Performance Testing

Please refer to this dedicated test setup page as it applies to this review as well.


TRYX rates the ROTA Pro 120 mm fan with a speed range of 500 to 2250 RPM, and I tested four randomly chosen fans to see these hit an average of 2217 RPM at 100% PWM, going down to an average of 510 RPM at 15%. This means the rated fan speed range is more than valid, and we do get a relatively long and linear range of PWM control too. I do wish the fans went lower, or even had a zero RPM mode, to keep in touch with other competitors on the market—especially if you value an extremely quiet system. Sample variation could be better too, with two of the fans testing very similar and the other two being off on either side of that average. It's not a dealbreaker, but things like this are what a new brand need to be on top of if they wish to make an impression in an already crowded market. 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 compare the TRYX ROTA Pro 120 with other fans at different 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 main takeaway here is the ROTA Pro 120 is certainly more performance-optimized, and does relatively better at lower fan speeds (<1250 RPM) in that metric. Then we see other fans start to catch up, albeit this is purely in terms of airflow through the radiator meaning the associated airflow noise is also relatively lower at the higher fan speeds. I'll also say there was no bearing or motor noise during the review test period.


Instead of having CFM/dBA charts that can potentially be taken for more than they really offer, I am going to show a few other fans as a comparison for further context. These include the subject of this review—the TRYX ROTA Pro 120—in addition to a few other LCP fans such as the Thermaltake TOUGHFAN 12 Pro, the old-yet-relevant Noctua NF-A12x25, and the Lian Li UNI FAN P28 that's thicker than the rest at 28 mm. As we saw before, the ROTA Pro 120 holds up quite well at lower fan speeds to where there really isn't much between it and the other contenders. The Phanteks T30-120 starts to show its capabilities more if you decide to add that here instead, but that's also 30 mm thick. At higher fan speeds the gap starts to widen and here is where perhaps the fan blades being more conservative when it comes to getting close to the fan frame and maximizing the available room comes into play. The others are able to get that much closer, and the air is being pushed that much faster through as a result. Even with the increased fan noise from the added airflow, we see the performance/noise balance is still shifted towards the higher performing fans here. Things may be different on a radiator or air cooler with a lower airflow restriction though!