Choosing the Best 120mm Radiator Fan: Testing Eight Fans with Corsair's H80
by Dustin Sklavos on August 23, 2012 12:01 AM ESTBitFenix Spectre Pro
The new BitFenix fans are intriguing. BitFenix doesn't really target them for any specific purpose the way Corsair and, to a lesser extent, SilverStone do. At the same time, their fan blade design is unique in that there's a reinforced, bevelled pattern on the individual blades. BitFenix cites this as a measure intended to increase longevity.
| Airflow (in CFM) | Static Pressure (in mm/H2O) | RPM | Rated dBA |
| 56.22 | 1.24 | 1200 | 18.9 |
Judging from the specifications, though, it seems the Spectre Pro is geared more for quiet operation and case airflow than use as a radiator fan. At full bore it's a very quiet fan that produces a healthy amount of airflow, but the static pressure leaves something to be desired. It will be interesting to see if the increased airflow helps balance the low pressure.
Nexus Real Silent Case Fan D12SL-12
I thought it would be interesting to throw this old chestnut into the mix. This Nexus fan comes highly recommended by SilentPC Review for its excellent balance of performance and acoustics. I'd actually been using this as the fan on my Xigmatek Dark Knight for some time before switching to a closed loop cooler, and at full bore it's still pretty much inaudible.
| Airflow (in CFM) | Static Pressure (in mm/H2O) | RPM | Rated dBA |
| 36.87 | 1.2 | 1000 | 18 |
The Nexus isn't that attractive on paper outside of its remarkable efficiency, but anecdotally I found it to be an excellent heatsink fan due to its incredibly low noise as well as its solid performance. Whether or not it will be a solid radiator fan remains to be seen due to its comparatively low airflow and static pressure ratings.
CoolerMaster SickleFlow 120
The CoolerMaster SickleFlow 120 was a last minute entrant; I'd been wandering around Fry's, saw it on the shelf, remembered that it had been mentioned fairly positively on forums when I'd be researching radiator fan performance, and figured I'd snag one and see how well it performed in practice. Opinions seem to be fairly split, with people citing it as having horrible static pressure but other people being extremely happy with it.
| Airflow (in CFM) | Static Pressure (in mm/H2O) | RPM | Rated dBA |
| 69.69 | 2.94 | 2000 | 19 |
If nothing else, the specifications sure are pretty optimistic. For a whopping 1dB more, the SickleFlow theoretically provides almost twice the performance of the Nexus! Just judging by the spec sheet, CoolerMaster's fan should blow the rest of our fans out of contention, but you'll see word of mouth on forums and rated specs aren't always reliable.
NZXT Performance Case Fan 120mm
On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have one of the 120mm NZXT fans that CyberPower PC shipped attached to a 240mm Asetek radiator some time ago. NZXT rates the fan pretty conservatively, but CyberPower still felt like it was a solid enough contender to deploy in a review unit.
| Airflow (in CFM) | Static Pressure (in mm/H2O) | RPM | Rated dBA |
| 47.27 | 0.95 | 1300 | 25.35 |
If the SickleFlow's ratings are overconfident, NZXT's fan seems positively humble by comparison. Of all the fans we're testing it has the lowest rated static pressure, mediocre airflow, and one of the highest noise level ratings. So why deploy it, other than that it's inexpensive? Asetek ships their radiator kits with fans included, why not use one of those? I'll show you.
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sanityvoid - Thursday, August 23, 2012 - link
I agree the Scythes AP-15's and Noctua F12's should have been included. I just spent 1 week going over different forums reading up on which worked best and which didn't. I'm also angling for low noise but even so the Noctua and Scythe still come up time and time again. Any google search on H80 best fans will return those two fans in the tops threads a real shame they were not included.Expensive and somewhat hard to find I agree but I just bought the F12's off Amazon last night.
Disappointing that a Google search could bear more fruit than a article about this subject.
versesuvius - Thursday, August 23, 2012 - link
"....to eke every last ounce of performance (within reason) out of our systems."Shouldn't that be (without reason) ?
todlerix - Thursday, August 23, 2012 - link
another vote for noctuasirizak - Thursday, August 23, 2012 - link
Great review, for the products tested and for the scope I thought it was a good article.I can understand some wishing for other fans to be tested but the amount of fans on the market today make this mostly impossible.
If you would like to see a massively broad range of fans tested in a controlled environment I recommend this thread. Slightly different application, being a Megahalems air cooler, but the range of fans and thorough testing can't be faulted.
http://www.overclock.net/t/724577/the-well-dressed...
Highly recommended if a little dated article, check out the Yate Loons.
Runamok81 - Thursday, August 23, 2012 - link
As others have pointed out, this review is lacking some key contenders for the rad fan crown. This will not stand Dustin! I demand a recount! Please do either another rad fan article, or atleast an update to this article. I trust Anandtech, and I'm desperate for my favorite review site to put its... spin on the rad fan debates swirling across the internet forums. Rad cooling is indeed a hot topic.I'll admit, having purchased an H100 and fans yesterday, your article was perfectly timed but educationally lacking. I don't know how you can do a rad fan roundup without the enthusiast champ - Scythe AP15s, the ugly betty - Noctuas, or the newest darkhorse - Cougars peppering in a comparison. C'mon man, you are better than that! I want.. no .. I NEED Anandtech's opinion on these fans!
macmuchmore - Thursday, August 23, 2012 - link
I definitely would have liked to see the Noctua fans included. However, this leads me to request a follow up article that includes a more comprehensive review which has additional fans from other manufacturers as well as a "quality of noise" rating. I know some people say that noctuas are not silent - and I don't disagree. I do believe that they are "nearly" silent and that the sound they make is the least annoying of any fan I have used. Thanks!will1220 - Thursday, August 23, 2012 - link
why would you test such under-performing 120mm fans? At least include the highest rated 120mm fan on the market: Scythe Ultra Kazeiceveiled - Thursday, August 23, 2012 - link
I'm a little confused how these fans will work with the H80 unit. The stock fans are rated at 3 different RPMs which the system designates as low/med/high, yet most of the fans here are rated at only a single RPM value.Does that mean that the fans will only spin up at their rated RPM regardless of how hot or cool the liquid in the H80 gets? So for example regardless if the H80 fan profile setting is set low, medium or high, the corsair quiet editions fans will only spin at 1450 RPM, or can the corsair unit actually make them spin faster or slower?
Great article BTW..a little disappointed to see you only test in push configuration. The H80 is meant for push/pull and I'm sure the test results are completely different in push/pull. How many people get the H80 and only use one fan?
mantikos - Thursday, August 23, 2012 - link
If you haven't included a Sanyo Denki San Ace fan in your testing, your fan test is incomplete. These fans will blow your socks off.Runamok81 - Thursday, August 23, 2012 - link
I've heard the Sanyo Denki San Ace is one of the best performing fans on the market. If you have NO concern about the noise level.Video and sound of a Sanyo Denki Ace
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0bvShNDT4M