Closer Examination

At first glance, you might say the Phanteks T30 120 mm fan looks similar to the Nidec Servo Gentle Typhoon, which was also a similar case for the original EK-Vardar fans. The color scheme is really the main contributor here, with the black frame and gray impeller a classic color scheme for industrial fans from the likes of Delta as well. These colors are easy to obtain consistently from the source material, and the colors do not fade over time as with, say, white. So there is certainly the color similarity to more industrial fans, but that's not all.

The frame and impeller are both made out of glass-fiber reinforced liquid crystal polymer (LCP) I will also compare to Sterrox from Noctua. LCP allows for a few things depending on the product composition, which understandably is not made public. But in general, there is the potential for high mechanical strength and stability, longevity with use in terms of blade distortion even at high fan speeds, and increased production uniformity—all relative to more commonly used materials, such as ABS and PBT plastic. The materials are denser/heavier to where the fans will look and feel extremely solid to begin with, weighing 230 g each. As with the Noctua NF-A12x25, Phanteks is making a big deal about getting the impeller blades real close—in fact, with the same 0.5 mm gap to the inside of the frame to maximize the airflow at the edges of the highly curved blades as they rotate. There are seven blades on the impeller, and they end up relatively average-to-short in length owing to that big hub in the middle that will still be a dead zone if using the fans in push on a radiator.

The Phanteks T30-120 is indeed a 120 x 120 mm square frame fan, and while it may look to have a stepped frame at the corner, it is really not. More relevant is that it is not the standard 25 mm thick, and Phanteks has gone with making it 30 mm thick instead. This allows for a fan blade height of 21.5 mm, as opposed to ~16.5-17.5 mm on a typical 25 mm thick fan, which should help push more air through and compensate for the larger fan hub in the middle. On a more relatable note, the fan corners have rubber pads for vibration dampening. The corners are also open, and the sides of the frame are mostly sculpted for aesthetics and branding, with there being no arrows as per usual on fans to depict the direction of blade rotation and airflow through the fan.


A look at the back actually shows a stepped inlet to the frame and four stator vanes with adjacent vanes perpendicular to each other. Nothing too radical here, with Phanteks also choosing a 3-phase (6-pole) DC motor on the fans. We have seen 3-phase motors used to good effect in the past, and it can make for an efficient motor design if played with properly. Ultra-low RPM operation will be the true test, and one we will discuss more in due time. Each fan motor is rated for a maximum of 0.36 A (4.32 W) on the 12 VDC rail, which corresponds to the peak draw with start-up boost, also on in advanced mode. I noticed a maximum operating current draw of 0.22 A in this mode, which corresponds to 2.64 W on the 12 V rail, so you should be able to operate multiple fans off a single 1 A header if start-up boost can be accounted for. Alternatively, you can use a powered fan hub and leave nothing to chance by powering the fans directly through the PSU. Power draw is also far lower in the other modes, going as low as 0.55 W each in Hybrid mode.

The employed bearings are also well worth talking about, and Phanteks has gone with Sunon for its DUAL VAPO magnetic levitation bearings with a rated MTBF of 150,000 hours. When provided a steady 12 V, the maglev plate lifts up for a smooth, low noise stabilizing function. It is a sealed bearing to prevent contaminants from getting in while the oil inside is circulated around to keep the moving parts lubed well. The stabilizing is also accentuated by two load-balancing rings around the bearing to dampen vibration noise and undue bearing stress, one at the top and the other at the bottom of the fan hub. The other physical item of note here is the small switch jutting out of the fan hub on the back. It is there to switch between the three operating modes—Hybrid, Performance, and Advanced. Markings and lines are associated with each, such that the switch position corresponds to these markings as well, which removes ambiguity.


Four individually sleeved wires come out of the fan hub on the back, through a single channel, and lead to a daisy-chained connector past the frame. This allows for the 50 cm extension cable to plug in here for power and control over the fan, before the daisy-chain itself leads to a 13 cm long cable that comes sleeved in a heatshrink, with the sleeving itself also functional but certainly not the best. It enables you to plug multiple fans together and have a single cable leading out, so account for those power needs if the case with your setup since this can be a neat cable management option with radiators in particular. Whatever you end up with for power, you will still need a spare 4-pin PWM header on your motherboard/fan controller to make the most of the Phanteks T30-120.