Cooler Master Launches MasterFan SF120M Computer Case Fans

btarunr · Sep 23, 2019

Cooler Master, a global leader in designing innovative PC components, introduces the MasterFan SF120M, a new addition to the flagship MasterFan Series of computer case fans. The SF120M is designed purely with performance in mind.

The SF120M features a patented, anti-vibration motor featuring dual ball-bearings to reduce friction, increase performance, and minimize noise during operation. Additionally, the frame's exclusive sound damping design featuring rubber corner pads lessen vibrations, further minimizing noise.

Industrial Fan Structure
The SF120M utilizes Cooler Master's Industrial Fan Structure, which decreases blade-flex while ensuring a quiet operation and maximum airflow.

Customizable Cooling Solutions
Embedded into the SF120M's frame is a small switch that allows users to preset the maximum fan speed into PWM mode. The fan includes three profiles reaching top speeds ranging from 1200 to 2000 RPM, allowing customizable cooling solutions.

The MasterFan SF120M will be available at select Cooler Master retailers including Amazon and Newegg, respectively for $29.99 on September 23, 2019.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

sutyi · Sep 23, 2019

Hmm... looks like the GentleTyphoon and the Noctua A12x25 will get some competition.

dj-electric · Sep 23, 2019

sutyi said:
Hmm... looks like the GentleTyphoon and the Noctua A12x25 will get some competition.

The secret to a great fan is simple. You let others spend years of R&D and money, and you basically make your own without doing so.

FreedomEclipse · Sep 23, 2019

sutyi said:
Hmm... looks like the GentleTyphoon and the Noctua A12x25 will get some competition.

dj-electric said:
The secret to a great fan is simple. You let others spend years of R&D and money, and you basically make your own without doing so.

They may have copied the fin design but they won't have the motor design - This fan will be LOUDER than the competition because of that. A good double ball bearing fan is quoted to last 50k hours MTBF and it dont care if you mount them horizontally or vertically - so theres a small advantage.

ZoneDymo · Sep 23, 2019

looks like a solid no nonsense fan, so i like it, now lets wait for some reviews.
Gamers Nexus, get on it!

FreedomEclipse · Sep 23, 2019

Just saw the price... $30 which translates to £25... No. Just no...

Corsair ML' fans are £20
Noctua NF-A12x25 are £26-30 - but they come with their fancy motor
EK Vardar fans are around £20 or a little under £20
Swiftech Helix fans = £12 ($15) - but you cant find them ANYWHERE in the UK/Europe.

They are trying to sell you dishwater.

bogami · Sep 23, 2019

I don't know what is so expensive about this fan. In stores you can buy 120mm models in an aluminum housing with two axle bearings and a very capable electric motor for € 13 which is $ 11 to give an industrial quality model, not some pretty copy made of plastic and a metal beauty sticker. Someone's wings are growing and he has no idea that he will collapse due to greed. They target young people and children who have a poor knowledge of real value. The very backward thinking of the early capitalist at the expense of theirs children and enslave them! I'm sick of vomiting !

cyberloner · Sep 23, 2019

ball bearing fan is welcome......but the price is too much.... wtf happen to all computing stuff....

Basard · Sep 23, 2019

Interesting how ball-bearings are being advertised to minimize noise.... As opposed to what? Rusty metal?

Dave65 · Sep 24, 2019

I like it.

FreedomEclipse · Sep 24, 2019

Just as point of note...

The SF120M utilizes Cooler Master's Industrial Fan Structure, which decreases blade-flex

Well maybe Coolermaster should stop cutting corners and print/mold their fans using less paper thin plastic.

Ive never heard of blade flex on a pc fan. I didnt think it spun fast enough to the point where air had the constancy of a finger being poked into the blades while it was running.

Maybe im being too critical of CM

Ruru · Sep 24, 2019

Waiting for reviews, though they're pretty expensive.

Firedrops · Sep 24, 2019

looks like they copied Noiseblocker's eloop's outer rings, and how is the rubber thing worth a patent? that's been around for decades.

Ruru · Sep 24, 2019

Firedrops said:
looks like they copied Noiseblocker's eloop's outer rings, and how is the rubber thing worth a patent? that's been around for decades.

I understood that the motor design is patented, not the rubber dampening.

katzi · Sep 24, 2019

cyberloner said:
ball bearing fan is welcome......but the price is too much.... wtf happen to all computing stuff....

Shitler's tradewar made everything expensive

shovenose · Sep 24, 2019

Overpriced!

LocutusH · Sep 24, 2019

Waiting for noise normalized reviews first.

See meltemi.. thick fan, with a lot of marketing bullshit, but the A12x25 still outperforms it, and not just by a little.

Cooler Master also never managed to outperform other high-end component manufacturers yet. Always just lagging behind, even when the marketing says otherwise.

Blueberries · Sep 24, 2019

FreedomEclipse said:
Just as point of note...

Well maybe Coolermaster should stop cutting corners and print/mold their fans using less paper thin plastic.

Ive never heard of blade flex on a pc fan. I didnt think it spun fast enough to the point where air had the constancy of a finger being poked into the blades while it was running.

Maybe im being too critical of CM

Blade flex exists on every fan, it's just not noticeable to the naked eye, but it affects the manufacturer's allowed tolerance in tip clearance when designing a fan.

bonehead123 · Sep 24, 2019

Blow me.....

pfff.... $30 for 1 fan,... for a 2 or 3 pack, maybe, but otherwise...so... n. O. t. happening...

Chrispy_ · Sep 24, 2019

Blueberries said:
Blade flex exists on every fan, it's just not noticeable to the naked eye, but it affects the manufacturer's allowed tolerance in tip clearance when designing a fan.

Yep, it's why Noctua used fibreglass composite for their A12.
I'll pay a premium for that, otherwise Corsair's maglev series are the most impressive things I've encountered after that.

IMO, ball bearings may be more durable, but they're clearly audible even at low speeds. I'd rather see FDB or maglev bearings on a consumer fan.

Franzen4Real · Sep 24, 2019

Blueberries said:
Blade flex exists on every fan, it's just not noticeable to the naked eye, but it affects the manufacturer's allowed tolerance in tip clearance when designing a fan.

Very true. I once read about some of the R&D that went into the Noctua A12's, and it was quite interesting how much work they had invested to combat said flexxing of the blades. They wanted a design that had such a minimal gap between the frame and blade tip that they had to completely develop their own material (Sterrox) to hold the gap within tolerance.

I think the ring around the blades ala E-Loops is a pretty clever design that eliminates that tolerance issue as well as pressure leakage at the gap. Noiseblocker has a patent on that 'ring' in Germany, so I'm sure that plays into why we don't see it more often. (only the Asus ROG RTX coolers and these Cooler Masters are the only time i have seen it outside of the E-Loops).

On topic of the article, without some pretty incredible reviews, there is no way I'd take this fan over my E-Loops at these prices.

edit---- just noticed I basically repeated Chrisy_'s same reply on the same quote...oops

Platinum certified Husky · Oct 2, 2019

What happened to their "150,000 hr MTTF" Rifle bearing? Why use inferior ball-bearing with only 60,000 hr MTTF ?
I guess they know how bad their rifle bearing is.
The "Industrial Fan Structure" just a lazy way to seal the clearance between fan blade and frame and decreases blade-flex .

terroralpha · Mar 8, 2020

FreedomEclipse said:
They may have copied the fin design but they won't have the motor design - This fan will be LOUDER than the competition because of that. A good double ball bearing fan is quoted to last 50k hours MTBF and it dont care if you mount them horizontally or vertically - so theres a small advantage.

the blade is the most important part. if you can't make as good of a fan motor, just make one that spins a little slower. no one runs them full blats anyway. life will never be a problem with these fans, only noise is. even $5 fans last years.

i'm kinda annoyed that nidec gets ripped off so much, but i bought the noctua A12 fans anyway because i'm a sucker for that vomit/diarrhea color combo.

FreedomEclipse said:
Just saw the price... $30 which translates to £25... No. Just no...

Corsair ML' fans are £20
Noctua NF-A12x25 are £26-30 - but they come with their fancy motor
EK Vardar fans are around £20 or a little under £20
Swiftech Helix fans = £12 ($15) - but you cant find them ANYWHERE in the UK/Europe.

They are trying to sell you dishwater.

vardars are garbage and the ML fans are loud. i'm a system builder and i have a box of these that i can't use.

the noctua fans are really good and i would like to see a comparison between the two.

System Name	RBMK-1000
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard	ASUS ROG Strix B450-E Gaming
Cooling	DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory	2x 8GB G.Skill Sniper X
Video Card(s)	Palit GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GameRock
Storage	Western Digital Black NVMe 512GB
Display(s)	BenQ 1440p 60 Hz 27-inch
Case	Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s)	ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply	Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse	ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard	Gamdias Hermes E2
Software	Windows 11 Pro

System Name	masina
Processor	AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Motherboard	ASUS TUF B550M
Cooling	Scythe Kabuto 3 + Arctic BioniX P120 fan
Memory	16GB (2x8) DDR4-3200 CL16 Crucial Ballistix
Video Card(s)	Radeon Pro WX 2100 2GB
Storage	500GB Crucial MX500, 640GB WD Black
Display(s)	AOC C24G1
Case	SilentiumPC AT6V
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus GX 650W
Mouse	Logitech G203
Keyboard	Cooler Master MasterKeys L PBT
Software	Win 10 Pro

System Name	DarnGosh Edition
Processor	AMD 7800X3D
Motherboard	MSI X670E GAMING PLUS
Cooling	Thermalright AM5 Contact Frame + Phantom Spirit 120SE
Memory	G.Skill Trident Z5 NEO DDR5 6000 CL32-38-38-96
Video Card(s)	Asus Dual Radeon™ RX 6700 XT OC Edition
Storage	WD SN770 1TB (Boot)\| 2x 2TB WD SN770 (Gaming)\| 2x 2TB Crucial BX500\| 2x 3TB Toshiba DT01ACA300
Display(s)	LG GP850-B
Case	Corsair 760T (White) {1xCorsair ML120 Pro\|5xML140 Pro}
Audio Device(s)	Yamaha RX-V573\|Speakers: JBL Control One\|Auna 300-CN\|Wharfedale Diamond SW150
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus GX-850 80+ GOLD
Mouse	Logitech G502 X
Keyboard	Duckyshine Dead LED(s) III
Software	Windows 11 Home
Benchmark Scores	ლ(ಠ益ಠ)ლ

System Name	Cyberline
Processor	Intel Core i7 2600k -> 12600k
Motherboard	Asus P8P67 LE Rev 3.0 -> Gigabyte Z690 Auros Elite DDR4
Cooling	Tuniq Tower 120 -> Custom Watercoolingloop
Memory	Corsair (4x2) 8gb 1600mhz -> Crucial (8x2) 16gb 3600mhz
Video Card(s)	AMD RX480 -> RX7800XT
Storage	Samsung 750 Evo 250gb SSD + WD 1tb x 2 + WD 2tb -> 2tb MVMe SSD
Display(s)	Philips 32inch LPF5605H (television) -> Dell S3220DGF
Case	antec 600 -> Thermaltake Tenor HTCP case
Audio Device(s)	Focusrite 2i4 (USB)
Power Supply	Seasonic 620watt 80+ Platinum
Mouse	Elecom EX-G
Keyboard	Rapoo V700
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64bit

System Name	DarnGosh Edition
Processor	AMD 7800X3D
Motherboard	MSI X670E GAMING PLUS
Cooling	Thermalright AM5 Contact Frame + Phantom Spirit 120SE
Memory	G.Skill Trident Z5 NEO DDR5 6000 CL32-38-38-96
Video Card(s)	Asus Dual Radeon™ RX 6700 XT OC Edition
Storage	WD SN770 1TB (Boot)\| 2x 2TB WD SN770 (Gaming)\| 2x 2TB Crucial BX500\| 2x 3TB Toshiba DT01ACA300
Display(s)	LG GP850-B
Case	Corsair 760T (White) {1xCorsair ML120 Pro\|5xML140 Pro}
Audio Device(s)	Yamaha RX-V573\|Speakers: JBL Control One\|Auna 300-CN\|Wharfedale Diamond SW150
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus GX-850 80+ GOLD
Mouse	Logitech G502 X
Keyboard	Duckyshine Dead LED(s) III
Software	Windows 11 Home
Benchmark Scores	ლ(ಠ益ಠ)ლ

Cooler Master Launches MasterFan SF120M Computer Case Fans

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator

sutyi

dj-electric

FreedomEclipse

~Technological Technocrat~

ZoneDymo

FreedomEclipse

~Technological Technocrat~

bogami

cyberloner

Basard

Dave65

FreedomEclipse

~Technological Technocrat~

Ruru

S.T.A.R.S.

Firedrops

Ruru

S.T.A.R.S.

katzi

shovenose

LocutusH

Blueberries

bonehead123

Chrispy_

Franzen4Real

Platinum certified Husky

terroralpha

System Name	PC.
Processor	i7 2600K 5.0Gh,i7 3770K 5.00Gh. EK, Liqed Coooleng
Motherboard	P67A-UD7-B3 Gigabyte T.,ASUS,P8Z77-V PREMIUM,MAXIMUS V EXTRIME..
Cooling	Liqed Cooleng ,EK Suprime LTX Nickel,EK for Motherboard,Aqua computer (WGA), Thermaltake .... 0i,
Memory	G.SKILL F3-17600CL7-2GBPISG. 16GBSkill Sniper F3-17000CL94GBSR on 2400Hz 10-12-11-29 1
Video Card(s)	GTX590 ,SLI ,POV TGT best 691Hz ,LiqedCoold,GTX480.....GTX1080MSI SeaHawkEK SLI
Storage	OCZ-REVODRIVE 3-240GB,2xCrucialMX100.512.R-0,1x LMT-32L3m,3x 1TB-WD,1x;1x2TbSEAGATE1x2Tb Seagate
Display(s)	DELL-U2412Mb,Samsung Synkmaster245B,HP ENVY 34c
Case	Thermaltake, NZXT SWITCH 810SE
Audio Device(s)	CREATIVE BLASTER X-Fi Titanium HD , AUNE T1MK2 TUBE USB
Power Supply	ENERMAX Platimax 1500W,Thermaltake 1500W
Mouse	VIPER V560,FUNC MS-3, Prestigio, R.A.T.E.7 and 5,LogitechG502,RAZER,Inperator.,dead...a.s.o.
Keyboard	Trust ....LogotechG410
Software	Windows7 64....
Benchmark Scores	3DMark Fire Strike 21.385 (37.234,11.828,7.176)

System Name	CyberMania
Processor	AMD RYZEN 7 5800X
Motherboard	GB AORUS PRO AC B550
Cooling	CM HYPER212 TURBO ARGB
Memory	XPG D50 DDR4-3600 16X 2
Video Card(s)	SAPPHIRE AMD RX580
Storage	XPG M.2 NVME SPECTRIX D40 512GB 2TB
Display(s)	SAMSUNG 32" T55 Curved Monitor
Case	CM ELITE 430
Audio Device(s)	REALTEK HD
Power Supply	CM WME GOLD 650WATT
Software	Windows 10 21H2 LTSC 2021

System Name	ChoreBoy
Processor	8700k Delided
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z390 Master
Cooling	420mm Custom Loop
Memory	CMK16GX4M2B3000C15 2x8GB @ 3000Mhz
Video Card(s)	EVGA 1080 SC
Storage	1TB SX8200, 250GB 850 EVO, 250GB Barracuda
Display(s)	Pixio PX329 and Dell E228WFP
Case	Fractal R6
Audio Device(s)	On-Board
Power Supply	1000w Corsair
Software	Win 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	A million on everything....

System Name	Daves
Processor	AMD Ryzen 3900x
Motherboard	AsRock X570 Taichi
Cooling	Enermax LIQMAX III 360
Memory	32 GiG Team Group B Die 3600
Video Card(s)	Powercolor 5700 xt Red Devil
Storage	Crucial MX 500 SSD and Intel P660 NVME 2TB for games
Display(s)	Acer 144htz 27in. 2560x1440
Case	Phanteks P600S
Audio Device(s)	N/A
Power Supply	Corsair RM 750
Mouse	EVGA
Keyboard	Corsair Strafe
Software	Windows 10 Pro

System Name	4K-gaming
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5800X @ PBO +200 -20CO
Motherboard	Asus ROG Crosshair VII Hero
Cooling	Arctic Freezer 50, EKWB Vector TUF
Memory	32GB Kingston HyperX Fury DDR4-3466
Video Card(s)	Asus GeForce RTX 3080 TUF OC 10GB
Storage	3.3TB of SSDs + 3TB USB3.0 HDDs
Display(s)	27" 4K120 IPS + 32" 4K60 IPS + 24" 1080p60
Case	Corsair 4000D Airflow White
Audio Device(s)	Asus TUF H3 Wireless / Corsair HS35
Power Supply	EVGA Supernova G2 750W
Mouse	Logitech MX518 + Asus ROG Strix Edge Nordic
Keyboard	Roccat Vulcan 121 AIMO
VR HMD	Oculus Rift CV1
Software	Windows 11 Pro
Benchmark Scores	It runs Crysis

System Name	Sierra
Processor	Core i5-11600K
Motherboard	Asus Prime B560M-A AC
Cooling	CM 212 Black RGB Edition
Memory	64GB (2x 32GB) DDR4-3600
Video Card(s)	MSI GeForce RTX 3080 10GB
Storage	4TB Samsung 990 Pro with Heatsink NVMe SSD
Display(s)	2x Dell S2721QS 4K 60Hz
Case	Asus Prime AP201
Power Supply	Thermaltake GF1 850W
Software	Windows 11 Pro

System Name	Ryzen shine, Mr Freeman
Processor	5900X
Motherboard	ASUS X570 Dark Hero
Cooling	Arctic Liquid Freezer II 360 ARGB
Memory	32GB TridentZ Neo 3600 CL14
Video Card(s)	3080TI FE with Alphacool Eiswolf AIO
Storage	2TB 970 EVO PLUS, 1TB 980
Display(s)	LG OLED 55CX
Case	O11D XL Black
Audio Device(s)	Xonar Essence STU, Mackie MR5+MR10S, HD598
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
Mouse	GPW
Keyboard	G815

System Name	The Little One
Processor	i5-11320H @4.4GHZ
Motherboard	AZW SEI
Cooling	Fan w/heat pipes + side & rear vents
Memory	64GB Crucial DDR4-3200 (2x 32GB)
Video Card(s)	Iris XE
Storage	WD Black SN850X 4TB m.2, Seagate 2TB SSD + SN850 4TB x2 in an external enclosure
Display(s)	2x Samsung 43" & 2x 32"
Case	Practically identical to a mac mini, just purrtier in slate blue, & with 3x usb ports on the front !
Audio Device(s)	Yamaha ATS-1060 Bluetooth Soundbar & Subwoofer
Power Supply	65w brick
Mouse	Logitech MX Master 2
Keyboard	Logitech G613 mechanical wireless
Software	Windows 10 pro 64 bit, with all the unnecessary background shitzu turned OFF !
Benchmark Scores	PDQ

System Name	Bragging Rights
Processor	Atom Z3735F 1.33GHz
Motherboard	It has no markings but it's green
Cooling	No, it's a 2.2W processor
Memory	2GB DDR3L-1333
Video Card(s)	Gen7 Intel HD (4EU @ 311MHz)
Storage	32GB eMMC and 128GB Sandisk Extreme U3
Display(s)	10" IPS 1280x800 60Hz
Case	Veddha T2
Audio Device(s)	Apparently, yes
Power Supply	Samsung 18W 5V fast-charger
Mouse	MX Anywhere 2
Keyboard	Logitech MX Keys (not Cherry MX at all)
VR HMD	Samsung Oddyssey, not that I'd plug it into this though....
Software	W10 21H1, barely
Benchmark Scores	I once clocked a Celeron-300A to 564MHz on an Abit BE6 and it scored over 9000.

System Name	Desktop / "Console"
Processor	Ryzen 5950X / Ryzen 5800X
Motherboard	Asus X570 Hero / Asus X570-i
Cooling	EK AIO Elite 280 / Cryorig C1
Memory	32GB Gskill Trident DDR4-3600 CL16 / 16GB Crucial Ballistix DDR4-3600 CL16
Video Card(s)	RTX 4090 FE / RTX 2080ti FE
Storage	1TB Samsung 980 Pro, 1TB Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus NVME / 1TB Sabrent Rocket 4 NVME, 1TB Intel 660P
Display(s)	Alienware AW3423DW / LG 65CX Oled
Case	Lian Li O11 Mini / Sliger CL530 Conswole
Audio Device(s)	Sony AVR, SVS speakers & subs / Marantz AVR, SVS speakers & subs
Power Supply	ROG Loki 1000 / Silverstone SX800
VR HMD	Quest 3

System Name	Auriga
Processor	Ryzen 7950X3D w/ aquacomputer cuplex kryos NEXT with VISION - acrylic/nickel
Motherboard	Asus ProArt X670E-CREATOR WIFI + Intel X520-DA2 NIC
Cooling	Alphacool Res/D5 Combo •• Corsair XR7 480mm + Black Ice Nemesis 360GTS radiators •• 7xNF-A12 chromax
Memory	96GB G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB (F5-6400J3239F48GX2-TZ5RK)
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 4090 Suprim Liquid X w/ Bykski waterblock
Storage	2TB inland TD510 Gen5 ••• 4TB WD Black SN850X ••• 40TB UNRAID NAS
Display(s)	Alienware AW3423DWF (3440x1440, 10-bit @ 145Hz)
Case	Thermaltake Core P8
Power Supply	Corsair AX1600i
Mouse	Razer Viper V2 Pro (FPS games) + Logitech MX Master 2S (everything else)
Keyboard	Keycult No2 rev 1 w/Amber Alps and TX stabilizers on a steel plate. DCS 9009 WYSE keycaps
Software	W11 X64 Pro
Benchmark Scores	https://valid.x86.fr/c3rxw7

Processor	Ryzen 5 1600 3.8GHz@1.331V
Motherboard	ASUS Strix B350-F
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15
Memory	Kingston HyperX Fury DDR4 16G*2 3000MHz CL16 @1.35V
Video Card(s)	Msi RTX 2070 Super Gaming Z Trio
Storage	WD Blue 500G SSD1 WD Black 2TB1
Display(s)	ASUS ROG SWIFT PG279Q
Case	Lian Li O11D XL
Audio Device(s)	Edifier C3X
Power Supply	Corsair RM750x
Mouse	logitech G102 with modded micro switchs
Benchmark Scores	Time Spy 9943