Jonas Maeyens

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Oct 13, 2014
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My Corsair front Af140 fans are broken.
They are making loud noises and don't run well anymore.
I want to replace them but my knowledge of fans isn't that great.
My question is if anyone can help me with some sugestions to replace the broken fans.

I've seen some noctua fans etc.. but there are many models etc from different brands.

Case: Corsair graphite 780T
I want 2x 140mm fans that are not to loud and better quality than the corsair af140 wich i didn't like.
View: https://imgur.com/u8rhFFL
 
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Based on your picture and description, those are AF140 Red LED Quiet Edition fans, with max specs 1200 RPM, 12 VDC 0.23A current, 66.4 CFM air flow, generating noise at 25.5 dBA, able to work up to a max backpressure of 0.80 mm water. I believe these are 3-pin fans, not the newer 4-pin PWM type. The cables from each should have three wires ending in a connector with 3 holes. Please check and verify that.

Among those specs, the most important ones for choosing a replacement are: fan size (140 mm); 3-pin or 4-pin; and air flow. Max noise is less important, and the max backpressure there is typical for a case ventilation fan with little backpressure to deal with.

These are called LED fans, the first type that included lights in the fan...

Paperdoc

Polypheme
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Based on your picture and description, those are AF140 Red LED Quiet Edition fans, with max specs 1200 RPM, 12 VDC 0.23A current, 66.4 CFM air flow, generating noise at 25.5 dBA, able to work up to a max backpressure of 0.80 mm water. I believe these are 3-pin fans, not the newer 4-pin PWM type. The cables from each should have three wires ending in a connector with 3 holes. Please check and verify that.

Among those specs, the most important ones for choosing a replacement are: fan size (140 mm); 3-pin or 4-pin; and air flow. Max noise is less important, and the max backpressure there is typical for a case ventilation fan with little backpressure to deal with.

These are called LED fans, the first type that included lights in the fan frame. In those, the LED lights are simply in parallel with the fan motor, and share their power input, Thus the light brightness varies with fan speed, but they need NO connection to any special RGB lighting controller. The presence of the LED's adds somewhat to the max current consumed, and that is an issue only when connecting many fans to a single mobo header. (The mobo header usually is limited to no more than 1.0 A total load per header.)

Noctua makes very good fans with a reputation for lower noise than most and long life. Most users find they exceed their warranty lifetime of 6 years. However, Noctua does not make any fans with lights in them, and some find their fan colours not so pretty. Also note that their website specs (very complete) show air flow in m³/hr. To convert, 100 m³/hr = 58.86 CFM, so you are looking for fans with slightly more than 100 m³/hr.

In the Noctua 140mm line, 3-pin fans there are basically 4 models for you to consider.
NF-A14 FLX can deliver 115.5 m³/hr (68 CFM) with 19.2 dBA noise, max backpressure 1.51 mm water
NF-A14 ULN is a slower quieter fan delivering 79.8 m³/hr (47 CFM) with 11.9 dBA noise, max backpressure 0.69 mm water

Those two are Noctua's common 2-tone brown colour. These next are 2-tone grey
NF-P14s redux-1200 can deliver 110.3 m³/hr (65 CFM) with 19.6 dBA noise, max backpressure 1.29 mm water
NF-P14s redux-900 (slower and quieter) can deliver 83.7 m³/hr (49 CFM) with 13.2 dBA noise, max backpressure 0.77 mm water

So in their140 mm lines you have two with comparable air flow but quieter than your current fans, and two with less airflow and a lot quieter.

Noctua also sells much higher performance black fans in their Industrial PPC line, but they create much more noise to get their higher airflow and I doubt you need that.

If you want lights in the fans, though, you need to look at other suppliers. Look for 140 mm fan size, and probably 3-pin designs. Depending on what your mobo headers can do, you might switch to 4-pin ones. For help on that detail, tell us your mobo maker and model number. That info also is vital if you want to consider the new RGB or ARGB lighting systems, as opposed to your current LED fans. Then emphasize CFM airflow, bearing in mind noise specs, and don't worry too much about backpressure. You do not need high backpressure designs (i.e., get "air flow" fans, not "pressure" fans).
 
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