- ML120 and ML140
- ML120 PRO and ML140 PRO
- ML120 PRO LED White, ML120 PRO LED Red
- ML140 PRO LED Blue, ML140 PRO LED Red
- ML120 PRO RGB and ML140 PRO RGB
Therefore, and having seen what has been seen, it is best to compare by size, that is, 120 mm vs 120 mm and 140 mm vs 140 mm, so we will maintain an order and we can get out of doubt, since comparing fans of different sizes is not useful since that is something that we have to be clear before reading further.
CORSAIR ML PRO and PRO LED Series
It is undoubtedly the one that is going to put us the least problems, mainly because they meet the same conditions in all its fans, including the LEDs. The 120mm ones reach 2400 RPM, while the 140mm ones stay at 2000 RPMLikewise, all have rubber corners (different colors), magnetic levitation support and in the RGB versions an LED concentrator, which the normal versions do not have.
CORSAIR ML Series
This is the cropped version of its superior brothers, it has almost all the qualities and only two differences: the color and the corner pieces that are not interchangeable and are on the contrary fixed. They achieve the same RPM and the same benefits at a lower price.
CORSAIR ML120 PRO RGB and ML140 PRO RGB
Although it falls within the PRO range, they really should have been called something else, because of PRO they only have the design and the magnetic levitation. Here CORSAIR had to include four RGB controllers that can be controlled by software and that detracts from the final performance since these fans stay in the 1600 RPM, with 25 dBA and 1.78 mmH2O static pressure moving 47.3 CFM of air.
The 140mm version is even shorter in performance with only 1200 RPM, 20.4 dBA, 1.27 mmH2O and 55.4 CFMThese fans are therefore clearly underperformed and the ‘worst’ in the ML range.
HD series
The HD series is the middle ground between all the ML series and this is curious, since the focus of the fan is in itself different. It is not a fan with magnetic levitation like its rivals and brothers, but it is FDB and although it has PWM and it is an RGB fan, it does not have support for iCUE, something that the ML PRO RGB does.
Its 7 effects are controlled by a kind of external knob or controller called the HD Lighting Controller that has three physical buttons: Mode, Color and Speed. In this way we can control the lighting effect, at least partially, because although it integrates 12 RGB LEDs, they are not fully customizable.
What do we gain here then? Well, better performance compared to its RGB rivals, since they are capable of reaching the 1725 RPM with a loudness of 30 dBA, a static pressure of 2.25 mmH2O and an air flow of 54.4 CFM. Its 140mm version drops to 1350 RPM with 28.6 dBA, 1.85 mmH2O and 74 CFM, which is surprising.
CORSAIR ML VS HD SERIES in 120mm
As for the ML120 PWM, ML120 PRO, ML120 PRO LED series, there is not much to discuss here, since in performance and loudness they are well above the HD120 RGB. Although they all have almost the same frame, the number of blades of the latter is increased to achieve a more beautiful and natural RGB effect. There is not much to scratch here since they are two different segments if not totally different, but …
If we compare the HD120 RGB with the ML120 PRO RGB here things become interesting. The difference between these two fans is just 125 RPM, which even falls into that + -10% tolerance at revs. It is surprising that with this scarce difference the decibels skyrocket by 5 units, which is quite a lot even though we cannot perceive it in our ears as such.
But in return, the HD120 RGB offer a higher static pressure (2.25 mmH2o vs 1.78 mmH2O), in addition, they move much more air (54.4 CFM vs 47.3 CFM), so in general terms it is justified that the loudness has risen those 5 dBA.
CORSAIR ML vs HD in 140mm
Here history repeats itself between the PWM, PRO and PRO LED versions, since the difference in performance and loudness is very palpable against the HD140 RGB. And it is that between these two fans we find a difference of 150 RPM and the surprising figure of 8.2 dBA of difference, in addition to the GAP of the static pressure of 1.85 mmH20 for the first and 1.27 mmH2O.
In general terms, the ML140 PRO RGB is a more balanced fan, but also more expensive (27.90 euros vs 32.90 euros) without a doubt very high prices, so if we are looking for a little more performance, HD is better than ML PRO RGB. On the other hand, if we are looking for a better RGB controlled by iCUE, the latter are much superior to the former.
