In its factory flow rating, I mean. This fan is a strong performer, much more than its stats show in comparison to other fans.
I've tried a number of 120mm case fans on my PC, including:
Scythe S-Flex SFF21F (1600 RPM version)
Arctic F12 (1350 rated; mine report 1500)
Aerocool Dead Silence 120 (1600 RPM)
Corsair SP120 HP (2350 RPM)
They all have similar rated flow numbers, except for the Arctic-- 63.7 CFM for the S-Flex, 74 for the Arctic, 64.8 for the Aerocool, and 62.74 for the Corsair.
I used the incredibly scientific method of rigging up a 30 gallon trash bag to test the actual flow in free air and through the fan grille on the back of my case, using a stopwatch to see how long it takes to fill it up. I repeated the tests several times to ensure I was getting reliable results.
I tested the fans in free air and through the stamped grille in the back of my case. Not surprisingly, the fill times in the tests through the grille were considerably longer. The restricted fill time was close to double the unrestricted time with each fan, give or take a second or two.
The fan with the highest flow rating of the bunch, the Arctic, tied with the Scythe for last place. The Aerocool did a little bit better, but not by much.
And then there was the Corsair. It outperformed the other fans by a huge margin, posting fill times that were just a little bit more than half of the Arctic's times. The Corsair was able to match the Arctic's free air performance while pushing through the case grille (result was ~8 seconds fill time in both cases).
It is interesting that despite the different blade designs and manufacturer's flow ratings, the most accurate predictor of the fan's performance proved to be its maximum RPM.
Naturally, the Corsair was by far the noisiest fan in the group too, given its higher RPM. It quiets down nicely when slowed to the same speed range of the others in the test. Of course, its flow drops significantly too.
I got the same results testing the fan as the sole exhaust fan in my bottom PSU case with the GPU and CPU undergoing simultaneous stress tests. The Arctic allowed the temperatures to get quite a bit warmer than the Corsair, with the Aerocool doing a little bit better than the Arctic.
I dislike PC noise, which is why I bought and tried the Arctic and Aerocool fans in the first place. Their promises of performance at or beyond that of the Corsair, but at lower noise levels, certainly piqued my interest. Alas, though, they failed to deliver.
The Corsair is the one in use in my case now (and I have another one on my CPU cooler). I like excessive temperatures even less than I like noise. I can slow the Corsair to reduce the fan noise under all but the most stressful conditions, putting the Corsair on par with the other fans in noise and performance, but I can't make the other fans flow more when I need maximum performance.
That's why the Corsair's flow rating seems low. It outperformed the other fans by a huge margin, in free air and through the grille, yet it is rated lower than any of them. Or perhaps the Corsair's rating is accurate, and the others are exaggerated.
As a final note, I know that the AF120 is the one suggested as a case fan rather than the SP120, but I thought that the high static pressure would be helpful in pushing through the restrictive stamped fan grille, which has less than 50% open area across the grille's surface. The Aerocool also features high static pressure (lower than the SP120's, but it also spins slower, so it may be the same, RPM for RPM), and the Arctic's is not published, as far as I know. I do know that Arctic fans that look just like the F120 are included with Arctic HSF combos, so perhaps it is a high static pressure fan too.
I've tried a number of 120mm case fans on my PC, including:
Scythe S-Flex SFF21F (1600 RPM version)
Arctic F12 (1350 rated; mine report 1500)
Aerocool Dead Silence 120 (1600 RPM)
Corsair SP120 HP (2350 RPM)
They all have similar rated flow numbers, except for the Arctic-- 63.7 CFM for the S-Flex, 74 for the Arctic, 64.8 for the Aerocool, and 62.74 for the Corsair.
I used the incredibly scientific method of rigging up a 30 gallon trash bag to test the actual flow in free air and through the fan grille on the back of my case, using a stopwatch to see how long it takes to fill it up. I repeated the tests several times to ensure I was getting reliable results.
I tested the fans in free air and through the stamped grille in the back of my case. Not surprisingly, the fill times in the tests through the grille were considerably longer. The restricted fill time was close to double the unrestricted time with each fan, give or take a second or two.
The fan with the highest flow rating of the bunch, the Arctic, tied with the Scythe for last place. The Aerocool did a little bit better, but not by much.
And then there was the Corsair. It outperformed the other fans by a huge margin, posting fill times that were just a little bit more than half of the Arctic's times. The Corsair was able to match the Arctic's free air performance while pushing through the case grille (result was ~8 seconds fill time in both cases).
It is interesting that despite the different blade designs and manufacturer's flow ratings, the most accurate predictor of the fan's performance proved to be its maximum RPM.
Naturally, the Corsair was by far the noisiest fan in the group too, given its higher RPM. It quiets down nicely when slowed to the same speed range of the others in the test. Of course, its flow drops significantly too.
I got the same results testing the fan as the sole exhaust fan in my bottom PSU case with the GPU and CPU undergoing simultaneous stress tests. The Arctic allowed the temperatures to get quite a bit warmer than the Corsair, with the Aerocool doing a little bit better than the Arctic.
I dislike PC noise, which is why I bought and tried the Arctic and Aerocool fans in the first place. Their promises of performance at or beyond that of the Corsair, but at lower noise levels, certainly piqued my interest. Alas, though, they failed to deliver.
The Corsair is the one in use in my case now (and I have another one on my CPU cooler). I like excessive temperatures even less than I like noise. I can slow the Corsair to reduce the fan noise under all but the most stressful conditions, putting the Corsair on par with the other fans in noise and performance, but I can't make the other fans flow more when I need maximum performance.
That's why the Corsair's flow rating seems low. It outperformed the other fans by a huge margin, in free air and through the grille, yet it is rated lower than any of them. Or perhaps the Corsair's rating is accurate, and the others are exaggerated.
As a final note, I know that the AF120 is the one suggested as a case fan rather than the SP120, but I thought that the high static pressure would be helpful in pushing through the restrictive stamped fan grille, which has less than 50% open area across the grille's surface. The Aerocool also features high static pressure (lower than the SP120's, but it also spins slower, so it may be the same, RPM for RPM), and the Arctic's is not published, as far as I know. I do know that Arctic fans that look just like the F120 are included with Arctic HSF combos, so perhaps it is a high static pressure fan too.
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