Introduction
In this content, we will be taking a look at the White edition of Shadow Wings 2 fans from be quiet! These fans fall under the premium category. These are PWM fans. Be quiet! has sent us 120mm and 140mm fans for the testing and to be used in the white-themed test builds. Salient features include:
- Low-noise operation
- Airflow-optimized fan blades
- Anti-vibration mounting system prevents the transmission of vibrations
- A rubberized fan frame minimizes vibrations
- High-grade rifle-bearing technology
- Secure and easy installation with push-pins
- Product conception, design, and quality control in Germany
- 3-year manufacturer’s warranty
The Shadow Wings 2 PWM 120mm fan has an MSRP of €15.90 whereas the Shadow Wings 2 PWM 140mm fan has an MSRP of €17.90.
Specifications
Dimensions
Closer look
The fans are shipped inside the paper box pack. The 140mm fan has a rated speed of up to 900 RPM whereas the 120mm fan has a rated speed of up to 11oo RPM. Both are PWM editions.
Each pack of the fan has a fan and 4x push pins with rubber washers.
There is a pictorial guide on how to install the fans using the push-pins.
We are looking at 120mm and two 140mm versions. The design of these fans is the same. The overall look and feel of the fans are appealing. The 120mm fan has 7 blades whereas the 140mm fan has 9 blades. These blades have grooves on the surface. This design will help in reducing the air drag which will not only help in the better airflow across the surface but also reduces the overall noise.
The center has a be quiet! logo printed. The fans have a circular frame. The complete assembly is in the white color finish with a texture of black color. This adds a subtle contrast to the overall outlook. The circular frame has black color rubber rings on both sides. The edges are a different design compared to the standard fans. There is no flex in the frame and it is quite rigid.
Each corner of the fan has removable anti-vibration mounting to reduce vibrations.
One of the sides of the fan’s frame has two arrows carved on it. The arrow pointing toward the mounting corner is indicating the direction of the blades’ spin. The other arrow is indicating the direction of the airflow. This is a visual aid for the users in case they are not sure about these directions.
The other side of the frame has be quiet! branding over it.
The backside of the fans shows four arms assembly with one arm widened to provide passage for the wires. There is a latch in the middle of this arm to lock the wires from falling down. The motor hub has a sticker pasted on it. The power rating of the fans is printed at the bottom. Four wires can be seen coming out of the motor hub and going outwards through the widened arm. The cable is flat to my liking.
Both versions of the Shadow Wings 2 White edition fans have a 4-pin PWM connector.
These fans are using Rifle bearings with the 4-pole motors. Thanks to the rifle bearings, the MTTF of these fans is rated at 80,000 hours at 25°C.
The above picture illustrates the installation of the fan using push-pins and rubber washers.
Testing
We have tested the Shadow Wings 2 120mm PWM white edition fan on the be quiet! Shadow Rock 3 white cooler.
The following configuration is used:
- Intel i7 10700k
- MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK
- T-Force NightHawk RGB 16GB DDR4 @ 3200MHz
- be quiet! Shadow Rock 3
- addlink S70 250GB NVMe SSD
- be quiet! Straight Power 11 850W Platinum
- Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow Edition in an open frame layout
We have used the AIDA64 Extreme 6.3 version to stress the CPU [FPU] and recorded the temperature after 30 minutes of testing. The idle temperature was taken after 10 minutes of PC on idle state. The CPU was tested with a 4.7GHz all-core lock at 1.25V VCore. The ambient temperature was in the range of 15.8°C ~16°C.
Here are the results.
There is a difference of roughly 4.3°C between the stock fan on the cooler and the Shadow Wing 2 120mm PWM white edition fan. We have also tested the cooler using the push/pull configuration of these fans where there was a negligible difference between the stock fan and the push/pull configuration of the Shadow Wings 2 120mm PWM white edition fans.
Acoustics
The Shadow Wings 2 120mm PWM white edition fans even in push/pull were hardly audible which shows their low noise operations.
Conclusion
We have earlier tested the Pure Wings 2 series of fans from the be quiet!. This time we have taken a look at the white edition of Shadow Wings 2 PWM 120mm and 140mm fans. These fans feature a white and black combination color scheme on the complete assembly with white being the outstanding color overall.
The 120mm fan has a dimension of 120x120xx25mm whereas the 140mm fan has a dimension of 140x140x25mm. The 120mm fan is rated for up to 1100 RPM and has a PWM control. The airflow rating is 38.5 CFM with a static pressure rating of 0.82 mmH₂O. The noise level is rated for up to 15.7 dB(A). The 140mm fan has a speed rating of up to 900 RPM. It also has a PWM control. Its airflow rating is 49.8 CFM at a static pressure rating of 0.58 mmH₂O. Both fans feature Rifle bearings.
Both fans have rubber mounting on the edges which is removable. Be quiet! has provided 4x push-pins and 4x washers with each fan making the installation toolless and convenient. The blades of the fan have grooves that help in reducing the air drag which would also help in reducing the noise from vibration. The circular frame has rubber padding on both sides which also helps in reducing the vibrational noise.
The Shadow Wings 2 PWM 120mm fan has MSRP of €15.90 whereas the Shadow Wings 2 PWM 140mm fan has an MSRP of €17.90. be quiet! is offering a 3-years warranty on these fans. We have tested the Shadow Wings 2 120 PWM fans on the Shadow Rock 3 White cooler in a single fan as well as the push/pull configuration. These fans are better suited for case ventilation which we also saw during the thermal testing. The thermal difference between the stock fan on the cooler and the Shadow Wings 2 120 PWM was roughly 4.3°C which was reduced using the push/pull configuration. The catch here is the low noise operation of these fans. They were hardly audible even in push/pull configuration. The white edition of Shadow Wings 2 120/140 PWM fans is suitable for a white-themed build with subtle black color contrast and a good value for your bucks.
Thanks to be quiet! for the provision of Shadow Wings 2 120/140 PWM White fans.
