Lian Li Unifan V1 vs V2 - which is better? 

The new shipment of the SL V2 (available in late December) will include longer cables (550mm for the controller cable, and 250mm for the bridge cable).

Those fans are great but for me it's mind-blowing that fans who cost that much don't come with longer cables or at least include cable extensions in the box.

I remember when I replaced my Corsair fans with the SL120 Uni Infinity fans. Went from 18 individual cables coming from the 9 fans, to 3 cables from 9 fans. Now I jumped to the O11D Evo where I could add a 10th exhaust fan on the back. Only one additional cable. So I love the solution Lian Li has come up with because it has made cable management/cleanliness easy. However, I agree that they should add longer cables with these. It isn't such a big deal in smaller form factor cases, but if you are in a bigger case where distance to the controller comes into play, these shorter cables could be a problem. At the very least, Lian Li should make extensions for the proprietary connectors. The easiest solution. Given the fact Lian Li typically listens to their customers though, there is a very good chance these issues will be addressed in a V3 or they will make connector extensions to address concerns. Either way, still very nice fans. Pricey, as Lian Li products typically are, but nice nonetheless.

I kinda miss the first iFixit promo ending. "iFixit explosion! *explosion effect*"🤣🤣🤣

Love to see them working on this design. Bought the first version when you did the first video on them, I absolutely love the concept. They still have a bunch to fix (like length, their BS connectors and so on) but they are on a good trajectory.

I just completed my new PC build with the SL V2 fans and everything worked great. Super quiet and look great! I do agree with the cable length. Too short limits how well you can manage the cable routing in the case. A shorter cable does not make it easier but in my build, all seemed to work out. Thanks for the vids!

As a SFFPC enthusiast, 15mm slim fans with that cableless connection would be incredible

"Every.Inch.Counts." - JayzTwoCents, 2022.

Hi Jayz, I enjoy your content and I have a build that incorporates a lot of Lian Li stuff including the first gen SL fans. I like them but they wouldn’t be my first choice in another build. Ive been using them since L-Connect 2 which worked but had limited functionality. At first my fans could produce a nice white colour with a warning that would come up not to do it at full brightness because you would burn out the controller (or something). They have since changed it so the fans now only produce an off white colour (blueish). There is also a colour difference between the 120 and the 140 fans and you have to manually tweak the colour slider bars to get the fans to produce the same colour. There are a quite a few colour themes you can choose from and some are even directional that are supposed to go from one side of your case to the other. The problem is there are no options to reverse the direction of the light on individual sets of fans because some banks of fans are turned the opposite way to hide the wires at the back. So you have a directional theme where lights are moving in different directions (if this makes sense). The L-Connect 3 software has had some major bugs and flaws since launch and Lian Li has been very slow to come out with updates. Lots of functions still don’t work. In my opinion there software department needs to be improved and not just be an afterthought.

I just bought a Skytech Chronos and can't wait to tear it down and put in some upgrades. Thanks, Jay for the great videos. Wish me luck.

every time I watch one of your vids I learn something new! so thankful for that! built my second PC after 9 years of my first build, and have the SL Infinity and did not know those tabs could be popped out, wow just wow, my build is so much cleaner now, those tabs annoyed me.

Lian li in the next version, should find a way that you could run the wire through a channel along the sides of the fans. It would be super convenient for cable management

It would be great to see a proper comparison between the most well-known brands and their fans in terms of airflow, noise level, required software (which can eat up resources) and so on.

Lian Li has always been amazing but they are on their A GAME in recent times for sure! I have Lian Li Cases but I gotta get these fans! FANS! Probably the most overlooked portion of every build really.

Another good year of great content this is one of my favourite channels Thank You and your team for all the hard work.

That this was the best video you’ve made I learned so much from this video. Thank you for basing it.

I'll be going for these over the infinity just for the consistency of the fan design. The SL Infinity needs to have that infinity effect on the back as well, or we should be able to purchase those fans choosing which side it's on (front vs back version), otherwise you just end up with diofferent looking fans in your case even though they're from exactly the same set.

I agree I would much rather manage longer cables than have cables too short. Longer cables are easier to manage too because you have much more flexible cable routing options than short cables. You actually need longer cables to manage them better in my opinion. Crazy to me that they charge that much for fans and don’t have any extension options. But I do like the look of them and considered the infinity for my last build. Cost wise it wasn’t worth it to me and I spent money on other components that matter more.

Great detail. Thanks for all the build faults and benefits theses come with 👍🏼👍🏼

I’m running 10 Lian Li Infinity fans in my Lian Li EVO XL. Beautiful with great airflow, 2x3 bottom and side inflow, 3x1 top+rear exhaust. Because they daisy chain, all 10 fans only use 2 module connectors. Very easy and I couldn’t be happier!

Jay you can change the cable direction, taking the plastic cover off you can swap it :)

Welp, the V1's were already super compelling because of that daisy chaining connection. Now, with the V2's having that extra cable for the wired daisy chain, I wouldn't mind having them in my case. V2 Infinity? Please, Lian Li

Thanks Jay, extremely useful information on those fan setups... :)

Thought you were going on vacation. Happy for the content

Hmm looks like perfect fan to place under my mesh chair aimed to put out air upwards during the summer.

I used 9 Infinity fans in my recent build and didn't have any issues though agree that cable length as shown in this video could be a problem, and easy in-production fix for Lian Li. They still need to fix the L connect start-up issue though - the software doesn't start minimised despite having the option. I also run the Lian Li AIO and it's nice having the ability to run everything into a single controller.

Im currently running 8 of the 1st version of these on 2 radiators and they are awesome. Have had them for a few years now and so far other than one fan having a few lights die its been solid

Been watching all kinds of videos from you to rebuild my computer after my last one was stolen, was thinking of these fans and cable turned me off them Thanks for the videos man accurate info and good info love it

I've mentioned this before, but the V2's airflow at 1000RPM is exactly the same as the V1. The extra 100RPM is what is making those stats higher.

Hi Jay! It looked like a Y-splitter would be the perfect solution to the 3+1 fan setup you demonstrated. One controller connector for 16" splitting to two fan connectors for about 8". What do you think?

Love the concept of the Unifans. Looks like v2 has some great ideas for even further reducing the amount of cable management required, which is fine by me!

I had a clearance issue on the v1 with my AIO and had to sand down the mount for connecting another fan. Glad to see they resolved this issue!

Sent mine back to Supplier. As much as i liked them, the software WOW sucks. Soon as i open L-Connect 3 it Kills 3 RGB lights, fans still work, but no RGB on 3 fans, along with no control over fan RPM. Went back to Argus Monitor and there is no doubt this is one of thee best control software out, yes you pay for it, but well worth it :)

i have the v1 of these fans and only have had them for about a year now and half of them seems to have dimmed compared to others. Everything is set up the same in the software. I think my next build I'm going with non-rgb fans.

Great video... I love that level of granular detail. More detail like that please

Took over 18 months to get my Unifans...because Jay got them all...LOL...but they are AWESOME. Cleaned up a mess of wiring for sure. I only have 3 in my case, but they are AMAZING. SUPER SUPER quiet, well built, and look amazing.

My idea would have been to put the connecting ports on every side of the fan and have a little cap with a groove for easy removal and swap around. So basically if you had 3 fans but the cable wouldn't reach from the ends, you could just plug it into the side of the middle fan. And still daisy chain to the front, back, side or bottom fans. So wherever you needed the connector you could just connect to the fan that was the closest to the grommet port for easy management.

They should just put sockets and adapters around the ENTIRE fan housing. Giving you endless combinations of points of contact and you can make covers that slide on and off to give it a nice clean look

That ifixit ad was one of the funniest things ever and simultaneously made me want to buy ifixit more than any other ad I’ve seen

Thank you so much, i was just about to buy these for a build, and have to overthink the build now. Thx guys !

I actually ended up splicing one of my wire connectors for my SL120s because I had 2 fans on the top of my case and 1 fan in the back and the lighting would not "chase" correctly. So, I took one of the wires I wasn't using and hacked together a bridge between the top fans and the back fan. Now the software reads them all as a single set of 3.

@JayzTwoCents , 2.54mm Dupont jumper cables will sort out both the length & proprietary cable problem. I have to do exactly that to extend some of the Corsair RGB cables at the moment until I get a kit to make my own cables to try and tame spaghetti junction in the back of my Corsair 7000X case with 17 QL120/40 fans! EDIT:- Just a quick note for anyone wanting the 'proprietary' connectors, all you need to search for are the following - Molex, SL Female Connector Housing, 2.54mm Pitch, 4 way, 1 row & Molex, SL Male Connector Housing, 2.54mm Pitch, 4 way 1 row (you can get 3 way, 1 row to, just change the search term). They can be picked up in packs of 10 for around £5 or so from RS electronics or as already mentioned you can use the plain, non locking version using Dupont connectors which you can get as 4 or 3 way, 1 row type too.

The Cable for in between the fans is the one thing that has always been missing with these fans IMO and I'm gald they added it in the end!

I have the V1s on a radiator and I had the exact scenario Jay described. I had to flip the connector to the other end and then the cables would barely reach to where I needed them to go. I am redoing my build in the new year and will most likely swap to the AL Inf fans because I prefer the lighting on them.

Thanks for the review Jay, I'll stick with my V1's for now

Love my. Uni fan v1 might be adding some of the infinity ones to my build

I swapped out the Corsair ML fans for these and I’m happy I did. No more wire clutter and I didn’t have any problems connecting 9 fans inside the O11 Dynamic EVO Mid Tower.

They are super good looking fans and great for the right application. Right now I'm loving my NF-A14 Industrials on thick AlphaCool 280MM rads.

With my current setup, I'm unable to use these, but I'm still hyped for everybody else that can use these. Very cool product to me. I used the v1s for my buddy's pc and liked them, so these definitely seem like a nice upgrade

Great video. Love your stuff. Any chance you guys might do a video on cable mods again, specifically right-angle options for MB cables and video cards?

Totally worth the cost imo, they're quiet, keeps things cool as they should and are the best looking fans I have ever seen. The cable/daisy chainable feature alone makes them worth the price for admission. I have 7 of the UNI SL120 Infinity's in white, which replaced some Deepcool fans I had gotten, they were available at time of purchase and the UNI's were not. Compromise...so when I had the funds and they were in 3 months ago and snatched them up. I do agree on the cable lengths as well. My rear exhaust is right there at the end, giving just enough to plug it in and remain in the cable channel on the back. If you were to see the back panel, you'd see a crooked control box 😁

Just bought 5 x 3packs inf uni fans. Works like a charm! Considering switching them for this v2’s.

Your i fix it commercial is hilarious! I love it. It just needs a bit more guitars in it.

I think the interconnecting design is genius! One issue with my build is 6 fans = loads of wires to manage and, while the case has a rear cable management compartment, it’s very shallow so things get a bit…interesting. Being able to run 3 - 4 fans off one cable with no voltage drop off would be very handy indeed.

Bring it on! These will go great in my Y60 case

I honestly really like the new form of the controller combined connector, but that's mostly because I think the standard connectors were janky as hell and didn't seem to seat well in the controller's ports without a lot of wrestling that made me worry about causing damage. That said, totally agree the cables should be longer and also that having slots on both sides of the control box was very convenient. Hoping that gets fixed shortly.

i love the new cable system so it fits on radiators better, but ive always managed to get it still in between the aio fittings. yes it was tight at a little pressure on it, but it works. might upgrade on these, for the airflow upgrade wich i could need uite well since i got a project goin on with an diy pc case

I own a total of 8 sets of SL120 Unifans, the white RGB turned yellow about year into owning the fans. I got them a little after they were announce released, when they were difficult to get.

I have 13 of the Unifan's V1 installed .. Both 120 & 140 .. if it wasn't for the daisy chain there would have been no way to hook them all up ... I would have had to use two commander pros .. So saved me a lot of wiring and head ache .. will buy more as I do more builds worth the price every time ..

I have the V1s and came into the exact issue with rads forcing an airflow direction and orientation i didn't particularly want to go with originally to avoid that clearance issue. They're super clean and nice to use except that issue. These V2s do look to be an improvement. Perhaps i'll switch as i need to do a full loop drain and clean soon anyway. Something i've avoided as i realised i didn't install my drain valve until after filling my loop....yay.....

Would love to see Lian Li do a front cover for this fan with the look of the side panel (including rgb)!!! They have the o11family , where you can peek in front, it would be nice if the fan looked as good from the front as from the side.

I have the Lian Li ST120, and they're great. So yes, i agree with Jay. They make great fans, albeit expensive.

That hit marker on Jay's face was pretty funny. 🤣

I bought the 3 pack of the AL120s. They're expensive, but I love how they look in my case, which makes it worth it when I'm looking at them every day,

Just finished building a new machine with the V1 fans and they’re pretty slick. O11 mini, Galahad AIO Unifan edition with extra fans on the bottom. Really going to enjoy this thing!!!

12:54 Actually on your left hand it looks like a standard 1x7 2.54mm crimp Pin Header with lock. The casing with a lock is hard to find but the ones without a lock are abundant on the internet. The one on your right hand idk what it is. Its most likely not proprietary since it would add a unnecessary cost. Its much more likely that they are using something that already existed. All you need is to someone to identify what conector it is and you can make your own custom cables without needing to splice the wires.

iFixit is literally the only add I'll sit through and watch because it's awesome.

I've just bought the Corsair QL fans (not installed yet as they're my birthday present) but these don't really appeal to me, maybe if I was in the Lian Li ecosystem already but I went with Corsair because I've got their RAM and I like the 4 lighting zones - independent front/rear centre/edge lighting was something I really like. I do like the fan to fan connection though - but totally agree; those cables are too short.

you could extend the proprietary cable by splicing the cable and lengthening it but that does require soldering..

How Jay slapped himself with a lian-li câble...thats the true Hardware love 😅

I totally agree with you Jay...seems like they worked well on Medium or their Mini version...but i can that being a huge problem on Full size cases...i recently bout 10 uni infinity fans...they beautiful but not perfect.

What we need to wait before buying now is the longevity of the cables. I hope it is that flexible and durable.

Just finished up a new EVO build with x10 Infinity fans and an RTX4090 Strix in the Upright position...it had ZERO clearance and I'm shocked it even worked out as good as it did 😋 Being able to connect up to 4 fans and have only ONE cable is insanity!

my son and his friend just built me an o11 dynamic evo water cooled rig with these fans love them

This is why you’re the best, you pointed out exactly the issue I have with those cables 😂

I was just going to finally upgrade my fans off my built to the V1s after watching your video about them, but now I'm wondering if the cabling would work on my PC lol Thanks again for an awesome video!

I have the AL120s and have no issues using two control boxes. I do use two because I have four rows of three plus an exhaust but the AL120s do not have the cable to connect another fan the same channel. That means technically five sets of fans. What I really don't like about the L-Connect software is that I get prompted on startup twice to allow UAC. I use SignalRGB Pro to control the fans which does not pop up the UAC window. Another drawback is that the fans on the control boxes are not visible by the Fancontrol software, which is not their fault. I can hook up each set of fans to the motherboard which then Fancontrol can control. SignalRGB cannot see fans on the motherboard (ASUS Dark Hero)

I've already got ifixit but that advert makes me want to buy more

I love this fan design, having a modular quick connect fan, to eliminate excess cables, I'm all for.

They are beautiful fans I'll give them that. Last year I literally had to stop a build for a week because one of my fan cables was an inch short. Course I take blame I should have done a dry run my measure first.

I have 7 of those SL120's and found it annoying how the connector gets in the way of the typical radiator fittings. And with how short the wires are to begin with. It made it a challenge on where to locate the fan controller in the case so that all the wires can reach it. I wasn't even aware that you can get JST extensions until well after I put my system together. But it's nice to see that Lian Li is still trying to improve on the design. I do like the idea with the extension cable to bridge between the top fans and a rear case fan.

I have the Phanteks P500a with currently 6 AL120 fans in it with the control box in the back. I see the complaint you are bringing with the v2 fans cable here, but I don't think I would have any issues using them in my case, I could easily make the length work. That daisy-chain cable would also make a rear fan very easy for me. I too hate proprietary connectors though and wish I could install the fans with using the control box at all because I have no use for the software effects they give, I set mine to a simple effect, and leave it.

I like this and it really helps with a clean install and not running wires everywhere. Is there a cheaper/uglier version where they snap together but there's not RGB or anything?

I'm glad the only issue I had with v1 was some yellowing, which they quickly remedied by replacing all of my fans. I still have plenty of cable length and great looking LEDs.

I like how on the infinity fans, you can use the 3/4 pin cables from a single fan unit on up to a 4 or 5 fan block

I'm still using the v1 fans with a lancool mesh 2,and thankfully everything all just worked out with the fan and rgb connectors

Excellent thanks again

i use 120mm Infinity and i have connector on the side of the fittings. i didn't had that problem. but i remember your problem with 12th gen build. so i would say it differ from rad to rad. also i use in it 2 cases, be quiet 900rev 2 and lian li o11d XL. didn't had any problem. both pc have all fan spots filled. o11 have 12 fans and bequiet have 7.didn't had any problems with lengths

Yeah no doubt, if you make proprietary cable it has to be either longer or easily extended by offering cheap extensions.

Those fans will definitely be in my next build. Unfortunately, they won't work in my current build. I have the 3 panel Thermaltake that around 4 ft wide

IDC about this video BUT this was byfar the BEST promo I've seen on RU-vid.

I got my V.1s when they were back in stock and actually went on sale for almost half price. Not regretting swapping them in for my Silent Wings 3 with worn bearings! They look absolutely fantastic! The only real gripe I have with L-Connect is the fact that it wants admin privileges to run, which always has me clicking away the stupid prompt on system boot-up. Also there's a little issue where the fan that's actually connected to the hub (set to standard-speed) ramps up to full RPM for a minute or two, or until I actually open L-Connect and then minimize it again...

The iFixit sponsor portion is always the best!

Something I've never seen ANYONE mention about UniFans is the chunky frame around the fan. It means the blades are shorter than most 120mm fans. It actually reduces overall airflow compared to other 120mm fans. Remember 120mm fan means the frame is 120mm, not the fan blades. These are awesome aesthetically, but IMO leave a bit to be desired in terms of airflow and static pressure at a given dB measure. If you want looks, Lian Li has the best fans on the market. Period. But it's a bit annoying to see countless reviews of these fans pretend that they actually perform really well, overlooking that they're pretty average despite the immense price. Not a big deal for most people, but it should be noted for anyone who wants high-end performance. Take a look at Noctua fans, Corsair ML120, or Phanteks T30 fans for example. Look at all those fans straight on towards the fan hub, and look at how much area the chunky frame on the UniFan takes up in comparison. These UniFan fan blades are shorter as a result. There's less room for airflow. On a radiator, there's now going to be 2-3mm on each side of the radiator where the fins get no direct airflow. Not a huge difference, but it leaves cooling performance on the table. Comparing stats, Noctua NF-F12 vs these UniFan SL120 V2: at 2000rpm, same noise (29.7dB vs 29.2dB), but Noctua moves more air (71.6 CFM vs 64.5 CFM) and Noctua has much higher static pressure (3.94 mmH20 vs 2.59 mmH20), all at a standard 25mm thickness vs the 28mm of the Lian Li fan. Or look at the Phanteks T30, which also uses extra width (30mm) to increase static pressure, and it also outperforms in airflow (67CFM), static pressure (3.3 mmH20), and noise (27dB).

Awesome stuff I really wanna get me some of these, not available retain in NZ :-(, looking on Lian-Li site for part number and noticed the how to connect video on these fans is not for these fans but their older models LOL, will refer to your video for how to install instead, haha, Thanks Jay

Got V1 and thy improved the wearing in my case but i really get what CON Jays has about the V2´s a expensive product like this shroud have bin able to have longer cables out of the box or at least have used already existing connections so its easy to get the length need for the task

Nice fans Jay!

I was waiting for these. Seeing those prices have now put me off. I need 12 of them. Also they are going in my handmade wooden case, which is huge. So those cable lengths will be an issue too.

The thing is that Lian Li fans just look better and have the click system wich gives u just 2 cables (one if u bind them together). for 4 fans in a row. And now also with that extra cable for the rear casefan if u have a 360 rad in the top...Just the best invention ever. Ih have them in both my PCs. 👌👍👍👍

I havent looked at any other fans since I bought BeQuiet Silent wings 3 a few years ago. My priority was always silence, since temps are never a concern for my build. I must admit, Lian Li always are ontop for RGB lights designs