Best PC fans 2025

Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM

Best PC fan overall

Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM specifications:

Noctua is the biggest name in PC fans for a reason, with its products consistently being among the best built, most reliable, and best performing you can buy. Of its vast range of options, the Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM is the go-to choice for anyone seeking a general use fan for general PC case airflow and attaching to CPU coolers – both air coolers and water cooling radiators as found on the best AIO coolers.

This standard 25mm-thick, 120x120mm fan can deliver up to 60CFM of airflow at just 22.6dB, which is whisper quiet. There are quieter fans out there, as well as higher airflow ones but few can match the balance of performance here, and especially not while delivering such an ideal balance of high static pressure and airflow.

This fan also ships with a low-noise adapter that you can fit to the cable to reduce the maximum fan speed from 2,000rpm to 1,700rpm, with speed otherwise controlled via PWM control from your motherboard or other fan controllers. Each fan also comes with a massive six-year warranty for peace of mind.

There are just two downsides to this fan. One is the fairly high price. For a basic, non-RGB fan, $35 a piece makes these among the most expensive fans of their type, even if the price is justified with their supreme build quality. Meanwhile, perhaps even more of a downside for some builds is that they're only available in a plain black or the brown and beige shown here, so aren't a good match for a white case, for instance.

Be quiet! Silent Wings 4

Best quiet PC fan

Be quiet! Silent Wings 4 specifications:

If you're after the ultimate low-noise PC fan, look no further than the Be Quiet! Silent Wings 4. These fans are entirely optimised to be as quiet as possible, with integrated rubber mounts minimising vibrations being passed on to your case and a 6-pole motor with fluid-dynamic bearing provide smooth operation. The result is a peak noise level of just 18.9dB at 100% speed.

While that is incredibly quiet – it's truly class-leading – this silence does come somewhat at the expense of high airflow. With a peak spin speed of 1,600rpm and a maximum airflow of 47.8cfm, this isn't a fan for pumping large volumes of air. However, it does have good static pressure so is well suited for use with CPU coolers and is an ideal partner for a large water cooling radiator where several of these fans spinning slowly is plenty to push the heat away.

This isn't an RGB fan but, unlike the Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM, it is available in white as well as black so is a good choice for a color-matching but unobtrusive fan for your typical black or white colors used by most of the best PC case options. Using a few of these for a roof-mounted radiator while spending big on RGB fans for the more visible parts of your gaming PC is a sensible approach.

These are quite pricey options for a non-RGB fan but are still quiet a bit cheaper than the Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM, at around $26 a piece. You miss out on the low noise adapter and six-year warranty (it's just five years here) but these are still decent compromises for a fan of this quality.

Corsair LL120 RGB

Best RGB PC fan

Corsair LL120 RGB specifications:

If you're looking for an RGB light show in your gaming PC, look no further than the Corsair LL120 RGB for your choice of case fan. These fans pack in 16 LEDs each, with four in the fins and 12 around the rim of the fan. These combine for a really striking light show that can be controlled via Corsair's iCUE software, if using the right motherboard or fan controller.

One thing these fans don't particularly claim is to be silent, with a max noise level of 36dB. However, that's when they're spinning at 2,200rpm, which is higher than the likes of the Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM and you're getting a higher airflow too, of 63cfm. Plus, with full PWM speed control, you can easily tailor these to run slower and quieter if needs be.

What's more, while these aren't exactly cheap fans, at around $25 each, they're great value for the amount of RGB you get. They might not be the ultimate seen-and-not-heard fan option but if lighting is a higher priority than total silence, they're the ones to go for.

Arctic P12 PWM

Best budget PC fan

Arctic P12 PWM specifications:

The Arctic P12 PWM are the ultimate budget PC fan. At just $9.49 each, they're far cheaper than most known-brand alternatives yet you're still getting the trusted name of PC cooling stalwart, Arctic, and these come with a massive six year warranty.

Otherwise, these are quite basic fans, with no RGB and no PWM speed control, with this fan using just a 3-pin connector. You can still control speed by simply lowering the voltage to the fan (via your motherboard or other fan controller) but this tends to be not as easy to setup as PWM control.

With 56.3cfm of airflow, these fans are plenty power, though at that full speed they are fairly noisy, with Arctic rating them at 0.3 sone, which is roughly the equivalent of 35dB. They're also not particularly high static pressure so aren't the most optimized for really forcing air through CPu coolers and radiator grills.

Still, if you grab yourself a little fan controller like this one and a handful of these fans, you'll have a cool and decently quiet setup for a fraction of the cost of other fans.

Lian Li Uni Fan TL120 LCD Wireless

Best daisy-chain PC fan

Lian Li Uni Fan TL120 LCD Wireless specifications:

If you're looking for simply the ultimate fan of all right now, the Lian Li Uni Fan TL120 LCD Wireless is it. These incredible fans offer the easy fitting of a daisy-chain system whereby the fans simply clip together to pass their power and signal on to the next fan, but that's just the start of it.

Not only are these daisy-chain fans (part of Lian Li's Uni Fan system) but they can be connected with a wireless USB dongle. You just need a power connector to get started. The really standout feature of these fans, though, is the LCD display that sits in the middle of each fan. This can be programmed to show system information or whatever image you want.

You also get RGB lighting incorporated into the frame of the fan, and the fan casing has a really striking design that looks amazing in modern cases with lots of glass panels and a clear view inside.

As for performance, these are solid options with a decently high maximum airflow rate of 62cfm while only making 27dB of noise. Really, the only downside here is the high cost of these fans, with the priced at $150 for three or $61 each.

Noctua NF-A12x15

Best slim PC fan

Noctua NF-A12x15 specifications:

The Noctua NF-A12x15 looks as though someone accidentally sat on an NF-A12x25, flattening it to give it a low profile. Regardless of how it got so slim, being just 15mm thick makes it ideal for small form factor (SFF) cases and CPU coolers when there isn't a lot of clearance.

For its size, it's pretty speedy at 1,850 RPM. The 23.9dBA noise level really isn't anything to scoff at, but you have the choice to lower this to a near-inaudible 16.8dBA if you use the low noise adapter it comes bundled with – just be prepared to sacrifice some airflow in the process. And, as with all Noctua equipment, you'll get anti-vibration mounts to cement its silence.

Be Quiet! Silent Wings 4 high speed

Best high airflow PC fan

Be Quiet! Silent Wings 4 high speed specifications:

For gaming PC builders that just want to ensure they can get absolutely masses of cooling power when required – something has to get rid of that 600W of RTX 5090 heat – the Be Quiet! Silent Wings 4 high speed is the ideal fan. While it can still deliver reasonably quiet performance with decent static pressure at lower speeds, when cranked up it can deliver best in class amounts of airflow.

At its peak speed of 2,500rpm, it does get noticeably loud, but it's still quieter than the Corsair LL120, for instance, while delivering 14cfm (24%) more airflow. That's at least in part down to the use of integrated rubber mounts for the fan that isolate vibration.

If you're looking for RGB, easy daisy chain connections, or sleek styling, these are the fans for you, but if you simply need raw performance when it counts, they're our top pick.