SFF.Network Review Roundup: Phanteks T30-120 Fan

Reviews have dropped for Phanteks T30-120 fan with very positive results. Phanteks has clearly taken a shot directly at Noctua, but also put their own flare on the 120mm fan segment.

A quick run down of the specs shows why people are talking about this fan:

• Sunon Magnetic Levitation bearings.
• Fiberglass reinforced liquid crystal polymer (similar to Noctua's Sterrox)
• Built-in fan speed selector on a three phase motor:
  • Advanced up to 3000 RPM
  • Performance up to 2000 RPM
  • Hybrid where the fan doesn't start spinning until PWM signals go above 50%, and caps the fan at 1200RPM.
• Daisy-Chain support.
• 6 year warranty.
• 30mm thick design.

That last point needs to be explored because the industry standard is for 25mm thick fans. Essentially, Phanteks made their fan thicker to run bigger, thicker blades. This allows more air to be moved, and closer tolerances in the design. However, in the SFF world where every millimeter matters, this might be a non-starter for some cases that are built exactly to spec, and not a millimeter bigger. What are your thoughts on it? Feel free to visit the SmallFormFactor.net Forum to discuss it with our community.

MSRP is $29.99 per fan, with some slight discounts if you buy a multiple fan pack.



Let's get to the reviews:

(More reviews will be added as they become available.)

Written Reviews:

Tech Powerup

Tom's Hardware



Video Reviews

 

[thelaughingman]

my guess is Phanteks intentionally pushing 30mm-thick design out first to beat the Noctua A12x25 and get that BEST fan claim. I highly doubt the same design at 25mm-thick can beat Noctua, otherwise that should have been the first fan to launch. I do like that they use Maglev motors, it certainly felt like everyone gave up after the Corsair ML series, and the neutral colour scheme is a big plus too.

But overall this is a No, this fan would be a no factor for me simply of the added thickness.

 

[XcPNehVYlE4A3C]

getting these for the color alone

 

[thelaughingman]

turns out 5mm is quite a lot even for ATX builds, let alone SFF.



TLDW:

• Cooler fan clips do not accommodate thicker than 25mm fan
• Some fin stacks will push 30mm thick fan over RAM slot where 25mm would not
• Nooks and crannies that accommodate 25mm fan but not 30mm (right above motherboard / 8-pin CPU cable / RAM latch, etc.)

 

[XcPNehVYlE4A3C]

its worth it though

these things are beasts, i got 15-20C drop on CPU temps just by swapping to a T30. and they are dead silent.