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.


Seasonic rates the RPM range of the MagFlow ARGB 120 mm fan as 600 to 200 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 2038 RPM at 100% PWM down to 611 RPM at 10%, 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 10-100% which is excellent. 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 fairly linear too which makes it easy to set up custom fan control curves. Note also the non-visible error margins indicating minimal sample variation here—another point for Seasonic! 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 Seasonic MagFlow ARGB 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 typical RGB fans from a pure performance point of view, although that brings with it associated airflow noise. At lower fan speeds the space taken up by the RGB LEDs hurts relatively more than at higher fan speeds to where this fan seems to get even better compared to other RGB fans the faster they all spin, often taking on good non-RGB fans too. This good scaling also means the fans are versatile for different 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 Seasonic MagFlow ARGB—in addition to two other RGB fans currently sold on the market from direct competitors in the form of the be quiet! Light Wings 120, the CORSAIR iCUE LINK QX120 RGB, and then I decided to add a 25 mm thick non-RGB LCP fan—the Thermaltake TOUGHFAN 12 Pro—to show you how close this one gets to the top performers on the market. It would be fair to say that physics still wins and the incorporation of RGB still results in a net performance deficit but I am still impressed by how close it gets and also how well the Seasonic MagFlow ARGB does compared to other RGB fans.