ML120 vs ML120 PRO non led

What's the difference?

The ML120 is sold on amazon in a 2pack for $34.99 while the non led ML 120 PRO is $27.99 (56 for two). The only difference according to the description is interchangeable rubber pads?

Best guess is it represents the "L" version of the fan that comes with many Corsair cases and other products. So it's pale grey with no rubber corners. Likely has the same basic specifications, but not quite as pretty. AF140L to AF140 (ring). Same on the SP120L and SP120 PE/QE. You could read further and suspect Corsair may start including the ML120 "basic" version on future products.

Thanks! I couldn't care less about looks since I rock a windowless case so in that case I'll definitely go for the cheaper 2packs.

To be clear, there are likely to be more physical differences than just the rubber corners. The fan frame might be lighter, shorter connectors, a non-braided cable, or other things that might constitute luxury and account for the $10/fan price difference. The blade, motor, and performance specifications are likely the same on both models. Again, this is all speculative without a fan for me to take apart or any information from Corsair. Hopefully, we will have both soon enough.

Makes sense. I care about 1) same performance and 2) same noise. I'd hope both ML and MLpro have the same specs in these two regards. I emailed their tech support on thursday so hopefully I get an official reply soon. Once they do, I'll post their response here.

another thing to add is the interchangeable corners, whether or not that is important varies to each person. but i pwm connectors on these ML120 PRO led are a lot longer than the case fans my 400C and h100i v2 came with.

So ML120 has PWM connectors?

It appears so for the LED and PRO models, although you should always double check and we don't have a full line-up listing from Corsair. There could be a 3 pin DC model that gets thrown out there, perhaps as something like the plain twin-pack we were discussing above.

on a side note for anybody reading, ML fans were supposed be quieter and better performing right? early reviews i'm watching (both video and written) are saying while the performance is noticeably better than most/all fans at same rpm, the noise is significantly louder. That's surprising to me and I'm definitely going to wait for more reviews because a highlight of these fans was supposed to be low noise.

 

Anybody picked them up yet? And firsthand experience with the sound?

It looks like some of the other listings incorrectly reported the specifications. Now that the product page is up, the ML140 comes in with a 400-2000 rpm range and ML120 at 400-2400 rpm. This is starting to look like a direct replacement for the current fan line as opposed to filling a gap in between. No 2000+ RPM fan can be quiet and it will have a sound pressure level to match. The quality of the sound is something else and needs to be judged individually.

I'm "up in the air" now about whether to get the 140mm ML fans (Pro or not, LED or not) or whether to use my Noctua NF-A14 PWM fans on my H110iGT.

Well I wanted to buy some for my H110i, but like toshbar mentioned in the first youtube videos they seem to be rather loud. Guess we have to wait for others to try first :P

Amazon have got the 140mm Pro ones in at £19.99 each, but I don't really feel like splashing out £40 when I have a pair of Noctua 140mm fans sitting in their boxes doing nothing, and I know that they are quiet.

[ame] [/ame]

They seem to be loud even on low :/

They seem to be loud even on low :/

 

In that video he was controlling them with the Corsair case built in fan controller. So you only have Low, Medium, High. If you connect them to your motherboard you can define very specific RPM of your preference.

Also worth noting is the case fan controller uses voltage to control the speed. The ML Pro series fans are PWM and are supposed to receive 12v all the time. Some PWM motors can handle voltage reductions and others cannot. The specifications don't always indicate one way or the other.

 

That wouldn't effect the sound quality, but certainly recording with the door off and an unknown microphone can. Capturing sound with a cell phone is not the same as how your ear registers sounds and sound demonstrations are always a little tricky. Either way, you know 12v (high) with 2000 rpm on the 140's and 2400 rpm on the 120's is loud, although not many people need anything close to those fan speeds.

Sure guys you are right and I'll buy this fans for my h110i nonetheless.

 

Thing is I thought about replacing my Silent Wings 3 with these but that is not going to happen. As this fans are high airflow and high pressure, which seems nice, kinda a hybrid, but for airflow fans they are clearly too loud from what I've seen in different reviews.

Sure guys you are right and I'll buy this fans for my h110i nonetheless.

 

Thing is I thought about replacing my Silent Wings 3 with these but that is not going to happen. As this fans are high airflow and high pressure, which seems nice, kinda a hybrid, but for airflow fans they are clearly too loud from what I've seen in different reviews.

 

I think on the radiator is the logical place the start and if nothing else, certainly a visual upgrade. The ML Series and BeQuiet's are on opposite ends of the spectrum. I have 9 or 10 SW3's and like them. However, it is a very diffuse airflow which in part is why they are so quiet. I do benefit from a little direct cooling for my m.2 drive and VRM heatsinks, so the hybrid blade does make a difference for me. Not everyone has things that need direct cooling. I have some 2000 rpm 120's I use in the front of a 540, but I rarely invade the last 500 rpm. 2400 rpm is overwhelming, as is 2000 on a 140mm. I was hoping they would reduce the top end just a little and avoid this marketing problem with the max sound pressure levels.

I ordered 1 ML140 and 2 ML120s, Red LED editions. I'm curious if they really do look as good as in some pictures/videos. If they do, I might replace my SP140Ls as well. Sadly, on noise level, it looks like they are just as noisy as the SP140Ls at same RPM. But I still have to confirm this.

hey anyone know if you can dye the white LED versions, since they are basically clear versions, to get different colors like green?

I have to tell you, Corsair has the worst website when it comes to displaying their products and descriptions. To find many of their products you have to type the model number in the search field to find them. Also, used their memory finder pages lately? They don't have anything listed since the Z97 chipsets. That is about 4 years ago !

 

Also, you would think if they are going to package a single fan and call it ML-120/140 PRO and a twin pack ML 120/140 with white blades, they would explain this but they don't. And, here in the corsair forum, you would think someone from Corsair would have posted a response to this model number difference concern. We can find more current, not better, information with a Google search vs. look for info on Corsairs website. It would be more comforting to get the specs from the manufacturers website than presume accurate specs from elsewhere.

 

Money changes everything ! Corsair, update your website with current product information please and support your loyal customers.