Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Quiet to one person may certainly not be considered quiet by someone else. For that reason, fan reviews are rarely reliable. Testing with a decibel meter can technically prove one fan is quieter than another, but doesn’t address the quality of the sound. I can subjectively say the Pure Wings fans are quiet and comparatively sound more pleasant than many other fans... mostly because I’ve tested and used a lot of fans (see photos). This is a subjective comparison from someone who has tested a lot of fans The Pure Wings are not the quietest fan and they don’t move the most air either. But, they are quiet enough and the sound they do make is extremely pleasant. I can detect no noticeable noise from the hub and the air from the blades has a soft sound. Below 600rpm, they are silent from any distance. Around 800rpm they become barely audible and are what I would consider quiet until 1200rpm. By 1500rpm, they are loud, but the noise is never harsh and does not drone at all. I run mine on a curve from 500rpm at idle and 1200rpm at load. All fans will make noise if you spin them fast enough. What matters the most is the tone of that noise. I have fans that are technically quiet, but have an unpleasant sound either from blades that drone or hubs that whirr, tick, or whine. The Pure Wings have none of those negative qualities and are comparatively better than everything else I’ve tested. For an alternative option, the Noctua Redux are the closest in terms of rpm and price. The Redux comes packaged the same as the Pure Wings, which is with nothing except 4 screws, both being an economy line. The Redux does have a higher static pressure than the Pure Wings, but that blade design also drones just a bit. The Arctic P12 are priced about the same and are receiving rave reviews. I would pass on those though. Two of mine make a noticeable tick and all of them have a whirring noise from the motor around 1200rpm. The best options sub-$15 are the Pure Wings or the Redux. If you want to spend more, Be Quiet Silent Wings and Noctua Brown are the best in terms of performance and the quality of noise. NZXT retail fans are also quite good. I was not impressed with Cougar Vortex fans or Arctic P12. Avoid the Cooler Master MF at all costs, they have a subjectively loud tick that makes them unusable. Any Corsair fan I’ve tested moves a ton of air, but are always loud. Be Quiet and Noctua are the best choices in my opinion, even their economy lines are better than the vast majority of what’s out there from other brands. **Update: I did some testing on the Pure Wings 140mm PWM non-high speed. That model has a rated rpm of 1000. I did have some trouble getting mine to 1000rpm using my digital fan hub, but instead topped out at 900rpm. I normally see a reduction due to dust filters and general case resistance, but it’s usually 50rpm or less. What I can say is that the 140mm is subjectively quieter than the 120mm at the same rpm, which is impressive given how quiet the 120mm is. My recommendation if you want the 140mm option is to buy the high speed version and set a custom fan curve. Or, buy the regular version and just run it at 80% to 100% all the time, which would work because it is so quiet. If you found my comparison helpful, please press that button.