Best fans for push / pull on 80mm thick rad

Hello everyone

I have almost gathered everything i need to assemble my first watercooling loop (over 900$ worth in total!). Last thing i need to figure out is which fans to use for my rad. I am going with a black / red / yellow color scheme and i'd like some LEDs on the fans or at least some sort of color. My rad is an Alphacool Nexxos Monsta 420mm so i need 140mm fans. I really like the corsair AF140s that either have a red ring (http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...m_re=corsair_140mm_fan-_-35-181-028-_-Product) or an actual red LED (http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...m_re=corsair_140mm_fan-_-35-181-051-_-Product) and i was wondering if they were suitable for a rad this thick. Honestly, having put so much money into this build already i am not going to fuss about the price of the fans too much so i was planning on getting 6 of them for push / pull. Would my choice be suitable for what i plan to use them for? What other fan should i consider to do the trick? I am looking for a relatively quiet build of course but my main focus is temperatures, which is why i went with the best waterblock EK makes and a 420mm rad even if i'm just cooling a 5930k (for now?).

Any help is appreciated, thanks guys.

The best premium rad fans I can think of on the top of my head are for 120mms which are the AP-53s, eloops B12s and EK Vandars. For budgeted fans, Swiftech Helix.

Your best bet is to look for the 140mm equivalent of those 120mm fans. I know Helix do have 140mm but not sure about the others.

The EK 140mm Vardars have only just be released so there isn't really any feedback on forums yet.

I was able to find a review for you though, courtesy of ThemalBench (linked below)

http://thermalbench.com/2015/08/11/ek-vardar-f1-140-140mm-fan/

the EK Vardars 140mm look pretty sick indeed! https://shop.ekwb.com/ek-vardar-f1-140-1150rpm

Anyone have experience with the 140mm versions of those? Not the most amazing aesthetics but that could be arranged with some LEDs

d3n1s_47 said:

the EK Vardars 140mm look pretty sick indeed! https://shop.ekwb.com/ek-vardar-f1-140-1150rpm

Anyone have experience with the 140mm versions of those? Not the most amazing aesthetics but that could be arranged with some LEDs

Click to expand...

AFAIK, their 120mm do really well as rad fans. I assume the same designs and goals were considered into the 140mms as well.

Not sure if adding anything to the fan is a good idea tbh. It can cause stress to the motors, create turbulent air flow and add more sound. I would just stick the LEDs to the case.

Any other votes for the Vardars 140mm? I wish newegg had them so i could get them in literally 2 days. I looked at the review and the specs and from what i've seen they seem to beat every other fan in terms of noise to static pressure ratio, which as i understand is what i need for a rad this thick.

I don't think anyone has actually voted for the Vardars. They are so new on the market that very few people around the globe will have purchased, tried and tested them.

I had read some reviews on the EK Vardars (120) when they were being sent out to reviewers thanks to a member here keeping an eye on them and mentioning them in a thread a while back, and I was pleasantly surprised. Performance was top-tier from what I saw. So I would personally feel comfortable ordering them over other fans such as the GT AP-xx, NB eLoop, etc. That said, the tried and true GentleTyphoon AP series won't let you down, then there is the Noiseblocker eLoops.

I've even read somewhere in a fan round off that the Vardar's were trailing the AP-15s fairly closely. I would honestly OP, just go with the 140mm Vardars. They are new but their 120mm counterpart perform really well as rad fans. My guess is they stay true to their plans for the 140mm. Not that many great 140mms out there anyways or at least that we know of.

just ordered 6 EK Vardars 140mm, looks like i can't go wrong

Show us this project once done.

when I ran my 420mm alphacool in my switch build a few years ago I use Bitfenix's Spectre pro fans very quiet and did very very well I ran them on a fan controller at lowest speed and never saw temps over 40c running a 5960X and dual 7970's I also had a 280mm alphacool rad in the loop as well both rads were of the UT60 variant. Matter of fact I still have all 13 of them as I liked them so much lol.