Reading the Sound Level row
The row holds a dBA range, "10 - 36 dBA" for example, printed next to a speed range such as "420 - 2100 RPM ±10%". Between two Corsair fans, compare the top numbers.
You will find it in the Tech Specs tab alongside Fan Airflow in CFM, Fan Static Pressure in mm-H2O, Speed, Bearing Type and Warranty. On AIO pages the same row is called "Noise Level" and sits next to "Fan Speed".
Most ranges start at 10 dBA. The AF120 ELITE, the AF RGB ELITE fans and the SP120 RGB ELITE start at 5, the SP140 RGB ELITE at 18, and the H100x RGB ELITE cooler at 7. A handful of older fans print a single number. The QL RGB fans print "26" with no unit at all.
Not in so many words. No page states that the top of a Sound Level range belongs to the top speed, and no page names where the microphone stood or which standard applied; pairing the dBA range with a speed range simply leaves no other sensible reading.
The low end does get one explanation. On the iCUE LINK LX120 RGB page, "At 10 dBA minimum, fans are inaudible in typical environments when system load is low", which ties 10 dBA to the slowest speed. Every pick here treats the top as the full-speed figure and flags that it is our reading.
With the conditions unstated, Corsair figures line up well against each other and only loosely against another maker's. The reasons are laid out in comparing decibel ratings.
Top of the Sound Level range, top speed, the most airflow Corsair gives and the November 7, 2026 price. Models that share all four share a row.
| Fan | Top dBA | Top RPM | Max CFM | Corsair price |
|---|
| iCUE SP120 RGB ELITE | 22.6 | 1500 | 47.73 | $24.99, out of stock |
| iCUE AR120 Digital RGB, triple pack | 27.3 | 1850 | 59 | $54.99, out of stock |
| AF120 ELITE | 28.9 | 1850 | 59.1 | $19.99, out of stock |
| RS120 MAX, 30mm thick | 29.5 | 2000 | 72 | $34.99, out of stock |
| iCUE ML120 RGB ELITE | 30.4 | 2000 | 58.10 | $34.99, out of stock |
| iCUE LINK RX120 II RGB, black or white | 32.8 | 2100 | 64.7 | $34.99 |
| iCUE AF120 RGB ELITE | 34.1 | 2100 | 65.57 | $24.99, out of stock |
| RS120-R ARGB, triple pack | 34.6 | 2100 | 65.82 | $59.99 |
| RS120 and RS120 II | 36 | 2100 | 72.8 and 73 | $14.99 |
| RS120 ARGB and RS120 II ARGB | 36 | 2100 | 72.8 and 73 | $19.99 |
| iCUE LINK RX120 and RX120 RGB | 36 | 2100 | 74.2 and 73.5 | $29.99 and $34.99, out of stock |
| iCUE LINK LX120 RGB | 36 | 2400 | 69.9 | $44.99 |
| iCUE LINK RX120 MAX and RX120 MAX RGB | 36.3 | 2000 | 71.6 and 71.3 | $39.99 and $44.99, out of stock |
| iCUE LINK QX120 RGB | 37 | 2400 | 63.1 | $54.99 |
| iCUE LINK LX120-R RGB | 37.7 | 2400 | 66.7 | $44.99 |
Three older 120mm fans give one figure rather than a range and are left out of the table: the LL120 RGB at 24.8 dBA with a 600 to 1500 RPM speed, the iCUE AF120 RGB SLIM at 27.5 dBA with 600 to 2000 RPM, and the QL120 RGB at "26" with no unit.
The 360mm unified frames copy their fans' figures. The iCUE LINK RX360 II prints 32.8 dBA; the RS360 II and RS360 II ARGB print 36. Noctua and be quiet! models join Corsair's in our 120mm fan guide.
Which Corsair 140mm fan is quietest?
The iCUE SP140 RGB ELITE, at 26.8 dBA and 1200 RPM, though it was out of stock. Among in-stock iCUE LINK fans the RX140 II RGB leads at 31.8.
| Fan | Top dBA | Top RPM | Max CFM | Corsair price |
|---|
| iCUE SP140 RGB ELITE (range starts at 18 dBA) | 26.8 | 1200 | 68.11 | $29.99, out of stock |
| RS140 MAX, 30mm thick | 31 | 1600 | 104 | $19.99 on sale from $39.99 |
| iCUE ML140 RGB ELITE | 31.8 | 1600 | 82.9 | $39.99, out of stock |
| iCUE LINK RX140 II RGB, black or white | 31.8 | 1700 | 84 | $39.99 |
| iCUE AF140 RGB ELITE, dual kit | 33.8 | 1700 | 89.0 | $74.99, out of stock |
| RS140 and RS140 ARGB | 36 | 1700 | 95.5 | $19.99 and $24.99 |
| RS140 II and RS140 II ARGB | 36 | 2100 as printed | 96 | $19.99 and $24.99 |
| iCUE LINK RX140 | 36 | 1700 | 95.7 | $34.99, out of stock |
| iCUE LINK LX140 RGB | 36 | 2000 | 84.7 | $49.99 |
| iCUE LINK RX140 MAX and RX140 MAX RGB | 36.4 | 1600 | 103.5 and 102.9 | $44.99 and $49.99, out of stock |
| iCUE LINK QX140 RGB | 37 | 2000 | 82.5 | $59.99 |
| iCUE LINK LX140-R RGB | 38.3 | 2000 | 90.6 | $49.99 |
The QL140 RGB, "26" with no unit at 1250 RPM, stays unranked. That 2100 RPM top speed for the RS140 II matches its 120mm sibling and is quoted exactly as Corsair prints it, even though the other 140mm RS fans stop at 1700. For 140mm fans from other brands, see our 140mm case fan guide.
How loud is a Corsair AIO liquid cooler?
28 to 36 dBA at the top of the Noise Level row, and on most models that is simply the range printed for the fans in the box.
| Cooler | Noise Level | Corsair price |
|---|
| iCUE H100x RGB ELITE, 240mm, fans at 1500 RPM | 7 to 28 dBA | $99.99, out of stock |
| iCUE H100i ELITE LCD, 240mm | 10 to 30.4 dBA | $259.99, out of stock |
| iCUE LINK TITAN II 360 RX RGB and RX LCD | 10 to 32.8 dBA | $179.99 and $239.99 |
| iCUE LINK TITAN 240, 360 and 420 RX RGB; TITAN 240 and 360 RX LCD | 10 to 36 dBA | $159.99 to $219.99, all out of stock |
| NAUTILUS 240 and 360 RS, RS ARGB and RS LCD | 10 to 36 dBA | $69.99 on sale to $159.99 |
| NAUTILUS II 240 and 360 RS, and RS LCD | a single "36dBA" | $89.99 to $159.99 |
Four coolers, the iCUE LINK H100i, H115i, H150i and H170i RGB, list fan speed, airflow and pressure but leave out noise. The NAUTILUS II RS ARGB pages have no spec table at all.
One cooler breaks the pattern. The H100x RGB ELITE's fans share the SP120 RGB ELITE's airflow, yet the cooler prints 7 to 28 dBA where that fan prints 5 to 22.6. Within the 360mm group only the TITAN II drops below 36. Rival coolers from be quiet!, Lian Li and NZXT are compared in our AIO cooler guide.
The pump gets a number only in marketing copy
20 dBA, given as a floor. Because it never reaches a spec table, this page quotes it without ranking it.
On the NAUTILUS II RS pages the FlowDrive 2S pump runs "with whisper-quiet operation as low as 20 dBa"; the older NAUTILUS RS pages describe a "low-noise pump circulates coolant with a high flow rate at a whisper-quiet 20 dBA". The TITAN II 360 RX page credits the closed impeller and three-phase motor of its FlowDrive 2 pump with reduced noise and stops short of a number. In effect, the dBA on a Corsair AIO describes its fans, and two coolers with the same fans will print the same figure.
Thirteen fans share a 36 dBA ceiling
Corsair offers no explanation, but its pages show the pattern clearly enough: 13 current 120mm and 140mm fans top out at 36 dBA, as does every TITAN RX and NAUTILUS cooler that prints a figure.
Those fans are not alike. The RS140 stops at 1700 RPM and 95.5 CFM, the LX120 RGB at 2400 RPM and 69.9 CFM.
Two fans that far apart would rarely measure the same, so 36 looks like a ceiling assigned to the range rather than a reading. A figure that breaks from it, 32.8 on the RX120 II or 36.3 on the RX120 MAX, is more likely to describe that particular fan, and that is the reason the RX II fans are the iCUE LINK picks here.
Where do Corsair's own pages disagree?
Five pages give two different noise figures for one fan, usually the spec table against a marketing panel further down, and two more print a figure with no unit.
| Fan | Spec table | Elsewhere on the page |
|---|
| SP120 RGB ELITE | 5 to 22.6 dBA | "as low as 7 dBA" |
| SP140 RGB ELITE | starts at 18 dBA | copy says 6 |
| AF120 ELITE | tops out at 28.9 dBA | "spins as quietly as 31.5 dba" |
| LX120-R RGB | 37.7 dBA | "10 - 38 dBA" in the overview panel |
| LX140-R RGB | 38.3 dBA | "10 - 39 dBA" in the overview panel |
| QL120 and QL140 RGB | "Sound Level 26" | no unit given |
Rankings here follow the Tech Specs table every time, with the other figure quoted beside it.
On November 7, 2026 a long list of older fan lines was still listed at corsair.com but out of stock: SP RGB ELITE, AF ELITE, AF RGB ELITE, AR120, LL120, QL and AF120 RGB SLIM. The ML RGB ELITE pages loaded yet were out of stock and missing from the US case fan listing, which may mean the line is ending, though Corsair says nothing about it. The thick RS120 MAX and every iCUE LINK RX MAX single fan we opened were out of stock too, while the RS140 MAX was on sale.
Coolers split the same way. Every first-generation iCUE LINK TITAN RX we opened was out of stock; the black TITAN II 360 RX RGB and every NAUTILUS II we opened were in stock.
To place Corsair's numbers against everyday sounds, try our decibel chart. The room around a quiet PC is covered in our home office guide.
