Best 120mm fans for radiator.

menko2 · Jan 5, 2021

Hi.

This time I'm looking for the best ones for the gpu hybrid radiator.

1) Arctic P12. 12 €
2) Arctic Bionix. 17€
3) Corsair ML 120 pro. 22€.
4) Silent Wings 120 high speed. 25€
5) Noctua NF-A12 iPPC-3000 PWM. 26€
6) Noctua A12x25 pwm. 30€

I'm not too fussy about noise but I dont want too extreme noise.

Radiator is for the rtx 3090 kingpin hybrid.

What I don't get is how the Noctua A12x25 has very similar specs than the Arctic P12 and the price difference is that big. I don't know if the radiator will need a little bit more static pressure than this two at 2.20 aprox.

What do you recommend for a balanced performance-noise?

2600ryzen · Jan 5, 2021

P12/sw3/Noctua A12x25 are the best choices, I would choose the p12 for it's square shape and price, at 1000rpmish it can have an annoying hum though.

Also consider the phobya shroud to improve noise normalized performance, if you can get them to fit.

doyll · Jan 5, 2021

NF-A12x25 is much higher quality and performs better than others of similar design. Noctua spent years in development to find impeller material so impeller ends are closer to shroud without stretching over time and touching shroud. Sure, Noctua cost more than most others, but their customer support and quality are worth it to most buyers.

Spacer shrouds do help, but a 2x 120mm fan shroud is better because it has no frame in middle blocking air between 2 fans like Phobya does.

DimasTech Radiator-Shroud RadExt 240mm [WARA-439] from WatercoolingUK

Radiator Accessories >> DimasTech Radiator-Shroud RadExt 240mm. Price: £15.01. In Stock

www.watercoolinguk.co.uk

I don't know if spacer shrouds are worth the expense. If you think they are this is better design, but not as thick and quite expensive.
15mm thick

240mm Radiator Fan Shroud - Normal Profile 240 by haydnbao on Shapeways

Check out 240mm Radiator Fan Shroud - Normal Profile 240 by haydnbao on Shapeways and discover more 3D printed products in Mechanical Parts.

www.shapeways.com

10mm thick

240mm Radiator Fan Shroud - Low Profile 240 by haydnbao on Shapeways

Check out 240mm Radiator Fan Shroud - Low Profile 240 by haydnbao on Shapeways and discover more 3D printed products in Mechanical Parts.

www.shapeways.com

I've seen 3D printer programs for fan shrouds, but now I can't find them. Sorry

ciarlatano · Jan 5, 2021

menko2 said:
What I don't get is how the Noctua A12x25 has very similar specs than the Arctic P12 and the price difference is that big.

Because the "specs" you are looking at are open air specs, which have little/no relevance in your actual usage, and don't account at all for P/Q curve which is actually telling of how a fan will perform in your application. You are also essentially comparing a Kia with Mercedes in that they might both get from 0-60 in the same amount of time, but there will be an inherent difference in build quality and materials that may or may not matter to you.

You are also overlooking the Phanteks F120MP, which will deliver solid performance and good sound signature at a reasonable price - Phanteks PH-F120MP & PH-F140MP fans

The PH-F120MP is one of the quietest fans while also pushing a decent amount of air through the radiator compared to other fans at the same RPM as seen above. These two synergistic results mean that it is one of the best fans from an airflow/noise basis which makes this an excellent buy- especially for those looking at a quiet fan which is also a decent performer.

menko2 · Jan 5, 2021

doyll said:
NF-A12x25 is much higher quality and performs better than others of similar design. Noctua spent years in development to find impeller material so impeller ends are closer to shroud without stretching over time and touching shroud. Sure, Noctua cost more than most others, but their customer support and quality are worth it to most buyers.

Spacer shrouds do help, but a 2x 120mm fan shroud is better because it has no frame in middle blocking air between 2 fans like Phobya does.

DimasTech Radiator-Shroud RadExt 240mm [WARA-439] from WatercoolingUK

Radiator Accessories >> DimasTech Radiator-Shroud RadExt 240mm. Price: £15.01. In Stock

www.watercoolinguk.co.uk

I don't know if spacer shrouds are worth the expense. If you think they are this is better design, but not as thick and quite expensive.
15mm thick

240mm Radiator Fan Shroud - Normal Profile 240 by haydnbao on Shapeways

Check out 240mm Radiator Fan Shroud - Normal Profile 240 by haydnbao on Shapeways and discover more 3D printed products in Mechanical Parts.

www.shapeways.com

10mm thick

240mm Radiator Fan Shroud - Low Profile 240 by haydnbao on Shapeways

Check out 240mm Radiator Fan Shroud - Low Profile 240 by haydnbao on Shapeways and discover more 3D printed products in Mechanical Parts.

www.shapeways.com

I've seen 3D printer programs for fan shrouds, but now I can't find them. Sorry

I'm quite shocked the stock fans perform that well. Same as almost 120mm premium or p12 fans.

poah · Jan 5, 2021

menko2 said:
What I don't get is how the Noctua A12x25 has very similar specs than the Arctic P12 and the price difference is that big. I don't know if the radiator will need a little bit more static pressure than this two at 2.20 aprox.

P12's FTW. unless you like spending 60 on two fans. The are quiet and have good performance and on the plus side not brown lol. no real reason to get the noctua at all TBH

DNMock · Jan 5, 2021

Silent Wing 3 fans are absolutely fantastic radiator fans and the ones that dethroned the fabled GT fans.

Haven't played with those new Noctua fans, but historically at least, their performance hasn't matched the premium they charge.

Owterspace · Jan 5, 2021

120x38s.

Why pay a premium for a name? You can run an industrial and blow everything else away. They don’t have to be loud either. NMB, Panaflo, Pabst, Sanyo Denkei, Delta. They can be loud, but they don’t have to be. Some of my fans I got new back in 2005 and have been in service every day. And they are cheap. I run mine on the controller that came with my R4. It’s very simple with a switch to feed 5,7, and 12v.

My TY-147B is louder at 12v than my Panaflos at 7v and they push about the same amount.

doyll · Jan 5, 2021

poah said:
P12's FTW. unless you like spending 60 on two fans. The are quiet and have good performance and on the plus side not brown lol. no real reason to get the noctua at all TBH

While P12 are maybe the best low cost fan, it definitely doesn't cost $30 to get a better fan.

Melcar · Jan 5, 2021

I never liked the engine noise of x38 fans. I have several different models from my old water cooling days (most are 2k-3k rpm models so nothing crazy). At 12V they are insane, but I mostly ran them at 5v or even 7v. At those voltage levels I have found that many of my newer x25 fans can beat them while having a much more agreeable sound signature. Maybe newer industrial fan models are different, don't know (all my industrial fans are 10+ years).

Shawnb99 · Jan 5, 2021

poah said:
P12's FTW. unless you like spending 60 on two fans. The are quiet and have good performance and on the plus side not brown lol. no real reason to get the noctua at all TBH

I’ll take the sound signature of the Noctua’s over the P12’s any day, specially if I need to ramp them to full speed. Plus like the cheap sleeving and extra cable they provide are way better quality in make. While that doesn’t make up the difference in price I’m happy I swapped out to full Noctua’s in this build

poah · Jan 5, 2021

doyll said:
While P12 are maybe the best low cost fan, it definitely doesn't cost $30 to get a better fan.

unless you are wanting to run the fans at max speed or want RBG why would you buy a different fan that is more expensive? Makes no sense at all.

StAndrew · Jan 5, 2021

I liked the Arctic P12's but the QC wasn't the best for me. Their customer service was great though (in the US at least). I called the support office and they mailed me new fans with no questions and I didn't have to return the old ones. I think they requested pictures of the cracks...

I don't recommend their BioniX fans though. The frames are not rigid and are prone to flexing causing the blades to scrape the sides.

doyll · Jan 5, 2021

poah said:
unless you are wanting to run the fans at max speed or want RBG why would you buy a different fan that is more expensive? Makes no sense at all.

We know how you think.

Many if not most of us are willing to pay extra to have fans we know will last, fans that have pleasant sound profiles, etc., so we suggest them to others looking for good fans instead of talking up the cheapest fan on the market as being a great fan .. which it simply is not.

StAndrew · Jan 5, 2021

doyll said:
We know how you think.

Many if not most of us are willing to pay extra to have fans we know will last, fans that have pleasant sound profiles, etc., so we suggest them to others looking for good fans instead of talking up the cheapest fan on the market as being a great fan .. which it simply is not.

I disagree. The Arctic P120's are great fans. Maybe not the best but def great.

upgraditus · Jan 5, 2021

doyll said:
being a great fan .. which it simply is not.

I beg to differ, they might not be the best but they are great, especially so when considering price point. I got 5 of em for the same money as one A12 for chuffs sake. They've been fantastic doing GPU cooling duty (alongside a wee noctua 92mm) way better than the stock fan shroud on my 1080Ti and 2080Tis. With the case inverted they need only gravity (and some strips of rubber for dampening) to stay put.

In terms of cooling this setup beats stock by as much as 20°C

Here it's pulling up to 340W running ray tracing bench at max temp of 55°C

poah · Jan 5, 2021

doyll said:
We know how you think.

Many if not most of us are willing to pay extra to have fans we know will last, fans that have pleasant sound profiles, etc., so we suggest them to others looking for good fans instead of talking up the cheapest fan on the market as being a great fan .. which it simply is not.

but what exactly are you paying extra for. You have no evidence to suggest P12's will not last long and you don't hear the fans unless you run them at high rpm so what sound profile are you taking about.

doyll · Jan 5, 2021

We are not talking about just P12, but also P14, and it's bas been shown / proven P series fans often have strange noises at curtain RPM. Many have complained about this. There have also been failures, and we are only into 2nd, maybe 3rd year of production so not lots of use yet either. This started with poah spouting off about it costing $60 for 2 fans, when there are many others better $10-18.00 apiece price range. If you want to use them that's fine. I also wonder how many of the users making claims of how great they are have used many or even a few top tier fans like TY-14x series, Silent Wing 3, etc. I believe most owners of P series fans have relatively little of this experience. Sorry if that sounds condescending because that's not my intent, just that it is a consideration.

What ciarlatano said below:

ciarlatano said:
Because the "specs" you are looking at are open air specs, which have little/no relevance in your actual usage, and don't account at all for P/Q curve which is actually telling of how a fan will perform in your application. You are also essentially comparing a Kia with Mercedes in that they might both get from 0-60 in the same amount of time, but there will be an inherent difference in build quality and materials that may or may not matter to you.

You are also overlooking the Phanteks F120MP, which will deliver solid performance and good sound signature at a reasonable price - Phanteks PH-F120MP & PH-F140MP fans

Petty well sums it up.

StAndrew · Jan 5, 2021

doyll said:
We are not talking about just P12, but also P14, and it's bas been shown / proven P series fans often have strange noises at curtain RPM. Many have complained about this. There have also been failures, and we are only into 2nd, maybe 3rd year of production so not lots of use yet either. This started with poah spouting off about it costing $60 for 2 fans, when there are many others better $10-18.00 apiece price range. If you want to use them that's fine. I also wonder how many of the users making claims of how great they are have used many or even a few top tier fans like TY-14x series, Silent Wing 3, etc. I believe most owners of P series fans have relatively little of this experience. Sorry if that sounds condescending because that's not my intent, just that it is a consideration.

All fans will have noise issues a certain RPM's unless they can dynamically change the shape of their blades. Some fans have a small RPM range so you wouldn't experience this but given the chance, you can easily find the RPM where air cavitation is annoying.

I admit, the Arctic P12's do have a "wirr" sound around 1100ish RPM's but its so unnoticeable that you really have to listen for it. And I have 6 in my case. They are practically silent at 800 RPM's and at full RPM's, while audible, they are still pleasing to the ear (again, I have 6).

Again, the only issue I had was two fans show up with cracked blades. The material they use is brittle so if you have a habit of sticking things in your fans while they are running, I would say these are not the most robust fans on the market. I've been running mine for about a year+ with no abnormal noises, ticks, or any other issues so far.

I'll say it again. The P12's may not be the best fans, buy they are great fans!

doyll · Jan 5, 2021

The argument about Arctic P series fans is over 2 years old now, with many threads, like in link below:

Arctic P12 and P120 / P14 and P140 "Pressure...

The specs vs the prior gen F12 / F14 and Bionix: Arctic page: https://www.arctic.ac/us_en/products/cooling/case-fan/p-fans.html P12 PWM specs: https://gzhls.at/blob/ldb/2/c/1/6/417d01d706af1e5b6b69450185948da82423.pdf * 200 to 1800 RPM , 0dB mode at < 5% PWM * 56.3CFM @ 1800RPM with 2.2mm H2O...

www.overclock.net

Best 120mm fans for radiator.

menko2

2600ryzen

doyll

DimasTech Radiator-Shroud RadExt 240mm [WARA-439] from WatercoolingUK

240mm Radiator Fan Shroud - Normal Profile 240 by haydnbao on Shapeways

240mm Radiator Fan Shroud - Low Profile 240 by haydnbao on Shapeways

ciarlatano

menko2

DimasTech Radiator-Shroud RadExt 240mm [WARA-439] from WatercoolingUK

240mm Radiator Fan Shroud - Normal Profile 240 by haydnbao on Shapeways

240mm Radiator Fan Shroud - Low Profile 240 by haydnbao on Shapeways

poah

DNMock

Owterspace

doyll

Melcar

Shawnb99

poah

StAndrew

doyll

StAndrew

upgraditus

poah

doyll

StAndrew

doyll

Arctic P12 and P120 / P14 and P140 "Pressure...

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