Silverstone Shark Force 120 mm Fan

[VSG]

The Silverstone Shark Force 120 is a performance-optimized 120 mm fan with minimal frills and a clean look backed by good build quality. It offers a zero RPM mode as part of a long RPM control range and pushes a lot of air through a radiator, albeit with associated high airflow noise too.

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[damric]

yeah for $30 I'll just keep buying those 5 packs of artic

 

[gamervs99]

yeah for $30 I'll just keep buying those 5 packs of artic

Same

 

[jonup]

yeah for $30 I'll just keep buying those 5 packs of artic

or 2x 3packs of Thermalright ones and saving 3-5bucks in the process

 

[EatingDirt]

yeah for $30 I'll just keep buying those 5 packs of artic

Speaking of which, it would be nice to see the Arctic P12 reviewed.

And $30 for these is a choice. There's not really anything special about these fans that justify that cost. This just blows a lot of air, very loudly, has just a 1-2 year warranty and comes with terrible mounting screws. Fans that cost this much usually come with a 3-6 year warranty, silicone case mounts, have multiple fan modes, some have Unique mounting systems(Lian Li Unifan) or just overall perform much better because of added thickness(Phanteks T30).

 

[Nin]

Shark Force? That's Sharkoon's affordable (but pleasant) mouse.

 

[Veseleil]

What a joke.



@VSG why highlighting power draw instead of a current draw?

Also this:

2021 and 30USD fan with 3-pack option for 85USD:


2024 and 30USD fan that's inferior to the T30:

 

[Blurpy]

How have you guys not tested arctic fans

 

[VSG]

What a joke.

View attachment 347674View attachment 347675

@VSG why highlighting power draw instead of a current draw?

Also this:

2021 and 30USD fan with 3-pack option for 85USD:
View attachment 347679

2024 and 30USD fan that's inferior to the T30:
View attachment 347680

Fan headers are rated by power output generally, and prices are higher across the board now than in 2021.

 

[sKam]

no artic P12 or thermalright TLC-12C on the charts , Visible confusion

 

[Chrispy_]

I though TPU had tested the P12 Max at least, I'm maybe thinking of another site?

The basic P12s (as in the 5-pack) are fine for case fans but they're not great the minute you put fine mesh filters, heatsinks, or radiators next to them.

 

[Chomiq]

Makes no sense in EU when it costs more than the Silent Wings 4 Pro:

 

[Chrispy_]

Makes no sense in EU when it costs more than the Silent Wings 4 Pro:
View attachment 347712View attachment 347713

Agreed, though these are effectively list prices on launch week.

Looking at the construction of the fan it's a budget fan in budget packaging with an outdated and messy PWM passthrough cable system.
At best it's a $15 fan because there's no special bearings, there's no LCP in the rotor, the frame is a simple, old-style single moulding and the mounting point isolation is the most basic stick on rubber washer I've seen in a while.

I would hope street pricing for these falls to half the current asking price, and even then - that makes them competitive and nothing more.

The science of airflow disruption on the back of each vane is sound, I see it a lot in advanced aero testing for Formula1, supercars, pro-level cycling, aircraft design. From those applications it's definitely an area of marginal gains to be applied to an already strong fan rotor/housing design - which this Shark Force 120 appears not to be. There's much lower-hanging fruit to pick for this fan before the textured vanes are worthy of mention, and I'm not 100% sure it's any better than Silverstone's old golf-ball-dimples that have worked well for noise-reduction for the last decade at least!

 

[Veseleil]

Fan headers are rated by power output generally,

Fan headers as well as fans are rated by max current draw from the beginning of (their) time. They've rated it at 0.45A max. It's written there, on the fan itself.
But If the main goal was to determine max draw by testing, as a methodology, I can see why it would be harder to test current than a simple power draw. Don't get me wrong, I'm an electrician, so it bugs me.

and prices are higher across the board now than in 2021.

Inflation as an excuse for a premium price of a product that's not premium tier in any other sense? Sorry, but I feel inconsistency there, just looking at the warranty. Sunon MagLev bearings vs. this? Maybe I'm just a Phanteks fanboy that feels insulted.

 

[Chrispy_]

no artic P12 or thermalright TLC-12C on the charts , Visible confusion

@VSG - I would like to add my vote for getting these on the charts if you have samples and when you get the time!

We all know they're not the best fans on the market, but their cost is so incredibly low compared to all the fans you're testing that I would really serve as a fantastic baseline.

If Silverstone want £24.52 per fan, It would be fantastic to see how it compares to a £3.90 fan or a £5.08 fan. We expect it to outperform those cheap fans, but by how much? If you need six fans, what are you getting for your extra £124.

Essentially, you can fully fit every bay in an ATX case with a known-decent, mid-performance fan for £20-30. What everyone considering fans at 5x-6x the cost wants to know is "is the upgrade worth it"?

 

[VSG]

@VSG - I would like to add my vote for getting these on the charts if you have samples and when you get the time!

We all know they're not the best fans on the market, but their cost is so incredibly low compared to all the fans you're testing that I would really serve as a fantastic baseline.

If Silverstone want £24.52 per fan, It would be fantastic to see how it compares to a £3.90 fan or a £5.08 fan. We expect it to outperform those cheap fans, but by how much? If you need six fans, what are you getting for your extra £124.

Essentially, you can fully fit every bay in an ATX case with a known-decent, mid-performance fan for £20-30. What everyone considering fans at 5x-6x the cost wants to know is "is the upgrade worth it"?

There are plans for a P12 Max review at least, lots of day work and travel makes it hard to pin down the time exactly though.

 

[Chrispy_]

There are plans for a P12 Max review at least, lots of day work and travel makes it hard to pin down the time exactly though.

Cool, sounds good.
I was imagining the TPU review of the P12 Max, at least.

 

[damric]

I though TPU had tested the P12 Max at least, I'm maybe thinking of another site?

The basic P12s (as in the 5-pack) are fine for case fans but they're not great the minute you put fine mesh filters, heatsinks, or radiators next to them.

Yeah I find the basic P12s are really good enough for any purpose. I use 9 of them on my 1080mm radiator for my main rig.

Here's a video of my stepson demonstrating just how much pressure they output:

 

[SilverStone Technology]

What a joke.

View attachment 347674View attachment 347675

@VSG why highlighting power draw instead of a current draw?

Also this:

2021 and 30USD fan with 3-pack option for 85USD:
View attachment 347679

2024 and 30USD fan that's inferior to the T30:
View attachment 347680

It's not quite fair to compare our Shark Force 120 with other thicker fans because we can't bend physics to make a 25mm fan outperform a 30mm thick fan unfortunately. Our goal was to create the best standard sized (25mm thick) fan we can so that includes using genuine Panasonic/Matsushita-licensed Fluid Dynamic Bearing (FDB) which is a more expensive bearing than one used in the Phanteks T30. But by far the largest cost was R&D. We were originally inspired by the Speedo swimsuits with shark skin surface that swimmers were wearing back in the 2008 Olympics to break all sorts of world records (which were banned the following year). Back then, the technology just wasn't available to us to mass produce fan blades with patterns like that so we had to wait about a decade for the production technique to improve before we attempted grafting shark skin-like pattern on fan blades. After numerous prototyping and testing of different patterns density and ribbed sizes, we finally settled on the current one that was capable of making the fan quieter spinning at same speed as an identical fan without the shark skin pattern.

So yeah, if you are looking for one of the best standard sized (25mm thick) 120mm fans available, we have one in the Shark Force 120.

If thickness doesn’t matter, we also have a 38mm thick model called "FHS120X" that you can check out with 143.98CFM airflow rating and 11.66mmH2O. It costs less than the Shark Force 120 too!

https://www.silverstonetek.com/en/product/info/fans/FHS_120X/

Agreed, though these are effectively list prices on launch week.

Looking at the construction of the fan it's a budget fan in budget packaging with an outdated and messy PWM passthrough cable system.
At best it's a $15 fan because there's no special bearings, there's no LCP in the rotor, the frame is a simple, old-style single moulding and the mounting point isolation is the most basic stick on rubber washer I've seen in a while.

I would hope street pricing for these falls to half the current asking price, and even then - that makes them competitive and nothing more.

The science of airflow disruption on the back of each vane is sound, I see it a lot in advanced aero testing for Formula1, supercars, pro-level cycling, aircraft design. From those applications it's definitely an area of marginal gains to be applied to an already strong fan rotor/housing design - which this Shark Force 120 appears not to be. There's much lower-hanging fruit to pick for this fan before the textured vanes are worthy of mention, and I'm not 100% sure it's any better than Silverstone's old golf-ball-dimples that have worked well for noise-reduction for the last decade at least!

The construction of the Shark Force 120 is very solid, we've presented this fan at tradeshows and in-person meetings with customers. Everybody that held the fan in their hand said they can feel the quality. Again, we used genuine Panasonic/Matsushita-licensed FDB, it's not that special for sure since it's been out for a couple of decades but it is still considered among the best (and expesive) bearing you can use on a computer fan.

We understand that being a small company trying different and unique products would invite doubts, but we thought we have earned enough creditibility over the last two decades to show we at least know what we are doing when it comes to performance, right? Of course the Shark Force is better than the golf ball dimpled fans we had before!

 

[Chomiq]

Agreed, though these are effectively list prices on launch week.

You sure about that?

SilverStone Shark Force SF120 Black Fans Review - EnosTech.com

The Shark Force 120 fans will be available in A-RGB as well as non-RGB variants. They also have impressice Air Flow and High Pressure ratings.

www.enostech.com

They've been around since 2022.

If anything price went up since then:

 

[Veseleil]

It's not quite fair to compare our Shark Force 120 with other thicker fans because we can't bend physics to make a 25mm fan outperform a 30mm thick fan unfortunately. Our goal was to create the best standard sized (25mm thick) fan we can so that includes using genuine Panasonic/Matsushita-licensed Fluid Dynamic Bearing (FDB) which is a more expensive bearing than one used in the Phanteks T30. But by far the largest cost was R&D. We were originally inspired by the Speedo swimsuits with shark skin surface that swimmers were wearing back in the 2008 Olympics to break all sorts of world records (which were banned the following year). Back then, the technology just wasn't available to us to mass produce fan blades with patterns like that so we had to wait about a decade for the production technique to improve before we attempted grafting shark skin-like pattern on fan blades. After numerous prototyping and testing of different patterns density and ribbed sizes, we finally settled on the current one that was capable of making the fan quieter spinning at same speed as an identical fan without the shark skin pattern.

So yeah, if you are looking for one of the best standard sized (25mm thick) 120mm fans available, we have one in the Shark Force 120.

If thickness doesn’t matter, we also have a 38mm thick model called "FHS120X" that you can check out with 143.98CFM airflow rating and 11.66mmH2O. It costs less than the Shark Force 120 too!

https://www.silverstonetek.com/en/product/info/fans/FHS_120X/

The construction of the Shark Force 120 is very solid, we've presented this fan at tradeshows and in-person meetings with customers. Everybody that held the fan in their hand said they can feel the quality. Again, we used genuine Panasonic/Matsushita-licensed FDB, it's not that special for sure since it's been out for a couple of decades but it is still considered among the best (and expesive) bearing you can use on a computer fan.

We understand that being a small company trying different and unique products would invite doubts, but we thought we have earned enough creditibility over the last two decades to show we at least know what we are doing when it comes to performance, right? Of course the Shark Force is better than the golf ball dimpled fans we had before!

Thanks for your response. Let's put aside the 5mm difference excuses, because I could chat about it all day. No LCP, OK, your choice as well.

I have only one question.
If those bearings are considered premium/equal over/with Sunon's dual vapo maglevs, and you insist that it's a quality product, then why only 1-2 years of warranty?

 

[Chrispy_]

The construction of the Shark Force 120 is very solid, we've presented this fan at tradeshows and in-person meetings with customers. Everybody that held the fan in their hand said they can feel the quality. Again, we used genuine Panasonic/Matsushita-licensed FDB, it's not that special for sure since it's been out for a couple of decades but it is still considered among the best (and expesive) bearing you can use on a computer fan.

We understand that being a small company trying different and unique products would invite doubts, but we thought we have earned enough creditibility over the last two decades to show we at least know what we are doing when it comes to performance, right? Of course the Shark Force is better than the golf ball dimpled fans we had before!

I'm just saying what I see. The construction looks simple and is visibly lacking the competition's feature set, the noise/performance ratio is mediocre compared to competing fans when tested objectively by review sites, and the cost is quite high for a short-warrantied, generic-looking, non-RGB fan.

I've personally had great experiences with Silverstone's golf ball dimpled fans - both the retail fans and the ones included with some of your cases, many of which are still running fine after 10 years.

You say you've spent money on the bearings and that's a good thing, but it unfortunately doesn't show up in the testing as nobody does long-term testing on fans after even three years of use and your packaging/retail information doesn't mention this, so we have to make the assumption that this isn't a special bearing. The warranty length completely contradicts the bearing quality given that there's no mention of the Panasonic/Matsushita-licensed design, it just says "Fluid Dynamic Bearing". I do understand that some companies call rifle bearings fluid-dynamic which isn't 100% accurate, but they'll stand by their rifle bearings with a 3, 5, or even 6 year warranty.

If these are premium bearings and that is where the money has been spent, then at least make mention of that on the packaging since very few people will cross reference the retail listing against the manufacturer's website to read all the additional marketing blurb.

 

[Caring1]

Missed opportunity to call it the Sharknado.

 

[SilverStone Technology]

Thanks for your response. Let's put aside the 5mm difference excuses, because I could chat about it all day. No LCP, OK, your choice as well.

I have only one question.
If those bearings are considered premium/equal over/with Sunon's dual vapo maglevs, and you insist that it's a quality product, then why only 1-2 years of warranty?

Warranty is not a reliable indication of product quality or longevity. In the retail PC market, warranty length has become just a marketing bullet point for many companies to one up the competition. This is most apparent with power supplies that offer 10 or 12 years on some models. We don't play that game.

For better or worse, we have a conservative company culture when it comes to business side of things (somewhat opposite to our approach when it comes to R&D spending!), so we make sure our warranties are realistic and is something we can fully support for years to come. There have been many examples of companies going bankrupt because they over-promise things they couldn't deliver, warranty included. This is not to say we don't support our products after warranty expires of course, we still happily offer technical support and when product is in production, offer spare parts for purchases if needed.

I'm just saying what I see. The construction looks simple and is visibly lacking the competition's feature set, the noise/performance ratio is mediocre compared to competing fans when tested objectively by review sites, and the cost is quite high for a short-warrantied, generic-looking, non-RGB fan.

I've personally had great experiences with Silverstone's golf ball dimpled fans - both the retail fans and the ones included with some of your cases, many of which are still running fine after 10 years.

You say you've spent money on the bearings and that's a good thing, but it unfortunately doesn't show up in the testing as nobody does long-term testing on fans after even three years of use and your packaging/retail information doesn't mention this, so we have to make the assumption that this isn't a special bearing. The warranty length completely contradicts the bearing quality given that there's no mention of the Panasonic/Matsushita-licensed design, it just says "Fluid Dynamic Bearing". I do understand that some companies call rifle bearings fluid-dynamic which isn't 100% accurate, but they'll stand by their rifle bearings with a 3, 5, or even 6 year warranty.

If these are premium bearings and that is where the money has been spent, then at least make mention of that on the packaging since very few people will cross reference the retail listing against the manufacturer's website to read all the additional marketing blurb.

The way we see it, the term "Fluid Dynamic Bearing" should always refer to the officially licensed design, that's why we didn't mention it in specifications. If we use rifle bearing, we call it rifle bearing too!

Again, bearing is just one part of the cost of the fan, the majority of our cost on the Shark Force was on the R&D and new manufacturing technique required to mass produce it. We also have smaller volumes compare to most mainstream brands so our cost is higher overall too. And yes, you are correct that our marketing needs to do better so thank you for the suggestions!

 

[Athlonite]

Fan headers are rated by power output generally

Erm No they're not they're usually listed with max Current draw not max Watts my own Asus Strix X570F - F Gaming Tuff X470 and Strix X670E - E Gaming Wifi all list it as Max Current Draw in Amps in their manuals I've also seen the same in several Gigabyte mobo's that I've installed for customers