Introduction
ADATA XPG sent us three (3) of their recent(ish) XPG VENTO PRO 120 PWM fans for us to try. The ADATA XPG VENTO PRO 120 is a collaboration between XPG and Nidec to bring a high-static, low-noise fan to the market. Those of us who’ve been around for some time might see some similarities to a well-regarded fan from 10+ years ago, the Scythe Gentle Typhoon. The similarities are greater than just aesthetic, as Nidec was the designer and manufacturer of the unique series in collaboration with Scythe. Because the original version of this fan appeared in 2008, Nidec has continued to fabricate and upgrade its design, resulting in what we have now in our hands now, the ADATA XPG VENTO PRO 120 PWM.
ADATA XPG VENTO PRO 120 PWM Features & Packaging
XPG lists the VENTO PRO as having a maximum Air Flow of 75 CFM, a maximum Static pressure of three.15 mmH20, and a Noise Level from a maximum of 28 dBA to an astonishingly low 10 dBA. Whenever you take a take a look at this fan in comparison with its first-generation predecessor, it isn’t hard to see where its inspiration comes from.
Performance Testing
For testing, we’re using our MSI MAG CORELIQUID I360 AIO CPU Cooler that we reviewed in October 2024, as our CPU cooler and radiator. There are not any shortages of high-end fans available on the market; nonetheless, the intent of this review is to see how the XPG VENTO PROs stack as much as the fans that include an AIO cooler, so we might be comparing them to the stock fans. So how do the stock MSI fans compare to the XPG VENTO’s?
The very first thing to notice is that the VENTO’s have the next maximum listed CFM of 75 CFM vs. the 70.7 CFM rating provided by MSI. Unfortunately, we’re unable to check static pressure between the 2 fans as MSI doesn’t list any rating; nonetheless, XPG lists the utmost static pressure at 3.15 mmH20.
It’s an analogous story when searching for sound data; MSI has no rating listed, and XPG gives a variety of 10-28 dBA (Depending in your speed). In the case of sound, at full speed, the XPG fans gave the impression to be quieter than the MSI fans; nonetheless, that is extremely subjective and has many aspects going for it.
The last point of comparison we would like to go to is maximum power draw. That is where the XPG really shines; it has a rated current of 0.16 Amps, giving a maximum wattage of two.2 Watts, while MSI has a maximum wattage of three.6, with an ordinary power draw of two.4 Watts per fan.
With the specification of every fan compared, how do they really compare in real-world testing? For testing, we ran CineBench R23 on max cores for 20 minutes, and logged temperature readings every 0.5 seconds with the newest HWiNFO.
From this data, we removed the primary and last minute to remove any artificially low temperatures as a consequence of starting the run or ending it. This enables us to take the typical of an 18-minute test run and compare the ends in the tables above.
We expected the XPGs to come back out ahead on all testing, but this was not the case. At 1,600 RPM and above, it was the winner; nonetheless, at 1,000 RPM, it lost (barely) to the stock fans, and once we tried to go lower to 600 RPM, the fans wouldn’t run, whereas the stock fans did.
Conclusion
Our testing of the ADATA XPG VENTO PRO 120 PWM led us to some somewhat surprising results. Since we had some experience with the older Gentle Typhoon fans these are based on, we expected these fans to simply beat stock fans. What we didn’t expect was that stock fans have really improved over the past 10-15 years.
At 1,600 RPM and above, we saw a 2°C drop in temperature in testing; nonetheless, on the lower speeds where we expected the blade design of the XPG to excel, the fans struggled to even match the stock fans. Outside of the equal performance with stock fans at 1,000 RPM speeds, there may be nothing we found to dislike about these fans. They’re thoroughly made, are about as easy as you’ll be able to expect from a fan to put in, and most significantly, they gave the impression to be quieter than stock in our testing.
These fans may be found for $25.99 from ADATA’s XPG storefront, after they are in stock, and supply good bang to your buck compared to the usual stock fans.