How loud are GELID Silent fans?
From 18.9 to 38.3 dBA, and size sets the order more than speed: the 80mm, 92mm and 140mm models are lowest, the 120mm models highest.
| Fan | Size | dBA | Top speed | GELID price |
|---|
| Silent 8 Black | 80mm | 18.9 | 1600 RPM | $7.50 |
| Silent 4 | 40mm | 18.9 | 4200 RPM | $8.00 |
| Silent 9 Black | 92mm | 20 | 1500 RPM | $8.00, sold out at GELID |
| Silent 14 PWM Black | 140mm | 20 | 1500 RPM | $10.50 |
| Silent 14 PWM | 140mm | 20 | 1200 RPM | $10.00 |
| Silent 14 Black | 140mm | 21 | 1000 RPM | $10.00 |
| Silent 8 PWM Black | 80mm | 21.5 | 2000 RPM | sold out at GELID |
| Silent 7 | 70mm | 21.8 | 2200 RPM | sold out at GELID |
| Silent 5 | 50mm | 23 | 4000 RPM | $8.50 |
| Silent 9 PWM Black | 92mm | 23.5 | 2000 RPM | $9.00 |
| Silent 6 | 60mm | 24 | 3200 RPM | $8.50 |
| Silent Pro 14 PWM | 140mm | 27.8 | 1500 RPM | $11.00 |
| Silent 12 Black | 120mm | 32.1 | 1200 RPM | $7.50 |
| Silent 12 PWM Black | 120mm | 38.3 | 1800 RPM | $9.50 |
Some rows carry a "max." label and some do not. GELID never says how far the microphone sat, so this is GELID ranking its own fans, not a match for another maker's figures.
The 120mm Silent fans are the loud ones
The Silent 12 fans list 32.1 dBA at 1200 RPM and 38.3 at 1800 RPM, against 20 to 21 dBA for the 140mm Silent 14 fans. GELID gives no reason.
Airflow explains part of it, but only part. The Silent 12 PWM Black lists "max 88.6" CFM and 2.49 mmH2O, more than the Silent 14 PWM Black's 78.5 CFM and 1.6 mmH2O. Yet the Silent 12 Black moves 54.9 CFM, less than the 67.4 of the Silent 14 Black, and still reads 11 dB higher. Its figures also come from banner images, where the 140mm pages use a text table.
If the case takes 140mm fans, the Silent 14 models list 11 to 18 dB less.
Other makers' 120mm fans are compared in our 120mm guide.
Every GELID ARGB fan lists 35 dBA
That covers the Stella, Stella Frost, Stella Daisy Chain, Stella Infinity, Stella Infinity White, Lyra and Zodiac. The Stella pages print "35 max" beside a 500 to 1600 RPM range and 70 CFM; the Zodiac shows "max. 35" at 700 to 1600 RPM. The Amber 8 Pro bundle, ARGB fans paired with a controller, prints the same "max. 35".
Prices on GELID's shop ran from $10 for the Zodiac, shown sold out, to $23 for the sold out Stella Daisy Chain. All seven share one figure. Lighting, bearing and price decide.
How loud are GELID CPU air coolers?
Their fans list 20 dBA on the compact BlackFrore up to 40.4 dBA on the Sirocco tower. No cooler gets a figure for the whole unit.
| Cooler | Fan dBA | Fan | Height | GELID price |
|---|
| BlackFrore | 20 | 92mm, up to 2000 RPM | 121 mm | $25 |
| Rev. 5 Tranquillo | 26.5 | 120mm, up to 1600 RPM | 154 mm | $35 |
| Slim Silence Black | 26.5 | 90mm, 2800 RPM | 41.5 mm | $25 |
| Polar 2 | 32.2 | 75mm, up to 2800 RPM | 42 mm heatsink | sold out |
| Glacier and Glacier Black | 35 | 120mm, up to 1600 RPM | | sold out |
| Sirocco | 40.4 | 120mm, up to 2000 RPM | 160 mm | $44 |
The Sirocco is the most capable of the group, rated for 200 W with six heat pipes, and its fan reaches 3.39 mmAq. Coolers from other brands that print a figure are in our CPU cooler guide.
The Slim Silence Black leads the low profile coolers
It lists max. 26.5 dBA from a 41.5 mm cooler rated for 130 W, a figure that appears only in a spec image on its page, not in a text table.
The Polar 2, with a 42 mm heatsink, lists 32.2 dBA. Flattest of all is the AM4-only Slim Silence AM4, with a 28 mm heatsink and a range of 15 to 27.6 dBA across 1200 to 2600 RPM. Both of those showed sold out on GELID's shop. Low profile coolers from other makers are in our low profile cooler guide.
The Liquid 120 and Liquid 240 list 29.6 dBA, the Liquid 360 max. 34 dBA.
All three list fans with the same 750 to 1800 RPM range, max. 61.9 CFM and 1.67 mmAq. Only the 360's page adds the "max." label and the higher number. GELID does not say why. On November 10 all three showed sold out on GELID's shop, at $66, $85 and $120, and the Liquid 360 was the one GELID cooler we found new on Amazon. For AIOs that do print pump figures, see our AIO cooler guide.
Archived and sold-out GELID products
Retired products move into GELID's product archive. The Phantom, Phantom Black, Wing 8 and the older Silent 9 PWM (FN-PX09-20) sit there now: the Phantom coolers list 12 to 26.7 dBA, the Wing 8 lists 10 to 21 and the old Silent 9 PWM 11 to 23.5.
The Wing 12 is still in the current fan category, at 10 to 26.8. It showed sold out. Its page notes that "WING fans are currently not available or for sale in EU countries."
Plenty of current models were sold out on GELID's shop too, including the Silent 9 Black, Glacier and every Liquid AIO. Sold out there did not always mean gone from Amazon.
Are GELID fans quiet?
The 80mm, 92mm and 140mm Silent fans are, at 18.9 to 21 dBA. The 120mm and ARGB fans, at 32.1 to 38.3, are not in the same class.
Cheap does not mean loud here. The 18.9 dBA Silent 8 Black costs $7.50. The Silent fans run at one fixed speed, so the figure is roughly what you hear all the time, whereas on PWM fans it marks the top of the range. Fan curves, rubber mounts and other fixes are in our guide to quieter PC fans.
