be quiet! Silent Wings 4 (Pro) 120 mm Case Fan Review – When the name says it all | Part 1

1 - Introduction and technical data 2 - Chamber, test system and methods 3 - Fan speed, regulation, voltage and power consumption 4 - Volumetric airflow 5 - Static pressure 6 - Sound pressure level (Noise) 7 - Summary and Conclusion

The be quiet! Silent Wings 4 (Pro) 120 mm have already been extensively reviewed in the media, but today we finally have the long-awaited test. We chose the 120mm case fans as the first part, though we will follow up with the larger 140mm fans in a timely manner. In theory, there have already been press releases and information in wave-like bursts, but we can only really go into detail today. But in the meantime, we live with the fact that even left- and right-handed screws get their own NDAs. On separate days, of course, with the unpainted ones not allowed to be released until a week later. But well, joking aside, because now it’s getting serious.

The manufacturer offers both fan sizes as a standalone and a Pro version, whereby the Pro version is not only capable of everything the simpler version can do, but even quite a bit more in terms of maximum speeds. If you know the Pro version, then it is easy to conclude the other offered variants, which only differ in the available speed range. That’s why we only test the Pro version, but we have the advantage with our new metrics that you can also evaluate the other fans with these charts. For the sake of simplicity, I refer you to the recently published article on this subject.

Lüfter-Tests 2.0: Feedback, Messungen und neue Metriken für Gehäuse und Radiatoren am Beispiel des Phanteks T30

And what else? You have to be quiet! yes let, but they have consistently managed without lamp store. RGB is currently not even available for a surcharge, and that is a good thing. The hub (weight) and electronics (noise) are unencumbered and there is also no annoying illuminated ring that could negatively affect the radiator meter. The fan concentrates on what it is primarily supposed to do: realize good, but quiet ventilation. And that’s exactly what a Silent Wing 4 can do really well, even if I don’t want to spoil anything at this point. With prices between a bit under 25 and 32 Euros (RRP), you are already in the premium segment in terms of price, which sets the bar quite high.

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The black frame is functional and simple, has a useful decoupling and for operation on the radiators even a quite passably functioning partitioning of the air flow, so that no pressure is lost. The rotor with its 9 moderately steeply pitched blades is not a great innovation in purely visual terms, nor is the 6-pole motor. But you don’t have to make the tried and tested worse by force, but you can optimize it in a targeted way. The fan once again relies on a good hydrodynamic plain bearing (FDB), which does exactly what it is supposed to. If you want to know all the technical details and the manufacturer’s point of view, I refer you to the specifications and the embedded documentation at the end of the page. It really says it all.

However, I will have various comments later on the engine noises, which occur independently of the bearing, up to the teeny tiny humming in some rpm ranges. The weight of 240 grams is not bad at all. The manufacturer specifies the thickness (installation depth) as 25 mm, which is even true.  The maximum gap of 1.5 between the rotor and frame is very good and the surface finish is definitely not objectionable. The power consumption turns out relatively high at full speeds with just under 4 watts for the fan at maximum speeds, but this is due to the high speeds. But I’ll get to all the details in a moment, because there’s an extra paragraph on that.

By the way, you also get a lot of accessories for the corners, so that the fans always find the right fit on radiators or in the case. This is commendable in every respect. Only cascading is not available, here you have to use the motherboard or a hub, which is a bit of a pity.

Silent Wings 4

Silent Wings Pro 4

For all those who still need the media-compliant buzzwords and features and would like to find out how easy it is to do all the cabling, I would simply recommend the Media Kit, where you can really find everything that has to do with the luminosity, optics, and condensing:

On the next page you will first see how and what we test and why. Understanding the details is incredibly important in order to be able to objectively classify the results later. The differences between many models are more in the details and the best fan for all situations can hardly exist. There is a certain optimum in every situation and, of course, good all-rounders. But they usually have their price. However, if you are planning very specifically with 60 mm radiators, for example, you might be able to save money by choosing the best model for your intended use, which might not perform so well as a case fan. And vice versa, of course.