Corsair Air Series Question

[Essence_of_War]

So the AF/SP series have performance and quiet editions in both sizes, and both additionally come packaged with low-noise adapters.

What's the difference between, for example, between the AF 140 performance w/ LNA, and the AF 140 Quiet?

I've seen lots of tests/comparisons pitting the performance against the quiet edition, but none that throw the LNA into the mix. As a result, I'm curious if the Perf Edition + LNA = Quiet Edition or if there is more to the story.

 

[Aikouka]

If you really want, I guess I could hook up one of my spare SP120 Performance Edition fans with the LNA (that's really more of a Noctua term...), which is just a small 3-pin extension cable with a resistor on the 12V line and see what the resulting RPM is.

However, I can tell you that even the "Quiet Editions" aren't that quiet. I turn down my fans to about 800-900 RPMs, which is when they are finally quiet.

 

[Essence_of_War]

If you really want, I guess I could hook up one of my spare SP120 Performance Edition fans with the LNA (that's really more of a Noctua term...), which is just a small 3-pin extension cable with a resistor on the 12V line and see what the resulting RPM is.

If it isn't trouble, I'd be interested.

I was just very curious about the existence of a quiet edition while there is also a low-noise adapter bundled with the performance editions.

 

[Aikouka]

Alright, this is all according to the RPM readout on my Lamptron FC5 fan controller.

Corsair SP120: ~2300 RPM
Corsair SP120 + Adapter: ~1850 RPM

The quiet editions are listed at 1450 RPM, so they aren't all that close. You could probably get them even closer with different resistors.

Corsair SP120 + 47.3Ω Adapter: ~1675 RPM
Corsair SP120 + 30Ω Adapter: ~1850 RPM
Corsair SP120 + Noctua L.N.A.: ~1650 RPM
Corsair SP120 + Noctua U.L.N.A.: ~1400 RPM

I actually use two of the 30Ω adapters in series + 2-way splitter to control my Corsair AF140 Quiet Edition fans rather than rely on my fan controller. Amusingly enough, I had to rerun all of these tests, because I realized that by letting my fan sit on my case as I ran the tests, it caused enough blowback to reduce the RPMs by about 200 across the board.

 

[Essence_of_War]

Nice, thanks for the data!

And your subjective noise assessment I take it is: "loud, even with the lower noise adapters"?

 

[Aikouka]

Nice, thanks for the data!

And your subjective noise assessment I take it is: "loud, even with the lower noise adapters"?

To be clear, I'm probably a bit more sensitive to the noise overall compared to some, so my idea of "loud" might be puzzling to some! I would say that it was alright around 1600 RPM and definitely better around 1400 RPM. I didn't really find the Corsair adapter or the 30Ω adapter to be that quiet. I would have combined two of the 30Ω adapters to see what that resulted in, but I only had one left over.

Also, keep in mind that I saw a 200 RPM drop from the wind being pushed back into the blades (i.e. not open air). With those figures, the 47.3Ω and Noctula U.L.N.A. adapters seem a bit quieter!

 

[Tweakin]

To be clear, I'm probably a bit more sensitive to the noise overall compared to some, so my idea of "loud" might be puzzling to some! I would say that it was alright around 1600 RPM and definitely better around 1400 RPM. I didn't really find the Corsair adapter or the 30Ω adapter to be that quiet. I would have combined two of the 30Ω adapters to see what that resulted in, but I only had one left over.

Also, keep in mind that I saw a 200 RPM drop from the wind being pushed back into the blades (i.e. not open air). With those figures, the 47.3Ω and Noctula U.L.N.A. adapters seem a bit quieter!

I have two SP120's and I've run them against my gt-14's, gt-15 and NB e-loops. At speeds under 1000, all my other drives are dead silent, but I can hear motor noise from the Corsairs...this is also up close and on a spare rad on my bench. Good looking and well built fans though!!!