Performance Testing

Please refer to this dedicated test setup page as it applies to this review as well.


Endorfy rates the Fluctus 120 PWM with a fan speed range of 250 to 1800 RPM, and this is in addition to a zero RPM mode which hits with the fans being fed <5% PWM duty cycle. The issue here is that a lot of fan controllers simply can't get lower than 10% PWM duty cycle, so there is a chance you may not see the fans turn off at all. Regardless, we see that the provided three fans go from an average 1951 RPM at 100% PWM down to 411 RPM at 20%. These fans clearly all spin well in excess of the rated 1800 RPM, although within the +/-10 % standard deviation also marketed by the company. Regardless, this is a long RPM range across a 20-100% range of control, so that's quite good for PC cooling applications, be it for someone who prioritizes noise or for those who want stronger cooling. The RPM response curve could be more linear though, and sample variation wasn't as minimal as I'd have preferred, but nothing that should really be a dealbreaker. Context is needed to talk more about the fan's relative performance and noise—especially when Endorfy does not provide any factory specs here, which is a first for me—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 compare the Endorfy Fluctus 120 PWM with other fans at different 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 main takeaway here is the Fluctus 120 PWM is more noise-optimized than purely for cooling performance, and it is likely to be a better case fan than a radiator fan, too. It also sounds quieter than the raw numbers suggest, but ultimately a lot of competing modern fans also have some form of psychoacoustic/noise profile optimization. Either way, you can push the fans faster than most others to get that slight bump in relative performance, which is good because the Fluctus 120 PWM seems to fare worse in that metric the faster they spin. I'd say the sweet spot here is in the 750-1250 RPM range, which should be ideal for use as a case fan.


Instead of having CFM/dBA charts that can potentially be taken for more than they really offer, I am going to show a few other fans as a comparison for further context. These include the subject of this review—the Endorfy Fluctus 120 PWM—in addition to the Alphacool Apex STEALTH which this reminded me a lot of, as well as the Thermaltake TOUGHFAN 12 Pro, all of which are standard 25 mm thick fans. Notice how Endorfy does a decent job against another fan that is more optimized for silence and also sounds quieter than the dB numbers indicate, but ends up bested by other more static pressure-oriented fans, even at the same fan speed and noise level—at least on a radiator. This gap widens the faster the fans spin too, so once again I would say these fans are not necessarily the best for use on a radiator or a dense, thick air cooler.