By: Jadon Lee
September 23, 2022
Sometimes I have really random questions that come across my mind like, “Where did the word 'toilet' come from?” The word urinal is very obvious, but toilets are another story. It turns out the words "toilet" and "toil" share a common ancestor being “toile”, which means cloth in French. This made more sense for toilet paper, so I proceeded to look into the history on the word "toilet". There was an evolution of this word going from cloth to shoulder cloth, then it started to be used in a washing sense, then in a grooming sense. In the 19th century, surgeons would use the word as the cleansing done after an operation, and this is still used today. Slightly before this time, the word was used as the room for grooming and washing. In America, the word was more used for places like powder rooms, bathrooms, and washrooms, which are also all different. It was in the late 19th century that the word toilet was transferred from the room to the fixture. Naming is quite interesting, and I think you will be a fan of the product we have today, the be quiet! Silent Wings 4. I will not bore you with the history of the word “fan”, but it stemmed form the Latin word “vannus”, which originally meant shovel. Sometimes, it is nice to go back to the roots, and that is exactly what the Silent Wing 4 aims to do with a focus on performance rather than appearance. With that said, will this fan blow me out of the water with its performance? Keep reading to find out!
Today’s review unit of the be quiet! Silent Wings 4 was shipped to us here in Calgary, Alberta, Canada via UPS Standard from be quiet!’s office in Walnut, California, USA. This cardboard box was handled with care, as this box came in relatively good condition with no noteworthy bumps or bruises. I was not too concerned about the shipping due to the practically perfect condition of the retail box.
The be quiet! Silent Wings 4 comes in a primarily black and grey box, being a good contrast against its white and orange logo. The front of the box displays be quiet!’s logo on the top right, a singular fan, and of course, the name of the product itself, being the Silent Wings 4. Below this, we have the claim, “no compromise silence and performance”. Depending on your specific model, it will display more text about the fans underneath the previous statement. The back of the box tells us more about be quiet! and how they are a premium brand with the majority of their development process done in German headquarters. Additionally, we have some specifications and a QR code leading directly to their site with more information. According to Google Translate, the site that popped up for me was in Swedish. After clicking “produktinformationen”, I was then led to an English site with some product information.
Before we continue, here are the specifications for the be quiet! Silent Wings 4, as obtained from the box and manufacturer’s site:
Model: Silent Wings 4 120mm PWM high-speed
Fan dimensions (mm): 120 x 120 x 25
Voltage range (V DC): 5-13.2
Fan speed (rpm): 2500
Noise level (dB(A)): 31.2
Airflow (cfm / m3/h): 76.7 / 130.31
Air pressure (mm/H2O: 3.96
Input power (W): 2.4
Input current (A): 0.2
Connector: 4-pin PWM
Lifespan / 25°C (h): 300,000
Color option: Black
Our packs of the be quiet! Silent Wings 4 arrived as singular fans with its included mounting fittings. Within the box were two boxes, one containing the fan, and the other containing the accessories. The fan fit snug into the box, having the wire wrapped nicely around the rim. The accessories contained the screws and different mounting fittings. Underneath both of these boxes contain two pieces of paper regarding warranty and instructions for the two fitting options. The minimalist and organized packaging was very nice and clean. The claim of a premium brand shines through in the packaging methods.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware
3. Performance Tests
4. Conclusion
