ID-Cooling DF-12025-RGB Case Fans Review - Performance + Aesthetics

With the vast availability of case fans out there with most of them boasting RGB illumination and a ton of lighting effects, sometimes performance is being overlooked over aesthetics. That’s not the case with the ID-Cooling DF-12025-RGB Case Fans that we’re going to take a look at today.

These case fans at least on paper should provide decent performance, being a high static pressure fan with up to 2000RPM speed and 56.5 CFM of airflow, it should be able to provide enough airflow even in tight spaces like small form factor cases and radiators.

RGB illumination and lighting effects on these case fans is already a given benefit, but today, we’re also going to find out if there’s a significant improvement in terms of thermals when we compare this to a generic or cheaper case fan.

MY EARLY BREAKDOWN

Pros: Affordable, Decent build quality, Aesthetically pleasing, Motherboard sync, Decent performance

Cons: Nothing significant

SPECIFICATIONS

Fan Dimensions: 120x120x25mm

Rated Speed: 900-2000 RPM

Rated Voltage: 12V DC

Current: 0.25A

Rated Power: 3W

Max. Air Flow: 56.5 CFM

Max. Static Pressure: 1.99mmH20

Noise: 16.2-31.5dB(A)

WHAT’S IN THE PACKAGE

RGB Fans X3, Remote Controller X1
Remote Receiver X1
Case Mounting Screws X12
Radiator Fan Screws X12
RGB 1-4 Splitter X1
Male-male Extension Adapter X1
1-3 Fan Power Adapter X 1
RGB Control Setup Guide

Inside the box, we have the RGB control setup guide

A remote control.

The RGB controller powered with a SATA connector.

A 1 to 4 RGB splitter with silicone protection on the connectors which is a very nice touch.

We also have the fan splitter wherein you can connect up to 3 case fans.

Mounting screws, a lot of them including screws for radiators.

And lastly, a single male to male RGB adapter.

FULL REVIEW

Design and Construction

These fans look very good compared to most cheap case fans out there, It also has a decent build quality.

At the center, we have the ID-Cooling logo as well as it’s manufacturing date. We also have at the center its specifications, and on each corner, it has the built-in anti-vibration rubber. The cables are not braided but at least they are colored black.

At the other side, we have a better view of this gorgeous case fan, we have the ID-Cooling logo again on the center and the fan blades look pretty nice.

Looking closer at its cables, we have the RGB connector which you should connect to the included RGB splitter, and the other one is the 4 pin fan connector that you should connect to the included fan splitter.

Lighting Modes Using Controller

Now, let’s discuss the different lighting modes of these case fans. The one I have here is the RGB Trio which is only compatible with 4-pin 12V RGB headers, ID-Cooling recently released a new version of this which has addressable LEDs and is compatible with 3 pin addressable RGB headers. I went for this old version since my motherboard only has 4 pin RGB headers. Both versions are basically identical in terms of specifications aside from the RGB compatibility and lighting effects. So make sure to check your motherboard before getting any of the two.

In terms of lighting modes using the remote, we have 22 different dynamic lighting modes. With regards to the static colors, we have 20 different static colors.

Aside from the 20 different static colors that you can cycle, you also have the standard 7 RGB colors that you can press instantly using the remote. You can also adjust the speed and brightness using the remote if you want.

You can watch the video version of this review at the end of this article to see all of the effects.

Lighting Modes by Syncing with Motherboard

The lighting modes will heavily depend on your motherboard’s software so in my case, I have the MSI Mystic Light, using the software we have the color cycle, breathing cycle, flashing cycle, breathing, flashing, double flashing, steady, CPU temperature, random, music sync and default.

Now the advantage of the software is that you can set your own color using the palette and that you can also sync the RGB lighting to your music. However, there’s no option here to change the speed and brightness which you can do using the remote. So you just have to choose between motherboard sync or using the remote depending on your preference. Again your mileage may vary depending on your motherboard’s software.

Performance

In terms of performance, these are high performing case fans that use 2 ball bearings and is up to 2000RPM, it is also relatively silent at around 16 to 31 decibels and is capable of pushing air up to 56.5 CFM. These are also high static fans that have a max static pressure of around 1.99mmH20. This means it can be used as a standard case fan or with a radiator. Having a high static pressure, fast RPM and decent airflow, allow it to push air even on tight spaces making this a good all-around performing fans.

Just a quick reminder when doing the wirings, make sure to properly align the 12V connector to the arrow. Same goes with connecting the RGB splitters and connecting it to your motherboard’s 12V header.

The Kingbao case fans that I currently use can only run up to 1300RPM while the DF12025 can run up to 2000rpm. I did these tests with all the fans running at maximum speed. Do note though that I have 6 case fans on my PC and only 3 of those were replaced with the DF12025 because I didn’t have enough budget to buy 6.

For our testing, I ran the built-in benchmark of Assasins’ Creed Origin so that we can replicate it with the new case fans.

So with the old Kingbao case fans, the temperature on our processor is around 36 degrees at the minimum and 50 degrees at max.

While our graphics card’s temperature is around 36 degrees at the minimum and 71 degrees at max.

Now, with three out of six fans replaced with DF12025, our processor’s temperature is around 33 degrees at the minimum and 49 degrees at max.

While our graphics card’s temperature is around 33 degrees at the minimum and 67 degrees max.

As you can see, there’s a significant improvement on our temps even if just three case fans were replaced with the much better DF12025. I wonder how it will fair if we have a total of 6 DF12025s here, maybe in the future.

id cooling df-12025-rgb case fans review

VERDICT

To conclude, the DF12025 case fans are certainly a good investment for your PC builds. It has a very good performance, decent build quality and a ton of RGB lighting modes. The illumination of the LEDs are also very nice and smooth and the overall look is very pleasing. There’s really not many negative things to say about this, in fact, if you search on our local PC building community, this has been hailed as the best bang for the buck case fans alongside the SF-12025 from ID-Cooling as well.