Instead of using sleeve bearings, ball bearings or fluid dynamic bearings, the Corsair ML series relies on magnetic levitation to deal with the friction created by a spinning fan. The fans are available in 120mm and 140mm sizes, with blue, red or white LEDS, or none if you prefer. The fans use a 4-pin PWM connection to allow you to control their speed and should be compatible with any case, heatsink or radiator you might want to use them with. Techgage tried them out in a Cooler Master CM 690 III. They are somewhat pricey, the Pro version which ships with rubber mounts more so, with the non-Pro models shipping in pairs. Read all about them in their review.
"I’m a big fan of magnets, they’re just plain cool. Corsair was attracted to the idea of using magnets in it’s latest fans and created the ML-Series. Sporting magnetic levitation, the ML Series fans are meant to be the last set of fans you’ll ever need. Maintaing both high performance and quiet operation, we take the ML120 and ML140 PRO LED fans for a spin."
Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:
- Corsair Carbide 270R Mid-Tower @ eTeknix
- Antec KUHLER H2O H1200 Pro AIO Liquid CPU Cooler Review @ NikKTech
- Cooler Master MasterLiquid Pro 280 Review @ OCC
I’m pretty sure all fans use
I’m pretty sure all fans use magnets… Just saying.
Yes all fans have magnets and
Yes all fans have magnets and I think that he meant magnetic bearings as the article stated: “Instead of using sleeve bearings, ball bearings or fluid dynamic bearings, the Corsair ML series relies on magnetic levitation”.
But the Article’s title is a bit confusing. Now to figuring just how much Tesla it would take to levitate my fat a$$.
These are still sleeve bearing.
So this is just for
So this is just for more/extreme longevity, right? Aren’t bearings even of medium quality fans already impossible to hear over the noise from motor and air?
Nothing touching means
Nothing touching means nothing wearing so longer life on that part of the fan. It’s the air turbulence generating most of the noise and tuned Helmholtz cavities around fans in a PC’s case would not be very practical. So maybe for cases they could go instead with even larger diameter fans that can move more air at slower RPM. It’s better to go with liquid cooling for CPUs and GPUs with the radiator/radiator fans enclosed in a sound dampening enclosure in a acoustically separated part of the case, provided the pumps are also on the radiator end and not in the heat sink of the CPU and GPU. It would be much easier to build an acoustically insulated enclosure around just the radiator and coolant pumps part than the entire case.
I might be wrong, but I was
I might be wrong, but I was under the impression that magnets lose their charge after a while, wouldn’t that be the case here, or are they electrically charged magnets acting as the bearings?
I might be wrong, but I was
I might be wrong, but I was under the impression that magnets lose their charge after a while, wouldn’t that be the case here, or are they electrically charged magnets acting as the bearings?
For modern permanent magnet
For modern permanent magnet materials/magnets they typically have losses that are less than 3% over the useful life of the magnet. There are also electrically generated magnets that use currents to generate the magnetic field.
The technology comes from SUNON.
“Corsair is working with SUNON on these fans, and this is a very good thing. SUNON is a brand of the Sunonwealth Electric Machine Industry Company Ltd founded in 1980 and has since been a reputable player in the AC/DC fan + motor market. Their MagLev technology has been in the works since 2004″(1)
Also see white paper(2) on this MagLev technology, it’s very detailed with lots of images/diagrams on how this technology works!
“Corsair ML120 Pro 120 mm Fan”
http://thermalbench.com/2016/07/12/corsair-ml120-pro-120-mm-fan/
(2) MagLev Moter Fan
http://www.sunon.com/tw/products/pdf/technology.pdf
Edit: “Corsair ML120 Pro 120
Edit: “Corsair ML120 Pro 120 mm Fan”
To: (1) “Corsair ML120 Pro 120 mm Fan”
I have a single Corsair ML140
I have a single Corsair ML140 Pro LED for an exhaust fan and after using it for a few months now, I am ready to remove it. This thing is just too loud.