NZXT's FN V2 Fans are Built to be Silent

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NZXT has made two new fans.

NZXT has launched its FN V2 series case fans. To start off, it'll be releasing two fans – the FN V2 120 mm and the FN V2 140 mm.

"Today's high-performance PCs require high-performance cooling, but as fan airflow increases, noise is a growing concern. NZXT's new FN V2 fans were redesigned from the ground up to offer better acoustics and even better performance than old-fashioned case fans." – NZXT.

The 120 mm version will spin at 1200 RPM, while the 140 mm version will spin at 1000 RPM. For these speeds NZXT claims a noise level of 21 dBA, with an airflow rate of 45-50 CFM.

The fans also have vibration-dampening mounting grommets.

NZXT has priced the 120 mm fan at $8.99; the 140 mm FN V2 fan will cost $9.99. Availability is scheduled for March 2014.

Niels Broekhuijsen
Niels Broekhuijsen

Niels Broekhuijsen is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He reviews cases, water cooling and pc builds.

9 Comments Comment from the forums
  • soccerplayer88
    Meh, COUGAR has been doing this for some time at better CFM marks with better dBa levels. The other thing NZXT is screwing up is using Rifle Bearings instead of a higher standard like Fluid-Dynamic.I'm not really sure who they're trying to target here. Do yourself a favor, instead of looking at these go for a COUGAR CF-V12H. There really is no downside unless orange isn't your color.
    Reply
  • heero yuy
    ^ cougar do appear to have a thing for orangemy CMX1000 power supply units casing is a nice bright orange
    Reply
  • Jack Revenant
    I'd support Cougar here as well. I swapped out the 140s on my Phantom 820 and Kraken x60 for green Cougar CFD140s, and the airflow increase is almost equal to the noise reduction, which is noticeable. Lovely fans, though admittedly they usually run 1.5-2 times the cost of these NZXTs.
    Reply
  • 2Be_or_Not2Be
    The loudest fan I have is my video card. I wish video card mfg's spent more time on noise control. Cases and CPU fans have gotten much better, but video cards - not so much.
    Reply
  • Haravikk
    That doesn't seem very silent at all. I know I keep harping on about them, but the Prolimatech Ultra Sleek Vortex 14 is 140mm, but only 15mm thick, but have similar airflow at around 600rpm, and are under 18dBA. They're not perfect, for example they lack built in rubber grommets, but using either rubber washers or anti-vibration "screws" leaves them practically silent. They are a bit pricier, but with their size and 120mm mounts they're great as both CPU coolers and case fans.I suppose for the price these NZXT offerings aren't too bad, but they just don't seem very impressive either.
    Reply
  • Tedders
    Meh, COUGAR has been doing this for some time at better CFM marks with better dBa levels. The other thing NZXT is screwing up is using Rifle Bearings instead of a higher standard like Fluid-Dynamic.I'm not really sure who they're trying to target here. Do yourself a favor, instead of looking at these go for a COUGAR CF-V12H. There really is no downside unless orange isn't your color.
    I have been planning on getting Cougars for a while, just haven't gotten around to it. They do make black variants of their 120mm and 140mm fans which is good, cause I don't want orange.
    Reply
  • RCguitarist
    I agree on the cougar fans. I use them exclusively. I have 6 of them and my pc runs near silent even while gaming (and I keep 3 of them running at 100% power all of the time). I'm glad NZXT is making these though as the more options out there, the better.
    Reply
  • Innocent_Bystander-1312890
    If it moves air, it can't be silent. Full Stop.It can be quiet, but if you have a case like mine (Antec P193) you'll have to fit 5 of them beside a big side-fan to bring full airflow to the case. Now I'm using silent fans right now and overall the system at idle is not bad, but I would not consider it silent by a long shot..
    Reply
  • Christopher Shaffer
    Personally, I've been using Phanteks for quite a while now and I swear by them. In fact, they're near dead-silent on 80% full speed, and pretty quiet at 100%. My only gripe is that when you shut down or go on sleep mode, if they're in a horizontal position they make this little wobble "wuh wuh wuh" sound as they spin down; same happens if you run them below about 20%; but they're silent at 30%, so why bother?The NZXT fans than came with my Phantom 410 case are nearly as silent as the Phanteks, though proportionally louder at higher speeds, so I'd be willing to bet these new ones that are actually targeted for silence are good performers.I have to add that the fans in the Phantom 410 are by far the best quality I've received as "free" fans with a case.
    Reply