Endorfy Fluctus 140 PWM ARGB works, looks come second

Evaluation

The first Fluctus 120 PWM fans marked a great qualitative progress in SilentiumPC production (now Endorfy). Nevertheless, they had their flaws, which the developers are gradually eliminating and, based on the measurement results, the newer 140 mm Fluctus can be said to be a clear improvement. The Fluctus 140 PWM ARGB stands out nicely from other fans in its price category.

Evaluation

The Endorfy Fluctus 140 PWM ARGB fan doesn’t put all of its eggs in the shiny colors basket. Those are secondary here, added value. The ARGB LED is “just” the icing on the cake here, decorating the solidly crafted details of the key elements. In many ways, Endorfy’s illuminated 140mm fan schools the Fractal Design Aspect 14 RGB PWM, which is in the same price range.

In a non-restrictive, unobstructed environment, the Fluctus 140 PWM ARGB outperforms the Aspect 14 RGB PWM at higher RPMs, at lower RPMs the difference is minimal to none. This is not true on a grille or on radiators (see results on a thinner radiator with higher FPI and on a thicker one with lower FPI), where the Fluctus 140 PWM ARGB is in the lead even at lower speeds. It’s no match for the BeQuiet! Silent Wings Pro 4 at equal noise level, although on a grille it’s only trailing by a little bit. It beats the BeQuiet Light Wings fan (BL075, 140 mm) fan in most cases, on a thicker radiator always. This is also due to the smaller frequency peaks in the sound, for which the fan can operate at higher speeds at equal noise level.

Acoustic improvements can also be heard over the smaller, 120-millimeter Fluctus 120 model. Although one would expect more prominent resonant frequencies at critical speeds with the longer blades (of the 140mm Fluctus fan), the opposite is true here. The sound is characterized by lower, rumbling frequencies, but these are quieter than with the Fluctus 120 PWM and overall it can be said that although there is still a lot to catch up on, the fan is no longer so disturbing. At low speeds (around 600 rpm), the operation without obstacles is pleasantly quiet. With a grille in 33 dBA mode, it’s noisier (but not noisy) at 370 Hz, but it’s not out of line with the average of other fans. Similarly, with a plastic filter, where the lower frequencies (106–175 Hz) are more pronounced and the character of the sound is a bit more boomy.

Vibrations reaching the frame (and subsequently the case or cooler structure) are only more pronounced at high speeds approaching maximum. From 1130 rpm downwards, they can be described as very low to negligible. If the manufacturer had used softer and/or thicker pads in the corners of the fan, the vibration at higher speeds would have been reduced.

The speed range of the Fluctus 140 PWM ARGB is really wide, it starts from approx. 280 rpm and ends at approx. 1940 rpm. The top speed is therefore slightly above the stated specifications (officially up to 1800 rpm), which is good and can be considered as a kind of margin for applications with higher environmental resistance, which reduce the speed a bit. However, the Fluctus 140 PWM ARGB is also well prepared for this kind of adverse conditions. It uses a highly powerful motor that can work hard when you need it.

Power efficiency is above average even with the LEDs on. The latter have top-notch efficiency. At relatively low power draw, fan brightness is above standard. In terms of cooling performance, it’s a little worse, airflow per unit of power draw is only slightly above average.

The price-to-cooling-performance ratio is average compared to all fans, but if you filter out only the lighted ones (i.e. direct competitors), the Fluctus 140 PWM ARGB edges out towards the top. And it sticks to the top especially when it’s a radiator fan or a fan on a grille. On these obstacles, the lead of the FD Aspect 14 RGB PWM is already more significant and and the 140 mm BeQuiet! Light Wings lags behind quite a bit as well.. And because the Fluctus 140 PWM ARGB doesn’t suffer from any major flaws, it takes home the “Smart buy!” award from our tests.

English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš

• Contents
• Endorfy Fluctus 140 PWM ARGB in detail
• Basis of the methodology, the wind tunnel
• Mounting and vibration measurement
• Initial warm-up and speed recording
• Base 6 equal noise levels…
• ... and sound color (frequency characteristic)
• Static pressure measurement…
• … and airflow
• Everything changes with obstacles
• How we measure power draw and motor power
• Measuring the intensity (and power draw) of lighting
• Results: Speed
• Results: Airlow w/o obstacles
• Results: Airflow through a nylon filter
• Results: Airflow through a plastic filter
• Results: Airflow through a hexagonal grille
• Results: Airflow through a thinner radiator
• Results: Airflow through a thicker radiator
• Results: Static pressure w/o obstacles
• Results: Static pressure through a nylon filter
• Results: Static pressure through a plastic filter
• Results: Static pressure through a hexagonal grille
• Results: Static pressure through a thinner radiator
• Results: Static pressure through a thicker radiator
• Results: Static pressure, efficiency by orientation
• Reality vs. specifications
• Results: Frequency response of sound w/o obstacles
• Results: Frequency response of sound with a dust filter
• Results: Frequency response of sound with a hexagonal grille
• Results: Frequency response of sound with a radiator
• Results: Vibration, in total (3D vector length)
• Results: Vibration, X-axis
• Results: Vibration, Y-axis
• Results: Vibration, Z-axis
• Results: Power draw (and motor power)
• Results: Cooling performance per watt, airflow
• Results: Cooling performance per watt, static pressure
• Airflow per euro
• Static pressure per euro
• Results: Lighting – LED luminance and power draw
• Results: LED to motor power draw ratio
• Evaluation