Very small correction: the price for Lian Li's triple fan kit varies from $65 to $75 USD, while the side RGB kit sticks to $20. So the price at 4:09 should read $65 - $75 while the price at 5:58 should be $85 - $95.
Have you considered adding some real manufacturers fans to test? Personally (and i believe large and growing part of PC community will agree) I'm tired of unnecessary feature creep to keep pushing prices up. 20$ was already high price for so old and such mass produced tech, price at which I'd expect years of usage in mild home conditions unfortunately for many products it is not the case. Now 30$ and 40$ fans are being shoved on us filled with argb or some gimmicks with dubious vale for end user. Most of these companies are just middle men ordering design from industrial oem's. Maybe it's time to defend our $ and skip them. San Ace, Sunon, Panaflo, Papst, Delta these are names you could look for and compare them against all that "pc gamur race" marketing. You can find models ranged 15-25$. They have no unnecessary bling and are designed to last years. The only problem is being industrial aimed products you need to buy few as if you want single pcs price is crap.
The 1800-2000 RPM thing is a non issue. Anyone running their fans at 2000RPM should be expecting that fan to make a LOT more noise than that one is, and 95% of users wont ever pass 1500rpm anyway.
@@MsabResearch honestly I cant say, because I did the upgrade at the same time when I switched motherboard and cpu 5950X to 7800X3D. But I could immediately tell there is a lot more airflow at low-medium rpm/noise compared to my previous fans: Arctic P12 (non max). Just by holding my hand in front of the radiator
We're working on that currently but the bottleneck is coming up with a way to show actual acoustic comparisons without causing the video to run WAY over time.
I would love to see the Thermaltake Toughfan 12, 12 Turbo, and 12 Pro all tested! They look great and also have a LCP design while being really inexpensive.
We've got the methodologies for 140mm fans in the works as we speak and we'll likely get into those in early 2024. As for slim fans, its been requested a few times now and there are some excellent products in that category coming later this year so perhaps that might be the time we dive into it.
I was worried about the buzzsaw noise but I bought a 3 pack (with the ARGB kit of course) and snapped them together daisy chained for intakes at the bottom of my O11 Dynamic EVO. I could not reproduce the noise from 1800-2000 RPM when they were mounted this way. HOWEVER, when simply running the fan sitting on a vineered particle board ikea desk, the buzzsaw noise is mildly audible and seems amplofied by the desk. Snapping 3 of them together and running them the same way eliminates the noise for some reason. Running single fans (not snapped together) screwed into the O11D Evo also does not produce this noise.
I have my phanteks nv7 case loaded up with D30 fans, and I am completely satisfied with both the looks, performance and noise levels that they produce.
@@ragtop63 There are normal fans and reverse fans, when using them with their intended direction, they all look the same, the sticker on the hub is plain silver, which looks fine to me.
@@ragtop63 Google "Phanteks Store" it'll come up as the first results, go to the fans section and the D30's are available in regular and reverse, single and 3 pack.
What’s really weird about them is although the frame is 28mm thick the fan blades are pretty much the same thickness as your average 25mm fans. Meanwhile the T30 has fan blades that’re so thick they almost touch the hub supports. I would really like to see someone else make a fan with blades as thick as the T30 and really give it a run for its money
Why most reviewers testing with noise normalized but not temp normalized? I would think most want to go as silent as possible, within a given max. temperature!? (Edited out typos)
Yh I'm not trusting these fans at all. Idk y your fans run at 800rpm minimum but other early reviews of this fan from over 3 months ago had them running lower rpm and their were major issues of bearing noise. I'm thinking maybe because of this issue they've now changed it to run at a minimum of 800rpm which is unexpectable. Also the fact that they measure the fan blade distance between the frame at 0.6mm but yet are more tighter than noctua afx25 & noctua did mention at the time of release of their fans that this was the absolute closest possible distance they could go without the blade warping in years to come and end up hitting the frame. I'd pick noctuas years of testing their fans rather than lian li jumping on the liquid crystal polymer hype with probably 1 year of testing after they saw the success of the t30's.
I bought these and used them for more than a month. My pc had 3 p28s and 3 T30s. The p28s where loud af, the loudest fans i have ever owned. They were incredibly loud above 42-45% speed (1200rpm). The T30s ran silent compared to the p28s all the way up to 75-80% (1700-1800rpm). The p28s moved tons of air but I couldnt handle the noise. I already returned them and will probably get more T30s. Keep in mind I own a lian li o11 vision and I do think the proximity to the side glass (p28s were mounted at the bottom as intake) helped them run lowder. The T30s also ran lowder in that position but nowhere near as loud anyways.
The noise probably comes from some turbulence caused by the very narrow gap but that is at the same time what gives you more pressure which is what you want for rads.
I love Noctua for their design philosophy of pushing for the absolute best performance possible (not to mention Noctua's unique colorway) and I have used their fans in many builds over the years and I'll probably continue using their fans for my own personal builds. But I have to say that Lian Li is really killing it with their Unifan system. I recently built a system for a friend using Lian Li's O11 Dynamic Mini case and he wanted it loaded up with the fancy Lian Li Infinity fans for maximum RGB and, damn, they're really nice. Even if you aren't in to the RGB aesthetic, you have to admit that the Infinity accents on the center and edges of the fan is a cool design. But looks aside, the fans also well-balanced performance for both airflow and static pressure applications and the Unifan system is by far the most convenient and well thought out daisy chain system to work with as a PC builder. I hope Noctua is taking notes on it.
do people actually run fans at 2k rpm in general? my fans almost never go above 1k with all of my temps staying below 70c under load. usually around 55c
A single case fan costing 30$ is insane! Considering that every PC case will have at least 6 of them, it'll put you back 180. You could buy a budget CPU for that money.
Yeah, it’s very costly for a mid tower, however for SFF builds where there’s only 2 or 3 fans they have to do a lot of work, having the best fans can be really noticeable for noise to performance.
Edit: HC clarified my confusion in their response. ------------ What am I missing that you have different results for the same fans in the same tests between different videos? Like how does the Wonder Snail show a result of 80.6 degrees here in a 36 dba noise normalized air cooler test, but in your P12 Max review the WS showed a result of 86 degrees in that same test when noise normalized to 39dba? Wouldnt the higher dba mean its running faster and temps would most likely be lower if anything? It's also 72.3 degrees vs 82 degrees between those two videos with the same two air cooler tests at 100% speed, and ambient is listed as being the same. Am I missing something?
This is correct and explained in this video. We've since updated our methodology to give more consistent results. That resulted in less fans being included in this video. Since we haven't retested all of them. It also goes to show how slight changes in methodologies can impact overall standings of any product.
Technically no. You can see the updated methodology link in the description. The changes weren't extreme but nonetheless important for us to do as we build out more tests over time.
@@HardwareCanucksOh ok, that makes sense. My fault as I misinterpreted that part of the video thinking it meant the change was specific to AIO testing. Thanks for clarifying.
No problem. Truth be told you might find some variance from one video to another before this as well. That's because, due to variables that have now been eliminated we used to retest EVERY fan... All the time
@@HardwareCanucks Good lord, didn't realize it was that much going into each of these videos, as with my ignorance I generally assumed it was just each new subject fan being tested in the same previously-used setup, then added to the chart. I know we all appreciate the effort; the fan testing is my favorite content on the channel so keep up the good work.
Have you had any issues with bearing noise at certain RPM points? We've heard reports of problems but after testing 14 of them, we've yet to encounter anything.
I bought 10, P12 Max fans for my recent custom loop: The P12 Max have a grinding noise when the fans start and, despite having a MoBo minimum speed above 30%, shortly after I log in to Windows (before FanControl software kicks in). After FC starts no issues with noise. @@HardwareCanucks
P12 Max is an absolutely absurd deal and I'm not really sure I'd get anything else on the market at this point. @@HardwareCanucksI've got 3 installed in my primary machine and haven't noticed bearing noise. One of the fans developed a random rattle type sound that isn't very loud and most of the time doesn't happen at all (only times I've noticed is at idle which is around 1300 RPM). This could potentially be bearing related, but unless it gets more consistent I can't say for sure.
@@HardwareCanucksI bought a set of 5 of the p12max a month ago and they all had annoying noise. 2 of them had a rattle and 3 of them had hum between 800rpm and 1200rpm
Very fascinating video. Can't help but thinking about CPU coolers after watching this. I noticed you love the IS-55. But unfortunately the ram blockage is a severe problem with this cooler. To me it seems the IS-67-XT keeps evertrhing the same as the 55 but sacrifices height to prevent the overhang. Idk if it was in your plans already or maybe you figured the 67 doesnt beat the 55 but it would be amazing if you could make a video comparing the IS 67, 47, and 55? And maybe some other newer cpu coolers? Or if you see this if you could reply that would be epic as well!
I bought the Arctic P12 MAX thanks to your review and they had defect with insane noise/hum/grinding at lower RPM. I was sent replacement...TWICE and had same issues and currently I am ghosted. You could set them to higher RPM, but that completely ditches the reason to buy the fans. ...these look cool, once again, but I can't get burned once again. I'm stuck with those Arctic fans :-/
I completely understand and I'll be honest we actually bought another 12 Max fans and couldn't replace the issue some folks were reporting. There's really no way to know if the problems were affecting certain batches or certain regions . :(
@@HardwareCanucks Its good to know that it was only the first run I guess. Too bad I got replacements out of said batch each time :D Your videos are still amazing regardless.
Рукопожатие через Океан! Смотрел с переводом и я восхищён вашей работой. На данный момент времени вы всё правильно говорите: "уровень шума, относительно оборотов" из всего,что я видел на RU-vid до этого ролика. Я однозначно оставлю ссылку на этот канал когда доделаю свои тесты где будет P28, если вы не против. Всех благ, буду следить за вашим каналом!
I feel like recessed screw holes should be an industry standard, when I mounted arctic fans (P14 iirc) in the bottom of my Lian Li 216 the long screws that came with either the fan or the case were just a few mm short and I had to drill the little nub that is actually the opposite of what it really should be for build compatibility (the frame is recessed and the hole is proud) and would cost them basically nothing.
Would love a Lian Li TL fan review! There are so many variants, but I suppose doing a comparison of the 120mm non-LCD variant, since the blades are LCP. Would be awesome to compare to the P28 etc. especially in regards to the noise. I would be especially grateful for metrics on the 140mm TL non-LCD version since they are, as far as I'm aware, the only 140mm LCP fans on the market right now.
I know I'm late to the show, but I feel like PC case fan reviews in general focus too much on 120mm fans. I myself have 5 140mm fans in my build and would love a round up of the bigger brother in the case fans family.
Sure. Due to our revised testing setup, we can more consistently achieve 36 decibels. So we have chosen to use that since a lot of people also mentioned that 39 decibels was on the louder side and we agree. Also, some of the upcoming fans that we want to test this year actually top out under 39 decibels so the move was very necessary for that as well.
Eventually, yes. Setting up consistent testing for them has been more challenging than we initially predicted since we can't use our current 120mm airflow testing setup.
You actually have to divide the pwm signal by 3 to get the proper readout the software just needs to have a option for daisy chain and then you just put in a number and it divides the RPM value by the daisy chain number
No we can't since every case will have slight variances that will change the fans' acoustical spectrums. Testing with the fans mounted to a case introduces too many variables.
I would also like to note that my z790 master can spin them as slow as 320rpm. Not sure if they’ve been revised or my motherboard just has a really good fan controller
I agree that for the price Lian Li should include the RGB or reduce the cost $15.00 and ship with no RGB. Either way the RGB should be included for that price.
i want to ask a question, but first im sorry if my english is bad, its not the main language in my country. and sorry in advance for my silly/dumb question as im an amateur. in my country Lian Li sell this fans in 1-fan pack and 3-fans pack. im planning to use only 2 fans for my Lian Li 240 AIO. my question, if i buy a 1-fan pack (x2) for my radiator, surely i wont get the controller that came with the 3-pack. how do i set my fans to low-med-high setting like the video without the controller? and if i somehow ended buy the 3-pack, but i have a custom curve fan-control in my bios or with some programs beforehand, would it clash with how the controller works? or can i assume the fans will only follow the command from the bios/programs setting instead of the controller? (thus i dont need to use the controller at all?). can someone with experience enlighten me on this? any helping explanation would be appreciated, thank you! (:
*You didn't tell how much air is being moved with each setting; this is very important, as RPM doesn't equal how much air is being moved, nor does it measure efficiency.*
We always give manufacturers a right to reply. Always. We even delay videos (eg: Assassin IV, HS80 MAX and Arctic P12 Max to name a few) if discussions with the manufacturer about our concerns are still ongoing. However, after a number of follow ups, there weren't any forthcoming responses in this case.
Next time can you test a 360mm radiator? I feel like on a 120mm fan radiator the difference is much bigger than using a 3 fan setup because you relay on 3 stages to cool down the coolant rather than only 1. I'm asking because the Arctic fan are rated low on single CFM but the Liquid freeze 280/360 AIO coolers they perform exceptionally well and swapping the fans qith a lian li 28p for example won't make a huge difference compared to a 120mm AIO. Also it's pretty rare to see people using 120mm AIO, the 240mm ones are far more common on people builds
Why aren't they making these fans in 140mm too? I really wish I could be one of those, either the Phanteks or the Lian-Li, but in 140mm. One can only dream.....
In a video you said that the mobius 120 oc was the best of all at 36db and now it turns out that it is not even in the top because of your new methodology, does that mean then that this is real now? or the above was the real thing
Results and positioning can and will change based on methodology sadly. However unless a major issue is found or we find a way to significantly give more consistent results across a wider band of products, things won't change. I'm confident in saying the evolution towards what we currently use since this review started will be carried through 2024.
Would rather not take any risks with the sound pitch even at lower rpms. I've had the M25 phanteks for a few weeks, dead silent, never beyond the 900 rpm under load, beautiful with rgb option yet non-reversable. Plenty of airflow, shortly behind the phanteks T30 if capped at 2000 rpm.
Would like to see the new Antec Storm T3 120x30mm and 140x30mm fans tested. They're very cheap and a few small independent reviewers have shown very very good numbers for them. I picked up three 140x30's for $30, which is an absolute steal.
Have you ever thought about testing pressure? I know you have real world testing which helps, but CFM as a metric tends to mean little compared to their ability to push into something, instead of blowing into nothing.
I have an issue with Asus Tuf F15. After clean installation of windows 11 on standard Mux Mode (integrated graphics) my external graphic card RTX 3050ti showing as removable media. I try to reinstall the driver but nothing happened.
So I'm really torn between setting my new case up with RGB fans (Lian Li AL120 V2) or something like this or the T30 that can push much more air at a higher RPM. I'm just wondering if it's worth sacrificing my desire for RGB heaven to have extra airflow.
Limit the max speed to 1800rpm, its still pretty damn fast and strong for that. I dont run my fans above 1500 rpm for max loads and they still provide good cooling. 1800rpm is plenty.
Would it be possible to consider reviewing the Thermalright TL-C12C, the ultrabudget option...I'd like to see how they compare to the others in the line-up.
I come from the mentality that no one's testing is better. Every approach has its benefits and pitfalls and it's why I always, always recommend that people watch multiple videos and / or read multiple articles about whatever they want to buy. - Mike
@@HardwareCanucks I love your stuff, was just kidding. Awesome testing, great authentic personalities, thorough thoughtful testing and beautiful shots. 👏
I'll take the D-30 120! Phanteks rules. Don't have to pay extra for RGB, either. If you want RGB the cost goes upto $46 per fan ----- $16 more than the D-30.
800 RPM ist just crazy. i went for a oversized ALF II 280 running at every load under 500RPM. i even dont need the stronger arctic fan and took the included RGB instead for more nice fps. there is not much argument against a arctic.
I love my t30 fans paired with phanteks t30 aio,excellent perfomance and sound and because i also like lian li all my pc components are in a lian li lancool iii,easily one of the best cases...
Any word on the alphacool apex stealth metal fans? I know they are to release in October/ November of this year but I'm hoping you guys are given an early preview
@@HCGonzalezJr87 Yea, the perform as expected is the biggest thing. What I've gathered so far from RU-vid and reddit by official alphacool accounts, is that they should release in both black and white by November. Possibly October. There are 140mm fans coming next year at some point. The speculation/ what I've also heard is that they will have a chrome version of the fans and they will cost $30 for a single fan
How about reviewing the Lian Li AL120 V2 that has a 28mm frame with fan blade RGBs.. and possibly the new Corsair QX120 to see if performance correlates with the price tag on them.
@HardwareCanucks Can you please check out the newer Phantom spirit 120 Evo, and TL-k12 fans? Nobody seems to be reviewing them despite how crazy good the peerless assassin was.
Great fan. Good air flow. Perform superb both on air and rad... But they have a terrible sound on pull config, wich you dont find on a12x25, pro 4 and t30
I would very much like testing at lower rpm too, maybe at 20, 25 and 30 db. 36 db only is way too much in my opinion. I want silent fans, not less noisy 😉
I got the P28 yesterday and the lowest I could make it go down was 320 RPM. Still not the 200 rated lowest RPM, but better than the higher 800 RPM I used these on my ASUS Z690-P D4 Wi-Fi. I’ll probably test on a few other motherboards and controllers to see what happens. I did use FanControl to achieve these numbers, which at 10% In the BIOS I could only make it go down to 14% before being locked, that went to around 500ish RPM iirc
Being able to click fans together isn't worth $22+ dollars per fan, it is easy enough to run a few wires once. And if I want blinky lights I'll toss a few strings of Christmas tree lights into the case.
a bit pricey for fdb bearing fan compared to t30 magnetic bearing.. it gave you a bit convenience though not sure if it's worth it. t30 and noctuas have steep price because they were made to last while having good performance.
Noticed that noise immediately.. kinda sucks these would have been amazing otherwise. I Wonder if the sound changed at all when it was on the radiator?
