In my experience, the blade and frame design that they use in the maglev fans is actually quite noisy in comparison to something like a noctua fan or a bequiet fan, but the bearing and motor itself don't make that much noise
this is HIGHLY overlooked and not considered by most people. the blade fan plays into noise output just as much if not more than the bearing does. in all honesty, high quality bearings borderline make no noise. i hear coil-whine from my gpu more than i do the 21 fans i have.
I have 6 of the Corsair ML fans. Three that came with the AIO and 3 I bought to put on the rear of the Lian Li Evo. I had to set up a custom fan curve on the 3 on the back to keep the noise manageable. Yes, at high RPM they're far from quiet.
Should watch the GN Video where he's talking with Corsair about power supplies.. Sounds like FDB fans is just a buzzword now and in fact can be used on things that aren't 'traditionally' FDB... In other words... buy quality and buy reviewed (by knowledgable individuals).
@@Hyatice I have no doubt that these days it can be a buzzword, but I have been using fans with this bearing type since 2008. My Gelid fans lasted the life of the PC with no issue (2008-2014), and for my next build (2014-2020) I used Noctua (typically highly reviewed albeit expensive and some don't like the aesthetic) with no issue. For my current build I decided to use Arctic due to a bunch of glowing reviews for their recent products (as well as having had good experiences with them in the early 2000s) and the performance is very comparable to the noctuas in my old build. Time will tell if they will be as reliable, but I have no reason to think that they wont be.
@@Xxpsphacksx Oh of course, and I'm not saying that Neo's recommendations of Gelid, Noctua and Arctic are bad. Just that anyone who goes away from this video thinking "Must get FDB" and who are turned away from Noctua for their color scheme or price, might be lured into a bit of a trap.
@@mikeycrackson I have in me time brought a lot of fans and every maker does the odd batch of crap. Even ones I have loved. I once brought a batch off Cougar Vortex fans best fans for noise and air flow I had every brought 3 real good but the third one was duff and so I sent it back. All the others I have tried never match them for low noise and long life 10 year on going strong although in Bright orange only choice at the time they look ugly still. The shape and texture made the airflow silent to once inside the case I kept checking they are working because lack of sound. they had fluid bearing. They new world wide product are no total crap mind days have change and they have sold out to the gaming trends of RGB at the cost of air flow putting an RGB ring that make the fans noisier and less air flow. Bequiet win my money now as they still make black fans which look sexy and sound good, with no RGB shit on them. Although the do an RGB version.
I bought 9 corsair mag lev fans (ml120 pro) for my rig. After about two years, three of them started fibrating, causing the rotor blade to occasionally touch the casing. They are now unbearably loud, even on low rpm. But even the still "good" ones were never particularly quiet. Wouldn't recommend.
exactly, they were never any quieter then the fans they replaced maybe at verry low speeds but at verry low speeds they don't actually move much if any air >.> they need to be at around 800 to be atleast somewhat usefull and at that point they are equally loud or louder then any other fan (possibly due to the motor, atleast the corsair ML's which afaik are the only game in town...well them and the fans they are based on without the corsair branding attached. though to there credit i have never had a failed bearing... i did have a motor that made a grinding noise which...yea kewl the bearing is silent but the motor is noisy as hell >.
Yep and the dust and hair etc will give you the same issues as normal fan so just pointless Any real pc expert knows how to clean and reoil fan to be just like new
1:25 I used to oil my fans, just a drop of sewing machine oil, but it varies depending on bearing type or if it's sealed. I've had it save more than a couple fans that started slowing down.
I did the same but I used motorcycle engine oil. Man that fan is still going after 4 years of adding 1 drop of oil(fan purchased 7 years ago). Btw that was a 4 dollar fan 😂.
I've left my computer on from 2013 with an FX-8350 on since the day I bought it at 100% pretty much all time time doing Prime95 computations, gotta find a prime number. Though it's been working flawlessly on all the orignal fans, it's just a corsair case. Eirther their built well or I'm just lucky, or both. But none of the fans are grinding. Also I have a computer from 2009 which I use as a minecraft / storage / seed box server. All orignal fans working flawlessly & it's a random dell inspiron. Though my brand new laptop had fan issues from HP? A random error, maybe, BUT! My brother has a similar model, which also had fan issues. I got mine replaced in warranty, he just ignored the warning & only 1 fan spins now.
Some fans do not have a cap under the label and you have to pull the rotor to oil them. An RX-560 that I have, has one of those fans. You need to be careful when you pull the rotor though, otherwise you can break a blade. I ain't buying new fans when a drop of oil can make the fan work again lol.
Looking at more detailed fan comparisons on other channels, especially measuring throughput on noise normalised tests though radiators, the design of the blade seems much more important than the type of bearing that the fan has in terms of noise. Maglev fans could be more silent than the competition, but the current models which are maglev have inferior blade designs which compromise their noise normalised performance compared to other types of fans.
@@tag206 so they basically just made this tech discussion a mask for marketing Corsair's product. Which I don't think people would mind as much except for the fact that they aren't truly giving all the real tech info and pros and cons to this kind of product.
@@michaelbowen2305 Nor disclosing that it's a sponsored video. LTT has always prided it self on transparency, but that isn't true for Tech Quickie apparently.
@@tag206 it is illegal for them not to disclose sponsors. Not only does the team have enough integrity that I would believe them even if it wasn't illegal, but also it would be *incredibly* stupid to make a video sponsored but not disclose it due to legality. That said, the quality of the information in this video is definitely not very good due to them leaving out the issues, but that is likely more a product of lack of enough research, or a decision made to focus on the technology rather than the actual current state of the technology.
Although in theory ML fans are quieter, but I have some of those Corsair maglev fans, they are loud AF. I pulled them out and switched ordinary bb fans.
Most "maglev" fans just have sleeve bearings with a metal plate underneath the rotor's magnet to stabilize it. It's not literally levitating. But the axle's slant is what wears the bearing down the quickest so having the stabilizer can make it last a lot longer. Also Corsair's ML fans aren't that great. Get the T30-120 or the A12x25 if you want to overspend on fans.
@@MichaelBertolino 25$ for an ml120, 22$ for an f12 chromax. Sorry but I will choose the better fan that is also cheaper. Corsair can fuck themselves with their razer level branding.
I'm an hvac tech. A few things will affect your fan('s motor) lifespan, such as: build quality, proper voltage (the motor will pull varying amounts of amperage depending on voltage supply, essentially maintaining a constant wattage draw) and the lubricant used on your bearings. Tech has come a long way, and parts for reliable motors have become cheap enough that I would say due to cost alone, stick with the standard style fans. FDB and rifled bearings are essentially the same thing, with minor differences. Chances are also likely you'll be rocking a new pc with new fans way before your original pc fans quit on you.
Do keep in mind before purchasing that you *must* use PWM. The maglev bearing strictly requires 12V to operate properly, and the non-PWM (3-pin) header on a motherboard varies the voltage supply to change the speed of the fan. Running a 4-pin maglev fan on a 3-pin header may damage the bearing or produce noise Or at least, this is what I've heard. Maybe some manufacturers have fixed this limitation, idk
I love my ML140&120 fans. After building my first PC it didn't take me long to decide to upgrade the standard case fans, due to they are so much quieter at all speed. Especially with mounted horizontally, as the previous horizontally mounted case fans made a hum at lower speeds, and it drove me crazy! I have 2 ML 140's up front, and I ended up doing the Morpheus II cooler with 2 ML 120's on my 1070Ti (Max GPU temp 54C). Those along with the NH-D15S, at low speeds my PC is practically silent! No hum, just the sound of whooshing air! I love it!
Some massive industrial compressors also use magnetic bearings to get away from the complicated oil systems they would have otherwise. They are super expensive because they also generally have huge battery backups that will hold power to the bearings in case of a power failure. The last thing you want is a 4 ton rotor turning 10,000 RPM in a $4M machine to lose its bearings 😬 There are generally disaster bushings in them but those still require a lot of disassembly and down time to replace.
I've seen people suspend fans with elastic bands and such, and it has a dramatic impact on the sound of a fan, so no, most of the noise is not from air friction, it's vibrations from the fan being reverberated by the case. The reason maglev fans aren't much quieter is because they're not true maglev, they're sleeve bearing and use magnets to stabilize it- meaning it still touches the fan housing.
@@Deliphin11 Suspend a fan with elastic bands? ie: not have it flush mounted with something? You know what that does? Alters the air flow, reducing air friction.... Duh?
@@_evildoer ..how would this reduce air friction? The fan is still moving the same speed. The same air is going through. Literally everything involving the air is the same, the only difference is now the fan can't vibrate against the case. Flush mounting doesn't have much of an effect if the opening is under 4mm. Especially if it's like in the video I saw where the guy stuffed the area with foam too just in case of fucking up the airflow.
@@Deliphin11 The air will loop around the edges back into the fan in a toroidal pattern instead of moving air from inside the case. It would be more of a static loop, feeding itself the same air over and over
@@_evildoer Unless the gaps are pretty big, this will have a fairly minor effect. People doing this are going to have under 1cm gap at most. And if you fill it with basically anything, even tissue paper, it's effectively completely resolved even if the gap is like 3 inches wide. And even if this was a significant effect, it *still* wouldn't matter, because if anything that toroidal movement you're describing would be (relatively) unstable due to the slight shaking of the fan, thus producing more wind noise than straight airflow. And yet it's quieter. Almost like the sound mostly comes from the vibrating fan reverberating through the case instead of through the sound of wind. If the tiny bit of air moving through a case was main source of noise in a fan, then strong winds would be the volume we expect from a hurricane, and any hurricane would burst people's ear drums. Moving air just isn't that noisy, it's linearly *moving*, not *vibrating*, and sounds are made of *vibrations* in air.
I bought a few maglev bearing fans years ago - the most important party trick for me was the ability to completely remove the blades and the UV reactive plastic.
Been using the cheap corsair ML120 (non pros) and they work great for the money. They have lasted longer than my last PC and are now in the second one.
I had zero issues with my ML140 in four years before I sold it because I moved to the NZXT H1, which doesn't take fans. The other ML120 I bought has been running for 6 years fine too. I even gave it to my dad two years ago to replace a ball bearing fan in his PC that broke after three years On the topic of price and everyone saying these are expensive, they are no more expensive than Noctua's fans. They are definitely NOT overpriced. Your budget is not everyone's. They may not be worth it to you, but they are to other's
I haven't had any issues with my ML140s either, and despite some complaining about the noise I do not share that sentiment. I'm perfectly happy with them, Expensive? Sure. But they cool my PC just fine and I know they'll last most of my life anyway.
I've been using maglev fans since their release on the market. They're awesome. And at full speed they move some serious air. Especially non rgb variants as they don't have to provide as much if any power to LEDs
Maglev fans do wear out eventually, through the loss of magnetism in the magnet when in areas of high heat. When this happens then a fan hanging downwards will stop working completely. This is becasue the magnet will no longer be powerful enough to hold the fan in the motor. It is solved, however, by put it facing upwards instead of downwards.
The moment I saw that mag-lev bearings were a thing 3+ years ago when I built my 2nd computer, I jumped onto the Corsair train. I love magnets, they confuse the hell out of Violent J.
I have 4 of Noctua A14 ULN fans that are 6years old now. They run as they did the first day, dead quiet. No noise except a little airflow when at 800rpm 140mm.
Was waiting for the part about it being crazy expensive. It seems appealing for the convenience of only having to do it once (and probably reuse them across multiple builds), but since everything has to be opened up for cleaning periodically anyway, may as well just slip a new fan in then.
Why on earth would you wanna spend $20+ dollars everytime you clean your PC when you can just spend $160 upfront and never again? Especially as you said, when you can use them across multiple builds? I've had my maglev fans for almost 6 years now and haven't had an issue, I've already replaced 3 fans in my husbands PC that were ballbearing from Noctua in that time. Spend the extra cash, stop cheaping out.
@@ChippTheFox The problem is corsair. You need to use their hardware to connect them, I've never had much luck with corsair products (2 k70 keyboards dying within 3 months - on my 3rd corsair headset as the build quality is questionable and while the corsair h100i I had lasted for 6 years the LEDs died pretty quickly; not to mention the software is horrendous) . If they used the standard ARGB connectors I would consider them.
There is one caveat to this, from my understanding. Maglev fans need a continuous 12V to prevent the fan bearing from making contact with the base. Powering them with PWM is perfectly fine, because it controls the fan speed by sending a speed value. Non-PWM (3-pin) connectors, on the other hand, control the speed by lowering or raising the voltage. this means that unless you are running them at 100%, the fan will be contacting the base and there will be friction, which will make noise and damage your fan over time. This same issue exists with PWM splitters, which split a single PWM connection into two 3-pin connections. In the case of powered PWM repeaters, such as the Carbide 678c, this is not an issue, and the fans are getting the full 12V.
Content suggestion: As Linus has a new house with poor reception that needs to be boosted for phones to work properly, how about turning off the signal boosters and seeing how well different phones cope with the poor signal. This always seems to be a function that is missing from phone reviews. I personally live in a house that has poor reception, and the family is split between iPhone and Samsung users, the iPhone users have more of a problem making and reviving calls than the Samsung users.
Being a dual iPhone - Samsung user, and living in Venezuela, where the signal is generally low to poor, I can attest that Apple products, in general, require a better and more stable signal than Android devices.
I just add light machine oil when my fans start to make noise. I have seen others use lithium grease as well. I know fans are cheap but it still makes sense to keep them running instead of throwing them away. There are even videos here on UA-cam that show you how to lubricate both the fans that have a rubber cover and those that don't. You can even do this for your power supply fans!
I have 3 Sunon maglev fans in my PC case since 2012 24/7 on and then continue working like the first day, I had updated all the components but the fans and case continue being the same, them are 12v but I had to connect them to the 5v of the PSU because at 12v them sound like a plane taking off, them are intended to be used in medical equipment, not PCs, so I guess sound doesn't matter in that use, but them throw a ton of air even at 5v.
This is da wae! I commented this on the other video too, I mean o get that Sunoon doesn't have RGB but those fans don't cost as much as the Corsair one's. They are *so good that I use them on my diy air purifier lol. Has been going on for 3 years (continuous 24x7; just stopped to replace the filters) Honestly I'm blown away by the quality on these
Corsair's ML120 fans are still loud AF though. They have two of these on the Corsair A500 air cooler and it's one of the loudest heatsinks I've ever owned.
And one disadvantage - less air Flow and pressure, I mean in most server systems, where this price and lifetime are more suitable, this fans might not have neede air pressure due to the magnets. Another solution from this situation - making one side of this "maglev" system from electromagnets, which could adjust the gap according to the RPM
if you want air pressure and flow, then take a look on Sunon Maglevs. i would guess they're the OEM of Corsair MLs. been using their 120x38 maglev fan and they have quite a lot of pressure
I remember in the late 90s - mid 00s when a magnet driven fan died/started whining, we took the sticker off and put a single drip of sewing machine oil directly on the bearings 😂 good for another 5 years, I still have 3 of those fans in my Retro Rig to this day!
Fun fact: This technology is used in mechanical heart called left ventricular assist device or LVAD. This allow the device to run for more than 10 years!
James you know what’s funny? Corsair MAGLEV fans are one of the loudest fans with very high rpm/db ratio in real world testing because the noise also comes from the fan motor, not just the bearings or lack of them. I have tried all PC fans..and so far the top fans for performance vs rpm vs noise are still ball bearing or some modification of it e.g., T30, N12-A25, Gentle Typhoons, Sanyo Denki San Ace…
If cooling fan use good sleave bearing or ball bearing - noise from these bearings will be much low then noise producing by fan - moving air. This are reason why many fan producers looking for different shape of fan - to reduce noise from fan when move air. levitation system - increase air cooling fan life without make any maintenance on it. But by current price of these types of fans - you can replace your normal fan every year, and still gain money.
I really don't want to comment sound mean, but this video comes off as a bit low quality for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the way longevity was talked about is super misleading. They do last much longer than other parts, but so do normal fans. Noctua's Nf-A12x25 are rated for +17 years of continues use while even cheaper fans like a Kaze Flex 120 are rated for +13 years, both way longer than most builds and not mentioning this makes newbies think if they don't want to worry about fans failing they gotta shell out for these fans. And speaking of price its super not helpful to show third party prices because they are often very inflated above actual MSRP which may be avaliable from other retailers. And if they are not that should be mentioned, only showing a third party price without context tells viewers nothing.
In most ball bearing fans the bearings don't make most of the sound, but the fan blades do. So it's not that useful if the blades aren't well designed in the first place.
Even though it's not a more powerful type of fan, the reduced noise will allow you to run the fan at a higher rpm while putting out the same amount of sound as a sleeved fan.
Spotting parts that need replacing could be a topic for the future. I saw a question on twitter earlier about when to replace a fan and I realised... I'd have no idea. How am I to remember what speeds my fan used to get
I think the difference in price is not justify for the magnet ones. A cheap artic fluid bearing fan (5 12mm for like 35€?) Is the way to go for price/performance rateo. I had them for years and I really can't find a reason to pay for one fan (noctua, that I would like) the same price I payed for 5 of them.
I conducted over 500 experiments with various fans, placements and relative fan speeds in my Corsair 5000D case in a controlled environment. The fans I chose were an assortment of ones that had tested well elsewhere like the P fans from Artic, various Noctua fans, Scythe Kaze fans and fans from Noiseblocker. The tests were noise normalized at 36 dBa, which was the most I could tolerate in normal operation. The focus of the tests was on finding the combination which were best for GPU thermals on my EVGA GTX 970 ftw (coupled with a 65watt ryzen 4650g pro as a cpu). From the start it became clear that the best set up with my 280 rad (set on intake) for GPU thermals was two 140mm fans in the front as intake with the provided 120 mm Corsair fans (also on intake), together with two 140mm fans on the top of the case as exhaust, and the provided 120mm Corsair fan in the rear (140mm isn't possible). This was surprising because no matter which of the 120mm fans I tested, they were all consistently outperformed by the Corsair fans. The next *small* surprise was that at low RPM there wasn't much difference between the 140mm fans, although I did discover the best extra fans for intake were the Artic P-14 fans and the best for exhaust were Noiseblocker B14-PS fans. The greatest surprise was that single most important variable beyond just having fans was the relative fan speeds. So if my Gtx 970 was at 30% fan speed (the highest tolerable fan speed in terms of noise), having the fan speeds of the other fans to high actually reduced performance. It seemed for every GPU fan speed (10%, 20%, 30%) there existed a relatively narrow optimal range for the speeds of the other fans.
well, these could be the answer for vintage hardware upgrades, because the 90''s consoles and onwards need fans to operate. If you were able to fit one in the case say that of the ps2, Xbox, GameCube, Wii, etc, you could eliminate the need to go back into these systems again for fans. Additionally, if laptop manufactures offered this as an upgrade (or a main component) it could assist with loud fans in many of these systems. Continuing, it could be particularly useful for the laptops as they are subject to moving more often, and their fans often see damage due to travel while powered. Most laptop fans fail due to bearings.
I had a maglev fan several years ago. It didn't last long quickly clogged up with dust and burnt up. If the bearings aren't sealed, it doesn't matter what type of bearing if you live in a dusty area like a desert. The fine sandy dust will destroy it.
No mention in this video of what Noctua uses or which fan you’re not supposed to mount horizontally or other related useful information, but we definitely have the guaranteed Midroll advertisement, of which I’m not even sure what it was because as soon as I hear “will tell you about it right after…” I spam the right side of my screen a few times.
I've been using the same set of Noiseblocker MF fans in my computer for 12 years now, with zero issues. They are all still just as good as the day I bought them.
I remember i found like 2 maglev fans in a laptop stand, i found out they were maglev because it has the fopper wire and everything and that is the first time i saw the inside of a fan so i thought all fans were like that
I have 20-plus-years-old off-brand PC case coolers that have NEVER required adding lubricants and they are almost totally silent. Granted, I've never had a truly workhorse of a computer, but I've never, ever, needed expensive thermal solutions on any of the computers I have owned or built.
You should watch optimum tech’s video on fan noise. He compares the quietest fans, including Corsair’s 120mm mag-lev fan, and the mag-lev is one of the noisiest fans in testing. Noctua’s was the only one that stood apart from the pack in its quietness.
Taking the side panel off and leaving my PC in an open space has been the absolute best. Under extreme loads like Intel burn test and linpack xtreme.. my CPU is 40c lower, ram is 15-20c lower, gpu is 20c lower. Open air loops are the best
Maybe explain what a shaft and bearing is since we don't know how a fan looks like on the inside. I mean who here has disassembled a computer fan or any fan at all?
Looking forward to add MagLev fans to my PC (replacing the bearing one I have), but I had a pretty bad experience with Corsair in the past. Hope more known fan manufacturers bring this tech to the market.
Sunon have been making fans using maglev bearings for something like ten years (Edit: Actually they've made them for over twenty years now. The first was introduced in 1999). If anyone knows how to make them it's Sunon. Don't know if they have a good selection of quiet fans though. All I've used are their high powered industrial DC fans intended for servers and other applications where airflow and durability is more important than retaining your hearing. And yes I have horrible tinnitus today from the drone of cooling fans in servers...
This quickie was a good video, buuuuut, it'd have been even better with a simple moment (and chart graphic) to explain which fan types work best (or aren't recommended) in which orientations.
When I upgraded my pc I spent around 200 usd for Corsair ML 120 and 140 fans, best 200 usd spent, never need to ramp up above 40-50 %. 5 ML120 and 2 ML140.
Most of your noise from a fan is due to blade aerodynamics, not the spinning shaft. The only reason maglev fans are attractive is due to reliability. They don't transfer nearly the amount of torque and on such smaller motors, this is a travesty for performance. This is why the RPMs on Maglev fans are often lower than shaft driven fans. So you may get a fan that last longer than your PC, but your maglev fan may have contributed to your PCs short life by not providing adequate cooling performance in the first place.
Corsair's ML120 and ML140 fans are actually ridiculously loud despite having the maglev bearings hydrodynamic bearings are quieter and can also last a long time - Noctua uses them
I'll never understand why noise from a computer is an issues for most most people. Most gamers either use a noise canceling headset or a loud sound bar while gaming. You'll rarely notice the noise in the first place.
Replaced all of my PC fans with Corsair ML140s, 2 of them died in under 2 years and the remaining ones are already making a racket. Most expensive junk I've ever brought
Every fan in my PC besides my GPU fans are maglev :) I also got them all for a good price since I bought them from work, 4 ML120 RGB elite in white for 150 CAD after tax.
I got an RM850X with my new PC. It surprised me to find it has a worse noise rating than the standard RM850, which doesn't have a maglev fan, and they're both 80+ gold, and the non X is cheaper. They say the X has better components, but both are same warranty (10 years)... Eh, the system is quiet, I'm happy
Have to say I've been really impressed with the corsair MLs, got mine in 2018 and haven't had any issues. They're super quiet too. Just putting my experience out there to contrast with other comments.
Maglevs depend on electronic components which will limit it to about 7 to 10 years of life. I run my pc's longer than that so I would have to replace them at least once. They are expensive though.
Maglev's also draw less power. My old motherboard wouldn't daisy-chain more than 3 PWM fans off the CPU header. The Maglevs worked up to 5 fans on that same header. Both Corsair brand.
I had ten of these in my build, 3x360mm rads and a rear intake...after one year I replaced them with AL120s from Lian Li and trust me, anyone want some ML120s RGB cheap? I have ten. Lian-Li's are quieter, perform better, the LEDs are far superior in color, not to mention the mounting and wiring.
I bought The cooler Master haf X when it was released in 2008 maybe 2009. It still has the original 200 mm fans and it came with two extra 200 mm fans. The extras have been on my desk blowing on my hands all these years and all of them still run like new. I know there's a lot of different factors into screwing up your bearings like smoking pet dender etc. I'm in a smoke-free home now that's fairly not Dusty. The first six or more maybe 8 years of these fans lives was in a Dusty old trailer pet dander and I smoke cigarettes like a chimney. For whatever reason they are still working perfectly fine on my desk and in my tower to this day. I do want to upgrade eventually but it's seeming hard to find 200 mm fans with full RGB and whatnot.. I'm not getting rid of this case 🤘😆🤘
Yea, my system has a full set of maglev fans (Corsair fans being my next favorite fan after Noctua fans) - they are nice & I am expecting them to last a very long time. I just wouldn't set PWM to 100 on them - they get awfully loud at max RPM (which is quite high - though they sure are capable of moving air in a hurry at those RPM's).
In my experience, the blade and frame design that they use in the maglev fans is actually quite noisy in comparison to something like a noctua fan or a bequiet fan, but the bearing and motor itself don't make that much noise
this is HIGHLY overlooked and not considered by most people. the blade fan plays into noise output just as much if not more than the bearing does. in all honesty, high quality bearings borderline make no noise. i hear coil-whine from my gpu more than i do the 21 fans i have.
I have 6 of the Corsair ML fans. Three that came with the AIO and 3 I bought to put on the rear of the Lian Li Evo. I had to set up a custom fan curve on the 3 on the back to keep the noise manageable. Yes, at high RPM they're far from quiet.
My experience also. Those Corsair ML fans have a horrible sound.
Corsair ML fans SUCK
so noisy and don't move much air
The Phanteks T30's are maglev fans and are insanely awesome. Check them out.
I've always had good luck with fluid dynamic style bearings (and derivatives). Fans from companies such as Gelid, Noctua, and Arctic are my go to.
Should watch the GN Video where he's talking with Corsair about power supplies.. Sounds like FDB fans is just a buzzword now and in fact can be used on things that aren't 'traditionally' FDB... In other words... buy quality and buy reviewed (by knowledgable individuals).
@@Hyatice dude you do know who noctua is right?
@@Hyatice I have no doubt that these days it can be a buzzword, but I have been using fans with this bearing type since 2008. My Gelid fans lasted the life of the PC with no issue (2008-2014), and for my next build (2014-2020) I used Noctua (typically highly reviewed albeit expensive and some don't like the aesthetic) with no issue. For my current build I decided to use Arctic due to a bunch of glowing reviews for their recent products (as well as having had good experiences with them in the early 2000s) and the performance is very comparable to the noctuas in my old build. Time will tell if they will be as reliable, but I have no reason to think that they wont be.
@@Xxpsphacksx Oh of course, and I'm not saying that Neo's recommendations of Gelid, Noctua and Arctic are bad. Just that anyone who goes away from this video thinking "Must get FDB" and who are turned away from Noctua for their color scheme or price, might be lured into a bit of a trap.
@@mikeycrackson I have in me time brought a lot of fans and every maker does the odd batch of crap. Even ones I have loved. I once brought a batch off Cougar Vortex fans best fans for noise and air flow I had every brought 3 real good but the third one was duff and so I sent it back. All the others I have tried never match them for low noise and long life 10 year on going strong although in Bright orange only choice at the time they look ugly still. The shape and texture made the airflow silent to once inside the case I kept checking they are working because lack of sound. they had fluid bearing. They new world wide product are no total crap mind days have change and they have sold out to the gaming trends of RGB at the cost of air flow putting an RGB ring that make the fans noisier and less air flow. Bequiet win my money now as they still make black fans which look sexy and sound good, with no RGB shit on them. Although the do an RGB version.
I bought 9 corsair mag lev fans (ml120 pro) for my rig. After about two years, three of them started fibrating, causing the rotor blade to occasionally touch the casing. They are now unbearably loud, even on low rpm. But even the still "good" ones were never particularly quiet. Wouldn't recommend.
exactly, they were never any quieter then the fans they replaced maybe at verry low speeds but at verry low speeds they don't actually move much if any air >.> they need to be at around 800 to be atleast somewhat usefull and at that point they are equally loud or louder then any other fan (possibly due to the motor, atleast the corsair ML's which afaik are the only game in town...well them and the fans they are based on without the corsair branding attached.
though to there credit i have never had a failed bearing... i did have a motor that made a grinding noise which...yea kewl the bearing is silent but the motor is noisy as hell >.
Yep and the dust and hair etc will give you the same issues as normal fan so just pointless
Any real pc expert knows how to clean and reoil fan to be just like new
I wonder how many regular fans one can buy and replace for the same price as a single one of these fancy maglev fans.
@@Mateus01234 on average probably 9
Same here - I bought a set of ML120 pros few months ago and one is already wobbly
1:25 I used to oil my fans, just a drop of sewing machine oil, but it varies depending on bearing type or if it's sealed. I've had it save more than a couple fans that started slowing down.
yo that's smart thing to do
Same
I did the same but I used motorcycle engine oil. Man that fan is still going after 4 years of adding 1 drop of oil(fan purchased 7 years ago). Btw that was a 4 dollar fan 😂.
I've left my computer on from 2013 with an FX-8350 on since the day I bought it at 100% pretty much all time time doing Prime95 computations, gotta find a prime number.
Though it's been working flawlessly on all the orignal fans, it's just a corsair case. Eirther their built well or I'm just lucky, or both. But none of the fans are grinding. Also I have a computer from 2009 which I use as a minecraft / storage / seed box server. All orignal fans working flawlessly & it's a random dell inspiron.
Though my brand new laptop had fan issues from HP? A random error, maybe, BUT! My brother has a similar model, which also had fan issues. I got mine replaced in warranty, he just ignored the warning & only 1 fan spins now.
Some fans do not have a cap under the label and you have to pull the rotor to oil them.
An RX-560 that I have, has one of those fans. You need to be careful when you pull the rotor though, otherwise you can break a blade.
I ain't buying new fans when a drop of oil can make the fan work again lol.
Looking at more detailed fan comparisons on other channels, especially measuring throughput on noise normalised tests though radiators, the design of the blade seems much more important than the type of bearing that the fan has in terms of noise. Maglev fans could be more silent than the competition, but the current models which are maglev have inferior blade designs which compromise their noise normalised performance compared to other types of fans.
Exactly what I was thinking the entire video. I'm surprised they didn't mention that topic but perhaps they purposely ignored it.
@@michaelbowen2305 100% ignored it. This is a corsair sponsored video without any disclosure like we have always been promised from ltt.
@@tag206 so they basically just made this tech discussion a mask for marketing Corsair's product. Which I don't think people would mind as much except for the fact that they aren't truly giving all the real tech info and pros and cons to this kind of product.
@@michaelbowen2305 Nor disclosing that it's a sponsored video. LTT has always prided it self on transparency, but that isn't true for Tech Quickie apparently.
@@tag206 it is illegal for them not to disclose sponsors.
Not only does the team have enough integrity that I would believe them even if it wasn't illegal, but also it would be *incredibly* stupid to make a video sponsored but not disclose it due to legality.
That said, the quality of the information in this video is definitely not very good due to them leaving out the issues, but that is likely more a product of lack of enough research, or a decision made to focus on the technology rather than the actual current state of the technology.
Although in theory ML fans are quieter, but I have some of those Corsair maglev fans, they are loud AF. I pulled them out and switched ordinary bb fans.
Most "maglev" fans just have sleeve bearings with a metal plate underneath the rotor's magnet to stabilize it. It's not literally levitating. But the axle's slant is what wears the bearing down the quickest so having the stabilizer can make it last a lot longer.
Also Corsair's ML fans aren't that great. Get the T30-120 or the A12x25 if you want to overspend on fans.
I've always wanted maglevs in my rig, but the cost is pretty forbidding. Hopefully they become less expensive in a few years.
I remember thinking that a few years ago
You mean you don't want corsair quality with a noctua price tag?
Noctua's fans are more expensive than Corsair's ML fans. Not sure what you're goin' on about 😅
@@MichaelBertolino 25$ for an ml120, 22$ for an f12 chromax. Sorry but I will choose the better fan that is also cheaper. Corsair can fuck themselves with their razer level branding.
Hell I will go Arctic for the same quality and performance for less than half the price. I can get a 5 pack for 10$ more even.
I'm an hvac tech. A few things will affect your fan('s motor) lifespan, such as: build quality, proper voltage (the motor will pull varying amounts of amperage depending on voltage supply, essentially maintaining a constant wattage draw) and the lubricant used on your bearings. Tech has come a long way, and parts for reliable motors have become cheap enough that I would say due to cost alone, stick with the standard style fans. FDB and rifled bearings are essentially the same thing, with minor differences. Chances are also likely you'll be rocking a new pc with new fans way before your original pc fans quit on you.
Do keep in mind before purchasing that you *must* use PWM. The maglev bearing strictly requires 12V to operate properly, and the non-PWM (3-pin) header on a motherboard varies the voltage supply to change the speed of the fan. Running a 4-pin maglev fan on a 3-pin header may damage the bearing or produce noise
Or at least, this is what I've heard. Maybe some manufacturers have fixed this limitation, idk
I love my ML140&120 fans. After building my first PC it didn't take me long to decide to upgrade the standard case fans, due to they are so much quieter at all speed. Especially with mounted horizontally, as the previous horizontally mounted case fans made a hum at lower speeds, and it drove me crazy! I have 2 ML 140's up front, and I ended up doing the Morpheus II cooler with 2 ML 120's on my 1070Ti (Max GPU temp 54C). Those along with the NH-D15S, at low speeds my PC is practically silent! No hum, just the sound of whooshing air! I love it!
Some massive industrial compressors also use magnetic bearings to get away from the complicated oil systems they would have otherwise. They are super expensive because they also generally have huge battery backups that will hold power to the bearings in case of a power failure. The last thing you want is a 4 ton rotor turning 10,000 RPM in a $4M machine to lose its bearings 😬 There are generally disaster bushings in them but those still require a lot of disassembly and down time to replace.
Maglev fans aren't that much quieter as most of the noise is from air friction
I've seen people suspend fans with elastic bands and such, and it has a dramatic impact on the sound of a fan, so no, most of the noise is not from air friction, it's vibrations from the fan being reverberated by the case.
The reason maglev fans aren't much quieter is because they're not true maglev, they're sleeve bearing and use magnets to stabilize it- meaning it still touches the fan housing.
@@Deliphin11 Suspend a fan with elastic bands? ie: not have it flush mounted with something? You know what that does? Alters the air flow, reducing air friction.... Duh?
@@_evildoer ..how would this reduce air friction? The fan is still moving the same speed. The same air is going through. Literally everything involving the air is the same, the only difference is now the fan can't vibrate against the case. Flush mounting doesn't have much of an effect if the opening is under 4mm. Especially if it's like in the video I saw where the guy stuffed the area with foam too just in case of fucking up the airflow.
@@Deliphin11 The air will loop around the edges back into the fan in a toroidal pattern instead of moving air from inside the case. It would be more of a static loop, feeding itself the same air over and over
@@_evildoer Unless the gaps are pretty big, this will have a fairly minor effect. People doing this are going to have under 1cm gap at most. And if you fill it with basically anything, even tissue paper, it's effectively completely resolved even if the gap is like 3 inches wide.
And even if this was a significant effect, it *still* wouldn't matter, because if anything that toroidal movement you're describing would be (relatively) unstable due to the slight shaking of the fan, thus producing more wind noise than straight airflow.
And yet it's quieter. Almost like the sound mostly comes from the vibrating fan reverberating through the case instead of through the sound of wind.
If the tiny bit of air moving through a case was main source of noise in a fan, then strong winds would be the volume we expect from a hurricane, and any hurricane would burst people's ear drums. Moving air just isn't that noisy, it's linearly *moving*, not *vibrating*, and sounds are made of *vibrations* in air.
I love this topic. I am a huge cooling fan!
Nice one
Thats a cool subject
report these youtube spam fuckers and their linked videos
I see what you did here
Nice one! 😂😂😂
If Life of Boris taught me anything, the best way to cool your pc is vodka.
I bought a few maglev bearing fans years ago - the most important party trick for me was the ability to completely remove the blades and the UV reactive plastic.
Been using the cheap corsair ML120 (non pros) and they work great for the money. They have lasted longer than my last PC and are now in the second one.
I have in my chassis a few 120mm and 140mm Lian-Li Fans which are almost 12 years old and still work like a charm.
I had zero issues with my ML140 in four years before I sold it because I moved to the NZXT H1, which doesn't take fans. The other ML120 I bought has been running for 6 years fine too. I even gave it to my dad two years ago to replace a ball bearing fan in his PC that broke after three years
On the topic of price and everyone saying these are expensive, they are no more expensive than Noctua's fans. They are definitely NOT overpriced. Your budget is not everyone's. They may not be worth it to you, but they are to other's
I haven't had any issues with my ML140s either, and despite some complaining about the noise I do not share that sentiment. I'm perfectly happy with them,
Expensive? Sure. But they cool my PC just fine and I know they'll last most of my life anyway.
@@Diapolo10 Exactly
I've been using maglev fans since their release on the market. They're awesome. And at full speed they move some serious air. Especially non rgb variants as they don't have to provide as much if any power to LEDs
Maglev fans do wear out eventually, through the loss of magnetism in the magnet when in areas of high heat. When this happens then a fan hanging downwards will stop working completely. This is becasue the magnet will no longer be powerful enough to hold the fan in the motor. It is solved, however, by put it facing upwards instead of downwards.
Techquke: You can't just chuck your pc into an Ice bath
Linus Tech Tips: Hold my LTT store water bottle
Nice to see UGREEN Ad. They are a pretty cool company for charging related tech and cables
The moment I saw that mag-lev bearings were a thing 3+ years ago when I built my 2nd computer, I jumped onto the Corsair train. I love magnets, they confuse the hell out of Violent J.
I have 4 of Noctua A14 ULN fans that are 6years old now. They run as they did the first day, dead quiet. No noise except a little airflow when at 800rpm 140mm.
Was waiting for the part about it being crazy expensive. It seems appealing for the convenience of only having to do it once (and probably reuse them across multiple builds), but since everything has to be opened up for cleaning periodically anyway, may as well just slip a new fan in then.
Why on earth would you wanna spend $20+ dollars everytime you clean your PC when you can just spend $160 upfront and never again? Especially as you said, when you can use them across multiple builds? I've had my maglev fans for almost 6 years now and haven't had an issue, I've already replaced 3 fans in my husbands PC that were ballbearing from Noctua in that time. Spend the extra cash, stop cheaping out.
@@ChippTheFox ...cos no one said that you had to do it every time. That would be retarded.
@@ChippTheFox this comment is brought to you by maglev fan co
@@Primimimimimimimi FACTS XD
Honestly tho, don't cheap out on cooling. Your PC will thank you later, and so will your wallet!
@@ChippTheFox The problem is corsair. You need to use their hardware to connect them, I've never had much luck with corsair products (2 k70 keyboards dying within 3 months - on my 3rd corsair headset as the build quality is questionable and while the corsair h100i I had lasted for 6 years the LEDs died pretty quickly; not to mention the software is horrendous) . If they used the standard ARGB connectors I would consider them.
There is one caveat to this, from my understanding.
Maglev fans need a continuous 12V to prevent the fan bearing from making contact with the base.
Powering them with PWM is perfectly fine, because it controls the fan speed by sending a speed value.
Non-PWM (3-pin) connectors, on the other hand, control the speed by lowering or raising the voltage. this means that unless you are running them at 100%, the fan will be contacting the base and there will be friction, which will make noise and damage your fan over time.
This same issue exists with PWM splitters, which split a single PWM connection into two 3-pin connections.
In the case of powered PWM repeaters, such as the Carbide 678c, this is not an issue, and the fans are getting the full 12V.
Content suggestion: As Linus has a new house with poor reception that needs to be boosted for phones to work properly, how about turning off the signal boosters and seeing how well different phones cope with the poor signal. This always seems to be a function that is missing from phone reviews.
I personally live in a house that has poor reception, and the family is split between iPhone and Samsung users, the iPhone users have more of a problem making and reviving calls than the Samsung users.
Being a dual iPhone - Samsung user, and living in Venezuela, where the signal is generally low to poor, I can attest that Apple products, in general, require a better and more stable signal than Android devices.
I just add light machine oil when my fans start to make noise. I have seen others use lithium grease as well. I know fans are cheap but it still makes sense to keep them running instead of throwing them away. There are even videos here on UA-cam that show you how to lubricate both the fans that have a rubber cover and those that don't. You can even do this for your power supply fans!
I have 3 Sunon maglev fans in my PC case since 2012 24/7 on and then continue working like the first day, I had updated all the components but the fans and case continue being the same, them are 12v but I had to connect them to the 5v of the PSU because at 12v them sound like a plane taking off, them are intended to be used in medical equipment, not PCs, so I guess sound doesn't matter in that use, but them throw a ton of air even at 5v.
This is da wae!
I commented this on the other video too, I mean o get that Sunoon doesn't have RGB but those fans don't cost as much as the Corsair one's.
They are *so good that I use them on my diy air purifier lol. Has been going on for 3 years (continuous 24x7; just stopped to replace the filters)
Honestly I'm blown away by the quality on these
I use maglev fans from Corsair and i do like how quiet they are. Absolutely love them even cranked theyre much quieter.
Nice to see the Ugreen sponsorship! I read good reviews on amazon when I was looking for new charging gear, and they're the best I've ever had.
No friction doesn't mean there's no resistance however. Eddy currents are still a factor that can cause wear.
Corsair's ML120 fans are still loud AF though. They have two of these on the Corsair A500 air cooler and it's one of the loudest heatsinks I've ever owned.
And one disadvantage - less air Flow and pressure, I mean in most server systems, where this price and lifetime are more suitable, this fans might not have neede air pressure due to the magnets. Another solution from this situation - making one side of this "maglev" system from electromagnets, which could adjust the gap according to the RPM
Why would the pressure it produces be less if the fans could potentially spin faster? 🤔
all of it is electromagnets lol
if you want air pressure and flow, then take a look on Sunon Maglevs. i would guess they're the OEM of Corsair MLs. been using their 120x38 maglev fan and they have quite a lot of pressure
@@117gerardle indeed it doesn't make sense, however it _is_ somewhat counterintuitive that friction has no noticeable impact on RPM xd
@@jackmio please show the inner construction of it, all I found uses neodimium magnets to levitate.
I remember in the late 90s - mid 00s when a magnet driven fan died/started whining, we took the sticker off and put a single drip of sewing machine oil directly on the bearings 😂 good for another 5 years, I still have 3 of those fans in my Retro Rig to this day!
Fun fact: This technology is used in mechanical heart called left ventricular assist device or LVAD. This allow the device to run for more than 10 years!
James you know what’s funny? Corsair MAGLEV fans are one of the loudest fans with very high rpm/db ratio in real world testing because the noise also comes from the fan motor, not just the bearings or lack of them. I have tried all PC fans..and so far the top fans for performance vs rpm vs noise are still ball bearing or some modification of it e.g., T30, N12-A25, Gentle Typhoons, Sanyo Denki San Ace…
If cooling fan use good sleave bearing or ball bearing - noise from these bearings will be much low then noise producing by fan - moving air. This are reason why many fan producers looking for different shape of fan - to reduce noise from fan when move air.
levitation system - increase air cooling fan life without make any maintenance on it. But by current price of these types of fans - you can replace your normal fan every year, and still gain money.
Love my Corsair Maglev fans!
i have normal brushless 80mm pc fans over 20years old & still using them no noise & no issues.
I really don't want to comment sound mean, but this video comes off as a bit low quality for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the way longevity was talked about is super misleading. They do last much longer than other parts, but so do normal fans. Noctua's Nf-A12x25 are rated for +17 years of continues use while even cheaper fans like a Kaze Flex 120 are rated for +13 years, both way longer than most builds and not mentioning this makes newbies think if they don't want to worry about fans failing they gotta shell out for these fans. And speaking of price its super not helpful to show third party prices because they are often very inflated above actual MSRP which may be avaliable from other retailers. And if they are not that should be mentioned, only showing a third party price without context tells viewers nothing.
In most ball bearing fans the bearings don't make most of the sound, but the fan blades do.
So it's not that useful if the blades aren't well designed in the first place.
When will you guys do a report on full-immersion cooling? Not mineral oil but actual engineered fluids.
Even though it's not a more powerful type of fan, the reduced noise will allow you to run the fan at a higher rpm while putting out the same amount of sound as a sleeved fan.
Spotting parts that need replacing could be a topic for the future. I saw a question on twitter earlier about when to replace a fan and I realised... I'd have no idea. How am I to remember what speeds my fan used to get
Dual roller bearing and PROPER MAINTENANCE, that will make your fans last a very long time.
All power supplies should have maglev fans. It's the first thing that goes in any budget psu, making a nasty racket while the bearing is still cold.
I think the difference in price is not justify for the magnet ones. A cheap artic fluid bearing fan (5 12mm for like 35€?) Is the way to go for price/performance rateo. I had them for years and I really can't find a reason to pay for one fan (noctua, that I would like) the same price I payed for 5 of them.
I put 2 Corsair ML140s in my PC. I can’t imagine why anybody wouldn’t use these fans, unless there are other concerns or priorities at play.
It is not unlike a train. It exactly like a train. Minimizing the friction Its one of the most important part of magnetic levitation in trains too.
Brilliant thumbnail. Good work.
Japanese Shinkansen trains are still not maglev tho. Still only prototypes
I conducted over 500 experiments with various fans, placements and relative fan speeds in my Corsair 5000D case in a controlled environment. The fans I chose were an assortment of ones that had tested well elsewhere like the P fans from Artic, various Noctua fans, Scythe Kaze fans and fans from Noiseblocker. The tests were noise normalized at 36 dBa, which was the most I could tolerate in normal operation.
The focus of the tests was on finding the combination which were best for GPU thermals on my EVGA GTX 970 ftw (coupled with a 65watt ryzen 4650g pro as a cpu).
From the start it became clear that the best set up with my 280 rad (set on intake) for GPU thermals was two 140mm fans in the front as intake with the provided 120 mm Corsair fans (also on intake), together with two 140mm fans on the top of the case as exhaust, and the provided 120mm Corsair fan in the rear (140mm isn't possible). This was surprising because no matter which of the 120mm fans I tested, they were all consistently outperformed by the Corsair fans.
The next *small* surprise was that at low RPM there wasn't much difference between the 140mm fans, although I did discover the best extra fans for intake were the Artic P-14 fans and the best for exhaust were Noiseblocker B14-PS fans.
The greatest surprise was that single most important variable beyond just having fans was the relative fan speeds. So if my Gtx 970 was at 30% fan speed (the highest tolerable fan speed in terms of noise), having the fan speeds of the other fans to high actually reduced performance. It seemed for every GPU fan speed (10%, 20%, 30%) there existed a relatively narrow optimal range for the speeds of the other fans.
well, these could be the answer for vintage hardware upgrades, because the 90''s consoles and onwards need fans to operate. If you were able to fit one in the case say that of the ps2, Xbox, GameCube, Wii, etc, you could eliminate the need to go back into these systems again for fans. Additionally, if laptop manufactures offered this as an upgrade (or a main component) it could assist with loud fans in many of these systems. Continuing, it could be particularly useful for the laptops as they are subject to moving more often, and their fans often see damage due to travel while powered. Most laptop fans fail due to bearings.
I had a maglev fan several years ago. It didn't last long quickly clogged up with dust and burnt up. If the bearings aren't sealed, it doesn't matter what type of bearing if you live in a dusty area like a desert. The fine sandy dust will destroy it.
I've never worried about fan noise, because I always have a huge box fan 4 feet behind me anyway
No mention in this video of what Noctua uses or which fan you’re not supposed to mount horizontally or other related useful information, but we definitely have the guaranteed Midroll advertisement, of which I’m not even sure what it was because as soon as I hear “will tell you about it right after…” I spam the right side of my screen a few times.
I have 6 ML120s from Corsair and my Zotac 3080's fans are louder than my case fans which is insane
Which is normal... 2 or 3 80mms running at 1700rpm is going to be louder then 6 120s at 800.
Why is that insane? Its normal.. and the fans on the GPU cooler is often crap.
I've been using the same set of Noiseblocker MF fans in my computer for 12 years now, with zero issues. They are all still just as good as the day I bought them.
maglev fans aren't necessarily quiet, corsair ones are quite noisy actually. going off bearing type alone isnt a good idea for fan selection.
using MAG-LEV coolers since 2008 they were available in electronic stores only at that time
I remember i found like 2 maglev fans in a laptop stand, i found out they were maglev because it has the fopper wire and everything and that is the first time i saw the inside of a fan so i thought all fans were like that
I have 20-plus-years-old off-brand PC case coolers that have NEVER required adding lubricants and they are almost totally silent. Granted, I've never had a truly workhorse of a computer, but I've never, ever, needed expensive thermal solutions on any of the computers I have owned or built.
You should watch optimum tech’s video on fan noise. He compares the quietest fans, including Corsair’s 120mm mag-lev fan, and the mag-lev is one of the noisiest fans in testing. Noctua’s was the only one that stood apart from the pack in its quietness.
Taking the side panel off and leaving my PC in an open space has been the absolute best. Under extreme loads like Intel burn test and linpack xtreme.. my CPU is 40c lower, ram is 15-20c lower, gpu is 20c lower.
Open air loops are the best
I watched this video, and the very next day a fan on my gaming rig failed. It's all your fault James! Lol.
Maybe explain what a shaft and bearing is since we don't know how a fan looks like on the inside.
I mean who here has disassembled a computer fan or any fan at all?
Looking forward to add MagLev fans to my PC (replacing the bearing one I have), but I had a pretty bad experience with Corsair in the past. Hope more known fan manufacturers bring this tech to the market.
There are a few that already use MagLev here and there. Phanteks T30 for example use it
ROG does Maglev fans too (ROG Strix XF120)
Sunon have been making fans using maglev bearings for something like ten years (Edit: Actually they've made them for over twenty years now. The first was introduced in 1999). If anyone knows how to make them it's Sunon. Don't know if they have a good selection of quiet fans though. All I've used are their high powered industrial DC fans intended for servers and other applications where airflow and durability is more important than retaining your hearing. And yes I have horrible tinnitus today from the drone of cooling fans in servers...
I hope you don't, they're overpriced and very noisy. Far from what they claim to be
the only trade off with maglev is the price and coil whine, very worth it imo
Holy shit I’ve had a box of maglev fans from this guy I used to work with and didn’t even know they were special.
Take the blades off of a sleeve, ball bearing, fluid, and maglev fans and run them. In most cases you will notice no appreciative noise difference.
This quickie was a good video, buuuuut, it'd have been even better with a simple moment (and chart graphic) to explain which fan types work best (or aren't recommended) in which orientations.
When I upgraded my pc I spent around 200 usd for Corsair ML 120 and 140 fans, best 200 usd spent, never need to ramp up above 40-50 %.
5 ML120 and 2 ML140.
Bought a h150i elite capellix, that has 3 maglev fans. 1 fan broke not even 1 year in lol
Most of your noise from a fan is due to blade aerodynamics, not the spinning shaft.
The only reason maglev fans are attractive is due to reliability. They don't transfer nearly the amount of torque and on such smaller motors, this is a travesty for performance. This is why the RPMs on Maglev fans are often lower than shaft driven fans.
So you may get a fan that last longer than your PC, but your maglev fan may have contributed to your PCs short life by not providing adequate cooling performance in the first place.
Thing is, Corsair can't match up to properly made SSO bearings from something like Noctua
I bought ML 120s for my 3770k build 10 yrs ago. I still use them daily.
0:29 This train tech was developed in Germany in 1934 called "Magnetschwebebahn".
Corsair's ML120 and ML140 fans are actually ridiculously loud despite having the maglev bearings
hydrodynamic bearings are quieter and can also last a long time - Noctua uses them
I'll never understand why noise from a computer is an issues for most most people. Most gamers either use a noise canceling headset or a loud sound bar while gaming. You'll rarely notice the noise in the first place.
I wonder how many regular fans I can buy and replace for the same price as a single one of these fancy maglev fans.
Replaced all of my PC fans with Corsair ML140s, 2 of them died in under 2 years and the remaining ones are already making a racket. Most expensive junk I've ever brought
4:22 Alhamdulillah full watching the video 👍
Every fan in my PC besides my GPU fans are maglev :)
I also got them all for a good price since I bought them from work, 4 ML120 RGB elite in white for 150 CAD after tax.
hp pavilion series use these sunon's maglev fans since 2006~ btw
Can You "Overclock" Them?
I do still have a AMD Athlon 3200+ running Windows 10, which is from 2003. It is on the older end.
I got an RM850X with my new PC. It surprised me to find it has a worse noise rating than the standard RM850, which doesn't have a maglev fan, and they're both 80+ gold, and the non X is cheaper. They say the X has better components, but both are same warranty (10 years)... Eh, the system is quiet, I'm happy
Have to say I've been really impressed with the corsair MLs, got mine in 2018 and haven't had any issues. They're super quiet too. Just putting my experience out there to contrast with other comments.
Maglevs depend on electronic components which will limit it to about 7 to 10 years of life. I run my pc's longer than that so I would have to replace them at least once. They are expensive though.
So maglev computer fans are basically like miniature direct drive turntables. (Technics SL-1200) Except instead of a platter they have fan blades.
Maglev's also draw less power.
My old motherboard wouldn't daisy-chain more than 3 PWM fans off the CPU header. The Maglevs worked up to 5 fans on that same header.
Both Corsair brand.
I had ten of these in my build, 3x360mm rads and a rear intake...after one year I replaced them with AL120s from Lian Li and trust me, anyone want some ML120s RGB cheap? I have ten. Lian-Li's are quieter, perform better, the LEDs are far superior in color, not to mention the mounting and wiring.
I bought The cooler Master haf X when it was released in 2008 maybe 2009.
It still has the original 200 mm fans and it came with two extra 200 mm fans. The extras have been on my desk blowing on my hands all these years and all of them still run like new.
I know there's a lot of different factors into screwing up your bearings like smoking pet dender etc. I'm in a smoke-free home now that's fairly not Dusty. The first six or more maybe 8 years of these fans lives was in a Dusty old trailer pet dander and I smoke cigarettes like a chimney.
For whatever reason they are still working perfectly fine on my desk and in my tower to this day.
I do want to upgrade eventually but it's seeming hard to find 200 mm fans with full RGB and whatnot..
I'm not getting rid of this case 🤘😆🤘
Bruh that flannel looks so nice.
Doesn't it. We call that "lesbian red". Before anyone says anything. I'm part of the gay community.
PS cool user nick.
Showing a third party seller listing on Newegg when comparing prices of products is like demonstrating how to say hello by slapping someone's face.
My AIO is an iCUE H150i Elite Capellix which does come with maglev fans. They're kind of noisy although they keep my 11900KF under 70.
Yea, my system has a full set of maglev fans (Corsair fans being my next favorite fan after Noctua fans) - they are nice & I am expecting them to last a very long time. I just wouldn't set PWM to 100 on them - they get awfully loud at max RPM (which is quite high - though they sure are capable of moving air in a hurry at those RPM's).
Air is best. My aero sharks are 8 years old now in the vertical position, I did have to replace the horizontal ones though.