Performance Testing

Please refer to the dedicated test setup page here as it applies to this review as well and I did not want to go over it separately to save on review space.


First up, let's take a look at the RPM profile for both fans. In the absence of multiple fan samples for either, there is no error bar, and I can't speak for any sample variation. The TOUGHFAN 12 is rated for 500–2000 RPM, and we see this sample hit 1932 RPM at 100% PWM and go down to 493 RPM at 37% PWM duty cycle before remaining there all the way to 1%. This is very much in line with expectations, so far so good. With the LNC, Thermaltake rates the RPM range at 500–1500 RPM, and my sample went from 1556 to 474 RPM—not as close, but well within the expected +/-10%. The TOUGHFAN 12 Turbo advertises a 500-2500 RPM range, and this time, we see 2494 RPM at 100% going down to 483 RPM at 31%. Not bad at all, and the linear response for both fans is nice to see. The LNC adds a slight curve to the RPM response, but not to where I will deter you from using it should you simply want to plug the fans in without setting a fan curve.


I conducted a couple of tests to confirm that the TOUGHFAN 12 Turbo is within error margins of the TOUGHFAN 12 for noise and performance at the same fan speeds, so seen above are results from the TOUGHFAN 12 sample that are representative for the TOUGHFAN 12 Turbo in the ~500–2000 RPM range. These too follow a linear response with fan RPM, with the airflow measurement limited by the range of the anemometer below, for which I did not report numbers I was not confident about. Thermaltake also provides the factory P-Q curve, which includes comparisons to a few unnamed competitors—useless data in itself. Keep in mind that I have a single point of airflow restriction here, so I am effectively operating along a line in the P-Q map. Either way, 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.


I have included fans in charts where the rated RPM is within 50 RPM of the chart cutoff point, and removed fans either too old or simply redundant with the introduction of an updated version. In addition, I have removed two 140 mm fans that had 120 mm fan-hole spacings since those are not really suitable for watercooling on radiators. The chosen RPM values reflect usage scenarios most popular with watercooling even though some fans, including this very one, 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.


Last time around, with the Phanteks T30-120, I had a few CFM/dBA charts too, which were unfortunately taken for more than they really were. So 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. Obvious to everyone should be that the Thermaltake TOUGHFAN 12 is competing with the Noctua NF-A12x25, but then the newer Phanteks T30-120 entered the picture and shook things up further. Seen above are the raw airflow and noise measurements for each and plotted together for easier comparison. A balance of both is ideal, with higher CFM at lower noise levels desirable. Note that the NF-A12x25 is a weird one in that there is just a big drop in measured noise at lower RPM in the absence of perceived bearing or motor noise, effectively an offset that helps it tremendously at lower fan speeds. The Phanteks offering, also being thicker, takes over at higher fan speeds. Thermaltake has a pretty good showing relative to the two benchmarks and competes within error margins of the NF-A12x25 at higher fan speeds.

Now, do be aware that these plots are based on one sample each of the Thermaltake and Noctua fans and don't say much about their frequency response as a whole—how pleasing (or not) the sound signature of these is. I'll look into whether I can use my headphones/earphones frequency response measurement rigs to generate something tangible for the future, and may also include audio recordings for fans if that interests you. Let me know in the comments section what you think!