Big test of 120 mm fans. We known everything about eight of them

Cooling, Extra tests, Fans | | Ľubomír Samák

Evaluation

To write that we have something mapped out to the last detail is perhaps too bold, but after proper preparation, few pieces of hardware are as easy to evaluate as fans. Of course, this had to be preceded by long preparations, developing a methodology, but you already know the story. What you don’t know yet is the first fruit, or rather the results of Akasa, SilentiumPC, SilverStone, Xigmatek or more exotic Reeven fans.

Evaluation

The SilverStone SST-AP121 scored the highest. This fan is the best of the tested models at handling obstacles and excels especially with higher static pressure, even at lower noise levels. Its sound is quite “clean”. Sure, there is some “rattling” in it, but it is very faint and might not disturb even demanding users.

However, the AP121 rotor may interfere with the nylon dust filter. This is due to the small height difference between the frame and the rotor itself. Similar is the case with the SilverStone SST-FQ121 and even worse with the Reeven fans, which will be brushing against the filter for sure. Of the Reeven fans, the Kiran finished well below expectations. The difference between the declared and real static pressure is really high, Reeven missed the mark with this one. The Kiran is the weakest in this respect and it should have been exactly the opposite.

The Coldwing 12 (also from Reeven) performs much better, with the manufacturer claiming significantly lower static pressure. According to the parameters, it would seem that this is an attractive low-cost case fan. But beware, it only achieves high airflow rates without obstacles. This fan doesn’t do well with a filter or a grilleand so is not very well suited in practice.

The excessively high airflow loss through obstacles also applies to the Kiran. That one also has RGB LEDs (but without data connection, only with a mechanical switch on the fan body/wire) and supposedly significantly higher lifetime (MTBF 120 000 hours). But can it be trusted after those overshot static pressure values? We expected a bit more from the SilverStone SST-FQ121 as well. Both the pressure and airflow of this fan are below average in its price range. That is, if we do not take into account the maximum power output, at which, however, a high noise level is achieved.

With the SST-FQ121, we were surprised by the lack of PWM control. It rarely happens that a 4-pin fan is better regulated by a fixed voltage setting than via PWM. Below 950 rpm (down to somewhere around 300 rpm at 3.4 V) you only get by “DC” control. But at lower speeds (from about 500 rpm) the fan has quite a lot of trouble, which is also audible in the motor sounds. It was therefore not possible to tune the SST-FQ121 to the quietest mode (31 dBA). Compared to the SilentiumPC Sigma Pro 120 PWM, however, it is still first class.
The SPC fan, regardless of speed rattles annoyingly (-86,2 dBu at 2635 Hz in the 39 dBA mode). At higher speeds, this sound still hides behind “aerodynamic” frequencies, but at lower speeds it clearly stands out. Control according to the standardized noise levels was not possible here even at 33 dBA and at 36 dBA only without obstacles, which increase the noise level by their resistance.

The cheaper SilentiumPC Sigma Pro Corona RGB 120 rattles significantly less and its regulation was possible across the whole spectrum of modes. Considering that this is the cheapest fan in the test (and it has RGB LEDs to boot), we have to commend the decent airflow and pressure performance. However, the low price was reflected in the finish.
In the detail you can notice the shavings and the most intense vibrations have also been recorded here. A nice contrast to this is the Akasa Vegas X7, which is the single fan where vibration is zero even at maximum power. The Akasa fan also achieves attractive efficiency in terms of airflow (even with a filter or a grille), doesn’t growl and we can recommend it with a clear conscience as a cheaper system fan. For analogue RGB LEDs, it is particularly suitable for older setups that are meant to brighten up the lighting.

And finally the Xigmatek XLF-F1256. That’s long in history, no point in looking back. The average-in-all fan still has a shared power supply for the motor and the white LED. The lighting intensity thus depends on the speed of rotation. We don’t really miss this and are glad that the current LED fans have a separate circuit. More information from the measurements could probably be included in the final text, but this time we’ll take it in a more concise form. The tested fans are mostly not sold anymore and they were supposed to fulfill actually only one task – to create a reference sample of the results. We’ve already got that one, and now tune in for confrontations with fans that present themselves as triple-A. We’ll be dropping in one test after another. The next one in line is the Asus ROG Strix XF120.

English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš




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Comments (2) Add comment

  1. Although the test a super, non of the recommended Fans can be bought today making it intentesting but overal not that usefull. For next test, please include some fans that are expeded to be solf for at least one year later.

    Reply

    1. The selection of older, outdated fans for this test was purposeful. The goal was to get some results/ some basic idea to have something to go off of when evaluating current fans. When you look at the current database, it overwhelmingly contains fan models that are widely available in stores: https://www.hwcooling.net/en/bequiet-light-wings-bl072-sturdy-rotor-with-argb-leds/13/

      The first eight have been selected so that later on none of these models will lack (since they are no longer sold) an in-depth evaluation of all aspects, as we do at the end of the “solo” tests, of which there are 26 after this article.

      Reply

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