Question PC case fans hierarchy/tier list?

kanewolf

Titan
Moderator
can I get where I can look for the best fans that I can buy for my chassis
There is no single answer to this question, IMO. More CFM isn't always the right answer. Lower RPM is not always the right answer.
Your SPECIFIC configuration has to be looked at. Do you have water cooling? Do you want push/pull? How many inflow? How many outflow. Do you have a blower style graphics card ? MANY different variables.
 

Eximo

Titan
Ambassador
A fast moving field. There are a number of outlets that do fan testing on occasion. I don't know of any reliable source with rigorous testing standards.

You can also spend a lot of money on fans, so when you say the best, how much are you willing to pay per fan?

Also depends on if you are using water cooling radiators, or have a heavily filtered intake what fans may be most suitable.

Airflow, Hybrid, Pressure (Static Pressure Optimized) for radiators.

Most of your RGB fans are built in a hybrid style so they can be used as case fans or radiator fans and I would call most of them equal outside of bearing life and RGB features, interconnects, etc.

If I were buying a pile of mid-range case fans today, probably Arctic P12 Max for my radiator heavy setup. (Though direct replacements for my 140mm Phanteks are still out there, in the form of the Phanteks PH-F120MP V2)

Cheap airflow fans, probably Thermalright TL-S12.

But that just covers 120mm.

Other popular choices are be quiet! Silent Wings 3, and Pure Wings 3. Then we start breaking into Noctua pricing territory with the A12X25, or the Thermaltake 30mm thick fans.

I'm still partial to Corsair SP120 for swapping fans on cheap air coolers. I often pick up Gammax 400 or other cheap CPU coolers when they are on sale and swap in those for quieter operation.
 
And even then, once you sort out all the variables, it largely doesn't matter. Does the fan push air? Does it push it well enough? It's going to do the job and a 2-3C difference in component temperature isn't going to matter if they're well below the maximum anyway.

It's why no hardware site has done a fan review in... I dunno, ever in the past 10 years. Fans have gotten to the point where the core point of a fan is pretty much level across the field. It's all the extra features around it, and even then those have gotten mostly the same.
 
Apr 30, 2024
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There is no single answer to this question, IMO. More CFM isn't always the right answer. Lower RPM is not always the right answer.
Your SPECIFIC configuration has to be looked at. Do you have water cooling? Do you want push/pull? How many inflow? How many outflow. Do you have a blower style graphics card ? MANY different variables.
CPU:- Intel® Core™ i5-14600K
GPU:- Zotac RTX 3060 12GB Twin Edge OC
MOBO: MSI MAG B760 Tomahawk WiFi DDR4
RAM:- Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16GB 3600MHz
PSU:- Corsair CV Series 650 Watt 80+ Bronze
STORAGE:- Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB NVMe
CASING:- Cooler Master MB511 ARGB
COOLER:- DeepCool LT720 360mm

this is my current specs and I am looking for the best possible fans to buy for my case, currently, my aio is mounted on top(exhaust) and the front has 3x fans that intake
 

35below0

Notable
Jan 3, 2024
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You can look at what Noctua, Thermalright, Arctic, beQuiet! and Scythe have to offer. They might have some extra information on what type of fan works best.

There are more brands but those 5 are a good start.
 
Apr 30, 2024
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Is there any actual problem, cooling or noise wise, with your computer? Or to put in another way, why are you wanting new fans?

You very likely don't need new fans.
I am a bit insecure regarding temperatures my GPU has recently been getting 76-77c while gaming so I wanted it to drop I know there are a lot more solutions for that undervolting/limiting temps but I don't mess with those settings that's the reason! on the other hand, my CPU stays chill max 68-70c cause of my LT720 so I don't worry a lot about it.
 

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