The end, or just the beginning? 100 fans in HWCooling tests

Our database now includes one hundred fans—75 in the 120 mm format and 25 models with a physical size of 140 mm. In this article, we have compiled all data into unified charts. What was once separated for clarity is now brought together again, and the commentary will also include a… look ahead regarding fan testing. But we can already reveal that there is still a lot more to come.

Results: Frequency response of sound with a hexagonal grille

Measurements are conducted using TrueRTA, which captures audio data across 240 frequency bands within the 20–20,000 Hz range. To facilitate comparisons between articles, we extract and present the dominant frequency from each of three spectral bands: low (20–200 Hz), mid (201–2000 Hz), and high (2001–20,000 Hz) in standardized bar graphs.

However, for an even more detailed analysis of the sound expression, it is important to perceive the overall shape of the graph and the intensity of all frequencies/tones. If any aspects of the graphs or data tables are unclear, detailed interpretation guidelines are provided in this article.

Most fan-related acoustic activity occurs within the 70–7000 Hz range. Frequencies above 7000 Hz typically represent electromagnetic interference from the test environment, while the lowest bands below 70 Hz may also include such noise, albeit mixed with aerodynamic sound. Although we could exclude these frequency extremes, they are retained to detect and visualize potential anomalies.


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Wordpress Table Plugin



Wordpress Table Plugin
Why is a value sometimes missing for a fan? There can be several reasons. Most commonly, it’s because the fan couldn’t be regulated to the target noise level. Some fans have higher minimum RPM (or they spin slowly but have an excessively noisy motor), or they are simply slower models that can’t reach higher decibel thresholds. Results are also omitted from graphs if the impeller scrapes against the mesh of a nylon filter. In such cases, we classify the combination as incompatible. And of course, a zero in the graphs naturally appears in situations where we record an actual 0.00. This often occurs at extremely low speeds when obstacles are present or during vibration measurements.


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Adata XPG Vento Pro 120 PWM: Refining the “imperfect”

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ADATA PCIe 5.0 SSDs introduce low-power controller, unusual cooler

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Adata is not afraid, they gave the XPG Hurricane holey blades

These are truly unconventional fans. While the rotor shapes tend to vary across different models, in different materials, the XPG Hurricane design clearly stands out among the rest. They have sort of dual blades and prominent protrusions and, imagine, some sort of openings as well. Overall, the shape of the blades is more complex and it is not a typical quadrilateral geometry either. How can this possibly work? Read more “Adata is not afraid, they gave the XPG Hurricane holey blades” »

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Comments (4) Add comment

  1. Thank you for all the hard work in reviewing and compiling this information!

    If it’s not too much effort, would it be possible to maintain a page like this going forward with each new reviewed fan added on? It’ll make a convenient location to be able to reference back to (a one-stop-shop if you would).

    1. Thank you for the comment! 🙂

      What exactly do you mean by keeping it the same as in this article?

      We separated the 140 mm fans from the 120 mm ones to prevent the charts from becoming too long. Even as they are now—especially in the 120 mm category, where we have more models—the graphs already take up quite a lot of vertical pixels. If combined, navigating them would be rather inconvenient, even on high-resolution monitors

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