The Best 120mm Fans - For Cases, Heatsinks, and Radiators
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- čas přidán 10. 07. 2024
- What are the best 120mm fans for cases, heatsinks, and radiators? Let's test them out and see!
Recommended Fans
Best 120mm Case Fan: amzn.to/47OCNrV
Best 120mm Heatsink Fan: amzn.to/47OCNrV
Best 120mm Radiator Fan: amzn.to/3YFrz4v
Best 120mm BUDGET Case Fan: amzn.to/45wDTq9
Best 120mm BUDGET Heatsink Fan: amzn.to/3P0t7D2
Best 120mm BUDGET Radiator Fan: amzn.to/47Bjvpt
All products in this video
Noiseblocker NB-eLoop B12-PS Black Edition: amzn.to/47OCNrV
Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM: amzn.to/3YFrz4v
Scythe Kaze Flex 120 PWM: amzn.to/45wDTq9
Arctic BioniX P120 (Red): amzn.to/3P0t7D2
be quiet! Silent Wings 3 120mm PWM High-Speed: amzn.to/3OD60x1
Fractal Design Dynamic X2 GP-12 PWM: amzn.to/3YHzMp8
Corsair ML120 Pro: amzn.to/3YFrPAv
Gloves: amzn.to/3OH7J4k
As an Amazon associate I earn from qualified purchases made with product links.
Timestamps
Price 1:29
Appearance 2:09
Test Procedure 5:09
Case Performance 7:07
Heatsink Performance 8:52
Radiator Performance 10:54
Warranty 11:40
Conclusion 12:41
If you liked this video and want to help my channel grow, the best things you can do is hit the thumbs up, leave a comment, subscribe, and click share to share this video with others. I appreciate all your support and I hope this video helped you make better consumer decisions. - Věda a technologie
Timestamps
Price 1:29
Appearance 2:09
Test Procedure 5:09
Case Performance 7:07
Heatsink Performance 8:52
Radiator Performance 10:54
Warranty 11:40
Conclusion 12:41
Wonders if you would have other results if you would have placed the fans on an air cooler that is designed for 120mm fans instead of using a cooler that uses 140mm fans.
Thanks for a great video, been looking for content like this for a while, since it´s really hard to know what, if any, difference there is between fans. The only negative thing for me was the naming of the fans in the video, had to pause and go back to see what name belonged to what brand (or fan) a few times. Since you don´t have more than one fan from each brand it would be much easier for me if you just went with the brand name (or added brand name) in the graphs instead. Maybe it´s because most of them have 12 or 120 in the name that makes me confuse them easily. Looking forward for more vids like this!
If you could do a sound test with each of these fans that would be very helpful. Sometimes the tone/pitch/hum of a fan at certain speeds can affect what fan I choose.
I think it'd be interesting to see some odd-ball fans in there as well. Like the Arctic F12 PRO PWM PST, or a Delta PFR1212DHE-SP00.
The first one because it's a really odd design, but if you want a quiet case fan, the Arctic F# PRO fans are really really good because they do not transmit any vibration to the case. Although it might be really hard to actually get a 120mm version of those. Maybe get a 92mm if you're ever going to do a 92mm fan review.
The second one because, well, it's a Delta. It is sheer insanity on a fiddle stick in a way, but on the other hand it is the ultimate no-compromise fan when it comes to performance. Compared to the Noctua NF-A12x25, it has a 3.5 times higher airflow, it has 15 times more static pressure, it spins upto 7800rpm instead of 2000. The only downside is that it makes about 80,000 times more noise than the Noctua.
Really would want to see thermaltake riing trio fan and cooler master mf120r fan
(you are the only one that answer my questions before I even ask)
Great comparison! I'm glad someone brought back noise/performance line plots, as these have gone sorely missed in thermal comparisons.
A few caveats that weren't addressed in the study:
1.) Different Radiators/Tower-Coolers will have different fin densities, and thus varying aerodynamic impedance. For example, considering the Kaze flex and its "more, yet smaller blades approach", it can be seen that such a design is optimized for the higher fin density common of Scythe Coolers (as compared to the NH-D15) and (most) radiators. The Fractal Dynamic X2 by comparison does great at low RPMs on the lower fin density cooler, but its blade pitch isn't as well suited to low noise at higher RPMs. Thus the trends shown may not hold for all CPU coolers.
2.) Air is often treated as an idea gas, but even at the relatively small temperature differentials expected in a computer case can have some surprisingly disparate qualities in terms of compress-ability and boundary layer turbulence. As a general rule of thumb, a fan which maintains a larger pressure head over the extent of its performance curve will out perform the competition in nearly all case and tower cooler scenarios.
3.) Sound pressure measurements (dBs) don't consider the frequency of the output noise. For example, a higher pitched whine is often more intrusive than a low frequency drone at the same absolute sound magnitude. Having used the majority of these fans, this is another area where the NF-A12x25 and NB E-loop really shine. The Sterrox LCP in the Noctua and "Bionic-blade" design in the Eloop provide tightest tolerance between the fan blades and the inner surface of the fan base which results in a minimization turbulence induced high frequency noise content.
Thanks great info. I actually measure dBA which takes into account different frequencies.
HS, you’re making great content, I really appreciate it. But the OP makes a good point with 3), each fan will have differing tonal qualities, some will be more annoying / tonal / have differing noise-bands than others. Would be great to have a video of just each fan’s sound at 2 or 3 different RPMs. For example, I find that - despite their reputation - Noctua fans may cool well but they have a distinct tonality at higher RPMs that can be quite annoying.
@BlakeCasimir I measure a-weighted decibels, which means the low frequencies are reduced in the measurement, putting more emphasis on the high frequencies. This is more how the human ear functions because low frequencies are often inaudible and less intrusive.
thank you this is the kind of engineering analysis I was hoping for.
@@HardwareScientist the diagram were a bit hard to understand. i mean the breaks of the lines. you could/should mark them with different colors or numbers for each fan level they were running on. (20, 40, etc)
Even if I don't need to buy anything I will always watch closely, your channel is something else, keep up the good work!
10 years ago I went to Silent PC Review for this stuff. Even then, they couldn’t always review many cooling products. This is very thorough and useful coverage of an often misunderstood / less considered part of PC building. Noiseblocker are on my radar now, thank you. But I will be interested to see your coverage of 140mm fans... There’s only one thing I would add: recordings of the various fans, perhaps as a follow-up video. The timbre of each fan at different rpms will be unique to each fan, and will be more or less tonal. I’d like to hear them!
If you want silent PC these reviews are basically useless (no offense for the creator), the vibration and the switching noise will be the loudest. I wouldn't buy the Noiseblocker because of the vibration, just look at 13:06 how it's dancing on the table, its a big no-no for me.
For eliminating the switching noise I suggest to buy Noctua or BeQuiet these are the only 2 brand what I know for sure they use 3 phase controllers are . I'm curious what type of controller Noiseblocker use? Always use analog (3 pin) fans insted of PWM, I made a little circuit wich convert the PWM signal to voltage so I can use 3 pin fans with PWM control but I know it's not a viable option for most of the people. Personally I rather buy 3-4 cheap fan intead of 1 expensive one and modify them for my needs.
Here are some brand what I used and my opinion from them:
Noctua: good, but expensive
BeQuiet: only the Silent Wings are good, the other ones are overpriced with medium switching noise, low vibration and high power consurption.
Arctic: cheap with low swiching noise, but the build quality is bad, fan blades are not well balanced, I had some issues with the RPM sensing randomly doubles the value.
Xilence: my personal favorite between 700-1000 RPM, very cheap, medium switching noise (I modify them to low), quality is cheap but still better than Arctic and 1 of every 4 badly balanced vibrating.
PCcooler/ID-cooling: well priced and balanced fans with medium switching noise, special size fans like 100mm or 120mm with 92/100mm mounting
Sunon/Foxconn/NMB/NEC/Delta: ohh boy these are not for silent operation, whese for airflow, the build quality is excellent, lots of protection built in, public detailed datasheets, double ball bearings, these have the most accurate pricing on the market, you got what you payed for. The only backside they literally can cut your finger of at max speed, so I always use them with fan grill.
@@sviktor4 that's some good knowledge dropped!
Have you messed with Noctua Redux fans? Would like to know another qualified opinion on them.
@@sviktor4 the nb-eloop's edge is curved as opposed to flat and I think that plays a big role in the movement
@@sebastienban6074 Exactly Sebastien. Once attached, the outside edge design won't make a difference unlike what happens when it's just stood on its non-flat edges. Also shows it's pushing plenty of air.
Few days ago was looking for this exact test and there wasn't any. And this was just recommended to me thanks!
I really like this style of presentation. I feel like I can get just the info I want or I can sit in on more technical stuff until it goes over my head. YAY!
Shared on Reddit, I hope you take off you are one of my favorite computer related content creators! Been looking for videos like this for years!
Very professional testing & editing. Can't imagine how fun it was to reinstall so many fans & re-test everything so many times. Thanks for all the work.
I'd like to thank you for taking your personal time to do these type of tests. I'd also like to praise how detailed and relevant they are.
Your content is so good I'm deeply surprised that your channel doesn't have more subscribers. Maybe it's you don't upload often.
Arctic is just throwing 10 years warranties left and right
That's Artic problem, not the consumer, if the fan breaks on the 9th year the need to replace it.
@@greggreg2458 Fans cost next to nothing to make so having a long warranty generates more revenue in the long run, because good warranties sell. The fact is that most people won't bother to RMA a relatively inexpensive fan if it breaks after a few years and especially if that happens after 8 or 9 years. You should look at Seasonic offering 10 or even 12 years warranty on some of their PSU's. Of course you pay for it, but Seasonic can also expect you to RMA it if it breaks or doesn't function right.
@@SoundShunter72 You are right, but what i was saying is that marketing gimmick or not, for 10 years you are covered. I own a Superflower psu, you are again right, i paid for that warranty and i will for sure use it if i need it
I have multiple Noctua P12s that are over a decade old that are just as quiet as when they were new.
@@greggreg2458 For Arctic, it's the consumer's problem when shipping isn't covered.
The main man is back. Need some new fans for the top of my PC and lo and behold you came through for me
Excellent!! I've been waiting for this!
Wow are you a legend, made a very nice video explaining the decisions and even put links in the description for people who just want a straight to the point answer. Way to go man, keep it up.
Hey man,
Just wanted to say as a new pc builder, your videos help a lot.
Thanks for the effort you put into it and I hope you make more.
I subscribed after watching this.
I was looking for a fan comparison in the same heatsink for ages! Thanks bro, awesome work!
Thank you for this thorough test! Just what I was looking for :)
Man, your videos are ridiculously good! So much information that we receive we cannot find anywhere
Literally the best content on this topic. Change my mind.
Straight to the point, like.... a scientist. Love your work!
Why i dint find this channel before?
Man you work is AMAZING! pls dont stop
Great content! I love this kind of testing as noise and performance of fans is critical to my build (I can only game at night when my wife and kids are asleep, and my wife won't let me move my system out to the living room). I spent a lot of time doing my own testing and found the same disappointing results regarding the more expensive Corsair ML120 and be quiet! Silent Wings 3 fans. Really impressed with the Scythe fans and will definitely give them a try on my next build. Thanks and keep up the great work!
Really enjoyed the charts and audio clarity. Subbed 🤙
Dude you're like a fan master. I do enjoy all your videos, simply supreme content quality. I really hope to see you reviewing other hardware parts with the same approach. Subscribed without second thought.
Thank you for these test, very good way to test, there is so much tests where people compare dB a a certain rpm or min/max rpm which is useless because it doesn't blow the same amount of air at the same speed depending on the fan, that spectrum with temperature/dB is perfect and we see all speeds. Great job
Excellent, insightful review & shootout! Much thanks for this!
6.38k and counting! Here supporting you!
Love your videos! So detailed and informative. Bought my cpu cooler and fans based on your videos! Can't wait for the 140mm one!
I love your videos! Keep up the good work!
Liked the video and your methodoly, great content! Hope this channel grows!
Thank you for this. It's obviously a ton of work.
You put a lot of effort in this Video, thank you!
Your videos are super helpful, tysm!
Thanks for the video my man!
Thank you! This was very informative. Helped me narrow down on what fans.
Thanks for making this video. Awesome job on doing the correct tests and presenting the data well.
really great video exactly what i was looking for, great job!
Awesome video man!, so thorough! I will suscribe and wait for the 140mm fan video!
i am gonna say this again, Arctic products are soooo underrated.
A comparison to the 4-6 buck PWM-PSTs would've been appreciated. I definitely definitely prefer my Noctuas, but those things should definitely take the bang/buck crown. They can spin slow enough to be completely silent, and when they get loud they have a quite pleasant, bassy, sound signature. Of course they do make a sound when the Noctuas are still silent (at equal air displacement), but once the Arctics get annoying the Noctuas begin to be noticeable too.
Arctics definitely are the top pick when it comes to budget options. Top performers in their price range, and going any lower-priced will only give you grief. Oh, and 10 years warranty even for those things. Not that anyone would ever pay postage for a five buck product, but, well. They're not unreliable. Probably not a good idea on a radiator, but when you can slap six of those into your case for the price of a single NF-A12x25...
Now, all those non-Arctic options below the price of a Noctua Redux, I have no idea what those are for.
@@aoeuable I use them in on my 240mm CM radiator. I can only say they are both much more quiet and lowered my temps compared to CM's own fans that came with it. I would like to know how they compare to something like the Noctua Redux fans (which is in my opinion also the best looking Noctua fans)
They are amazing! I just got one of their gpu coolers and installed them on my card, night and day difference.
Just ordered enough Arctics to fill my build.
Two F8s, an F14, and two P12 black on transparent on an AIO, all PWM.
Was surprised by how cheap they were for how good they are, and was floored by the 10 year warranty.
I just bought 2 PWM/PST dual BB fans , a 92 and a 120.
Thanks for your hard work I chose the Artic Freezer 34 esports duo base on your testing. It works like a champ love Artic and they are fairly underrated!
Thank you Sir keep the good work forward pls more of that content :D
Excellent presentation!
great testing friend
This guy is such a GOAT. He deserves way more subscribers 🙌
I really love all the work you put into your videos!. You deserve way more subscribers.
This and the cpu coolers video really helped me a lot with my new build
This is the best fan test video ever!
Another amazing video. Great work.
Trivia: "Kaze" (pronounced kah-zeh) is actually a Japanese word (kanji = 風 ) that means "wind" ( as in "moving air"). Scythe is a Japanese company incorporated in Tokyo, started in Akihabara.
Great content, keep on the grind.
Holy moly padthai :O
Amazing piece of work!
You deserve millions of kisses for that video
This was so goddamn helpful. Thank you.
Great video, thanks for taking the time to do all the work to make it. I would love to see how EK Vardar fans compare on at least the radiator test.
I finished watching your video. Your videos have been fantastic and help consumers like myself, others and even you find out what the best products are and which to buy. Your videos are priceless. Please keep up the great work. Keep on making the excellent videos. Your time is much appreciated. I was already subscribed. Now I clicked the bell icon. Looking forward to Future videos. Hugh recommended 👍👀. Thank you.
5:50 I was about to be so mad... Haha. Great content!
Looking forward to the 140mm video.
You could also do a couple sequel videos on 120mm and 140mm RGB fans too to get those sweet sweet clicks. 😁
Great video! Will you add phanteks fans to the next test? It also would be Great to see the video with 140mm fans that have 120mm mounting
OMG a channel dedicated to random tests of fans!!!! idk why I have such a fascination with computer case fans but I'm glad I found this channel!
It will be cool if you can get a smoke machine, that will really make this channel stand out. It would be cool if you can do a budget fan comparison, artic cool has like a 5 pack of 120 3 pins for 20 bucks and 4 pins for 35ish. The there's the Noctua Redux vrs the OG brown series., and heck maybe test if the Phanteks halos actually affect airflow
Thank you Hardware Scientist! New video! Watching..now.
Thanks buddy, love your clean videos. I also agree an most of your results.
such an underated channel
Doing god's work, Thank you!
Noctua ftw! It also to show off to your friends, that you do know your stuff!
Nice Video, I appreciate the work you put into it.
Also if you like some Budget Quiet RGB Fans, you should look for the Scythe Kaze Flex RGB, they also like nice with the RGB off.
Awesome. Please do a 140mm fan round-up next. Thanks!
You mentioned you wanted to follow this video up with a review on the 140mm versions of these fans? Any news on when that may be done? I'd be highly interested in it - otherwise: great video! I love you detailed analysis, exactly what I was looking for! Liked + subscribed! :)
This is a very great video. One thing that I would like to point out is that Noctua in specific has designed certain fans in the same size range with different blades to perform better at specific tasks.
I'm a big fan of your content !
Nice channel, mate. Got another subscriber!
Great video. earned yourself a sub!
Very nice video ! I was surprised to see no thermaltake fan included such as the pure plus 12
damn, the eloop is pretty good, will consider them even more now as a case fan for my builds
Now we need a video for 140mm fans
Please include Noctua’s standard fans and EK fans in the next roundup :) awesome video!
Awesome video! Looking forward to your next test hopefully it's for same but with 140mm fans 😁
Great video as always! Just seems odd to me how the Kaze flex 120 performed so poorly on the heatsink, but so well on the radiator. Maybe it has something to do with pulling air through the first tower of the DH15? I wonder how different your test could be with a single tower heatsink as well, where the fans are generally only pushing air through the fins similar to the radiator test.
I look forward to the 140mm tests!
Amazing video, you weren't even on my radar but after watching this 1 video, i've subscribed. Can you also test the Cooler Master MasterFan SF120M ? It's a similar design to the NB because blades are molded to exterior ring
Great comparison. I was really hoping for a sound comparison though as well.
this is so helpful! i would glas to have bitfenix spectre pro to be reviewed soon😁
Love the noctua brown combo
I really like your videos! In the 140mm can you please put a mic about a foot away and let us hear the sounds on ideal, mid, max rpms?
Also can you include the Corsair AF140, SP140, ML140 fans?
NZXT Aer F and Aer P are still some of my favorites.
I'd be interested in seeing one of Arctic's Dual Ball Bearing fans in their CO series ("Continuous Operation") tested. The ARCTIC P12 PWM PST CO is a pressure optimized version of that. They also make 80 and 140 mm versions of that as well as some air flow models in the same general CO series. They are low cost fans that are intended for use in equipment that runs 24/7. The one I mentioned, the ARCTIC P12 PWM PST CO, and I think others in the series have 10 year warranties.
Great video and testing methodology! I wonder if the Arctic P12 will outperform all other 120mm fans in his testing, or whether it has the same performance as the Arctic bionix, since the blades look similar. The Artic P14 certainly took the 140mm crown.
Another excellent review, thanks!
What I'm missing a bit here, is a noise-normalized test. For many computers I build, I only care about noise, so the question I ask myself is: which fan performs the best at a certain noise level? Sure, I can get that from your graphs but can I recommend you spend a minute or two on it next time around, if possible? :)
Looking forwards to a 140mm round-up!
great video my brother, hope to see deepcool 120mm case fans in the future since these are the ones i personally use and would a nice point of reference for the future, they have TF-120(all black) and RF-120 or CF-120.
Another great test again. Are you planning to do the same for 140mm fans? I would love to see performance of arctic p140 on nh-d15 compared to nf-a15
Yes 140mm fans are coming 🙂
You should try one of noctua's airflow based fans, such as the NF-S12A PWM. That one also has a black version.
using 2 of them as intakes, they´re silent and pushing A LOT of air. Only con is, there must be space in front and behind the fan, to fully utilize it´s power.
@@Morpheus-pt3wq i got 2 of them as exhaust, theyre doing a good job and staying relatively silent, especially compared to the hella noisy stock fans i had
are the NF-S12A PWM a good replacement option for the NF-A12x25 PWM ? I have bought the NH-U12A that comes with two NF-A12x25 PWM but i want to replace them with black ones. They are supposed to be released in black version too, but still no news so far. I am looking for black replacement that perform well at least close to the performance of the NF-A12x25 PWM.
@@spacecy once you go black
Who tf needs black take it out of my Noctua.
Artic p12, around 8$, 6 year warranty, static pressure optimized, black or white.
And they sell them in packs too. Fantastic value for money. I use P14 PWM PST as front intakes and they really pull air in through the filters.
Do the the P12 and P120 have the same stats? They look great.
Absolutely this. Those arctic fans are the best deal, and from my experience they work great and are very quite. I'd like to see how they stack up with the competition.
@@modestyblaise4167 no, they aren't exactly comparable, because the frame is different. While you can get a very tight seal on the P12 with a rubber shroud, the P120 is clearly not meant for radiators, but instead good on heatsinks without that seal anyway. Also the P120 can spin higher, what can give it an edge, but noise normalized they should be very similarly, given they would share the same frame. Again, it depends on the usecase, but with some trying Arctic covers all types of fans you would need.
P12 for radiators.
P120 for heatsinks or restrictive case intake/exhaust
F120 for non restrictive case intake/exhaust.
@@modestyblaise4167 Bought a five pack (black) and replaced all the fans in my case for under $30. Old fans were all DC Aerocool branded fans. They were over ten years old. These new Arctic fans are so quiet using PWM mode on a proper motherboard.
I bought one a few days ago and the screws would barely go in a half turn and the fan is super loud as a top exhaust fan. It's a risky buy since QC is obviously not a priority for that fan. When I went to return it Amazon just refunded me and said don't even bother shipping it back.
Great video as always. Any plans to do a 140mm fan round up?
Yup that is coming next month.
Could you include some comments on the fan sound quality in the future, for example deep hum, high pitched hum, motor clicking noise etc.?
Thanks a lot for this video. I was looking for something like this for a couple of weeks now. I'm looking into a replacement for my BeQuiet Shadow Wings 3 which im using on my GPU with a 120mm AIO. It tends to run quite warm since the fan really isn't that great for radiators due to its round frame. No pressure. So it has to run really fast and thus its quite loud. I might get the NF12 but I'm not sure yet since supposedly the black version will come out in the next months. Keep it up! 🤠
for the following round up could you test the Silverstone airpenetrators? nice video!
great! will u also do one about 140mm fans?
edit: nice, min 6:10 answerd my question!
wow! i have never heard of noiseblock and ive been building PCs reguarly for over 15 years. What have I been missing my whole life!!
A great German fan company not much people know about sadly
Thank you for this video. I have 10 case fans in my Lian Li O11XL Dynamic, 9 are Corsair LL120s, and I've been having a hard time picking a good rear exhaust fan. Only criteria is it has to be a good performer, and be white, as my build is white. I went with the Bionix.
Excellent video!!
Maybe you could make RGB and non-RGB fans separate. I currently run LL 120s, because of the incredible RGB.
But I have used, and swear by (for a case fan) the Aerocool Shark. These are INCREDIBLE fans, quiet, over 80 CFM, cheap, and some basic LEDs. I would LOVE it if you tested the Aerocool Shark.
Thank you for your close look into fans, I wonder if you would add one other measurement into your testing, that is consumption (amps). ? As not all big motors seem to do well, and quantity of fans can add up quickly. Perhaps this should be considered. Here I have to admit I am a fan of Arctic given there reliability and cost. Perhaps you can advise. Thank you.
Thank you for your content and your work, you did a great job. 👍
Also, will you do videos about Cases ?
Yes cases are on my list 🙂
I use silent wings 3, because I love how they look, but always been fan of noctua, because their performance to noise ratio is very good, their build quality is also great.
nice video go on like this! :D
Cool tests! Do you plan to test 140mm fans? im bulding pc right now, dont know witch 140mm fans to chose. :(