Best ARGB fans for the price?

Definitely look into 3-packs. If you're looking for ARGB, Thermaltake makes some not-bad radiator fans in their PURE range. The Pure 12 ARGB Sync fans are nice and can sync with 3-pin mainboard ARGB. Just don't get the Pure Plus fans, as those will not sync with your motherboard ARGB.



Lian Li makes the Borealis fans with freaking metal frames and they are a bit more expensive, and they don't suit a radiator as well, but they make AWESOME case fans and look absolutely amazing, on top of that they sync with Mainboard 3-pin ARGB.



Cooler Master makes the Halo series and they look nice, but I have not tested them. That said, they sync with mainboard ARGB so I'm automatically in favor of them over anything Corsair, NZXT or InWin, which require proprietary hubs/software.
 
Looks that the TTs are $60 or so for the 3 pack the the Boras are a bit cheaper. But what makes the TTs a radiator fans versus a case fan and what makes the Boras unsuitable for radiators? thanks.
 
I was about to recommend the Arctic fans. The non-RGB version is a fantastic fan for radiators. Cheap, high static pressure and quiet. There is a slight whine at 1000rpm roughly, but if you set your fan profiles to be above or below that you are golden.
 
Corporate Thug said:
Looks that the TTs are $60 or so for the 3 pack the the Boras are a bit cheaper. But what makes the TTs a radiator fans versus a case fan and what makes the Boras unsuitable for radiators? thanks.
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Static pressure dictates whether or not a fan will perform well as a rad fan vs a case fan. Higher is better. Altho if your case fan is pushing or pulling thru grills a high static pressure fan may be a better option vs a case fan.
Case fans are generally higher cfm lower static pressure.
 
hititnquitit said:
Static pressure dictates whether or not a fan will perform well as a rad fan vs a case fan. Higher is better. Altho if your case fan is pushing or pulling thru grills a high static pressure fan may be a better option vs a case fan.
Case fans are generally higher cfm lower static pressure.
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Yup. You can also usually tell which fan was designed to be a case fan and which one is radiator fan. Case fans usually have thin blades and a lot of space between them. See Nocta A15-P15 for good example. They push a lot of air in open space (IE case) but fall a bit short in radiators and coolers. Radiator/cooler fans on the other hand have bigger or longer blades and very little visible space between them. They do not push as much air in volume but they can push or pull it better through resistance like radiator fins or a case with particularly bad airflow without leaking between fan blades.

Fans are of course general purpose equipment. Airflow fan can work in a radiator and pressure fan can work in a case, but they just work a bit better other way around.
 
What said is misleading to the point of being almost completely wrong.
Case grills are quite restrictive restricting from 16% to 65% of airflow of an unrestricted fan. Few if any air coolers are as restrictive. Radiators are no more restrictive than many (possibly most) intake grills with filters. Also keep in mind our fan static pressure ratings are maximum amount of pressure fan can create pushing air into a sealed container at maximum speed .. not a way we use our fans. If a fan has a pressure rating of 1.33mm H2O @ 1150rpm, at 1000rpm it's pressure rating is 0.95mm H2O and at 860rpm it's down to 0.70mmH2O.

A good site to look at fan test results is https://www.coolingtechnique.com/
Use translator and search for fan model to hopefully find fan you want results for.

Years ago 2008 Silverstone published data showingpunched metal case grills restricted 16% to 65%:
https://www.silverstonetek.com/techtalk_cont.php?tid=wh_chessis&area=usa

Puget Systems did one in 2011:
https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Effects-of-Grill-Patterns-on-Fan-Performance-Noise-107/

What this all means is we need to use case fans with good (high) pressure ratings for same reasons they are used on radiators.
 
I went cheap with my argb fan. Went with 2 5pk Asia horse fs9002 fan for my lian li o11 xl build. I did not want to spend more than $100 on fans.
 
dcun201 said:
I went cheap with my argb fan. Went with 2 5pk Asia horse fs9002 fan for my lian li o11 xl build. I did not want to spend more than $100 on fans.
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Ya gotta do whatcha gotta do. I bought 6 or 8 blue led asia horse cheapies a while back for a rig i was selling. They were a touch loud but they pushed a decent amount of air and kept the x99 system nice and cool. For the price i couldnt beat em. No shame in saving some loot ;)
 
Yup especially when you gotta overpay for a gpu now. Any $ save helps for a new build.
 
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