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Overview
120mm fans are the most popular size of cooling fans both for cases and heatsinks in personal computers today. They are an industry standard for many PC builds. 120mm fans exist in the sweet spot between performance and noise. Because of this, there are a ton of options available. After extensive research and evaluation, we’ve made a short list that determines what the best 120mm fans are for PC builds today. Of these, we recommend the Noctua NF-F12 PWM Chromax fan. It’s not only ideal for heatsinks and case fans, but it’s also great for radiators making this the most versatile, high performing fan available on the market. The Noctua NF-F12 PWM Chromax is large enough to move serious air without making so much noise that your PC will need to be placed in a closet.
We love the Noctua NF-F12 PWM Chromax 120mm fan due to its incredible performance, high quality, and minimal noise.
When picking a PC case fan, pay careful attention to the available connector options. Motherboard manufacturers often embed fan controllers and provide a 4-pin power connector for case fans. 4-pin connectors allow for Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) control and variable speeds. Your motherboard (or separate speed controller) will adjust the pulse width of the power supply to control the speed of the fan while it is spinning. Other PC builders may choose to purchase an external fan controller.
The goal for either approach is to change the speed of your fans in real-time to balance the noise and the airflow. As your computer works harder, it gets hotter and the fans will increase in speed to compensate. If you select a 3-pin fan, you will not be able to control the speed of the fan while it is running. 3-pin connectors do not typically have PWM or variable speed control.
While there are a variety of popular PC cooling fan sizes ranging from 80mm to 140mm, 120mm seems to be the most popular with cases, All-In-One (AIO) coolers, and CPU heatsinks. When using 120mm fans on a radiator (either as a part of an AIO cooler or for a custom water loop), static pressure is another important performance criteria. AIO coolers often bundle 120mm fans with the radiator, but some builders may choose aftermarket fans to squeeze extra performance out of their PC. If you are looking for great fans for your radiator build – check out our guide for The Best PC Radiator Fans.
Whether it’s for a case, heatsink, radiator, or all of the above, it’s highly likely you’ll be looking for at least one (if not more) for your next build. These days, many cases do come with at least one or two fans (usually 120mm) but they’re not always the best. Whether you’re upgrading your current build or working towards a brand new PC build, we want you to have the right fans to keep your frame rates high and temperatures low!
Why You Should Trust Us
Here at TechSauce, our staff consists of Aerospace Engineers who have been building computers, PC gaming, and testing the latest technology for over 20 years. We conducted our analysis with key attributes in mind, ensuring performance is at the top of the list, while also considering aesthetics and noise. We spent over 100 hours researching, analyzing, and testing many of the best 120mm fans on the market to make sure we could provide a recommendation with confidence.
Our staff is well-versed in computing as a hobby and as professionals. We spend many hours in detailed airflow analysis as well as working with control and cooling systems in some of the most advanced research labs and operations centers in the country. We’ve compared our findings to other popular fan review blogs and sites such as Gamers Nexus, IGN, DigitalTrends and other popular media. We think our straight-forward, engineering centered approach is the most precise way to identify the top contenders.
How We Picked
There are over 100 brands of what are considered to be the best 120mm fans on the market today. We took a look at some of the most important metrics we believe that contribute to the best fan you can buy.
- Cubic Feet Per Minute (CFM): This is hands down the most important criteria when it comes to a PC fan. CFM measures how much air (volume) passes through the fan . Air cooling works by forcing cool air into the computer, letting hot computer parts (CPU, GPU) heat up the air, and then forcing the hot air out of your case. The more air moving through your case the better.
- Static Pressure: When it comes to heatsinks and radiators, fans must be able to penetrate the fins to exchange heat. Even if you have all of the airflow in the world, low static pressure will result in warmer components as they’re unable to remove hot air from the system. Good static pressure is especially important if the fan is used on a radiator or heatsink.
- Noise: Having high RPM fans in your PC may be beneficial to performance, but it also may result in more noise, especially if you have 4+ fans in your PC. Builders can reduce the noise of their PC fans in several ways. We looked at the types of bearings used, fan blade shape, frame design, vibration dampers, and other factors that contribute to the overall fan noise.
- Value: Getting the best bang for the buck is always important. Past a certain price point comes diminishing returns of performance and noise. We want to make sure you have some money left over to buy the rest of the computer .
- Aesthetics: Aesthetics are not always the first criteria. However, matching the color scheme of the rest of your case and components does play a role in a new (or upgraded) PC build. The fans we’ve chosen can either fit a specific aesthetic, or at least have an iconic look that makes your PC stand out (in a good way).
The Champ: Noctua NF-F12 PWM Chromax
We love the Noctua NF-F12 PWM Chromax 120mm fan due to its incredible performance, high quality, and minimal noise.
Based on our research and testing, we’ve determined that the Noctua NF-F12 PWM Chromax is the best 120mm fan on the market today, that does not completely break the bank.
Noctua has been a name in the PC industry for over a decade. We’ve been avid fans of their work, but their one “shortcoming” in the past was aesthetics. Their somewhat less appealing brown and cream colored fans were (and still are) difficult to build a theme around. Now that has been rectified! Meet the Noctua NF-F12 PWM Chromax fan.
Yes, you read that right…the same performance of the NF-F12, but now in black (finally) with multi-colored vibration dampeners. This means now you get the fantastic performance of an award winning fan with the aesthetics to go with it. It is a 12V, 4-pin, software-controlled fan which has an exceptional amount of airflow (up to 55 CFM) while producing a maximum of 22.4 dB. With a static pressure of 2.6 mm, the Noctua NF-F12 PWM Chromax will be able to dissipate heat from the thickest of radiators and CPU heatsinks.
The Grand Champion: Corsair ML120 Pro
The Corsair ML120 Pro 120mm fans are the best available 120mm fans we found. We love the high performance, the stellar reliability, and the included RGB.
When it comes to the best of the best (with the price tag to match), look no further than the Corsair ML120 Pro 120mm fans. These literally check every box when it comes to performance and aesthetics. They’re considerably more expensive than the Noctua NF-F12 PWM Chromax fans due to two main factors: RGB lighting and longevity. These unique fans magnetically levitate the fan blade which results in not only high performance and low noise, but virtually frictionless bearings. This is important because many fan bearings break down over time. Corsair’s RGB ecosystem makes it easy to add these fantastic fans to your next build.
The Runner-Up: be quiet! Pure Wings 2
The be quiet! Pure Wings 2 fans are great fans for the money. They have good design, and don't skip any essential features - while targeting a very affordable price point.
Fans add up, especially if you have a large radiator and a full tower case. You may be looking to save up for a new graphics card as a higher priority, but don’t necessarily want to skimp on your airflow completely. If this is you, look no further than the be quiet! Pure Wings 2 120mm PWM fans. These may look like run-of-the-mill basic black fans, but they can spin up to 2000 RPM and provide PWM speed control. Although 36db is a tad on the noisy side for our tastes, we recommend this fan not only for its value, but also for its high performance and aesthetic. Even though it’s not RGB, black fans can go well with most PC themes today. With a long life of ~80,000 hours, these fans are built to last.
The Contenders
While we’re big fans of the Noctua NF-F12 PWM fan as the best 120mm fan in its class, we have a number of other 120mm fans we can recommend. If our picks are out of stock check out the other contenders below.
The Antec PF12 Series fans are relatively low noise at only 21.5 dB, with high airflow (30.5 CFM) and relatively good static pressure (0.65 mmH2O). The only minor inconvenience is that the screws are self tapping, so it may be difficult to install on some builds.
The Thermaltake Riing 12 Series fans are touted to have very high static pressure (2.01 mmH2O) which is excellent if being used as a radiator fan. If you don’t mind a little bit more noise than the competition, they keep temperatures low for even the highest of heat loads.
Last but not least, the Cooler Master SickleFlow fans come in multiple colors (as well as RGB) and also have great air flow (62 CFM). The sealed bearings prevent dust accumulation and oil leakage, increasing the lifespan of these fans. Additionally, these fans have PWM control which allow software to automatically control them based on temperature or noise.
In summary, 120mm fans are everywhere on the market. While most of them generally push air through components and PC cases, specific criteria can separate superb fans from others that may be below average. And, since 120mm fans are the most popular size among PC cases, radiators and heatsinks, you should be equipped with fans that maximize the performance of your components without increasing noise to jet-engine levels. Fans have certainly come a long way in the past 10-20 years, and we hope that our recommendations help you find the best fans for your PC.
