Best Aura Sync compatible case fans? (120 mm)

[Morgan MLGman]

So I'm looking to get one RGB 120mm fan for my case, I've got one free Aura RGB header on my motherboard and I've got extension cables so I'm looking to switch my rear exhaust case fan to something that could have its lighting controlled through ASUS Aura. My current Enermax Cluster Advance 120mm fan has an annoying buzzing noise coming out of it so I wanted to change it anyway.

Since ASUS's compatibility list website is not working right now ( https://www.asus.com/campaign/aura/us/Sync.html ), I found two fans that are Aura-compatible out-of-the-box:
http://www.coolermaster.com/cooling/case-fan/masterfan-pro-120-ab-rgb/

https://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/accessories/spectre-pro-rgb

Those two cost a similar amount of money. Now I've got questions:
1. Which one provides better airflow as a case fan and which one is quieter
2. Which one looks better with lighting (the CM ones seem a bit "poor" in terms of their lighting on videos)
3. Any other suggestions?
 

Bonus question: Are two 120mm Noctua NF-P12 fans a good replacement for stock Corsair H100i V2 radiator fans, or Be Quiet! Silent Wings 2 are a better pick? I can get them very at a very good price.
From Noctua's website:

Quote

The NF-P12 has been designed with more pressure demanding “high impedance” applications in mind. It provides an even balance of high static pressure, high airflow and excellent quietness, which has made it a standard choice for low noise CPU cooling, cases with tight fan grills and other low noise cooling applications with mid- to high airflow resistance.

 

Thanks in advance for your help!


EDIT: For those interested, I purchased a 3-pack of Thermaltake Riing RGB Sync Edition fans. A 3-pack of fans with necessary cabling included that syncs up with your ASUS AURA/MSI Mystic Light etc. setup. Good quality, good silence, good static pressure and nice RGB rings inside of the fans. Work great and are priced reasonably. It's important to choose the "Sync Edition" 3-pack because the standard one has a dedicated controller.

[Airdragonz]

Of the two case fans you linked, the bitfenix has better airflow. I can't speak for the lighting as for I do not own either of the fans. 

As for your bonus, yes and no. Yes they are OK fans, but due to less static pressure than the stock radiator fans, you will see slightly higher temps. 

[Morgan MLGman]

3 minutes ago, Airdragonz said:

As for your bonus, yes and no. Yes they are OK fans, but due to less static pressure than the stock radiator fans, you will see slightly higher temps. 

1

Thanks!
What if I left those stock H100i V2 fans as Pull in a Push/Pull configuration, just ran them at a relatively low RPM to maintain silence? Would that help with temps or is it not even worth the hassle?

[Nazim Pasa]

H100i fans and NF-F12 will perform similarly but NF-F12 will be much quieter. If you can buy it I would suggest. Also this guy tested them too: 

 

 

[Morgan MLGman]

4 minutes ago, Nazim Pasa said:

SNIP

 

Well, the problem is I can buy the NF-P12, not the NF-F12 fans

If they were NF-F12's then I wouldn't have to ask

[Nazim Pasa]

Oh, my bad. Sorry.  I think it would affect the temperatures very little but it will be quieter. Everyone i knew with 240 mm Corsair coolers say it is too loud. I think the quietness (?) of PC is very important so I would change. 

[TVwazhere]

As of right now, those two fans are the only ones I'm aware of that are AURA sunc compatible. They do, however, make RGB grills that go over the fans that give some lighting, like this one form silverstone and this one from phanteks,which in some ways are better since you dont need to buy an otherwise mediocre fan and can use something like a Noctua (I'd recommend something white like a noise blocker for the HALO RGB fans. Since the blades are white, it makes the color stand out better)

 

[Marinatall_Ironside]

Have you looked at Corsair's ML120 fans (not the RGB ones). I run a twin pack set of ML120's on my (admittedly crappy CLC) Cooler Master MasterLiquid Pro 240 (1st-gen), and they're remarkably good. They have a huge range (400-2400 RPM), which lets you tune the fan speed to anything you want. Personally I run them at a silent RPM.

 

The advantage they have is their very high static pressure, which measures in at 4.2mm H2O at the highest RPM, plus for airflow, they move 79 CFM at the same maximum RPM. For the lowest RPM, that's 0.2mm H2O while moving 12 CFM.

 

For noise, you're looking at 16 dBA to 37 dBA.

 

For AURA Sync compatibility, the Phanteks frames that @TVwazhere mentioned are pretty good. If I were to go for RGB for my fans, that's what I would go for, as I want to get the best performing fans without any LEDs, then slap those on top of them. But personally, for me, I'd rather have no LEDs.

[Morgan MLGman]

24 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

As of right now, those two fans are the only ones I'm aware of that are AURA sunc compatible. They do, however, make RGB grills that go over the fans that give some lighting, like this one form silverstone and this one from phanteks,which in some ways are better since you dont need to buy an otherwise mediocre fan and can use something like a Noctua (I'd recommend something white like a noise blocker for the HALO RGB fans. Since the blades are white, it makes the color stand out better)

 

I thought about it today, sadly for the Phanteks one I'd need to buy another Phanteks RGB adapter that I literally bought a few days ago for my case LEDs and my LED strip
The Silverstone one works with Aura out-of-the-box I think. It has a different look though... If I went this route, I'd probably use it with something like Be Quiet Pure Wings 2 since they're dirt cheap and the RGB grills cost as much as a whole Cooler Master Masterfan Pro RGB fan

25 minutes ago, JurunceNK said:

Have you looked at Corsair's ML120 fans (not the RGB ones). I run a twin pack set of ML120's on my (admittedly crappy CLC) Cooler Master MasterLiquid Pro 240 (1st-gen), and they're remarkably good. They have a huge range (400-2400 RPM), which lets you tune the fan speed to anything you want. Personally I run them at a silent RPM.

 

The advantage they have is their very high static pressure, which measures in at 4.2mm H2O at the highest RPM, plus for airflow, they move 79 CFM at the same maximum RPM. For the lowest RPM, that's 0.2mm H2O while moving 12 CFM.

 

For noise, you're looking at 16 dBA to 37 dBA.

 

For AURA Sync compatibility, the Phanteks frames that @TVwazhere mentioned are pretty good. If I were to go for RGB for my fans, that's what I would go for, as I want to get the best performing fans without any LEDs, then slap those on top of them. But personally, for me, I'd rather have no LEDs.

One Corsair ML120 costs a bit more than a Be Quiet! Silent Wings 3, is it even better? That said, I can get two Noctuas NF-P12 for the price of one ML120 right now, it just seems like a too good deal to pass on, do you think they're good-enough for radiators?

[Marinatall_Ironside]

9 minutes ago, Morgan MLGman said:

I thought about it today, sadly for the Phanteks one I'd need to buy another Phanteks RGB adapter that I literally bought a few days ago for my case LEDs and my LED strip
The Silverstone one works with Aura out-of-the-box I think. It has a different look though... If I went this route, I'd probably use it with something like Be Quiet Pure Wings 2 since they're dirt cheap and the RGB grills cost as much as a whole Cooler Master Masterfan Pro RGB fan

One Corsair ML120 costs a bit more than a Be Quiet! Silent Wings 3, is it even better? That said, I can get two Noctuas NF-P12 for the price of one ML120 right now, it just seems like a too good deal to pass on, do you think they're good-enough for radiators?

What I meant are the twin pack ones. I bought those because each fan in a twin pack is like USD $17.49, which adds up to USD $34.99 for a box of two. Compare that to USD $24.99 for one ML120 Pro (which adds up to USD $49.98 for two Pro fans).

 

They're excellent on radiators. I use them on my CLC cooler.

[WoodenMarker]

SW2's and NF-P12's should be similar on a H100i v2 and either would sacrifice a bit of performance over the stock fans. They'll be much quieter though. https://www.anandtech.com/show/6391/120mm-radiator-fan-roundup-part-2-fan-harder/6

Go with the cheaper of the two or the NF-P12 for the longer warranty. If you can get a hold of pwm NF-P12's, go with them instead. 

 

If the RGB variants aren't much different than their non-RGB counterparts, the Spectre Pros perform better while the Masterfan Pros are quieter. 

 

For low rpm, SW3's are better than ML Pros. 

http://thermalbench.com/2016/10/21/be-quiet-silent-wings-3-120-mm-high-speed-fan/3/

The rad tested here has much lower fpi than the H100i v2 and I suspect that would make the difference between low vs high rpm more pronounced.

[Morgan MLGman]

18 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

SW2's and NF-P12's should be similar on a H100i v2 and either would sacrifice a bit of performance over the stock fans. They'll be much quieter though. https://www.anandtech.com/show/6391/120mm-radiator-fan-roundup-part-2-fan-harder/6

Go with the cheaper of the two or the NF-P12 for the longer warranty. If you can get a hold of pwm NF-P12's, go with them instead. 

 

If the RGB variants aren't much different than their non-RGB counterparts, the Spectre Pros perform better while the Masterfan Pros are quieter. 

 

For low rpm, SW3's are better than ML Pros. 

http://thermalbench.com/2016/10/21/be-quiet-silent-wings-3-120-mm-high-speed-fan/3/

The rad tested here has much lower fpi than the H100i v2 and I suspect that would make the difference between low vs high rpm more pronounced.

Thank you VERY much for that advice! Really appreciate it as this is exactly what I needed to know