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I recently picked up a bunch of Thermalright fans for a new PC build, specifically the TL-G12 (120mm) and the TL-C14 (140mm). At the time, they were pretty inexpensive, and the promise of fluid dynamic bearings (FDB) along with PWM control sounded like a great deal on paper, so I bought quite a few of each. In this article and related video I go into detail about their installation and use.  Boxes for the Thermalright TL-G12 and TL-C14 fans. Specifications listed on the TL-G12 fan box. Specifications for the 120mm TL-G12: Speed: 1500 RPM (+/- 10%) Noise: Rated 23.6 dBA or greater. Airflow: Up to 62.6 CFM Connector: 4-pin PWM with a daisy-chain feature. Extras: Includes rubber pads on the corners for vibration dampening and standard case screws. One thing I noticed on the G12 frame is the lack of an airflow direction indicator, but it's a standard fan design, so it's easy enough to figure out. Specifications shown on the TL-C14 fan documentation. Specifications of the 140 mm TL-...

The new computer is alive! It's up and running, and basically fully functional. I've got Windows 11 installed, and I'm even using OBS on it to record the video related to this article. Coming from older hardware circa 2015 or 2016, this thing is fast. There are a few things I want to talk about, some adjustments I made, and some challenges I faced along the way. Heatsink Decisions and Thermal Mass I was initially planning to do some testing with a smaller Thermalright heatsink. But, in the end, I prioritized finishing the build. The reality is, when you're comparing a 90mm heatsink to a 120mm one, the larger one simply has more thermal mass. The larger heatsink installed. I was only able to attach one of the 120mm fans. For a CPU like the AMD Ryzen 9900x, that extra thermal mass should help avoid throttling as much. I wasn't able to fit two fans on the larger heatsink due to placement issues. I might try to attach another fan eventually, but for now, the single 120m...