I need to replace the stock 140mm fans on my define XL due to them developing bearing(?) noise, but reliable information on 140mm fans is quite scarce. The fans don't have to be super silent due to it being a gaming machine which is pretty noisy when on load, but I'd like them to have some longevity, because I plan on keeping this case for a while and don't want to replace them often. My options currently are Noctua, Be Quiet!, Scythe or Phobya lineups, everything else would require me to ship them from outside the country. Can anyone recommend anything or should I just slap in some cookie cutter Slipstreams?

P.S. Does anyone know anything about Be Quiet! fans ?
P.P.S. The fans have to have standard 140mm mounting holes.

w/o getting into specifics, my pick from that list would be Scythe. Proven consistently quiet, pretty good value.

This would rule out the Scythes which only have 120mm size fittings. This also applies to the Noctua NF-P14 FLX but it is supplied with adapters to fit 140mm mountings. Like all Noctuas it is rated at greater than 150,000 hours MTBF and has a 6 year guarantee. So the prospect of longevity might offset their admittedly premium price. I have used the Be Quiet! 120mm fans and they are excellent but I have no idea about their 140mm models.

How about Antec True Quiet or the new Corsair AF series? Noiseblocker BlackSilent are also in the race, imho. As to bequiet!, only the Silent Wing USC are top, all other bequiet! fans have taken some criticism in web reviews.

After digging deeper I've also uncovered that I can buy some Noiseblocker BlackSilent Pro pk3s (the only retailer here that has a wider selection of fans also is also cursed with a very slow and hard to use inventory search). So another contender to join the others, any good word on these ?

I like the Antec TrueQuiets but I'm not sure of their longevity, which is mentioned by the OP.

They are 1700 rpm fans and there seem to be some complaints about this fan ticking when undervolted such as this one on YouTube.

As you have a Fractal Design case can you buy the Fractal Design 800 and 1000 speed 140mm fans in your locality?

I own 2 PK3 on my notebook cooler (coolermaster SF19) and they are great fans, but at full rated speed they move lots of air and they also are very noticeable in terms of sound. I also own a PK1 which is the 700rpm version, and imo thats the best 140mm fans i own, it still moves a lot of air and very quiet. The pk3 should undervolt fine, as i do use it with the knob on my notebook cooler, but how low... idk never really tried them on a desktop setup, so if you can get PK1 imo more than enough airflow.

Surprisingly, even though they sell cases here, they don't sell any other Fractal Design products

Maybe if you contact fractal design, they care about your problem and are able/willing to send you replacements or offer another solution to keep a customer happy.

Would solve the problem until you find THE case fan for your needs.

As to Noiseblockers: The Pro/PWM series are said to be noisier than the Blacksilent XK1 or XK2. I'd go for the XK2 with max 1100 rpm and volt it down.

Well since there are no lower rpm Noiseblockers, I'll have to pick between Be quiet! and Noctua. The prices are essentially identical, so it will be a hard choice to make.

The Noctua fans have proven reliability and sound good and have extras to change the voltage so you dont need to mess around with software or the BIOS.

I know nothing about the Be Quiet fans, so I would buy the Noctua fans.


Andy

I could try buying 1 Be quiet! fan and making a report here, but only if anyone here is interested.

I have both a Noctua and half a dozen of Bequiet Silentwings 140 mm fans, and the Bequiet are quieter. I have retired my Noctua because of them.

Please, note that I run them at most at 750 rpms: at 1000 rpms I find bothBequiets and Noctuas too loud.

BTW, the Bequiet start running below 300 rpms, so you can make them as silent as you want. Last, but not least, they have a soft padding that helps with vibration. Oh, and they work very well horizontally, I have run lots of them that way.

I find the Bequiet to be clearly better than the Noctua.

Yes people are always going to be interested in user experiences.

I've ordered a 140mm Be Quiet! Dark Wings fan and will maybe post (if my canon camera has good enough sound quality) a few videos comparing the noise with a NF-P14 and a stock fractal design fan.