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. The obvious changes here are that these fans were controlled manually using the provided UNI HUB and L-Connect3 software.


Thermaltake rates the RPM range of the SWANFAN 12 RGB from 500 to 2000 RPM. Of course, there will be variations between samples, and airflow resistances will play a big role, too. But I am happy to report that all three samples went from an essentially spot on average 2010 RPM at 100% PWM down to 576 RPM at 1%, which was the lowest I could get with the controller and software combo from Thermaltake. This is a fairly long RPM range of control and the numbers match the rated values well enough, although I would have liked to see the lower value hit closer to the 500 RPM mark even with the +/-10% deviation I allow. I will also mention that it's not the most linear response I've seen either but, given that you can't do much without the Tt controller and setting up custom fan curves appears to be a dream at this point, this is in itself a non-issue. The standard deviation between the three samples is relatively low, although the noise profile unfortunately varied more between samples, especially with some bearing noises here that are audible at the lower fan speeds—testing was done before the blades were removed, so this is unaffected by anything I did. Context is needed to talk more about the fan's relative performance and noise, so I have below comparison charts for some fans tested at set RPM values, or as near as they can get to those.


The chosen RPM values reflect usage scenarios most popular with watercooling even though some fans go higher. 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, but the Thermaltake SWAFAN 12 RGB is generally not a strong performer as a radiator fan even so and has lower noise output as a result of less air being pushed through. Not a surprise in itself as the fans are more RGB than static pressure or airflow optimized!


Instead of having CFM/dBA charts that can potentially be taken for more than they really offer, I am going back to my old roots and showing just three fans as a comparison—no more, no less. More would clutter up things I spent years trying to unsuccessfully solve with static images. Here I have two recently released RGB fans from Lian Li with the UNI FAN SL Infinity 120 and be quiet! with the Light Wings. The be quiet! offering is rare in this age of ever-increasing RGB lighting on fans that still claim to be radiator fans, and the Tt + Lian Li offerings are very similar in doing something novel beyond just throwing in a lot of LEDs per fan. There's not much separating them here, except of course with be quiet! going with a larger RPM range on the Light Wings, but the Tt SWAFAN 12 RGB still ends up being the better option overall from a performance/noise ratio here despite not being the best performer. If you are looking at radiator fans that prioritize performance, you should consider the likes of the Noctua NF-A12x25, Phanteks T30-120, and even Thermaltake's own TOUGHFAN 12 instead. For further context, there are far worse RGB (and non-RGB) fans on the market, too.

I will also mention here that there was very limited time to get this article out, so I was not able to test all three fans at the various fan speeds using the reverse fan blade configuration. Instead, I tried a single fan at three different fan speeds and found a couple of interesting things. First, the reverse blades make the Tt SWAFAN 12 RGB even worse a performance and even louder than the stock blades. This effectively makes the fan not very suitable when up against medium-high airflow restriction given the ~15-20% deficit in performance/noise, and I'd not use it on radiators outside of some low fan speed optimized ones from Hardware Labs and XSPC. This is because the fan blades now face additional airflow restriction from the stator vanes working against it rather than with it, and there is also a larger gap/plenum in place. Secondly, the reason for the additional noise is because the fans speed slightly faster with the reverse blades compared to the standard ones. So it's a lose-lose situation with these blades for anyone who doesn't care about the aesthetics involved. Thankfully for Thermaltake, this is really the only reason to consider buying the SWAFAN 12 RGB in the first place!