One size bigger: be quiet! Light Wings 140 mm PWM and PWM High Speed Review

1 - Introduction and technical Data 2 - Test Methods, Equipment and Chamber 3 - Voltages, Controller, Speed and Wattage 4 - Volumetric Airflow 5 - Static Pressure 6 - Noise Emission, Audio Samples, Frequency Analysis 7 - Summary, Conclusion and final Words

We had already tested the smaller siblings of the Light Wings in 120 mm and found them to be good. So now comes the test of the be quiet! Light Wings 140 mm PWM and PWM High Speed and it will be interesting to see if they have managed to scale the successful concept in size. Often enough such projects are crowned with success, but now and then the whole thing turns out less optimal. That is exactly what we want to find out today. And the same applies as with the 120 mm fans: Individually or in a three-pack with a hub as a free accessory?

Even the larger 140mm variants are still fans that are focused on performance and noise development, and they also shine nicely as a bonus without overdoing it. The look hasn’t changed compared to the smaller models, it’s just kind of “upscaling”. This can go well, but it doesn’t necessarily have to. But that’s why we’re testing.

The manufacturer also uses the so-called rifle-bearing, which is very similar to the normal plain bearing, but is quieter and has a service life almost as long as ball bearings. This bearing has a spiral groove through which fluid is pumped from a reservoir (similar to the fluid bearing). This makes them rather insensitive to the direction of installation (unlike plain bearings), as the pumped fluid lubricates the top of the shaft. Pumping also provides sufficient lubricant on the shaft, reducing noise and increasing service life. So much for the theory and we will see later in the sound spectrum if and which advantages can be seen (and above all heard).

The frame is, except for the translucent light ring with its individually controllable 20 ARGB LEDs, rather plain and very torsion-resistant. The use of translucent plastics results in a very uniform luminous image without extreme hotspots for the LEDs. The shape of the impeller follows the well-known wave design of be quiet!and relies on rounded tear-off edges. While the classic standard case fan uses 7 fan blades, the High Speed has a total of 9 fan blades, which later explains the slightly different measurement results of the fans at identical speed.

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The decoupling is achieved with inserted rubber applications, which do not twist even when the screw is tightened. The gap dimensions and surface finish are good to very good. The power consumption at full speed of 3.84 (140 mm PWM) and 4.68 (140 mm PWM High Speed) watts is lower than that of the 120 mm models. This, in turn, is astonishing and perhaps already allows conclusions to be drawn about what we are about to measure. First of all, however, the key data for better comparability with the later measurement results in the comparison:

On the next page you will first see how and what we test and why. Understanding the details is extremely 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 there are also good all-rounders. But they usually have their price. But if you plan to use 60mm radiators for example, you might save money by choosing the best model for your application, which might not perform so well as a case fan. And vise versa, of course.

For all curious people here again an excerpt of the data sheet: