Here are the pros and cons of Corsair ML140 Pro LED fans:
Pros
great airflow (20 - 97 CFM)
great static pressure (0.2 - 3.0 mmH2O)
great RPM range (400 - 2000 RPM)
PWM control (4-pin fan)
mag-lev bearing (lifetime 300.000+ hours)
4 color options (red, blue, white LED and non-LED version)
Mediocre
noise output (16 - 37 dB(A))
Cons
price
I have Corsair ML Pro LED series fans in use with 2 out of 3 of my PCs (Skylake and Haswell, full specs with pics in my sig). Per PC, i have 4x Corsair ML Pro LED series fans and 3x NZXT AER140 RGB fans. While i can get by with (let's say) 3 fans, there's a benefit of having more case fans. With 7 case fans, i don't have to run my fans at high RPM to maintain the proper airflow inside my full-tower ATX cases and i can run them at much slower speeds, which in turn also reduces noise coming from fans. My case fans run at about 800 - 1100 RPM and i can hardly hear them.
Here are the pros and cons of NZXT AER140 RGB and AER140 RGB 2 fans:
Pros
great airflow (30.39 - 91.19 CFM)
PWM control (4-pin fan)
fluid-dynamic bearing (lifetime 150.000+ hours)
8x addressable LEDs (software control from NZXT CAM)
Mediocre
static pressure (0.17 - 1.52 mmH2O)
RPM range (500 - 1500 RPM)
noise output (22 - 33 dB(A))
Cons
price
need HUE+ (AER RGB) or HUE 2 (AER RGB 2) to control the LEDs
AER140 RGB and AER140 RGB 2 are basically the same fan, where only difference is in the LED control unit. HUE+ (older) supports only 2x channels and AER RGB fans and LED strips. HUE 2 (newer) has support for 4x channels, AER RGB 2 fans, LED strips and HUE 2 Ambient RGB Lighting Kit (specs).
Here are the pros and cons of Corsair ML140 Pro LED fans:
Pros
great airflow (20 - 97 CFM)
great static pressure (0.2 - 3.0 mmH2O)
great RPM range (400 - 2000 RPM)
PWM control (4-pin fan)
mag-lev bearing (lifetime 300.000+ hours)
4 color options (red, blue, white LED and non-LED version)
Mediocre
noise output (16 - 37 dB(A))
Cons
price
I have Corsair ML Pro LED series fans in use with 2 out of 3 of my PCs (Skylake and Haswell, full specs with pics in my sig). Per PC, i have 4x Corsair ML Pro LED series fans and 3x NZXT AER140 RGB fans. While i can get by with (let's say) 3 fans, there's a benefit of having more case fans. With 7 case fans, i don't have to run my fans at high RPM to maintain the proper airflow inside my full-tower ATX cases and i can run them at much slower speeds, which in turn also reduces noise coming from fans. My case fans run at about 800 - 1100 RPM and i can hardly hear them.
Here are the pros and cons of NZXT AER140 RGB and AER140 RGB 2 fans:
Pros
great airflow (30.39 - 91.19 CFM)
PWM control (4-pin fan)
fluid-dynamic bearing (lifetime 150.000+ hours)
8x addressable LEDs (software control from NZXT CAM)
Mediocre
static pressure (0.17 - 1.52 mmH2O)
RPM range (500 - 1500 RPM)
noise output (22 - 33 dB(A))
Cons
price
need HUE+ (AER RGB) or HUE 2 (AER RGB 2) to control the LEDs
AER140 RGB and AER140 RGB 2 are basically the same fan, where only difference is in the LED control unit. HUE+ (older) supports only 2x channels and AER RGB fans and LED strips. HUE 2 (newer) has support for 4x channels, AER RGB 2 fans, LED strips and HUE 2 Ambient RGB Lighting Kit (specs).
I was planning to get the Fractal design meshify C case and wanted to get 3 140mm fans to go along with it. 2 for the front as intake, 1 at the top as outtake, and than I have my AIO on the back. My current case has 3 120mm rgb fans which makes the case look a little more cooler and I thought it would look nice to have some lighting affects on my new case. I think I would have to go with the corsair ones, they seem like a good fan based on the stats, and are a little less compared to the NZXT ones.
Also out of curiosity, how do you have your fans speed setup? For mine I have to go into the BIOS and there are 3 options, normal, full-speed and manual. I have mine on manual, where for every 10 C. or so the fans will increase in speed. Just wondering if there is certain options better than others.
When it comes to the fan control, i'm old school. Meaning that i'm using 5.25" external bay fan controller. All 3x of my PCs have them. (click on spoiler to view the image)
Left: Skylake build - Thermaltake Commander F6 RGB
Middle: Haswell build - NZXT Sentry 3
Right: AMD build - Aerocool X-Vision
Full specs with more pics in my sig.
In my main build (Skylake), i have 7x case fans. 6x of them are connected to Thermaltake Commander F6 RGB while the last one (ML120 - bottom intake) is connected to MoBo and follows quite loose RPM curve. I have individual control over each fan connected to F6 RGB and when needed, i can set individual fan speed to the one i want it to have. For me, using external fan controller is far better rather than going to BIOS each time i want to adjust the fan. Also, i can stop the fan without shutting down the PC (i stop some of my fans when i clean my Demciflex filters).
As far as Thermaltake Commander F6 RGB goes, it's one of the few fan controllers out there that enables to control your fans with 0.1V steps, from 0.0V to 12.0V. Most fan controllers go as low as 40% while the next step down from there is fan off. Since i needed maximum control over my fans, my choice was either Thermaltake Commander F6 RGB or Bitfenix Recon (review). Since my local store didn't have black version of Bitfenix Recon available, only white version, i went with F6 RGB. Then again F6 RGB is also one of the few who has 6x channels while most fan controllers have 5x or 4x channels,
F6 RGB, specs: https://www.thermaltake.com/products-model.aspx?id=C_00002777
In my 2nd PC (Haswell, wife's PC), i have NZXT Sentry 3. There, i also have 7x case fans where 5x of them are connected to Sentry 3. 2x fans (ML140 - rear exhaust and ML120 - bottom intake) are connected to MoBo and are also following quite loose RPM curve.
As far as NZXT Sentry 3 goes, it looks very nice with it's vibrant colors and LED touchscreen. Downsides of it is that lowest fan speed is 40% and it only has 1x temp sensor. What sets it apart is that you can link channels together and control linked channels at the same time.
When looking a fan controller for my Haswell build, i narrowed the selection down to NZXT Sentry 3 and Thermaltake Commander FT. Both are good fan controllers while in the end, i went with Sentry 3,
Sentry 3, specs: https://www.nzxt.com/products/sentry-3
FT, specs: http://www.thermaltake.com/Cooler/C...nder_FT_Touchscreen_Fan_Controller/design.htm
And lastly, in my 3rd PC (AMD, for retro gaming), i have Aerocool X-Vision. There, i have 5x case fans and all of them are connected to X-Vision.
Main reason why i got X-Vision for my AMD build is because it's display view angle is designed in a such way where your PC sits below your eye level. Looking the fan controller at eye level and it's LED display seems dimmed out. Since my AMD build sits below eye level, X-Vision was the best choice,
X-Vision, specs: http://www.aerocoolaustralia.com.au/en/fan-controller/single-bay/x-vision
When it comes to the fan control, i'm old school. Meaning that i'm using 5.25" external bay fan controller. All 3x of my PCs have them. (click on spoiler to view the image)
In my main build (Skylake), i have 7x case fans. 6x of them are connected to Thermaltake Commander F6 RGB while the last one (ML120 - bottom intake) is connected to MoBo and follows quite loose RPM curve. I have individual control over each fan connected to F6 RGB and when needed, i can set individual fan speed to the one i want it to have. For me, using external fan controller is far better rather than going to BIOS each time i want to adjust the fan. Also, i can stop the fan without shutting down the PC (i stop some of my fans when i clean my Demciflex filters).
As far as Thermaltake Commander F6 RGB goes, it's one of the few fan controllers out there that enables to control your fans with 0.1V steps, from 0.0V to 12.0V. Most fan controllers go as low as 40% while the next step down from there is fan off. Since i needed maximum control over my fans, my choice was either Thermaltake Commander F6 RGB or Bitfenix Recon (review). Since my local store didn't have black version of Bitfenix Recon available, only white version, i went with F6 RGB. Then again F6 RGB is also one of the few who has 6x channels while most fan controllers have 5x or 4x channels,
F6 RGB, specs: https://www.thermaltake.com/products-model.aspx?id=C_00002777
In my 2nd PC (Haswell, wife's PC), i have NZXT Sentry 3. There, i also have 7x case fans where 5x of them are connected to Sentry 3. 2x fans (ML140 - rear exhaust and ML120 - bottom intake) are connected to MoBo and are also following quite loose RPM curve.
As far as NZXT Sentry 3 goes, it looks very nice with it's vibrant colors and LED touchscreen. Downsides of it is that lowest fan speed is 40% and it only has 1x temp sensor. What sets it apart is that you can link channels together and control linked channels at the same time.
When looking a fan controller for my Haswell build, i narrowed the selection down to NZXT Sentry 3 and Thermaltake Commander FT. Both are good fan controllers while in the end, i went with Sentry 3,
Sentry 3, specs: https://www.nzxt.com/products/sentry-3
FT, specs: http://www.thermaltake.com/Cooler/C...nder_FT_Touchscreen_Fan_Controller/design.htm
And lastly, in my 3rd PC (AMD, for retro gaming), i have Aerocool X-Vision. There, i have 5x case fans and all of them are connected to X-Vision.
Main reason why i got X-Vision for my AMD build is because it's display view angle is designed in a such way where your PC sits below your eye level. Looking the fan controller at eye level and it's LED display seems dimmed out. Since my AMD build sits below eye level, X-Vision was the best choice,
X-Vision, specs: http://www.aerocoolaustralia.com.au/en/fan-controller/single-bay/x-vision
The look of the external fan bay controller is pretty cool. I haven't had many desktop computers in my life time, and have really only got into computer in the last ~3 years or so. If I had a computer with lots of fans, the external controllers that you have would be something to look into. But with my new case I am getting, it doesn't have a optical drive bay, so something like that is kind of out of the equation. But I can see where a external fan controller would be helpful. If you started to do some intensive stuff in your computer, all you would need to do is turn the dial or press a button to raise the rpm to help keep the system cool. And turn it back down once your done. Because if you have a setup like mine, number 1 it doesn't have that many fans, and 2, it doesn't have an optical drive bay, so you can't go with something like an external fan controller which is unfortunate.
I guess how I have my fans speed setup is ok for what I am working with. Because I don't want my fans to run just normal, because when I game and such I want my fans to continue to circulate air through my system as the system gets hotter. And I don't want my fans at max speed because that will just be excessive noise that is not needed. But if my new case had an optical drive bay, I would really consider getting a external fan controller like the ones that you have. It seems like optical drives are becoming a thing of the past. A lot of the new cases right now don't have a optical drive, which unfortunate, because my current case has one, and even if I don't use it, it still is always nice to have and has come in handy once and a while.
I've been around PCs over two decades and back in the old days, 5.25" bay was must have. Nowadays, case manufacturers doesn't want to include the 5.25" external bay into the design since ODDs are fading away. Though, ODD isn't the only (albeit, it was the main) piece of hardware that went into 5.25" bay. 5.25" bay has so many useful purposes besides housing ODD. As you can see from my builds, i have there: fan controller, card reader and ODD as well. But you can also use 5.25" bay to hold 1x 3.5" drive (with or without hot-swap drive dock) or up to 3x 2.5" drives, among other uses. So, in that sense, it's sad this useful feature is phased out.
Though, not all new cases come without 5.25" bay. E.g Fractal Design Focus G has 2x 5.25" external bays while having good airflow (mesh front panel) and nice looks. It's basically miniature version of my Skylake build's Corsair 760T v2 Black case,
specs: https://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/cases/focus-series/focus-g
There are other new PC cases as well with at least 1x 5.25" external bay if you search a little. I took the two above from the top of my mind.
However, there are internal fan controllers as well, which you can tuck away behind MoBo tray but they are far and few apart. Besides being pretty expensive, they can be controlled only via software (no manual control). But other than that, they still offer individual fan control. The only two internal fan controllers, that i know of, are:
Oh, almost forgot. Despite my Thermaltake Commander F6 RGB having 6x channels, channel #5 and #6 support Thermaltake Lumi LED strips as well. (I don't know any other external fan controller that would support LED strips as well.) So, even when you don't have 6x or more case fans, with 4x fans, you can connect fans to F6 RGB while leaving ch#5 and ch#6 for LED strips. LED strips follow the color of main display. While i did thought about getting Tt Lumi LED strips, i ended up going with NZXT HUE+, AER140 RGB fans and HUE+ LED strips instead.
I've been around PCs over two decades and back in the old days, 5.25" bay was must have. Nowadays, case manufacturers doesn't want to include the 5.25" external bay into the design since ODDs are fading away. Though, ODD isn't the only (albeit, it was the main) piece of hardware that went into 5.25" bay. 5.25" bay has so many useful purposes besides housing ODD. As you can see from my builds, i have there: fan controller, card reader and ODD as well. But you can also use 5.25" bay to hold 1x 3.5" drive (with or without hot-swap drive dock) or up to 3x 2.5" drives, among other uses. So, in that sense, it's sad this useful feature is phased out.
Though, not all new cases come without 5.25" bay. E.g Fractal Design Focus G has 2x 5.25" external bays while having good airflow (mesh front panel) and nice looks. It's basically miniature version of my Skylake build's Corsair 760T v2 Black case,
specs: https://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/cases/focus-series/focus-g
There are other new PC cases as well with at least 1x 5.25" external bay if you search a little. I took the two above from the top of my mind.
However, there are internal fan controllers as well, which you can tuck away behind MoBo tray but they are far and few apart. Besides being pretty expensive, they can be controlled only via software (no manual control). But other than that, they still offer individual fan control. The only two internal fan controllers, that i know of, are:
Oh, almost forgot. Despite my Thermaltake Commander F6 RGB having 6x channels, channel #5 and #6 support Thermaltake Lumi LED strips as well. (I don't know any other external fan controller that would support LED strips as well.) So, even when you don't have 6x or more case fans, with 4x fans, you can connect fans to F6 RGB while leaving ch#5 and ch#6 for LED strips. LED strips follow the color of main display. While i did thought about getting Tt Lumi LED strips, i ended up going with NZXT HUE+, AER140 RGB fans and HUE+ LED strips instead.
I remember between 7-10 years ago when I was using disks left right and center. For games, movies, or education purposes, seemed like everything was on a disk. Now everything is online. Like I remember going to EB games (game store) and getting Xbox games, now I just turn on my Xbox and my a game. I think a lot of stores like that are closing, because of how everything has moved to online.
I have looked at cases that have optical drivers in them, but I don't think I am going to switch cases just for a external fan controller. It would be certainly convenient, but as you said, there is hardware (though expensive) that you can use in combination with a program to control the fan speeds, that a optical drive bay is not needed.
Thanks for all of your help and suggestions! Will probably be getting those corsair fans with my new case.
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