fans are an often overlooked piece of any PC build, but they really make a difference to your PC gaming experience, both in terms of cooling performance and noise. It's good to see some firm competition (namely from Noctua) keeping manufacturers striving for more. The fans were installed with what be quiet! calls “hard plastic fittings” on the corners. Belying their name they have rubber cores designed to attenuate vibrations. To finish the job they fasten these fans with rubber washers. Installed fans close up A Closer Look

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Whoever decides to buy be quiet! products, buys proven premium quality and the silent operation typical of be quiet!. On the intake side the air tube flares at the corners to make the “funnel-shaped air inlets” previously noted. This corner shaping is in aid of static pressure. On the exhaust side, the air path is a straight tube. Intake and Exhaust Views We received the three as part of a Dark Base Pro 900 case, two intakes behind a dust filter in front and one exhaust. Fans Behind Filter 3 Fans in Case

be quiet! lives up to its name: 20years experience in the field of noise reduction and silence make be quiet! products probably the most silent on the market. The Silent Wings 3 are quiet fans. Their airflow is about mid-range but they are among the quieter case fans. Arguably with the other corner mounts, it would be quieter still. The airflow was assessed using a standard measure, cubic feet per minute, or CFM. The air entered a sealed 8″x8″x8″ box (200+ mm on a side) where it was allowed to mix. The air left the box through an exhaust port, where it was measured with the vane head of an Extech AN100 anemometer, averaging 10 readings per fan setting. The fans were tested in an unobstructed state, with a metal mesh dust filter and on a 30 FPI rad. Test Results And all the fans are built with PBT, the same plastic that's best for gaming keyboard keycaps. Be Quiet says in their testing these fans worked just fine for really long periods, and say that even for four of more years of maximum RPM, there shouldn't be any sign of impeller creep. That's basically when the constant spinning and centrifugal forces on the blades causes them to stretch out, which, you might have guessed, isn't ideal. Some comments on their features: Most fans have four poles. In their PDF about these fans, be quiet! says that six poles contribute to a smoother transition between magnetic poles, less vibration, reduced power consumption and low start-up voltage. On the other hand, this usually is found only in more expensive fans.Compare both of those to the Noctua NF-S12B redux-1200 PWM, our favourite PC fan, at 100.6 m³/h at 1,200 RPM, and you're likely looking at running the Silent Wings at a higher RPM to match that airflow rate. But with the Silent Wings Pro 4 you really can crank up the RPM something fierce if you don't care for the noise. Today we’re having a look at the be quiet! Silent Wings 3 case fans that came with the recently reviewed Dark Base Pro 900. These fans are available in 120/140mm sizes at two different speeds of 1000 RPM and 1650 RPM as PWM or DC and are available at many retail outlets. The people at be quiet! sell you the retail fans with what they call “anti-vibration fittings” as well. They say, “Removable anti-vibration mountings on all four edges of the fan reduce vibrations transmitted to the PC case to an absolute minimum.” The corner fittings look nice, but because I never had them in hand I can only say the the pictures from be quiet have the fittings looking nice.