discussion Corsair AF140 LED case fan as rear exhaust fan (air cooled PC)?

[andrepartthree]

Hi guys came back to bother you with another question since you've all been so kind and helpful in the past (and again thanks very much for that )

(edit - apologies I should have mentioned this first! I have no fan controller installed on the PC so all case fans run at full speed... not planning on buying a fan controller either unless you guys feel it's really necessary ... and I think I can only connect it via a 3 pin connector so the PC case fan would always be running at full speed)

(another edit - all PC case fans including the not-in-use thermaltake and corsair case fans I have lying around are all 3 pin case fans from LONG ago, I think they were made.. cripes year 2015 to 2018 or thereabouts ... and my case fans installed in the PC are connected directly to the molex 4 pin power supply cables via a 3 pin to molex adapter so they basically run full speed all the time or I'm assuming they do so)

Far as the "needs" of the PC for air cooling I do game on the PC .. much older games mind you that my ancient graphics card (see below) can handle I think Deus Ex Mankind Divided or Batman Arkham Knight are probably the most "demanding" PC games I've played so far... but I don't do say video editing or anything that would qualify as a "power PC user".

My PC case.. an older but still working great "Phanteks Pro M Tempered Glass Case, Black, PH-ES515PTG_BK"

Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Series ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Newegg.com

Buy Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Series PH-ES515PTG_BK Brushed Black Steel Frame / ABS Front / Tempered Glass Window ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

came with a phanteks 140 mm case fan installed in the front and one installed in the back ... the Phanteks PC case product page and user guide frustratingly enough doesn't seem to list the exact model of phanteks fan that came with the PC case but if this reddit user is correct

https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/b2gxsg/best_case_fans_set_up_with_4_fans_for_phanteks

they are "phanteks 140mm PH-F140SP" case fans

Phanteks PH-F140SP_BBK Case Fan - Newegg.com

Buy Phanteks PH-F140SP 140mm Premier Case Fan Black color edition with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

tech specs for the fans from that newegg website (I should point out I have no fan controllers installed so I'm guessing all PC case fans just run at their maximum speeds - emphasis on guessing a newb to the PC case fan thing )

Fan Size 140mm
Fan Thickness 25mm
Bearing Type UFB (Updraft Floating Balance)
RPM 1200 +/- 250 rpm
Air Flow 82.1 CFM
Noise Level 19 dB (A)
Power Connector 3 Pin
Color Black
LED No

And from what I see online it's supposed to be a good PC case fan in general - so of course that was the case fan I managed to damage due to my stupidity! (used an air blower to blow air out of the PC and foolishly let the rear PC case fan spin too quickly by pointing the air blower at it... although given the PC case and fans that came with it are now older than 8 years I guess I shouldn't complain, still kicking myself though!). The Phanteks case fan on the rear now shows a "choppy" not fluid motion unlike the other PC fans when the computer starts up for a minute or two (then goes away after a few minutes) and makes an occasional whining sound that comes and goes as the PC is in use... so I'm guessing I need to replace it.

I also have two "Corsair Air Series SP140 LED Blue High Static Pressure 140mm Fan" case fans installed, one in the front (so two case fans in the front total between the original Phantek one which is still working fine and the Corsair fan) and one Corsair fan on top of the PC case (the one on top of the PC case blows air outwards)

Air Series™ SP140 LED Blue High Static Pressure 140mm Fan

CORSAIR Air Series™ LED high static pressure PC case fans combine high pressure air delivery with striking LED lighting. They’re quieter than standard case fans, and help you finish your system with a dramatic look.

www.corsair.com

tech specs for the corsair fans are


140mm x 25mm
Operating Voltage 7V - 12V
Performance at 12V:
Airflow 49.49 CFM
Static Pressure 1.17 mm/H20
Sound Level 29.3 dBA
Speed 1440 RPM
Power Draw 0.26 A

so to recap four PC case fans total in the PC, two in front, one on the top, one in back, the phanteks one in back needs replacing ( I am guessing).

I have sitting around unused a new "Corsair Air Series AF140 LED (2018) Blue 140mm Fan Single Pack" PC case fan

Air Series™ AF140 LED (2018) Blue 140mm Fan Single Pack

CORSAIR AF140 LED cooling fans combine bright LED lighting, strong static pressure, low noise, and high airflow to deliver great cooling performance anywhere in your PC.

www.corsair.com

tech Specs
Weight
0.223kg
Fan Airflow
62 CFM
Fan Model
AF Series
Flow Type
STATIC PRESSURE
LINK Compatibility
None
Fan Static Pressure
1.43 mm-H2O
Speed
1150 +/- 10% RPM
Sound Level
26 dBA
PWM Control
No
Power Draw
0.30 A
Package Quantity
1
Operating Voltage
7V - 12V
LED Color
BLUE
Fan Size
140mm x 25mm
Bearing Type
Hydraulic
Fan Warranty
2 Year

So sadly the air flow at 62 CFM for the corsair AF140 LED case fan is not as good as the 82 CFM phanteks PC case fan in the rear that appears to be dying. Also the Corsair AF 140 LED fan has a speed of "1150 +/- 10% RPM" vs the "RPM 1200 +/- 250 rpm" of the dying phanteks case fan.. if the phanteks case fan can hit speeds of 1450 that's better (I'm guessing?) than the 1265 maximum RPM the Corsair AF fan can hit.

Alternately I have a PC case fan that was in use for two and a half years (same PC), pulled out of PC but still works... "Thermaltake Riing 14 LED Blue".. but 51.15 CFM air flow (worse than the 62 FCM fan speed for the corsair) .. but fan speed of 1400 R.P.M, better than the corsair max of 1265 .. I wouldn't be using the included "low noise cable" to reduce the speed of the case fan that thermaltake talks about

Riing 14 LED Blue

A 140mm patented blue LED Ring radiator fan with high-static pressure design.

thermaltakeusa.com

P/N
CL-F039-PL14BU-A
Dimension
140 x 140 x 25 mm
Weight
186.7 g
Started Voltage
9.0 V
Rated Voltage
12 V
Rated Current
0.11 A
Power Input
1.56 W
Fan Speed
1400 R.P.M
1000 R.P.M (with LNC)
Max Air Pressure
1.58 mm-H2O
Max Air Flow
51.15 CFM
Noise
28.1 dB-A
22.1 dB-A (with LNC)
Bearing Type
Hydraulic Bearing
Life Expectation
40,000 hrs,25℃
Connector
3 PIN + LNC (Low-Noise Cable)


What I'm wondering is.. given the current fan setup I have is it worth just taking a chance on the unused Corsair AF 140 LED case fan I have sitting around as the new replacement rear case fan? Or despite the two and a half years of use of it maybe go for the Thermaltake fan I have lying around? Or would you guys recommend a new rear PC case fan other than that and if so any good recommendations? Honestly I don't care about how noisy the PC gets or how pretty the PC is as far as looks/asthetics/LED/RGB just want something that will do a reliable job of being a rear exhaust PC case fan .. or is it possible given the three PC case fans already inside the PC (two in front, one on the top) that I'm making a big deal out of nothing and the rear PC case fan doesn't need to be that great? (I'm really hoping this is the case would make life easier and save me some money )

As far as cooling other components inside the PC (not sure if this makes a difference?) I do have a "Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE CPU Air Cooler, Dual Tower 6 Heat Pipe" CPU cooler for my AMD Ryzen 7 5700X CPU... graphics card is my old but trustworthy "ASUS GeForce GTX 1060 6GB (DUAL-GTX1060-O6G) " ... two 8 TB mechanical seagate hard drives, one m2 SSD drive (Samsung 970 EVO) working as the C drive, two crucial MX500 1 TB sata drives (2.5 form factor)... power supply (not sure if it matters?) is "Thermaltake Toughpower Grand RGB 850w Fully Modular Power Supply 80 Plus Gold Certified + Riing 14 RGB Fan"

Sorry for the long wall of text! And thanks to anyone who reads this and replies

 

[moocow]

None of the above? Using HWBusters picks, Arctic P14 Max came up a lot. If you are running a Ryzen rig, there should be PWM headers on the motherboard so you don't need a separate controller. You may need to buy the PST version of the Arctic fan to enable native chaining (that's what I use but with F12) or get PWM splitters. While the Max doesn't have PST and A-RGB, they do come in packs of 5 which makes things a lot easier. Is it the best? No but if you are on a budget, it's not a bad brand to use. Not everyone can afford Noctua.

Specs screenshot from HWBusters:

Best PC Fan Picks 2026 - Page 6 of 7 - Hardware Busters

Hardware Busters - Best PC Fan Picks 2026 - Best Picks

hwbusters.com

 

[andrepartthree]

None of the above? Using HWBusters picks, Arctic P14 Max came up a lot. If you are running a Ryzen rig, there should be PWM headers on the motherboard so you don't need a separate controller. You may need to buy the PST version of the Arctic fan to enable native chaining (that's what I use but with F12) or get PWM splitters. While the Max doesn't have PST and A-RGB, they do come in packs of 5 which makes things a lot easier. Is it the best? No but if you are on a budget, it's not a bad brand to use. Not everyone can afford Noctua.

Specs screenshot from HWBusters:

View attachment 46104

Best PC Fan Picks 2026 - Page 6 of 7 - Hardware Busters

Hardware Busters - Best PC Fan Picks 2026 - Best Picks

hwbusters.com

That's what I love about you guys, I post this and I get a reply .. trying to remember I think 23 minutes?... later you guys are fantastic ... Moocow my sincerest apologies I should have mentioned this in my initial post (edited it to reflect this just now)... I don't have a fan controller installed on my PC and wasn't planning on installing one unless you guys feel I really need one (I've had my PC case fans running full blast without a problem for years I figure I just wrecked a good rear PC case fan by blowing some REALLY strong air at it too aggressively)... also I think the way this case fan is set up given it originally came with the PC that I'd need to attach it to a 3 pin header so I wouldn't have any control over the speed because of that missing fourth pin connection. So would this mean the PC case fan would constantly be running at 2800 rpm since I wouldn't be using that fourth pin?

I realize I may be stuck here given my admittedly outdated PC build ( I could be wrong but I'm guessing most PC builds nowadays assume all your PC case fans will use the fourth pin connector?) but if there were any good rear exhaust PC case fans with a 3 pin connection that would be "okay" running on full speed all the time that would be perfect!

 

[JD]

Where are you fans plugged into then if not the motherboard? Every AM4 board that I know of came with PWM (4pin) fan headers, which would let the BIOS control the fan speeds based on the CPU temp.

Any of the fans you have would work fine, I don't think you'll see any tangible difference between them. Most fan specs are highly inaccurate to real-world usage. Might as well stick your hand behind it and decide which one blows more air

If you want to buy new, you could grab a 5 pack of either of these and replace them all so they match. Looks like your case can fit all 5.

https://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-P14-Value-Pack-Pressure-optimised/dp/B07HCKWF2X

https://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-P14-Pro-PST-Pack/dp/B0DPX94PSL

 

[moocow]

That's what I love about you guys, I post this and I get a reply .. trying to remember I think 23 minutes?

That's because I got no life, don't go outside, and I'm slacking from work?

Even if it's 3-pin fans, the motherboard may let you do a profile base on power percentage. As for breaking the rear fan, it's certainly possible if the air compressor spun it over the bearing's rated speed. The next time you are cleaning with air compressor, make sure to hold the fan still with you finger so the motor doesn't back feed electricity into the board. Also, after a few years fans tend to give out anyway, unless you go get some sewing machine lube and lube the bearing (not sure if it's safe for all bearing types). Other than that, a 5 pack of Arctic P14 and do a 2 top intake, 2 front intake, and 1 rear exhaust would work fine. Or a 2 front intake, 1 rear exhaust, 1 top exhaust (rear most position) also works, leaving you with 1 spare.

Your rig isn't that bad in the grand scheme of things. I'm running a 5800X with a X470 board, 32GB of RAM, and a 3060Ti. If we all pray hard enough, AMD might re-do a 5800X3D for us AM4 users to upgrade. Nvidia cards don't suffer as bad as Intel when it comes to using older PCI-E generation so even the old PCI-E gen 3 is still good. Snipe a RTX 3090 at $800 or $900 and you should still game pretty well at 1440p high or medium.

 

[andrepartthree]

Where are you fans plugged into then if not the motherboard? Every AM4 board that I know of came with PWM (4pin) fan headers, which would let the BIOS control the fan speeds based on the CPU temp.

Any of the fans you have would work fine, I don't think you'll see any tangible difference between them. Most fan specs are highly inaccurate to real-world usage. Might as well stick your hand behind it and decide which one blows more air

If you want to buy new, you could grab a 5 pack of either of these and replace them all so they match. Looks like your case can fit all 5.

https://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-P14-Value-Pack-Pressure-optimised/dp/B07HCKWF2X

https://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-P14-Pro-PST-Pack/dp/B0DPX94PSL

Thanks so much for this ... and apologies it looks like despite my wall of text post I posted originally I still somehow managed to leave out the important stuff.. I blame it on my lack of brain cells (will edit the original post after this to show this new info)

Being the caveman that I am I have the PC case fans plugged into ... I think they're called the molex power connectors?.. on my power supply, the four pin ones, I have some adapters that let me plug the PC case fans into the power supply directly and I don't have the PC case fans daisy chained together (so say two PC case fans might run off a splitter connected to one molex connector while two other PC case fans are directly connected to two other molex connectors via the use of molex 4 pin to fan 3 pin adapters).

I know that in theory I could buy a fan controller and fasten it somewhere inside the PC case honestly I've just been too lazy to do so ... that and all my sata cables are in use already on my power supply due to the ridiculous number of hard drives I have going (two 8 TB mechanical drives, two crucial MX500 sata drives, one HP 700 - 240 GB 2.5 form factor ssd drive that honesty isn't doing anything right now but I'm keeping it around anyways just in case , and a CD-ROM reader.. very old school I know ) so I don't have a free sata cable to plug into the fan controller.

Given your advice I'm thinking I might just plug one of my two case fans I have lying around (both 3 pin connector fans) into the rear PC case fan slot. Google search seems to think that the CFM is more important than RPM which would point me towards the new unused Corsair AF 140 LED case fan but given your highly useful info (thank you ) looks like I can just plug either one in (will probably go for the Corsair since it's new and unused) and check using say HWMonitor to see if there's any difference in the temps of the CPU or video card or C drive (Samsung 970 Evo m2 drive) after the replacement fan is installed.

 

[andrepartthree]

That's because I got no life, don't go outside, and I'm slacking from work?

Even if it's 3-pin fans, the motherboard may let you do a profile base on power percentage. As for breaking the rear fan, it's certainly possible if the air compressor spun it over the bearing's rated speed. The next time you are cleaning with air compressor, make sure to hold the fan still with you finger so the motor doesn't back feed electricity into the board. Also, after a few years fans tend to give out anyway, unless you go get some sewing machine lube and lube the bearing (not sure if it's safe for all bearing types). Other than that, a 5 pack of Arctic P14 and do a 2 top intake, 2 front intake, and 1 rear exhaust would work fine. Or a 2 front intake, 1 rear exhaust, 1 top exhaust (rear most position) also works, leaving you with 1 spare.

Your rig isn't that bad in the grand scheme of things. I'm running a 5800X with a X470 board, 32GB of RAM, and a 3060Ti. If we all pray hard enough, AMD might re-do a 5800X3D for us AM4 users to upgrade. Nvidia cards don't suffer as bad as Intel when it comes to using older PCI-E generation so even the old PCI-E gen 3 is still good. Snipe a RTX 3090 at $800 or $900 and you should still game pretty well at 1440p high or medium.

Hey you and me both I have absolutely nothing of interest going on for me outside and given a choice I personally would happily sit in front of my computer all day (laundry, dishes and grocery shopping have to get done of course but I love my PC.. and of course my TV but if I had to choose between the two PC would win every time ) ...

And yep you're absolutely right on how to blow air out of the fans I'm a moron for not doing that in the first place , I actually set up a reminder in my computer calendar program to do that at the same time the reminder goes off to blow dust out of the PC's so I don't forget in the future... I was particularly nervous for some reason blowing air out of the PC's this time despite having done it at least once a year for the past eight years and let the fan blow too hard on the rear fan... though I guess I got lucky most of those years I didn't bother to use a plastic pen to hold the fan blades in place while blowing air out of the case fans so I guess it's a minor miracle the three other case fans are still working after all that abuse ... just really annoys me that instead of damaging one of the not as good corsair fans installed I took out the phanteks fan that's supposed to be the good one ... though given what JD says ( "Most fan specs are highly inaccurate to real-world usage. Might as well stick your hand behind it and decide which one blows more air ") I will clutch that to my chest to comfort myself in the face of my stupidity

Man I guess I got lucky and based on what you said I shouldn't be complaining at all! There was one (out of two, before the new motherboard made it impossible to fit both case fans on the top) case fans on the top of the PC (Corsair Air Series SP140) that had to be replaced after two years of use but other than that all the case fans, whether the two phanteks ones that came with the PC case or the two other Corsair Air Series SP140 case fans were working from November 2018 to now (February 2026).. except now for the phanteks rear PC case fan which I'm thinking would still be undamaged and not whining every now and then/making a strange pattern on startup when it spins (didn't do it again today I only noticed it yesterday) if I hadn't messed it up.

I envy you for your 3060Ti graphics card .. in my case I'm too cheap to get a monitor that supports 1440 gaming (putting two kids through college takes a toll on the wallet ) and I guess I'm too easy to please , I've been happy with the 1080 gaming my PC and monitor supports... it takes me forever to get through even a single PC game (I've been on Detroit Become Human for months now and it took me the better part of a year each to finish Batman Arkham Knigh and Rise of the Tomb Raider) so given my backlog of unplayed games (it's insane how many free PC games the epic store gives away if you have the patience to check their giveaways each Thursday and during the holiday giveaway they run each December to January) I figure maybe 10 years from now I'll be done with my backlog of games, the AI crunch gobbling up all PC component prices and driving up RAM supplies will hopefully be over and I'll have to upgrade my motherboard/ram/CPU/power supply/graphics card anyways and I guess my PC case fans too at that point if not sooner ... assuming of course Windows 12 when it comes out doesn't force me to upgrade sooner than that to get my gosh darn security updates (thanks Microsoft). Though family members I have who work in information security tell me the secure boot/TPM was a good thing to have so maybe they'll have some new fancy security hardware by then for MB's too.

I was wondering if epic games gave away free games to the Canadian marketplace too or if they let corporate greed go to their heads so I did a google search ... if you scroll down to markthequest's comment (the OP) at the very end he seems to confirm Canadians get the free games too if anyone's interested (obviously they're older games but they've given away some nice ones in my opinion like the rebooted Tomb Raider, Batman Arkham series, Control... Dishonored is a very old game but I had a BLAST playing it and that was a free giveaway too )

https://www.reddit.com/r/truegaming/comments/eroomf/canadians_shouldnt_buy_from_the_epic_game_store_a

 

[moocow]

strange pattern on startup when it spins

You mean it wobbles (unbalance) or it make strange grinding sounds? Yeah then it's time to replace it. For my rig, it would go full speed on boot and then settles back down to the desired curve (all PWM fans using FanControl to control them). I had really old Cougar brand fans and the fan blade snapped when I was wiping them down.

I don't use EPIC game store, I stick with Steam and go GoG and Franatical once in awhile.

 

[andrepartthree]

You mean it wobbles (unbalance) or it make strange grinding sounds? Yeah then it's time to replace it. For my rig, it would go full speed on boot and then settles back down to the desired curve (all PWM fans using FanControl to control them). I had really old Cougar brand fans and the fan blade snapped when I was wiping them down.

I don't use EPIC game store, I stick with Steam and go GoG and Franatical once in awhile.

You know it's strange since it's all the way in the back of the the PC case and it only happened the one time I can't tell if it was wobbling or not .. it's only done it once so far but I could see the blades slow down to the point where I could see each individual blade - still seemed like a fast speed but it wasn't the blades-spinning-so-fast-you-can't-even-see-the-fan-blades behavior all the other case fans display and that they've displayed in the past... and more of a whining sound than a grinding sound... but yep I agree time to replace it in any event just to be safe ... I use Steam too , I've heard of people boycotting Epic for various reasons (data privacy concerns, exclusivity deals "you will release this game on our store only at first" that tick off buyers, aggressive lawsuits)...

 

[andrepartthree]

Arctic P14 Max

Hey I looked up my motherboard manual and looks like I have two "CHA_FAN" slots on it which appears to be where you'd plug a case fan in like the arctic case fan you recommended if I go that route to replace the rear PC case fan... problem is the fan cable cord would be draped around/over the motherboard until it connected to the MB header so a bit nervous about that .... looks like (total newb to plugging a case fan into the MB ) there's a "Q-Fan" setting for Asus MB's (I have the "Asus TUF Gaming B550 Plus ATX" motherboard for AM4 sockets) ... I'm guessing in the BIOS Q-Fan settings the fan settings would just default to "standard"... would you recommend just leaving it there and trusting the ASUS MB to spin the rear case fan fast enough to vent heat properly out the back? Hopefully this means the arctic fan wouldn't be constantly spinning at the full 2800 rpm speed (I could be wrong but I'm guessing if it did that all the time I'd kill the fan quickly )