NZXT recently launched a new series of fans that promised to be particularly interesting. Indeed, with its F X range, the brand was marketing 30 mm-thick fans with the aim of offering maximum performance. Has the gamble paid off? We take a look at the brand’s F120X.
Presentation:
With this series of fans, NZXT offers us a rather singular range, featuring 30 mm thick mills. What’s more, they come in 120 mm, 240/280 mm and 360 mm sizes. As you’ll have gathered, the whole range benefits from a unique frame, whether it has one or several sets of blades. Finally, we’d like to point out that these fans are distinguished by their particularly meticulous construction, but we’ll explain that in detail below.
The F120X:
With this fan, NZXT offers us a particularly thick mill, measuring 30 mm. That’s more than the usual 25 mm, which means you’ll have to be extra careful when installing it… Particularly on a radiator or on the front of a housing. Wouldn’t it be a shame not to be able to mount your graphics card because of a particularly thick mill or a fan banging into a motherboard radiator?
As for the finish, it’s 5/5. Indeed, the build quality is particularly insane. The basic material, LCP(Liquid Crystal Polymer), is already present on the fan frame and blades. Once again, there’s very little space between the blades and the frame: 0.5 mm. What’s more, the fans operate at very high speeds, as the data sheet mentions 3100 rpm. LCP therefore prevents blade deformation at high speeds.
While we’re on the subject, the seven blades are particularly thick. They are also rather classic in shape, without the exaggerated curvature of Arctic’s P12s, for example. In the center, we find a rather large hub with a window revealing a reinforced metal axle.
NZXT has taken particular care with the fan’s frame, which, as can be seen, incorporates aluminum plates. These will be grey for white fans and black anodized for black fans. Of course, edgings are also present to add a touch of RGB, while rubber silentblocks are present to dampen vibrations as much as possible during operation.
With this, we can count on the presence of NZXT logos here and there, notably on the edge of the frame as well as on one of the blades.
However, for high-end fans, it’s a shame not to have a detachable cable. As it is, we have two long 60 cm cables. Fortunately, they benefit from universal connectivity, with a four-pin PWM socket and a three-pin aRGB socket onto which a proprietary four-pin connector is stitched. However, it’s worth pointing out that these cables come with an attractive white nylon sheath.
As far as technical specifications are concerned, the brand is announcing something standard with :
- Speed range: up to 3100 rpm ±310 rpm
- Air flow: up to 104 CFM
- Static pressure: up to 7.53 mmAq
Clearly, it’s got a lot going for it. The airflow generated is truly significant, while static pressure soars. With fans like these, you shouldn’t have any trouble cooling even particularly large watercooling radiators.
The bundle:
The following accessories are included:
- Four screws for case mounting
- Four screws for radiator mounting
- Washers
The accessory section is very basic, and NZXT concentrates only on what’s needed to mount the fans. Don’t expect anything exceptional here.
