Reviews
Tests :
For the fan tests, we’re following roughly the same basis as our CPU cooling tests. Thus, we’re testing everything on our Ryzen 9 7900X with 105W consumption on a Noctua NH-U12A chromax.black CPU Cooler only. The aim is to be fan-dependent in order to highlight the differences in performance from one fan to another.
Fan speed :
This F120X from NZXT is one of the fastest fans in our comparison with Sudokoo’s Mach 120. Indeed, 3100 rpm is no mean feat, especially since at 66% of its speed, it still spins at over 2000 rpm. On the other hand, at 33% it’s as low as a conventional fan at 700 rpm.
Noise :
Having examined speed, we now turn to noise. We mount our fans on our ventirad and measure noise levels with a sound level meter positioned 40 cm in the direction of fan intake.
Naturally, high speed means high noise levels. At full speed, NZXT’s fan reaches 52 dB at full throttle – clearly, it’s giving voice, and that’s not pleasant to hear. Fortunately, at half speed, the fan drops to 40 dB. In fact, it’s just as noisy as an RS120 Max at full speed… Running at the same speed. Finally, at low speed, it drops to 30 dB.
Temperatures :
Let’s start with the temperature readings for our 105W profile. Here the heat release is significant, so let’s see how our fans fare! This is the most interesting test for highlighting fan performance.
Push:
Thermally speaking, the fan is simply excellent, as you can see. The F120X rivals Sudokoo’s Mach 120 in terms of temperature. It lags slightly behind at low speed, probably due to its slightly lower operating speed, while it will be slightly ahead at high speed. On the other hand, its domination of 25 mm fans is total!
Temperature/noise ratio :
On this perfs/noise ratio graph, we remind you that it’s best to be positioned as far to the bottom left of the graph as possible. For ease of reading, the point furthest to the left symbolizes ventilation at 12V, the one in the center, ventilation at 8V, and the one furthest to the right, ventilation at 5V.
Push :
Naturally, this NZXT F120X offers a very similar temperature-to-noise ratio to Sudokoo’s Mach 120. If it’s slightly ahead at 100%, it’ll be slightly behind at low speeds. Nonetheless, we note that its position on the graph is very high, due to its particularly high noise levels at full speed.
