The marathon starts: Review with 6 case and radiator fans from be quiet! Black Noise, Corsair, Cooler Master, Noctua and Thermaltake

Summary

It’s really hard, as mentioned on the first page, to make a blanket comparison of six such different fans. Every customer has different premises and one wants a lot of luminosity, the other likes it discreetly dark. Loud performance versus soft winds, again the truth lies somewhere in between. Money alone doesn’t score goals, as we all know, and it doesn’t say anything about how well a fan like that performs in certain situations. Therefore the following results, if you like to call it like that, are only a small snapshot at 100% speed, because you can see all the intermediate stages on the previous pages. Because almost every task is different.

The best case fan?

If you go purely by flow rate per RPM used, then on paper the Thermaltake Toughfan 12 HSP Radiator Fan wins for being able to get the most air into (or out of) the case. I deliberately exclude the Noiseblocker eLoop X PWM B12xP RGB from the rating, because the test sample was obviously defective. All fans are relatively close together, but there is unfortunately also a clear non-recommendation. This is Cooler Master’s model, which certainly looks nice, but offers very little performance for the money and completely fails at lower speeds.

 

If we now go by the ratio of airflow to the resulting sound pressure (“noise level”), then the Thermaltake wins ahead of Noctua and Blacknoise. The inexpensive Pure Wings 2 beat the expensive fans from Corsair and the Cooler Master is a total failure.

The best radiator fan

As the thickness of the radiator increases, the static pressure naturally becomes more important. In combination with the actually achieved throughput, a very interesting picture emerges over the individual speed ranges, where the Noctua NF-A12 PWM and the be quiet! Pure Wing 2 are in front, which can score especially at low speeds really. And it’s also the cheapest fan in the test field. Corsair and Cooler Master unfortunately offer two fans that can’t really keep up on a 60mm radiator, although it still looks good on the slim radiator of a simple AiO solution. But for the big ones this is rather nothing more.

The speed-related throughput on the radiator is similar, even though Noctua wins here. The inexpensive Pure Wings 2 can keep up well in the mid-range and even outperforms the much more expensive Corsair fan.

Conclusion

The expensive fans like the Noctua NF-A12 PWM and the Blacknoise eLoop X PWM B12xP ARGB (subject to sample) are good all-rounders, the QL120 RGB from Corsair at least in the case still a chic air slinger, but above 25 mm thickness on any radiator no longer performs sensibly. The Cooler Master MF120 Halo RGB is the complete failure of the day. A beauty at a proud price, but unfortunately without any bite. And the real surprise in the form of the be quiet! Pure Wing 2 is easy on the wallet and on the ears when you don’t need an extra flashlight.

Unobtrusive, no-frills and no emotions, but at the forefront of many situations. As a case fan, the Pure Wings is only mediocre, but at the latest at 45 mm radiator thickness and regulated speeds, the cheapest fan can score points. Again, I wouldn’t have thought that before the test either. Whether one can give the part now a purchase recommendation, I leave open at this point, because for the rank as PL winner it would have to assert itself first against similarly favorable models. Did you want a budget test? Then just vote with