Narrowed down case fans

[Dogsparkster]

I was looking for two exhaust fans but specifically using a bearing that is better at being mounted horizontally than a sleeve bearing.

so I was wondering since I have narrowed it down, would a bequiet silentwings 3/pure wings 2 or a cougar vortex be better than a corsair af120 and sp120 in terms of performance and acoustics? Any reccomendations before I go for either one

 

[Lutfij]

The Corsair fans tend to rattle and break after a short period of use, in fact if you are worried about acoustics, All of Corsair's fans except for their recent launches have an odd click to them. They have horrible QC and for such reason, should be avoided. Your best option among those fans is the Be Quiet!'s. You are looking into the PWM versions right?

Might I ask what case you're working with?

 

[Karadjgne]

Silent Wings 3 by far better than the others. The cougars are decent, but are better suited as rad fans than case fans.

 

[Dogsparkster]

The Corsair fans tend to rattle and break after a short period of use, in fact if you are worried about acoustics, All of Corsair's fans except for their recent launches have an odd click to them. They have horrible QC and for such reason, should be avoided. Your best option among those fans is the Be Quiet!'s. You are looking into the PWM versions right?

Might I ask what case you're working with?

actually that is the exact reason i want to replace my sp120 and af120s is because i am hearing something weird coming from them and i d hear a click, i am working the HAF 912 and have been looking at the BeQuiet silentwings 3

but not sure how it is while mounted horizontally compared to a sleeve bearing is where i am concerned but, my options isnt just limited to the given ones, i am also looking at others but the best ones i found were the cougars and the bequiet ones but if there are any others i could looking at them, budget is maximum $30 and i dont care about aesthetics

 

[Dogsparkster]

Silent Wings 3 by far better than the others. The cougars are decent, but are better suited as rad fans than case fans.

my options arent just limited to the given fans, i am looking at others but if the bequiet fans are decent while as a top exhaust due to the orientation and better than sleeve bearings for this reason then i will just get those, but have heard good things about them which is why i mentioned them

 

[Dogsparkster]

The Corsair fans tend to rattle and break after a short period of use, in fact if you are worried about acoustics, All of Corsair's fans except for their recent launches have an odd click to them. They have horrible QC and for such reason, should be avoided. Your best option among those fans is the Be Quiet!'s. You are looking into the PWM versions right?

Might I ask what case you're working with?

oh and this is the bequiet i was looking at it, https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA68V46Y1207&cm_re=bequiet_120mm-_-9SIA68V46Y1207-_-Product rated as same CFM as the corsairs but probably does it more efficiently

 

[BFG-9000]

The reason sleeve and FDB fans don't last as long when mounted horizontally is the very small thrust bearing surface area at the ends in comparison to the very large surface area along the axle. FDB fans are essentially sleeve bearings running in an oil bath, and grooves in the bearing are intended to circulate the oil once at operating speed--which will not be the case when starting up. So if the majority of the wear occurs on dry starts, plain FDB should do better if rarely turned off.

If frequently turned off, Noctua's magnet-suspended fans last longer horizontally as the thrust bearing is kept from touching on startup by the magnet, and they are rated 150,000hrs. In fan tests the $20 Be Quiet has the most airflow for the noise generated (most efficient) and those are rated 300,000hrs continuous use. That's 10x longer than my favorite cheapie FDB fan, the $4 Arctic F12.

In fact the F12 is rated for no longer life than a sleeve bearing, which proves that the life of a FDB fan is primarily determined by how good its oil seals are.
Ball-bearing fans are rated 2x as long at 60,000hrs, hold up better at high temperatures >50ºC, and of course don't care about orientation but do get noisier as they wear so you may end up replacing them just as often. However they are famous for never silently seizing up like sleeve bearings do. They do change their noise characteristics immediately if dropped so you may end up with some bad samples.

 

[Dogsparkster]

The reason sleeve and FDB fans don't last as long when mounted horizontally is the very small thrust bearing surface area at the ends in comparison to the very large surface area along the axle. FDB fans are essentially sleeve bearings running in an oil bath, and grooves in the bearing are intended to circulate the oil once at operating speed--which will not be the case when starting up. So if the majority of the wear occurs on dry starts, plain FDB should do better if rarely turned off.

If frequently turned off, Noctua's magnet-suspended fans last longer horizontally as the thrust bearing is kept from touching on startup by the magnet, and they are rated 150,000hrs. In fan tests the $20 Be Quiet has the most airflow for the noise generated (most efficient) and those are rated 300,000hrs continuous use. That's 10x longer than my favorite cheapie FDB fan, the $4 Arctic F12.

In fact the F12 is rated for no longer life than a sleeve bearing, which proves that the life of a FDB fan is primarily determined by how good its oil seals are.
Ball-bearing fans are rated 2x as long at 60,000hrs, hold up better at high temperatures >50ºC, and of course don't care about orientation but do get noisier as they wear so you may end up replacing them just as often. However they are famous for never silently seizing up like sleeve bearings do. They do change their noise characteristics immediately if dropped so you may end up with some bad samples.

never the less i am still wanting to get something better than a sleeve bearing and hearing that im not the only one with the corsair fan clicking noise, so i may as well just get the best i can get for my scenario.

so basically anything that is a fluid dynamic, or ball bearing would work fine, so the silentwings 3 would be a good choice to go with?

 

[Karadjgne]

120mm or 140mm?

 

[Isokolon]

Be Quiet Silent Wings are easily the best.
Noctua or Phanteks (only 140mm) would be more.potent choices

With cougar I'd go with the D12-HB/D14-HB
Excellent performance.

Pure Wings aren't worth their money.
Neither are Corsair AF/SP