Introduction
A trend in the gaming oriented marketing has been RGB, RGB and more RGB in the past years. From air coolers to cables, everything has had their flair for the better or the worst. Today we’re having a look at various options on the market around RGB fans.
What To Look For
- Size: Obviously the most important. Most cases and coolers today will generally accept 120mm and 140mm, but make sure the amount you want to put in fits the case you’re building in.
- RPM: the speed a fan can go in Revelations Per Minute or RPM. The higher this limit is, the faster the fan can spin.
- PWM: a method of using a separate signal combined with a constant voltage to have better and more efficient control of the fan. This isn’t deal breaking, but allows for better control of the fan. It’s easiest found by looking at the fan’s connector, which in the case of PWM is 4 pins instead of the usual 3.
- CFM: Cubic Feet per Minute or CFM is the amount of airflow a fan can push. Do keep in mind that this has nothing to do with the actual pressure of the fan, as a high CFM doesn’t automatically translate to high air pressure.
- mm/H2O: an indication of static pressure, though not often given by brands.
- Bearing: this is the type of internal design it uses around the motor. This is generally FDB/HDB, rifle, sleeve, double ball bearing or a patented technology like Noctua SSO and Enermax Twister.
- RGB: uses a 4-pin 12v header to power the lights on the fan. Can only change the color of the fan as a whole.
- ARGB: uses a 3-pin 5v header to power the lights on the fan. Can target individual LEDs.
What To Avoid
- Sleeve bearing fans: short lifespan, generally very cheap RGB fans use these
- “Fake” FDB/HDB fans: some manufacturers claim their fans to be either FDB or HDB bearing, but end up being sleeve or rifle in the end because of the lack of grooves. These are sadly poorly documented, but it’s good to keep an eye out on this.
- Using 5v ARGB on a header only supporting 12v RGB or vice versa. This will likely end with a dead fan or at least the LEDs stopping to work.
Overview
| Brand/Model | Link |
|---|---|
| Arctic P12 PST RGB | Amazon |
| Arctic P12 PST ARGB | Amazon |
| Lian Li ST120 | Amazon |
| Enermax HF120 | Amazon |
| Deepcool RF120 | Amazon |
| Deepcool CF120 | Amazon |
| Cooler Master SF120M ARGB | Amazon |
| Fractal Design Prisma AL-12 | Amazon |
| Silverstone AP140i-ARGB | Amazon |
| Deepcool CF140 | Amazon |
120mm fans
Arctic P12 PST RGB – 15 USD/fan
Specifications
Bearing: Rifle
RGB/ARGB: 12v RGB
PWM: Yes
RPM: up to 2000 RPM
Frame color: black
Reasons to buy
Silent
PWM signal can be daisy-chained
High static pressure
Reasons to avoid
LEDs are controlled as a whole, not individually
Not well reviewed yet
Arctic P12 PST RGB – 16 USD/fan
Specifications
Bearing: Rifle
RGB/ARGB: 5v ARGB
PWM: Yes
RPM: up to 2000 RPM
Frame color: black
Reasons to buy
Silent
PWM signal can be daisy-chained
High static pressure
LEDs are controlled individually
Reasons to avoid
Doesn’t work on motherboards that don’t support 5v ARGB
Not well reviewed yet
Lian Li ST120 – 50 USD/3 fans
Specifications
Bearing: FDB
RGB/ARGB: 5v ARGB
PWM: Yes
RPM: up to 1800 RPM
Frame color: black or white
Reasons to buy
Proven as a good static pressure fan on Lian Li’s Galahad line
Fluid Dynamic Bearing
Availible in two colors
LEDs are controlled individually
Reasons to avoid
Doesn’t support 12v RGB headers
Enermax HF120 – 36 USD/3 fans
Specifications
Bearing: Unknown
RGB/ARGB: 5v ARGB
PWM: Yes
RPM: up to 1600 RPM
Frame color: black or white
Reasons to buy
Great value
Individual LED control
Included controller
Comes in two frame colors
Reasons to avoid
Unknown bearing
Not well reviewed
Can’t be used on 12v RGB headers
Deepcool RF120 – 65 USD/5 fans
Specifications
Bearing: HDB (not confirmed)
RGB/ARGB: 12v RGB
PWM: Yes
RPM: up to 1500 RPM
Frame color: black
Reasons to buy
Great value for 5 fans
Comes with spitters
Reasons to avoid
Not confirmed to actually be a HDB fan
No proper reviews done on the fans
LEDs are only controlled as a whole
Deepcool CF120 – 40 USD/3 fans
Specifications
Bearing: HDB (not confirmed)
RGB/ARGB: 5v ARGB
PWM: Yes
RPM: up to 1500 RPM
Frame color: black
Reasons to buy
Great value for 5 fans
Comes with RGB controller
Essentially the ARGB version of RF120
Reasons to avoid
Not confirmed to actually be a HDB fan
No proper reviews done on the fans
Cooler Master SF120M ARGB – 40 USD/Fan
Specifications
Bearing: Double Ball Bearing
RGB/ARGB: 5v ARGB
PWM: Yes
RPM: up to 2000 RPM
Frame color: black
Reasons to buy
Extremely long lifespan due to DBB bearing
Premium, minimal look
Based off the same design as the SF120M, making it one of the best, if not the best performing RGB fan on the market
Reasons to avoid
Expensive
Needs a few more in-depth reviews
Fractal Design Prisma AL-12
Specifications
Bearing: LLS
RGB/ARGB: 5v ARGB
PWM: Yes
RPM: up to 1700 RPM
Frame color: black
Reasons to buy
ARGB control
Fan blades and ring around both light up
Well priced
Reasons to avoid
No support for 12v RGB
Not the cheapest on the market
140mm fans
Silverstone AP140i-ARGB – 27 USD/1 fan
Specifications
Bearing: HDB
RGB/ARGB: ARGB
PWM: Yes
RPM: up to 2000 RPM
Frame color: black
Reasons to buy
High airflow
ARGB light
Silverstone’s air penetrator technology has been proven in the past
HDB bearing
Reasons to avoid
Cost
Mainly meant for airflow, not radiator use
Noisy at max RPM
Deepcool CF140 – 35 USD/2 fans
Specifications
Bearing: HDB (not confirmed)
RGB/ARGB: ARGB
PWM: Yes
RPM: up to 1200 RPM
Frame color: black
Reasons to buy
Comes with splitter and ARGB controller
individual LED control
Well priced
Reasons to avoid
Low RPM
No support for 12v RGB
Disclaimer: this guide contains Amazon affiliate links, we may receive small commission from purchases made through them, all images are directly from the Amazon listings
