be quiet! Pure Wings 3 120mm PWM

Our analysis

Is 1600 rpm enough? Next to the ARCTIC P12 PWM PST, this fan tops out 200 rpm lower (1600 against 1800) and moves less air on paper, 49.9 against 56.3 CFM, with 1.45 against 2.2 mmH2O of static pressure. Those figures place it in a rear exhaust or behind an open mesh panel, where nothing restricts the air, rather than behind a dense filter.

What stands out

• A 25.5 dB rating. That is the maker's noise figure, and noise is the whole reason to swap a single fan.
• PWM control. The motherboard can slow it down when the PC is idle and speed it up to its 1600 rpm ceiling when it needs to.
• A blade tuned for airflow. It uses the airflow-oriented blade of be quiet!'s Pure line, rated at 49.9 CFM.
• Rifle bearing and no RGB. A plain fan that does one thing.

Where it falls short

• Cost per fan is higher than any pack we list, so buying several of these to fill a case makes little sense.
• On paper it moves less air than the multi-packs: 49.9 CFM against 56.3 for the ARCTIC P12 PWM PST and 66.17 for the Thermalright TL-C12C X3.

Look elsewhere if

You need to fill several empty mounts: the Thermalright TL-C12C X3 gives you three PWM fans with a fluid bearing and no lighting. If your case takes 140 mm fans, the ARCTIC P14 Pro PST is the 140 mm option, with five fans in the box, though you should plan a hub for them.

When a single fan swap makes sense, and when it does not, is covered in belief number six of How Many Case Fans Does Your PC Need?