When building a PC, our attention is drawn to a certain handful of parts. It’s easy to get excited about a new GPU or a shiny CPU, but is anyone getting excited over the case fans you’re putting into the PC? Well, you should be!
Case fans are one of the most important parts of your PC. They bring good airflow, great aesthetics, and can help ensure your PC is quiet as a whisper. We’ve gathered together a list of our favorite case fans so you can get a jumpstart on yournext PC build.
be quiet! Silent Wings 4 120mm PWM Premium Low Noise Cooling Fan
Quiet as a mouse
The be quiet! Silent Wings 4 fan is great if you’re looking for a quiet fan. We’ve picked it as our best fan due to its slim form factor, silent operation, and affordable price.
If you’re looking for a case fan that covers any base, the be quiet! Silent Wings 4 is an excellent choice. And no, it’s not a typo — it’s always stylized in lowercase, so keep that in mind while you’re shopping!
These fans are fantastic for their affordable pricing, but where they really shine is how easy it is to forget you have them. As the name suggests, this brand is famous forfans and coolersso quiet that you could forget they’re there.
As a writer’s note - I have four of these in my PC and they’ve never made a sound!
be quiet! Pure Wings 2 120mm PWM Premium Low Noise Cooling Fan
Living up to its name
The be quiet! Pure Wings 4 is arguably the quietest case fan on the market. This fan is a sleek black option that can fit any 120mm housing.
If you’re searching for a silent fan, this is the best option on the market. be quiet! brings its iconic stealth fans to new heights with the Pure Wings 4, and without charging you too much to use them!
These fans are sleek black options suited to a 120mm housing. They’re a great budget option, but you won’t even begin to compromisequality for this budget. How’s it so cheap? It’s a fan — no bells and whistles. If you’re looking for RGB or customizable graphics, this isn’t the choice you’ll want.
Corsair iCUE AF120 RGB Elite 120mm PWM Fan
iCue RGB, AirGuide, and Dynamic Bearing!
The AF120 is a great fan if you’re looking for case fans that are packed with features. This case fan comes with the iCUE RGB lighting system, AirGuide technology, and Dynamic Bearing
If you’re looking for fans that are full of features, the AF120 is a fantastic choice. These fans come packed with features, including the Corsair iCUE RGB lighting system. This system is great for coordinating your RGB.
Past this, the fan also comes with Airguide Technology and Dynamic Bearing features. As such, these are great to use with other Corsair products, particularly a GPU or cooler. However, they’re pretty pricy for a single case fan.
Corsair iCUE LINK QX120 RGB 120mm Magnetic Dome RGB Single Fan
Is it worth the cost…?
If you’re looking for a luxury option, the Corsair iCUE Link is a great choice. The QX120 120mm has 34 LED lights and can spin at up to 2,400 RPM!
For anyone looking for a luxury option, Corsair has you covered. The Corsair QX120mm is phenomenal, especially when it comes to RGB. These fans come with 34 separate LED lights for customization. They’re also compatible with iCUE, making it easy to coordinate it with the rest of your setup.
You aren’t sacrificing performance for RGB, either. These fans spin up to 2,400 RPM. The downside is that a single one of these fans is staggeringly expensive for a case fan — and you’ll usually need more than one. The price leaves this as a good luxury option.
Thermaltake RIING 120mm Red LED Ultra Quiet High Airflow Computer Case Fan
Quiet, affordable, and LED
If you’re looking for a budget option, Thermaltake is a great choice. The Thermaltake RIING 120mm case fan has some LED components, but above all, an affordable price.
Luxury options are great, but frankly speaking, most of us don’t anticipate spending a lot of money on our case fans. Case fans are usually saved for utility, and that makes a budget option great. If that’s where your search is taking you, Thermaltake is a wonderful brand to check in with.
Our choice for the best budget fan is the Thermaltake RIING 120mm case fan. This fan has some minor red LED lighting, but there’s not much on that front. What it has is a nearly-silent operation and an exceptionally affordable price.
Thermaltake CT120 PC Cooling Fan
Two for one!
You’ll rarely only have one case fan in your PC. This pair comes with two Thermaltake CT120 fans so you can get your build done quickly!
When you’re building a PC, one fan is rarely enough. It’s best to have at least two, and three or four is sometimes best. Two on top, one or two on the back, and one or two on the front helps to perfectly circulate air.
To that end, buying fans individually is slight headache. The Thermaltake CT120 fans helps you in this endeavor by giving two per purchase. They’re as affordable as possible and perform well with up to 2,000 RPM.
FAQ
Are Case Fans Mandatory?
Yes and no. Some micro PCs don’t use case fans, but it’s good practice to have them in any standard build. So ‘mandatory’ is a strong term for them, but you won’t find many builds that don’t use case fans.
This isn’t recommended. Your case fans help your CPU cooler disperse heat from its heatsink and bring in cool air to keep the internals at a safe temperature. They aren’t powerful enough to directly cool a CPU. Think of fans more as air movement and not as cooling.
Are Case Fans Hard To Find?
Not in the least! Our recommended vendors are Amazon and Best Buy. But anyone that sells PC components is certain to have some on deck.
