Performance Testing

Please refer to the dedicated test setup page as it applies to this review as well and I did not want to go over it separately to save on review space.


EK rates the RPM range of the EK-Loop Fan FPT 120 D-RGB as 500 to 2300 RPM. Of course there will be variations between samples, and airflow resistances will play a big role, too. The provided three samples went from an average 2357 RPM at 100% PWM down to 542 RPM at 15%, following which the fans remained at the same speed all the way down to 1% PWM duty cycle, thus making for an active control range of 15-100% which is not bad at all. These RPM numbers also fall easily within rated specs so the good news continues. That said, clearly there is no zero-RPM mode here which would have been nice to see. The overall RPM range is more than long enough for PC cooling use and the RPM response curve is very linear too which makes it easy to set custom fan control curves. Note also the barely visible error margins indicating minimal sample variation too. Context is needed to talk more about the fan's relative performance and noise, so I have comparison charts below for some fans tested at set RPM values, or as near as they can get to those.


The charts above help put the EK-Loop Fan FPT 120 D-RGB in better context with the chosen RPM values reflecting usage scenarios most popular with watercooling, although some fans go higher as is the case here. 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. Note that these are average values for all samples of each fan and do not reflect any sample variation, and I also suggest looking at RGB fans separately from the others given they tend to sacrifice some performance by having LEDs take up space where the rotor blades could have been pushing more air through. The good news is this is clearly a much better showing than the previous EK RGB fan with the EK-Loop Fan FPT 120 D-RGB generally showing relatively better performance at reasonably quiet operating levels. It's not the most powerful fan of course but the relative difference between the two sets of data already shows good promise. More interestingly, these fans seem to scale quite well with RPM too allowing for diverse applications ranging from being case fans to air cooler fans to radiator fans in a custom loop. I will also confirm there was no perceived bearing noise during testing, including at the lower fan speeds, so the FDB bearings worked as promised.


Instead of having CFM/dBA charts that can potentially be taken for more than they really offer, I am going to show three other fans as a comparison for further context. These include the subject of this review—the EK-Loop Fan FPT 120 D-RGB—in addition to three other RGB fans currently sold on the market in the form of the obvious comparison which is the EK-Quantum Impulse 120 D-RGB, the CORSAIR AF120 RGB ELITE, and the be quiet! Light Wings 120 mm which I chose because it's from another European cooling-centric brand with decent performance/noise as well as a high max RPM unlike the others. There's also the Thermaltake SWAFAN 12 RGB which is quite impressive in this metric as well as the Lian Li UNI FAN SL INFINITY 120 for those wanting a different RGB lighting effect and cleaner cable management. Overall we can see there's not a lot differentiating these fans from a performance/noise basis although the EK-Loop Fan FPT 120 D-RGB easily outperforms the EK-Quantum Impulse in both pure airflow pushed out as well as lower noise while doing the same. Overall there isn't much to differentiate this and the be quiet! offering from a performance/noise basis and we see the two are quite similar when seen individually too. This is a good RGB fan for those who also care about fan noise and cooling potential.