Thermalright TL-C12C X3 120mm CPU Fan

I was a little concerned about the low price of the Thermalright fans. But after getting my first order of 3 fans I order 2 more packs of 3 for a total of 9 fans. (Not all going into my PC at once.)

The Thermalright TL-C12C-S X3 CPU Fan has significantly enhanced the cooling performance of my computer, and I’m thoroughly impressed with its features. The 120mm ARGB case cooler fan not only efficiently dissipates heat but also adds a touch of color to my system with its customizable RGB lighting.

The 4-pin PWM functionality allows for precise control over fan speed, and the silent operation ensures that my gaming or work sessions remain uninterrupted. They are not the quietest or strongest fans, but for a normal air cooled PC they are more than enough. Evan at 100% fan speed, I hear other computer noise over the fans.

With a maximum speed of 1550RPM, this fan effectively keeps my CPU temperatures in check, even during intense gaming sessions or resource-heavy tasks. The cooling performance is complemented by the eye-catching ARGB lighting, which adds a dynamic and visually appealing element to my PC build.

To begin with, these are the same fans that come with the Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE. I was so happy with my purchase of their CPU cooler, I turned to Thermalright to replace the case fans in my Rosewill S500.

Installation is very easy. Each fan comes with power and ARGB splitters, so I was able to daisy chain all 6 fans together (bought two 3 packs) without any issues. Also daisy chained the ARGB plug from the PA 120 SE and everything is synced up without issue. I have found absolutely no reason to purchase a fan hub at this time as the built in splitters did the job. I’m using an ROG B550-F GAMING motherboard, so was stuck with a single ARGB header but this was not an issue.

Hooked my fans to one of the system fan headers and adjusted my curves using Fan Control found on GitHub and played around with the RPMs. In terms of air flow, these guys DEFINITELY move air. With these fans at full blast along with the PA120SE, I got my 3700x with PBO enabled (+200 offset) running as low as 27°C at idle. With the original Rosewill case fans, the absolute lowest I saw was 31°C. A similar 5°C was seen when running at full load using a 3DMark CPU profile test. Again, this was at full blast. With fan curves adjusted to lower power and speed, the system is near silent. The water pump in my aquarium is louder than my system running under normal loads. Despite the silence, I still have lower temps than when I had the stock case fans.

Before purchase, I tried to find as much information I could on these fans and at best I could find a few reviewers comparing them to the Noctua NF-F12. While I have never used Noctuas and cannot speak from experience, I can only reiterate my system is nearly dead silent. Something to keep in mind is the sound will become noticable above 50% speed. If you need to run your fans at 100% for some reason, however, then you don’t have to worry about any whining or related sounds. Your PC will sound like it just has a bunch of air running through it, unlike when a GPU (in my case an EVGA 2080 Super BLACK) ramps up and sounds like a fighter jet taking off. At this time, my fans hover between 8% and 30% speed and I can’t hear them unless I really, really try. While watching videos or gaming? You’ll only realize they’re on due to the RGB lighting, and this is coming from a guy with his case 2 feet from his head. I haven’t noticed any resonance issues at this time. Even sliding power from 0-100%, I can’t say I’ve noticed any, so I’m very happy with that.

So, they are quiet and absolutely circulate air in your system. The bonus here is the fact these are also ARGB. At the time of this review, a three pack of these are a third of the price of a three pack of Arctic P12 ARGB fans. You can get 6 of these fans (two 3 packs) for the price of a single Noctua A12. Again, these are the same fans you’d find on Thermalright’s Peerless Assassin 120 SE and that’s a rather quiet and very effective CPU cooler. For now, these are an incredible value and the budget/value space appears to be where Thermalright is dominating right now. From my research, Thermalright used to be what Noctua is to PC fans today. Don’t sleep on these guys. I would not be surprised if more PC enthusiasts use these products when trying to maximize bang for buck performance.

If you need new case fans or are looking to fill in any extra 120mm fan spots in your case, grab these. I don’t care if I come off like a shill, but I am incredibly happy with my setup now. I’m looking to upgrade my CPU to a 5800x3D, and given the temps I’m seeing on my 3700x, I know I can count on these fans to handle that swap and future builds to come.

Quiet keeps everything cool

So this acts up with my gigabyte-b550-aorus-elite mobo. Had it only for a week and its showing signs of poor quality?!? Or maybe compatibility not sure. Thus the 3 stars!

Pros – it’s quiet and similar db as my cooler master case fans.
It has this weird flashing happening on one set of fans after my pc starts up and activates the argb via the mobo.
The argb effect is nice, works well.

I first thought it was a lose connection but turns out a pc restart solves the problem – well temporarily. It comes back occasionally.

Will monitor this and see if its a mobo or fan issue and go from there. But considering I bought this for 35 bucks on half price – they arent bad. Still expensive though considering the brand.

Not exceptionally loud, or exceptionally quiet. Noise level is fine. Totally acceptable noise level, and they seem to push air well enough. The ARGB is good and I am happy with their simplistic lighting effects. These fans are a perfect match for the Thermalright AIO coolers, if you are looking for a matching set.

All the plugs are able to piggyback…which is good for using them without a fan controller. One ARGB output and one case fan output on your motherboard is enough, or should be based on your build design, as you can stack several fans on just one ARGB output and one case fan output. I mention this as it is not very well described in the product description.

I don’t know if they will last very long. I have had fans last for years…and I have had fans die in a couple months. They seem OK and a great value so I am happy with them. They are simple, and how I want them to be.

sorprendido de la calidad, bonitos y baratos, ya llevo 2 kits , sin duda buenos.. no tienen gran velocidad pero son PST, y dan buen flujo de aire a pesar de que tengan la tapa cerca o el radiador, aire continuo eso es lo mejor