Page 4 - Conclusion
If Top Gun was not famous enough, its soundtrack was just as well-known as the movie itself. In fact, "Take My Breath Away" won multiple awards for Top Gun, including the Oscars and the Golden Globe. You could even say the song took the judges' breaths away. When it comes to the NZXT Aer F series, both of these fans are definitely good fans, but are they really award winning? In terms of build and design, NZXT has done a few things I really like. For one, the build quality is about as much as you can expect from fans, but small details like the tapered edges and thick rubber sleeves on the cables is great to see. In addition, the swappable color trims is a nice and cheaper way to coordinate your fans with the rest of your build, as the trims can be found for a relatively low price. The rubber pads in the screw mounts are also capable in reducing the vibrations when the fans are in motion. When it comes to performance though, both the Aer F120 and F140 performed well, but they were not necessarily outstanding. In our tests, both fans exhibited signs of being able to push an adequate amount of air through as I would expect, but the output was average. However, if there is one thing I think could have been improved upon, it would lie in the bearings. While they were not the noisiest of the bunch, they were not quiet either. The low noise adapters may have helped in this situation, but it also sacrificed overall performance, which is not a trade I want to make. In addition, these bearings are lacking in lifespan, especially when compared to fans of similar pricing. While six years is still a very good number to see, we have definitely seen longer lasting fans in our labs. At a retail price of around $18 and $20 USD for the 120mm fan and 140mm fan, respectively, these fans are also about what I would expect for pricing. In addition, they can be found for even cheaper per fan if you buy the two pack. To say these fans are award winning may be a bit of an overstatement, but NZXT has provided a decent set of case fans in the Aer F120 and F140.
NZXT provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH Review Focus Summary:
8/10 means Definitely a very good product with drawbacks that are not likely going to matter to the end user.
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks; but should be considered before purchasing.
-- Final APH Numeric Rating is 7.2/10
Please note that the APH Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other sites.
The NZXT Aer F may not take my breath away, but they are a capable and aesthetically customizable set of fans.
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Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware
3. Performance Tests
4. Conclusion
