The best PC fans of 2023

What to look for in PC fans in 2023

The first thing you’ll want to consider is whether the fans will actually fit inside your case. 120mm is the most common size, but you’ll find 140mm and even 200mm and 220mm fans. If you have a compact case, you will need a lower profile fan.

Once you’re sure a fan will fit your case mounts, it’s time to consider rotations per minute (RPM). Larger fans push more air at lower overall speeds, while smaller fans must spin faster to move more air. This is important for overall airflow, but that’s not the only reason RPM is important.

In general, the faster a fan spins, the noisier it is. Most fan manufacturers have decibel (dB) ratings for their fans, so you can get an idea of ​​how loud they will be. While a liquid-cooled build is quieter, it can still be pretty quiet with careful fan choice. But, if you’re playing games that will push your graphics card to the limit, your fans will need to spin fast to push hot air out, you’ll need to consider whether a fan-cooled or liquid-cooled build is right for you.

You also have to choose between DC and PWM fans, which use three or four pins, respectively. While PWM fans are more popular and offer greater control capabilities, deciding between DC and PWM usually depends on the types of connectors on your motherboard.

For a simple home PC, you probably don’t need to light your case, but gaming rigs pretty much require a lot of lighting these days. If you plan on RGB lighting, you must select between standard RGB and ARGB (Addressable RGB), which allows you to control your lighting through software.

If you’ve ever purchased PC fans, you’re probably familiar with the Noctua name. The company’s fans are known for their rock-solid reliability and performance. If you’re looking for a fan that prioritizes performance over flash, the Noctua NF-S12B redux-1200 PWM fan is a great buy.

This is a 120mm fan that offers an RPM range of 400 to 1200 RPM, which can move a decent amount of air. It’s also a quieter fan, with a decibel rating of 18.1 dB. While Noctua fans used to be on the ugly side, the black and gray look here is understated but looks great.

One thing you don’t get with the Noctua NF-S12B redux-1200 is RGB lighting or any kind of lighting. That may be a positive for some, but it’s important to remember if you want an RGB fan.

The model we’re looking at uses a four-pin PWM connector, giving you decent control over fan speed. If you’re building a PC with a motherboard with three-pin DC outputs, you might want to go for the Noctua NF-S12B.

If you are looking for some crazy lighting, you can spend a lot of money on box fans. On the other hand, if you’ve spent most of your budget on other components, you’ll find plenty of performance and control at a good price with the ARCTIC F12 PWM PST.

This model is only available in 120mm sizes, but offers up to 1350 RPM. Fluid dynamic bearings keep the noise level down, coming in at just a little more than our overall pick of 24.1 dB. Airflow is good if you’re not building a very hot gaming PC.

An interesting aspect of the ARCTIC F12 is the PWM Sharing Technology (PST) feature. If your motherboard doesn’t have many PWM slots, don’t worry as PST allows you to daisy chain fans to a single header.

The ARCTIC F12 PWM PST is available in black or white, with the black model also coming in four and five packs.

If you’re looking for truly brilliant RGB lighting on your fan, consider the Corsair QL120 RGB fans, which offer fully addressable RGB across four lighting zones and 34 individual RGB LEDs.

These fans come in either 120mm or 140mm varieties and offer speeds up to 1500 RPM for the 120mm variety and 1250 for the 140mm. Those speeds mean a bit more noise than some of the other fans we’re looking at, but the fans are still relatively quiet at 26 dB.

Since these are customizable RGB lights, you can use them to create all kinds of lighting effects. Corsair’s iCUE software lets you create lighting effects while monitoring system temperatures and setting custom fan curves.

QL120 RGB fans are available in black or white for individual models. You can also opt for a triple 120mm fan pack or a dual 140mm fan pack. Corsair also sells a three-pack with an RGB controller included if you don’t already have one.

Your options are slim if you’re looking for customizable RGB lighting on a budget. That being said, the Cooler Master MF120R A-RGB offers custom colors and light effects while still being inexpensive.

This fan comes in 120mm and 200mm options and offers fan speeds up to 1500RPM on the 120mm model and 800RPM on the 200mm model. No matter which fan you choose, noise levels are relatively low, at 25dB for 120mm fans and 28dB for 200mm fans.

These aren’t quite as bright as our other RGB pick, and you’ll need to purchase a separate fan controller. That being said, the blades are translucent, which means the light will still shine brightly.

120mm versions of the Cooler Master MF120R A-RGB are also available in a three-pack.

Finding a good fan for a compact case can be almost as difficult as installing it. Fortunately, the Noctua NF-A12x15 PWM is a low-profile case fan that provides good airflow for compact PCs.

Let’s get this out of the way: the Noctua NF-A12x15 PWM’s brown finish won’t appeal to everyone. Fortunately, the performance of the fans makes up for this, and you probably won’t even see the fans in your compact case anyway.

It’s 120mm and just 15mm thick, which means it’ll stay out of the way of your other components. Provides up to 1,850 RPM max. but with a noise level of 23.9 dB.

To help keep things quiet, Noctua includes anti-vibration mounts. The company also includes an extension cable and a Y-cable for running two fans from a single PWM header.

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