Performance Testing

Please refer to the dedicated test setup page here as I didn't want to go over it separately again because everything pertaining to it applies to this review as well.


Let's remind ourselves that the fan is rated for 600-1500 RPM (+/- 10%). All three fans hit an average of 1473 RPM at 100% PWM duty cycle and went down to an average of 481 RPM at 30% PWM duty cycle before staying there until at 1%. That is a long 30%-100% duty-cycle range of control here that exceeds the rated 600 RPM minimum rating as well. The standard deviation between the three fan samples is well within expectations, so if these three are anything to go by, all the better. The RPM response is also fairly linear, which is good to see. Context is needed to talk more about the fan's performance and noise, so I have below comparison charts for some fans tested so far at set RPM values (or as near as they can get to those).


I have included fans in charts where the rated RPM is within 50 RPM of the chart cutoff point, which means that some fans are in specific charts only if their rated speed is over 50 RPM off from a threshold value (Corsair SP120 RGB, for example) or they simply do not slow down enough (NB-eLoop B12-4, for example). The charts are to be considered for comparison within this result set only and are not to be compared with results from another test elsewhere owing to different testing conditions.

We see that the Corsair LL120 RGB fans are, well, pretty bad radiator fans when it comes to actual performance. The short blades are the main culprit here, and they simply can't push as much air as most other fans when up against a radiator of average airflow restriction. These are quieter than most fans at higher fan speeds due to less airflow, which also means less airflow noise. As you slow the fans down, their effective noise and performance also adopts a lower slope of decrease to where these end up getting progressively louder relative to others, although while doing a better job at pushing air through. Regardless, there are clearly better options if all you care about is performance.