Most PC's need to have fans of some description, but which budget RGB fans should you buy?
Do They Really Blow?
- As some of you may know, I finished building my new Ryzen based gaming/streaming PC earlier this year, but I accidentally bought the Corsair SP120 Triple Pack by mistake. Not that there isn't anything overly wrong with them, or so I thought, it was the fact that I wanted RGB fans that can be digitally controlled via software, not a controller box, like the Corsair set. I put them in the case as I needed air flow regardless, it was just a pain to adjust as I had to open up the case to adjust the colour, mode and speed of the fans, which did not match any of the other RGB in the case.
So to remedy this inconvenience, I got myself the fans I initially wanted, the DeepCool RF120 RGB Triple pack which can be controlled via a small control box, or software via the 4 pin RGB header on the motherboard I have. This makes adjusting the RGB much more convenient and it syncs up nicely to the rest of the RGB inside the system, so it looks more appealing.
Performance and features of each of them have there similarities, but are also drastically different, not to mention the cost difference of £20.
Corsair SP120 RGB Triple Pack - £49.99
- So lets start with the fans that were bought by mistake. These fans are a 9 blade static pressure fan that has 4 RGB LED's placed inside the hub. The hub and the fan blades are all frosted clear plastic that have just over 2 mm clearance between the fan and the housing.
The controller is a simple 3 button affair with mode, colour and speed. Yes it allows you to control the lighting effects, but depending on where you situate this controller, adjusting the lighting effects can be very inconvenient. For me, I placed the controller on the dual vertical expansion covers inside the case. I didn't like the position as I wanted a nice clean aesthetic inside the case, and to adjust I had to remove the 2 thumb screws holding the tempered glass side panel, and then remove it to gain access. I would imagine that this would be a similar deal for anyone else that uses these fans.
Back to the RGB side of things, you are only limited to 7 colours to choose from, 5 lighting effects that are nothing special, and the speed button controls the speed of these effects, of which there are only 3 speeds to choose from.
Back to the fan itself, in the description, it says that the fan blades are ''Ultra-thin for less vibration, noise and turbulence''. Thankfully, I have a doctorate in mechanical engineering, and everything about that description is wrong. The blades are almost double the thickness when compared to the standard Fractal Design case fans that came with the R6 case I use. I suspect the extra thickness is so the lighting can bleed through the blades to create a more fuller effect, due to the lack of light available. If they were worried about vibration, they would have added rubber pads to the mounting areas, and turbulence is totally dependant on how well designed and balanced the fans are, not there thickness. As for the noise, they are fucking loud. I could not watch a film or play a game without hearing these fucking annoying fans. They sounded as though they were at full throttle all of the time.
You do get a 6 port hub so you can add another 3 fans if you wish, but it is a proprietary connection, so you can only ever use the Corsair fans. And finally, you do get a 'switch' adapter so you can control the fans by a series of switches that are similar to the power/reset switches. These are available on some Corsair cases. If you wanted that same convenience on any other case, its a lot of fucking about for something that is not worth the time or effort.
- These fans by Corsair are a huge, huge disappointment. You are spending a premium for very little in the way of quality and functionality. There is the possibility for expanding to an already existing set, but why the fuck would you? The only way these fans are relevant to anyone is for the fan boys and brand whores.
Limited colours, limited effects, inconvenient controls, will not sync up with other RGB, proprietary connections that don't work with anything else. The only redeeming thing these fans have is that they come with a 2 year warranty. But they even fucked that up as its only for the life of the product, so if they were to stop working due to over use, they will consider it ''product lifespan'' and out right refuse to warranty them, and only for first hand buyers. If you bought a set used, your fucked.
Basically, I know I bought these buy mistake, but that is the only reason you should have for buying them, new or used, they are shit, and the only useful part is the user manual... so I can wipe my arse when I run out of shit paper.
2/10 Huge Disappointment
DeepCool RF120 RGB Triple Pack - £29.99
- DeepCool make some very impressive AiO water cooling solutions that are among some of the best in the industry, so when they made a play into the RGB side of things, they had a good idea of what its customers wanted, and they gave us exactly that.
So lets take a look at the fans first. Unlike the Corsair fans which are a 3 pin connection, these are a proper 4 pin PWM connection so they can be primarily controlled by the bios on the motherboard, but can also be controlled via software if your board is capable of that. So maintaining system temperature is fully autonomous and can maintain a much more stable temperature. Just like the Corsair ones, the hub and blades are frosted clear plastic that are actually thin, but they have 'grooves' along the blade, which I suspect serves a dual purpose. The ridges not only reduce turbulence but also act as air stabilizers, similar to those that you can find on the wings of planes. This in turn reduces the vibration and noise. It is something so simple, that works very effectively. There is a tiny 0.8mm clearance between the fan blades and the housing, making for a better airflow.
On to the RGB side of the fan, it has 6 LED's located in the hub which produces a very vibrant and bright lighting through the blades. You do get an inline controller that has 3 buttons on it, mode, light and speed, however, it is fully compatible with 4pin RGB headers on motherboards, via an extra adapter from Akasa to allow more than one fan to be connected. So along side having the ability to use a controller for the fans for those who don't have an RGB header, it will (as far as I am aware) work fully with any motherboard with the 4 pin RGB header and the accompanying software, like ASUS Aura Sync, MSI Mystic Light, Gigabyte Aorus, AsRock RGB Sync and more. This will allow you to control the fans lighting any way you want, with near limitless colour options, quite a few lighting effects and the speed. If you have other RGB hardware inside your system, it is very easy to sync everything up and have them perform exactly how you want.
The noise from these fans is surprisingly low. That is not only thanks to the excellently designed fan blades, and how well balanced they are, but also thanks to the rubber mounting pads that are usually only ever found on more expensive fans... well I say that, but they didn't come on the more expensive Corsair fans.
The only downside to these fans is that they use a magnetic bearing instead of a physical bearing. But you do get a full 2 year warranty which is a full wear and tear warranty. If they break or stop working in that time, they will simply replace them. No life of the product bollox here to be found.
- These fans, even though they come in a full £20 cheaper than the Corsair Triple pack, have much more to offer. They are very well designed and have near limitless functionality thanks to the ability to work with software based controllers, using a non proprietary connector that is becoming more and more universal. The inclusion of the inline controller is just another bonus that make this set more appealing to those looking for a budget option for a system with no RGB compatible motherboard inside. They are not perfect, but a much better option to the alternative.
I have noticed since using these that not only is the noise level much lower, but the overall system temperature on average is about 2 degrees lower. It may not sound like much, but when you are overclocking or pushing your system, every degree counts.
And one last thing, these fan blades are much smoother than Corsairs, which make them easier to clean, and don't accumulate as much dust over time.
8/10
Case fans is something the majority of users will over look, using what is available or the cheapest option. But for the select few who have a custom PC and want to make there system and setup truly theirs and unique, choosing the right fan for the inside of your system can be just as important as choosing a graphics card or a case. If its not right, you will know straight away. As I did with the Corsair fans. Yeah sure, if they were on sale and not as expensive as the alternative, then they would make a great addition to someone who is venturing into the world of RGB. But sadly, they are more than the alternative and you are paying for the label on them more than anything. The DeepCool fans are budget friendly, work with both software and hardware controllers, and are better designed with more functionality and features.
When comparing the 2, it is quite obvious what choice you should make if you have to buy one.
I suppose when you get into the more expensive side of things, you are paying more for the label that is printed more than what the actual fan does for the extra money. Yeah sure you may get more lighting, more LED's, addressable LED's, better designed, more features, but when you take a look at the other end of the scale, you can find a lot of other, sometimes unheard of companies that offer the same equivalent for sometimes, less than half that of what the ''better known'' brand does.
The moral of this little comparison/review is, it pays to shop around and not pick the first thing you come across.
What did you think of this comparison / review?
Let us know in the comments below.
Thanks for reading.
Stu @TechMojo
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