Asus’s efforts in the field of standalone PC fans are on the rise. After the premiere in the form of the ROG XF120, there is now the half-price TUF TF120, which also gives more attractive results in some applications. And that’s even compared to other, similar fans with ARGB LEDs. The geometry of the TF120 is quite sensible, which is why it often beats its competitors in its price range. Read more “Asus TUF Gaming TF120: Cheap, lighted and efficient fan”
Illuminated fans from BeQuiet! have the advantage over many competing models in a more robust rotor design. This is also due to the fact that it is not made of “light conductive” material and therefore some may not like the Light Wings fans, but aerodynamically they have the edge over other models. This is not only because of the choice of raw materials and their robustness, but also the overall shape of the blades. Read more “BeQuiet! Light Wings (BL072): Sturdy rotor with ARGB LEDs”
The biggest advantage, but at the same time the biggest disadvantage of the DeepCool FC120 fan are its long and overall large blades, whose area exceeds that of competing models. Among illuminated fans, this one represents one of the most efficient solutions with ARGB LEDs, in optimal conditions. However, it is important to notice its downsides, which are a side effect of the chosen rotor design. Read more “DeepCool FC120: Big ARGB blades in a “small” cross-section”
Wondering how the Gentle Typhoon D1225C, the originator of the efficiently shaped rotor, is stacking up against much newer fans today? Very well. Outside the band of the most intense vibrations with annoying resonant frequencies, even from today’s perspective this fan has a top performance-to-noise ratio. In some ways it is even still unsurpassed, and the designers of the time built on strong physical foundations. Read more “Nidec Servo Gentle Typhoon D1225C won’t lose to just any”
We come to the analysis of a fan that even if it dates back to cooling prehistory, many manufacturers are only now discovering the aerodynamic qualities of its design. Although the Gentle Typhoon is a great inspiration to many manufacturers (including Noctua), it does have one weakness. And a rather fundamental one. It is very high, excessive vibrations, which we will unusually devote a separate test to. Read more “Gentle Typhoon’s high vibrations resemble SilverStone’s sins”
With the addition of the Shadow Wings 2 tests, you now have a full overview of the features of all unlit BeQuiet! fans in 120 mm format. Shadow Wings 2 is between Silent Wings 3 and Pure Wings 2 in terms of both price and design. In terms of efficiency, they are closer to the more expensive Silent Wings 3 and in certain situations they give top-notch results. Given the lower price, this can be a very attractive option, but there are some things to look out for. Read more “BeQuiet! Shadow Wings 2 (BL085): A cheaper option”
All the glory and respect of the Noctua NF-A12x25 “sterrox” fan is well deserved. We waited a long time to release its tests, mainly because it was necessary to analyze more seemingly similar designs first. This is necessary to understand why Noctua’s most popular fan among standard thickness models has no competition. We can responsibly say that even though we have only tested a fraction of all the fans. Read more “Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM: The most fine-tuned fan of its kind”
It’s not a joke. It may sound silly, but know that we are not presenting you with anti-physics. On the contrary, the foundation in physics here is very good. Different colors of materials, as long as they are not just a surface finish but a homogeneous mass, can (and often do) affect their strength. Our sensitive measurements reveal well the differences that exist between the white and black variants. Read more “When color matters: Corsair AF120 Elite weaker in white”
You know, the less you expect from something, the bigger the surprise can be in the end. Not that we approach Corsair’s elite fan with any preconceived notions, but for an absolutely top-notch fan, its design seems a bit simple. And that’s the magic of the AF120 Elite fan. Someone who knows what they’re doing was behind its design, because they did a hell of a job. Read more “Corsair AF120 Elite: Beware, this fan is a force to be reckoned with”
In HWCooling tests, there will no longer be uninteresting fans that serve “only” to build benchmarks. We have passed this phase. From now on, database building will have a different character and each additional fan will enrich the knowledge significantly. We’ll get right into the thick of it, with Cooler Master’s most expensive fan already riding the wave of the framed rotors that are coming in strong. And do you know why? Read more “Cooler Master MasterFan SF120M: Blades must be framed”
Few fans can wow us at first glance the way the Alucia SC12 from Akasa has done. Its build looks quite compelling in this price range. However, on a second look after detailed testing comes some sobering. But even though the high (even exorbitantly high) expectations have not been met, in some aspects the Alucia SC12 beats attractive, similarly cheap competitors in some situations. Read more “Akasa Alucia SC12: Efficient shapes vs. soft material”
The hunch that BeQuiet! couldn’t be this wrong was correct after all and now we have to tuck our tails between our legs. The original headline still stands, so “Don’t swap corners on Silent Wings (Pro) 4! You’d get worse results”, but it’s a little different than how we originally presented it. There has in fact been a mix-up of corners and now we’ll settle everything. We apologize to you, our readers, and to BeQuiet! for the original interpretation. Read more “Re-test of Silent Wings Pro 4 mounting corners. It makes sense now”
This didn’t work out for BeQuiet!. The supplied mounting corners for specific uses don’t work as promised. Instead of increasing the static pressure as advertised, the corners on radiators even decrease the static pressure and thus the cooling performance. And even the case mountings, which are supposed to eliminate vibration, don’t make much sense on the Silent Wings (Pro) 4 design. The whole thing seems somehow… half-baked. Read more “Don’t swap corners on Silent Wings (Pro) 4! You’d get worse results”
All the secrets around the BeQuiet! Silent Wings (Pro) 4 are over and the detailed analyses of the sub-features begin. And it’s great that we can be a part of it. This is, after all, without a doubt, the biggest “cooling” event of the year, and it’s spicier than we thought. The new BeQuiet! fans may be the absolute top of the line, but they haven’t avoided certain imperfections that you have to take into account. Read more “Silent Wings Pro 4 (BL098) in-depth review: Hard BeQuiet! KO”
Thermalright fans have been somewhat overshadowed by great heatsink throughout this company’s history. For a long time, even relatively high minimum speeds were awkward. These have now been tamed for most current models and the X-Silent 120 has a superbly low top speed as well. This is the “slowest” fan we have tested to date. With a price of under five euros, it also ranks among the cheapest you can buy. Read more “Thermalright X-Silent 120: Quiet operation for a bargain”
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