The Silverstone Shark Force 120 is a significant improvement over the other two Silverstone fans that used to be in my fan test database, including the SST-FM121 from over a decade ago to where I've basically replaced the latter with the newer model. So at least we know that fans are continuing to improve and be further optimized for PC cooling purposes. Unfortunately, it isn't just fan performance that has gone up over time as the Shark Force 120 is significantly more expensive than what those older Silverstone fans would be, even accounting for inflation. At $30 per fan—note that some retailers have it listed for $25 and others for $35, but I am going off the first-party pricing—Silverstone is competing against some of the very best fans ever made, including excellent performers from Phanteks, Lian Li, Thermaltake, Noctua etc. Those fans also happen to be quieter at the same airflow, so I am not sure what the selling point here is supposed to be! In fact, some of them even offer a more linear RPM response as well as multiple RPM control ranges, so things get even harder for the Shark Force 120.

I suppose one thing to note is the Silverstone Shark Force 120 is a standard 25 mm thick fan whereas some of those other fans are thicker at 28-30 mm. In fact, even Corsair is joining the thicker fan game, so perhaps we have come to a point where it's just easier to have thicker blades push more air through rather than try and optimize fan blades, the frame, and stator vanes further. Silverstone tried hard no doubt—the blades on the Shark Force 120 are more intricate than pretty much any other fan I've ever reviewed. Unfortunately it does not seem to actually make a difference where it counts, at least on a radiator of average airflow restriction. The whole notion of having a good idea which wasn't executed well seems to also go into the modular cable design employed here. I understand that Silverstone couldn't go the magnetic pin route due to existing patents and ongoing lawsuits involving other brands, but the Y-splitter idea isn't anything new and doesn't look any cleaner than other such daisy-chaining implementations used by others. In fact, this might be even worse since you will have a mixture of splitters and direct cables depending on the number of fans installed together, and you will end up with multiple 4-pin PWM connectors to navigate around either way. It's not also the most efficient fan in terms of power draw, especially because it spins faster when maxed out compared to most others, so there will inevitably be the need for a fan hub. Silverstone could have bundled one in a triple pack and reduced the pricing to make it a more attractive package perhaps, but the current option for a single fan is simply not worth the asking price for me.