DeepCool CF120 review – RGB illuminated case fans

DeepCool offers a wide range of PC components. According to the name, the focus is on cooling components. This includes CPU coolers, for example, but also fans like the DeepCool CF120, which is tested here. This 120 mm fan is priced in the mid-range and offers an above-average number of RGB LEDs for illumination. So whether it is more appearance than reality or what it can really do, we shed light on in the DeepCool CF120 review!

Specifications

Packaging and scope of delivery

• Simple packaging without padding
• Serious packaging design
• Included in the package are a manual, RGB adapter cable and case fan screws

The packaging of the DeepCool CF120 is kept quite simple. This white packaging with product imprint and restrained accent colors is in line with DeepCool’s modern, serious appearance. The box is kept quite compact and is unpadded, with the 120mm fan itself still sitting in a cardboard tray.

In addition to the actual fan, not only the obligatory case fan screws are included. An adapter from the JST-RGB connector to standard ARGB (label: ASROCK ASUS MSI) and the nowadays hardly used VDG three-pin connector (label: Gigabyte) can also be found in the scope of delivery.

Due to the adapter, the DeepCool CF120 is very quickly compatible with several different 5V RGB headers. Older Gigabyte boards in particular had not yet adopted the current standard ARGB header.

Design

• Black bezel and milky white fan blades
• Powerful lighting with 12 LEDs
• Two cables per fan

The DeepCool CF120 has a frame made of plastic that is slightly textured in places and glossy black on the inside, and the fan blades are milky white to evenly diffuse the light from the centrally placed RGB LEDs. A sticker with the current DeepCool logo sits in the center. Also, the nine fan blades are not smooth, but have an undulating design.

The RGB lighting is powerful and well distributed due to the total of 12 LEDs. The black glossy inside of the frame also reflects the light. There is a JST connector for control – however, the included adapter can be used for regular ARGB headers. This can lead to a certain amount of cable clutter, especially since there is one fan cable and one RGB cable per fan, so you have to run six cables and possibly three adapters for three fans. Apart from that, it is convenient that the fan conforms to the standard dimensions and is thus suitable for most applications without any problems.

Workmanship

• Casing material appears below average
• Rubberized edges to reduce vibration
• Thin, but somewhat stubborn, cables

Reaching for the DeepCool CF120 as part of the big case fan test, my first impression wasn’t exactly positive. The frame is made of a not exactly torsion-resistant plastic. This looks quite cheap, especially due to the high-gloss black parts. Even though the fan blades make a better impression, the edges don’t necessarily correspond to premium quality here either. Especially near the fan motor, the edges look a bit rough.

At least the corners have rubberized bearing surfaces, which ensure that vibrations do not cause rattling noises between the fans and the case. The cables are thin and black, so they aren’t additionally protected. Usually, such cables are easy to lay, but the ones used here seem a bit stubborn in parts and also jumped out of the holder in the frame several times.

Performance and volume

• Tested as case fan, radiator fan and on air cooler
• One test each at a uniform speed, at a uniform volume and at full power

As part of a large fan test, I pitted many fans against each other in different scenarios. For example, the fans were put into use as housing fans, as radiator fans, and on a air cooler. Although I was skeptical in advance about the DeepCool CF120, as the build quality seemed subpar, I was surprised! Because the 120 mm fan DeepCool CF120 can definitely show a decent performance! But now we come to the details.

For each test, we do three runs: once at a consistent 1100 RPM, which is usually a good average of performance and volume for 120mm fans. Then once set to the audibility limit of 31 dB(A). Lastly, a test is also run at full power, which usually gets louder than you’d want to experience in everyday use. But of course, the fans reach their highest performance here and there are definitely cases where that is relevant.

DeepCool CF120 test as case fan

• Strong performance
• Gets loud relatively quickly
• Already at low speed a high performance

In testing at a uniform 1100 RPM, the DeepCool CF120 shows itself to be the most powerful of all the fans in the comparison. At least when it comes to pure performance. Because it does have one problem: It is clearly audible and thus also belongs to the louder fans. So it gets pretty much as loud as the DeepCool MF120GT, but performs noticeably better in the process. Similarly loud, but also weaker, are for example the Sharkoon SilentStorm 120.

The high volume means that the speed has to be throttled significantly to reach the volume limit of 31 dB(A). It reaches this at 830 RPM. And funnily enough, it should be said that the performance loss is surprisingly low. Even with the reduced speed, it is one of the top performers in the comparison field and, along with the almost identically named DeepCool FC120 and the Lian Li Uni Fan AL120 V2 (which are thicker, though), it is one of the most effective RGB fans in the comparison.

If you let the fans run free, the performance of the DeepCool CF120 is still very decent. Here, the speed range of the test fans ends pretty much exactly at the advertised 1500 RPM. And both performance and volume are in a range that many other fans need around 1800 RPM for. Sure – high performance fans with 2000+ RPMs pull ahead here simply due to the sheer RPM, but they also get louder for the most part.

DeepCool CF120 Test as Radiator Fan

• Pressure loss due to gap between frame and radiator
• Mediocre general performance on the radiator
• There is rather too much noise for comfortable everyday use on the radiator

Performance as a radiator fan might be a bit hurt by the shape of the DeepCool CF120’s frame. Here, the bottom is a little indented, which allows the light to radiate nicely to the side. But this allows some air to escape before it was forced through the radiator.

Accordingly, the result looks in comparison to the case fan test: The DeepCool CF120’s performance is still okay at 1100 RPM, but many other fans, especially the pressure-optimized ones, pull ahead performance-wise. And some are even quieter in the process.

So now when the volume is the reference, the performance drops significantly. Here, the speed has to be reduced significantly, which, together with the pressure loss between the fan and radiator, is simply no longer sufficient. Accordingly, the DeepCool CF120 ends up in the lower range here.

If the volume doesn’t matter and you simply go for performance and turn up the fans to full, which can happen quite often especially with modern processors, then the DeepCool CF120 lands in the midfield. An acceptable performance, but unimpressive and beaten by many other fans.

So yes: the DeepCool CD120 is indeed not a fan to get for radiator use.

DeepCool CF120 review on air cooler

• Solid fan on the air cooler
• Tolerable maximum volume
• One of the better RGB fans for air cooler use, though beaten by many fans without RGB

At 1100 RPM, the DeepCool CF120 also does well on the air cooler. Again, the single fan is in a good position relatively far away from the edge of the case to be minimally audible. Only a few fans perform better here, such as the Noctua NF-S12A, or the ENDORFY Fluctus 120 ARGB PWM RGB fan.

However, again, it looks like other fans can spin much faster to get to the audibility limit that the DeepCool CF120 is already at. Some silent fans in particular pass by here, so the DeepCool CF120 tends to fall into the midfield in terms of performance. Realistically, however, the results are very close, so the midfield is still a very good result. However, the aforementioned ENDORFY Fluctus pull ahead, as does the RGB version of the Cooler Master Mobius 120. Other than that, fans without RGB lighting in particular hit the top, while the DeepCool CF120 is on a similar performance level to the Noiseblocker NB-eLoop X or the Arctic P12 PWM PST A-RGB.

At peak performance, the field mixes well again and fans with a higher speed range pull ahead. Again, the DeepCool CF120 is in the solid midfield. For high-performance servers or industrial systems, I would use other fans. In the home computer, however, the DeepCool CF120 is still quite tolerable in terms of volume, which is not to be said of many faster fans.

Conclusion

The DeepCool CF120 is a terrific case fan. I wonder if the CF in the item name stands for Case Fan. It is also a solid performer on the air cooler. Only for the use on the radiator you should rather look for other fans. Especially as a case fan, the DeepCool CF120 performs well in the test even at low speeds, and it is also quite quiet. Otherwise, it also gets a bit louder faster than you would like due to automatics. Therefore, I would strongly recommend using manual fan curves to keep it under control.

In addition, there is a strong illumination, the high compatibility to different 5V ARGB headers via the included adapter, but also the rather mediocre material quality. Of course, this will not play a major role in everyday use, since the 120 mm fan is rarely held in the hand.

All in all, the DeepCool CF120 is a solid RGB case fan and also well suited as a replacement fan for air coolers and is not yet one of the really expensive models in the RGB fan segment.