BitFenix Spectre Pro PWM 140mm Case Fan BFF-SPRO-P14025WW-RP White

I originally purchased this brand and model because of its wide RPM range, CFM spec and attractive all white color and design. The unit was installed as the primary rear exhaust fan in my new top of the line home built PC along with 5 other Corsair brand case fans in both 140mm and 120mm diameters.At just over 2 months of use inside my new gaming PC, this fan began to exhibit odd behavior by not spinning up to speed according to the fan profile settings originally set up using the ASUS fan monitoring software. I noticed that unlike all the other fans in the box, it began to actually stop spinning during portions of UEFI Bios and Windows 10 boot up process, which definitely was not the case when it was first installed. Upon running the fan through the fan profiling process again, the ASUS application actually reduced its useable range from the original 550 rpm > 1750 rpm to a much narrower 1100 rpm > 1700 rpm.Since I had been running this fan near the 1100 RPM or higher range anyway, I decided to let things ride, and since the unit was well beyond the 30 day exchange period I wasn't crazy about the idea of having to purchase another fan so soon after purchasing this one. Which I should point out was on the high side for a non LED equipped exhaust fan of this size.Well... About 2 weeks after the profile had been revised by my ASUS software, I began to hear the tell-tale metallic whine of a failing bearing coming from this fan's hub. It coincided with a visible slowing down of the fan's speed and would occur about every 3-5 seconds. It was at this point that I made the decision to purchase a second one of these. I assumed that the bearing problem was just my bad luck and the chances of a second unit having the same issue was remote. Since my PC case has a transparent side and all the internals are visible, I liked the look of this fan in the rear exhaust position and when lit with my custom LED case lighting it looked much better than a stock black case fan would look.So... I ordered a second unit. The replacement unit tested better than the published spec according to the ASUS fan monitoring application, showing a solid 525 rpm > 1780 rpm range. (A better range than the first unit) However, within only a few short days, I began to see the early signs of yet another bearing failure! When the fan was profiled for a second time at day 5 of use, the lower end of the rpm range had gone from the out of the box 525 rpm to 700 rpm, and a very slight bearing grind could be heard coming from the fan's hub.Not wanting to await the inevitable, I replaced the fan with the stock 140mm Corsair that had come pre-installed in my PC case, and returned this second Spectre Pro PWM 140 mm for a refund.Its really too bad that such a nicely designed product is obviously using inferior bearings in the most important area of the product, resulting in premature bearing failure under normal use. I hope that BitFenix is aware of this quality control issue and will take steps to correct the problem by finding a quality source for the manufacture of this product in the future.Personally, I don't have the time to go through a warranty claim over a $20.00 purchase and chose instead to forgo the impressive looks of this product for something that will actually do the job without breaking down in less than 3 months of normal use.

What's there to say about a fan? Plenty if you are a PC enthusiast... for one this is among the few 140mm fans on Amazon with PWM function. Most 140mm fans are quiet because the simple fact that they spin slower but moves an acceptable amount of air (comparable to a good 120mm. These fans moves a ton of air at good pressure which means it works well as a radiator fan which is my primary use. Are they quiet? A lot more quiet than stock 120mm AIO cooler fans but they are audible. You can hear the air moving but not the whine that some fans emit at high RPM. Mounting accessory comes in the form of screws and silicone rubber fasteners. Cables are all black and slightly longer than an ATX sized board height. Motherboard controls and displays RPM readings with no issues. If you want quiet AND goods performance maybe this isn't the best choice but if you want performance at acceptable noise levels this is it, without burning a hole in the pocket (Noctua).

These puppies move a lot of air, even at idle. These two are my primary intake fans for my case and I find myself cleaning the side panel filter once a week with them never really reaching 100% very often. For the record, my filter consists of Rheem OEM filter material cut from the ones we have laying around. It's a black, woven, washable plastic material and obviously, it works. At 100%, you WILL hear these running however, at 122 CFM's, I'm sorry but you're going to hear them. At idle though they're still very quiet and up to about 1000rpm it's not bad. After that, don't worry about it....they're working. The wiring is also very nice and sturdy enough for me to reconnect it to a connector between the rear I/O and the Hyper 212 without my hands touching anything but remains flexible and manageable. Thumbs up for that :-)

Much quieter than the default 3-pin fan that would spin at 100% all the time. Was a little shocked to find that the sides of the fan were a heavy/hard plastic and not rubber. The included rubber nubs that dampen the noise didn't quite work as I'd hoped thanks to Corsair's ideology of putting rubber grommets on all of the screw holes.Plenty of length on the cable (4 pin PWM) so it could reach the middle of my ASROCK Z97 Anniversary board's 4pin header and is now running at a smooth 35% speed at idle and 45% under load when the temps hit over 50C.Keeps the fan branding uniform throughout the front and back panels of my case (I have some Spectre Pro PWM LED's in the front) and is stealthed thanks to the black on black color scheme.

This fan is LOUD. I measured ambient noise inside the room at 29 dba. at 12v this fan pushes upwards of 51dba. measured at about 1 foot on the side of the case (tempered glass panel) I purchased it as a single 140mm exhaust for the rear of my case. At low speeds it has a very quiet but noticeable sound coming off the bearings, as if it wasn't properly aligned and something is rubbing against a part in the rotor. I don't know if this is normal for this fan, but it's very disappointing. Looks great, has a neat pearlescent finish, but it's so loud, it takes over and can be heard from outside my room when under load. I will be returning this and purchasing something like the Noctua Redux or something comparable. If you're buying this fan for looks only, it will serve.It's beautiful to look at, and looks even better under a Phanteks halo (which is how i had originally set it up). But if you're looking for performance and low noise levels, look elsewhere.