• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

CORSAIR AF120 ELITE Fan

VSG

Editor, Reviews & News
Staff member
Joined
Jul 1, 2014
Messages
3,450 (0.97/day)
CORSAIR has updated its airflow-optimized fan series to include the new AF120 ELITE. It comes in two color options and uses a brand new rotor paired with a low-noise Fluid Dynamic Bearing and a motor that turns off at idle operation, making for a compelling product for your PC DIY cooling needs.

Show full review
 
Joined
Apr 30, 2020
Messages
848 (0.59/day)
System Name S.L.I + RTX research rig
Processor Ryzen 7 5800X 3D.
Motherboard MSI MEG ACE X570
Cooling Corsair H150i Cappellx
Memory Corsair Vengeance pro RGB 3200mhz 16Gbs
Video Card(s) 2x Dell RTX 2080 Ti in S.L.I
Storage Western digital Sata 6.0 SDD 500gb + fanxiang S660 4TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2
Display(s) HP X24i
Case Corsair 7000D Airflow
Power Supply EVGA G+1600watts
Mouse Corsair Scimitar
Keyboard Cosair K55 Pro RGB
If it's not meant for raditor what's the point of the high static presure ? you don't need high static presure for case fans.
 

VSG

Editor, Reviews & News
Staff member
Joined
Jul 1, 2014
Messages
3,450 (0.97/day)
If it's not meant for raditor what's the point of the high static presure ? you don't need high static presure for case fans.
It's a hybrid fan design and there are certainly a few cases which have restrictive filters or airflow intake routes which would make use of this fan design. It just wasn't performing as well relatively on my radiator.
 
Joined
Mar 28, 2020
Messages
1,632 (1.12/day)
After trying a few Corsair ML fans, I would steer clear of their air raid siren fans. At max speed, be it 120mm or 140mm, they have a terrible sound profile that's loud and really sounded like an air raid alarm that went off. They are not cheap, and I think Corsair is really not a brand that I will recommend when it comes to fans as it is really not their forte. Depending on the price, I would just recommend a reasonably priced Arctic P12/ P14 over this.
 
Joined
Dec 30, 2021
Messages
355 (0.43/day)
If it's not meant for raditor what's the point of the high static presure ? you don't need high static presure for case fans.
Most fans with poor static pressure do badly as case fans. You need a decent amount pressure to move air through mesh and across various cables/components. This fan will probably do fairly good as a case fan since the pressure isn't terrible, but other fans with bad pressure but high airflow tend to do badly in an actual PC. Their good CFM ratings are achieved in the open air with zero obstructions, which isn't realistic.
 

VSG

Editor, Reviews & News
Staff member
Joined
Jul 1, 2014
Messages
3,450 (0.97/day)
After trying a few Corsair ML fans, I would steer clear of their air raid siren fans. At max speed, be it 120mm or 140mm, they have a terrible sound profile that's loud and really sounded like an air raid alarm that went off. They are not cheap, and I think Corsair is really not a brand that I will recommend when it comes to fans as it is really not their forte. Depending on the price, I would just recommend a reasonably priced Arctic P12/ P14 over this.
Were they being used in PWM or voltage control mode?
 
Joined
Jul 7, 2020
Messages
101 (0.07/day)
For me ARCTIC BioniX F120 is the real reverence fan, with good price/performance [PWM 200-1800 rpm].
 

Lubo

New Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2022
Messages
2 (0.00/day)
Still no reviews of very popular[at least in europe] Arctic Cooling F and P series of pc case fans...

 
Joined
Jan 5, 2006
Messages
17,693 (2.66/day)
System Name AlderLake / Laptop
Processor Intel i7 12700K P-Cores @ 5Ghz / Intel i3 7100U
Motherboard Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master / HP 83A3 (U3E1)
Cooling Noctua NH-U12A 2 fans + Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme + 5 case fans / Fan
Memory 32GB DDR5 Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 6000MHz CL36 / 8GB DDR4 HyperX CL13
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio / Intel HD620
Storage Samsung 980 Pro 1TB + 970 Evo 500GB + 850 Pro 512GB + 860 Evo 1TB x2 / Samsung 256GB M.2 SSD
Display(s) 23.8" Dell S2417DG 165Hz G-Sync 1440p / 14" 1080p IPS Glossy
Case Be quiet! Silent Base 600 - Window / HP Pavilion
Audio Device(s) Panasonic SA-PMX94 / Realtek onboard + B&O speaker system / Harman Kardon Go + Play / Logitech G533
Power Supply Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 750W / Powerbrick
Mouse Logitech MX Anywhere 2 Laser wireless / Logitech M330 wireless
Keyboard RAPOO E9270P Black 5GHz wireless / HP backlit
Software Windows 11 / Windows 10
Benchmark Scores Cinebench R23 (Single Core) 1936 @ stock Cinebench R23 (Multi Core) 23006 @ stock
Conclusion, my Be Quiet! Silent wings 4 Pro's seem to outperform these new Corsair's in noise and CFM....
 
Joined
Mar 9, 2021
Messages
301 (0.27/day)
System Name Back in Black
Processor Ryzen 5 3600
Motherboard MSI B450 Tomahawk
Cooling ID-Cooling SE-224-XT Black
Memory Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8) 3000mhz C15
Video Card(s) Asus Rog Strix GTX 1070 TI Advanced Edition
Storage Crucial MX500 500GB / Solidigm P41 Plus 1TB
Display(s) Samsung 32" TV 1080p
Case Montech Air X Black
Power Supply Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 750W Gold
Mouse Redragon M711 Cobra
Keyboard Corsair K55
Another great review from the Very Special Guy.

This is a clear case of Corsair tax: pay for the name and the logo... get an average product in return.
 

VSG

Editor, Reviews & News
Staff member
Joined
Jul 1, 2014
Messages
3,450 (0.97/day)
Another great review from the Very Special Guy.

This is a clear case of Corsair tax: pay for the name and the logo... get an average product in return.
I wouldn't go that far, it's more a case of right fan, wrong testing platform tbh. I recommend seeing other reviews, especially if they've tested these as case fans compared to others.
 
Joined
Mar 9, 2021
Messages
301 (0.27/day)
System Name Back in Black
Processor Ryzen 5 3600
Motherboard MSI B450 Tomahawk
Cooling ID-Cooling SE-224-XT Black
Memory Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8) 3000mhz C15
Video Card(s) Asus Rog Strix GTX 1070 TI Advanced Edition
Storage Crucial MX500 500GB / Solidigm P41 Plus 1TB
Display(s) Samsung 32" TV 1080p
Case Montech Air X Black
Power Supply Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 750W Gold
Mouse Redragon M711 Cobra
Keyboard Corsair K55
I wouldn't go that far, it's more a case of right fan, wrong testing platform tbh. I recommend seeing other reviews, especially if they've tested these as case fans compared to others.
I understand your reasoning. It could well be a decent fan, but the other reviews I saw for this product yield an "average" result compared to other units. Nothing that makes it outstanding, just a good performing unit.

Is this fan worth 80-100% more than the other good performing competitors? In my opinion, I don't think so. That's why I conclude this could be a case of a brand tax rather than "here's what this product does a lot better than others", or anything that could justify the steep price difference.
 
  • Like
Reactions: VSG
Joined
Feb 20, 2020
Messages
9,162 (6.11/day)
Location
Louisianna
System Name Ghetto Rigs z490|x99|Acer 17 Nitro 7840hs/ 5600c40-2x16/ 4060/ 1tb acer stock m.2/ 4tb sn850x
Processor 10900k w/Optimus Foundation | 5930k w/Black Noctua D15
Motherboard z490 Maximus XII Apex | x99 Sabertooth
Cooling oCool D5 res-combo/280 GTX/ Optimus Foundation/ gpu water block | Blk D15
Memory Trident-Z Royal 4000c16 2x16gb | Trident-Z 3200c14 4x8gb
Video Card(s) Titan Xp-water | evga 980ti gaming-w/ air
Storage 970evo+500gb & sn850x 4tb | 860 pro 256gb | Acer m.2 1tb/ sn850x 4tb| Many2.5" sata's ssd 3.5hdd's
Display(s) 1-AOC G2460PG 24"G-Sync 144Hz/ 2nd 1-ASUS VG248QE 24"/ 3rd LG 43" series
Case D450 | Cherry Entertainment center on Test bench
Audio Device(s) Built in Realtek x2 with 2-Insignia 2.0 sound bars & 1-LG sound bar
Power Supply EVGA 1000P2 with APC AX1500 | 850P2 with CyberPower-GX1325U
Mouse Redragon 901 Perdition x3
Keyboard G710+x3
Software Win-7 pro x3 and win-10 & 11pro x3
Benchmark Scores Are in the benchmark section

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 6, 2004
Messages
58,413 (8.21/day)
Location
Oystralia
System Name Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory 2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s) Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage 2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s) Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) | Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) | Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s) Logitech G560 | Corsair Void pro RGB |Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores Nyooom.
High static pressure would help if used on an air cooler too, no?
 
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Messages
5,363 (1.04/day)
Location
Gougeland (NZ)
System Name Cumquat 2021
Processor AMD RyZen R7 7800X3D
Motherboard Asus Strix X670E - E Gaming WIFI
Cooling Deep Cool LT720 + CM MasterGel Pro TP + Lian Li Uni Fan V2
Memory 32GB GSkill Trident Z5 Neo 6000
Video Card(s) Sapphire Nitro+ OC RX6800 16GB DDR6 2270Cclk / 2010Mclk
Storage 1x Adata SX8200PRO NVMe 1TB gen3 x4 1X Samsung 980 Pro NVMe Gen 4 x4 1TB, 12TB of HDD Storage
Display(s) AOC 24G2 IPS 144Hz FreeSync Premium 1920x1080p
Case Lian Li O11D XL ROG edition
Audio Device(s) RX6800 via HDMI + Pioneer VSX-531 amp Technics 100W 5.1 Speaker set
Power Supply EVGA 1000W G5 Gold
Mouse Logitech G502 Proteus Core Wired
Keyboard Logitech G915 Wireless
Software Windows 11 X64 PRO (build 23H2)
Benchmark Scores it sucks even more less now ;)
Joined
Jul 7, 2019
Messages
821 (0.48/day)
Those stator vanes are definitely nothing special as a design feature; it's been a common inclusion on server-grade fans as a way to smooth the airflow without resorting to thick, 76mm counter-rotating fans, and as posted by the user above, is still a major selling point for SilverStone's Air Penetrators. That said, it's also a pretty rare feature on consumer-grade fans, so credit where it's due in that regard.

I'm definitely no expert, but IIRC, in old hardcore watercooling forums of the past, old tests with server style fans with stator vanes showed they were better suited either being used with a shroud/spacer before the radiator or heatsink finstack, giving time for the airflow to smooth out and pass through the finstack "cleanly" (much like in server housings, pushing all that air through the tunnels made by the case and spacers and through the finstacks of the CPU and GPU), or in a pull config, behind filters, the radiator, or the heatsink, where the high static pressure would allow the fan to forcibly draw air through the obstruction and still "throw" it behind (again, similar to server cases, pulling all the air between the drives mounted in the front of the case, and throwing it through the "tunnels" and out the back of the server).

I'm curious if that would be the same quirks with these, given the design focus clearly inspired by server fans. The SilverStone APs also had a similar drawback in old reviews; being more useful for filtered or non-filtered intake and throwing all that air further into the case, rather than being used as a radiator or heatsink fan. In fact, SS originally marketed them strictly as case intake fans, or exhaust fans if venting up (to throw the exhaust further away from the case).
 
Joined
Aug 14, 2013
Messages
2,373 (0.61/day)
System Name boomer--->zoomer not your typical millenial build
Processor i5-760 @ 3.8ghz + turbo ~goes wayyyyyyyyy fast cuz turboooooz~
Motherboard P55-GD80 ~best motherboard ever designed~
Cooling NH-D15 ~double stack thot twerk all day~
Memory 16GB Crucial Ballistix LP ~memory gone AWOL~
Video Card(s) MSI GTX 970 ~*~GOLDEN EDITION~*~ RAWRRRRRR
Storage 500GB Samsung 850 Evo (OS X, *nix), 128GB Samsung 840 Pro (W10 Pro), 1TB SpinPoint F3 ~best in class
Display(s) ASUS VW246H ~best 24" you've seen *FULL HD* *1O80PP* *SLAPS*~
Case FT02-W ~the W stands for white but it's brushed aluminum except for the disgusting ODD bays; *cries*
Audio Device(s) A LOT
Power Supply 850W EVGA SuperNova G2 ~hot fire like champagne~
Mouse CM Spawn ~cmcz R c00l seth mcfarlane darawss~
Keyboard CM QF Rapid - Browns ~fastrrr kees for fstr teens~
Software integrated into the chassis
Benchmark Scores 9999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
Could you share those sources if you’re able? Would love to read!
 

AsRock

TPU addict
Joined
Jun 23, 2007
Messages
18,851 (3.08/day)
Location
UK\USA
Processor AMD 3900X \ AMD 7700X
Motherboard ASRock AM4 X570 Pro 4 \ ASUS X670Xe TUF
Cooling D15
Memory Patriot 2x16GB PVS432G320C6K \ G.Skill Flare X5 F5-6000J3238F 2x16GB
Video Card(s) eVga GTX1060 SSC \ XFX RX 6950XT RX-695XATBD9
Storage Sammy 860, MX500, Sabrent Rocket 4 Sammy Evo 980 \ 1xSabrent Rocket 4+, Sammy 2x990 Pro
Display(s) Samsung 1080P \ LG 43UN700
Case Fractal Design Pop Air 2x140mm fans from Torrent \ Fractal Design Torrent 2 SilverStone FHP141x2
Audio Device(s) Yamaha RX-V677 \ Yamaha CX-830+Yamaha MX-630 Infinity RS4000\Paradigm P Studio 20, Blue Yeti
Power Supply Seasonic Prime TX-750 \ Corsair RM1000X Shift
Mouse Steelseries Sensei wireless \ Steelseries Sensei wireless
Keyboard Logitech K120 \ Wooting Two HE
Benchmark Scores Meh benchmarks.
Meh only 25mm.
 

AsRock

TPU addict
Joined
Jun 23, 2007
Messages
18,851 (3.08/day)
Location
UK\USA
Processor AMD 3900X \ AMD 7700X
Motherboard ASRock AM4 X570 Pro 4 \ ASUS X670Xe TUF
Cooling D15
Memory Patriot 2x16GB PVS432G320C6K \ G.Skill Flare X5 F5-6000J3238F 2x16GB
Video Card(s) eVga GTX1060 SSC \ XFX RX 6950XT RX-695XATBD9
Storage Sammy 860, MX500, Sabrent Rocket 4 Sammy Evo 980 \ 1xSabrent Rocket 4+, Sammy 2x990 Pro
Display(s) Samsung 1080P \ LG 43UN700
Case Fractal Design Pop Air 2x140mm fans from Torrent \ Fractal Design Torrent 2 SilverStone FHP141x2
Audio Device(s) Yamaha RX-V677 \ Yamaha CX-830+Yamaha MX-630 Infinity RS4000\Paradigm P Studio 20, Blue Yeti
Power Supply Seasonic Prime TX-750 \ Corsair RM1000X Shift
Mouse Steelseries Sensei wireless \ Steelseries Sensei wireless
Keyboard Logitech K120 \ Wooting Two HE
Benchmark Scores Meh benchmarks.
Well it is to me, got plenty of 25mm fans and a big gain over any of them would be a 38mm ones.
 
Joined
Aug 14, 2013
Messages
2,373 (0.61/day)
System Name boomer--->zoomer not your typical millenial build
Processor i5-760 @ 3.8ghz + turbo ~goes wayyyyyyyyy fast cuz turboooooz~
Motherboard P55-GD80 ~best motherboard ever designed~
Cooling NH-D15 ~double stack thot twerk all day~
Memory 16GB Crucial Ballistix LP ~memory gone AWOL~
Video Card(s) MSI GTX 970 ~*~GOLDEN EDITION~*~ RAWRRRRRR
Storage 500GB Samsung 850 Evo (OS X, *nix), 128GB Samsung 840 Pro (W10 Pro), 1TB SpinPoint F3 ~best in class
Display(s) ASUS VW246H ~best 24" you've seen *FULL HD* *1O80PP* *SLAPS*~
Case FT02-W ~the W stands for white but it's brushed aluminum except for the disgusting ODD bays; *cries*
Audio Device(s) A LOT
Power Supply 850W EVGA SuperNova G2 ~hot fire like champagne~
Mouse CM Spawn ~cmcz R c00l seth mcfarlane darawss~
Keyboard CM QF Rapid - Browns ~fastrrr kees for fstr teens~
Software integrated into the chassis
Benchmark Scores 9999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
Congratulations :cool:
 
Top