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We all need to cool our computers and since you can't just chuck them into an ice bath,

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we use fans to move hot air away from vital components. But fans have issues of their own.

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They're loud and they wear out over time. But there's actually a type of fan out there

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that's super quiet and will probably last longer than the rest of your PC. They're called magnetic

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levitation or maglev fans and yes, they operate on the same principle as those ultra-fast trains

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in Japan and stuff. You see, every fan needs a bearing near its center to hold the fan shaft in

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place and allow it to spin in the proper direction and the way that magnetic bearings work is really

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cool. Maglev bearings do not require any physical contact between the fan shaft and the bearing

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itself. Instead, magnets both keep the fan balanced and calibrated in midair so it doesn't go off

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axis and also make the fan spin with differences in magnetic polarity. Very similar to how a

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maglev train is suspended off the tracks by magnetic repulsion and polarity differences on

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the rail both push and pull the train forward. But unlike a train, the big advantage of maglev

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fans isn't about going at crazy speeds. Instead, the fact that the shaft doesn't make any physical

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contact with the bearing means there's almost no friction. Most bearing types commonly found in

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computers involve contact between the shaft and the bearing itself, which creates both unwanted

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noise as well as wear and tear. Common sleeve bearing and ball bearing fans try to cut down on

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these issues by using an oil lubricant, but ultimately friction and lubricant loss will

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get the better of these fans and they'll need to be replaced at some point. But since maglev fans

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don't really have these issues, they can last a really long time. Corsair, one of the big manufacturers

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of maglev fans, claims a 200,000 hour mean time before failure. Yes, that's nearly 23 years of

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continuous operation, continuous. And I'm guessing you probably won't be using your next computer

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for quite that long. Of course, the lack of friction doesn't mean it'll last forever. Dust and dirt

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can still damage the fan, and the underlying electronics that make the fan blades turn can also

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wear out over time. But at the end of the day, most users won't have to worry about searching for a

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replacement fan within the lifespan of the computer, so that's just one less thing.

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The other big advantage of a maglev fan is the reduced noise output. Because the moving parts

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of the fan aren't actually touching anything, the only noise you'll hear is the sound of the air

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moving through the fan blades, meaning maglev fans can be nearly silent at lower RPMs and quieter

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than competing fan types once you crank them up during a gaming session or editing session.

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So maglev fans are fantastic, we all get it, but are there any disadvantages? It turns out there

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actually are not, really, any trade-offs versus other fan types in terms of performance and features.

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But as you might imagine, they are among the most expensive computer fans available.

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If you're looking for the cheapest fans, check out our video on the other bearing types, but

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be careful, as one common type is not suitable for being mounted horizontally. Do you have this

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fan in your PC? I don't know. Couple of other caveats that don't involve price. Since maglev

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fans are less common than the other fan types, it may be more difficult to find them in exactly

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the aesthetic that you want for your build. And also remember that maglev fans typically don't

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give you a big increase in cooling performance above the other fan types, so while the long life

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and low noise are nice, don't expect them to magically make your temperatures plummet. But,

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hey, their other features still make them a cool addition to your PC, huh? Right? Sorry.

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Okay, that joke blows. Thanks for watching guys, if you liked this video, hit like, hit subscribe,

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and hit me up in the comments section for your suggestions for topics that we should cover

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in the future.