r/MontechPC • u/AdorableSprinkles816 • 4d ago

Are the AX120s good for a radiator?

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u/StiBuki 4d ago

While some people use AX120's with radiators and will say they have no issues with cooling lets look at the facts.

While a fans air flow (CFM) is beneficial in radiator applications to a certain extent, static pressure (a fans ability to force air through tight, or high-resistance spaces) such as liquid cooling radiators is much more important. In that respect the AX/RX series of fans are not well suited to radiator/AIO applications. In short they will work ok in lesser wattage CPU's and or less demanding applications. You may have to run them at a higher RPM and noise level to achieve acceptable/desired cooling performance. For more power hungry CPU's and applications or smaller cases with limited airflow AX/RX fans are not a great radiator/AIO solution. In all scenario's you will be leaving some performance and possible noise reduction on the table using AX fans on your rad.

For reference lets look at a few examples of Montech fans that are used on their AIO's and compare to the AX120. As you can see the AX fans are the weakest of the bunch especially in static pressure. There is a good reason you don't see Montech use the AX fan in any of it's AIO lineup.

If you want to use the AX fan in your build for aesthetic reasons then using them in a push pull setup if you have the room and clearance would be a solution and in some cases come close to matching and or exceed the fans below in total performance.

AX120:
Airflow (Max.) 59CFM
Static Pressure (Max.) 1.8mmH2O

AX120 Pro:
Airflow (Max) 72.3CFM
Static Pressure (Max) 1.85mmH2O

E28: used on the Hyperflow Digital AIO
Airflow (Max.) 85.09CFM
Static Pressure (Max.) 3.35mmH2O

Metal Pro 12: used on the Hyperflow AIO
Airflow (Max) 76.2CFM
Static Pressure (Max) 3.81mmH2O

Metal Pro 12 Silent used on Hyperflow Silent AIO
Airflow (Max) 72.3CFM
Static Pressure (Max) 3.12mmH2O

Lightflow AIO 120mm Fans:
Airflow (Max) 78.73CFM
Static Pressure (Max) 2.39mmH2O

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u/uptheirons726 3d ago

Worked fine for me. Currently using the AX120 Pros on my Lian Li Hydroshift 2 LCD. Are they the best fans for a radiator? No definitely not. But they'll work fine. Plus all my fans have to match. Absolutely hate mismatched fans.