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How to pick fans, coolers, and lighting

Fans, air coolers, liquid coolers, and RGB and LCD lighting explained: what CFM and static pressure actually mean, why ARGB and RGB headers are not interchangeable, what screen fans cost, and how to light a build without locking yourself into three fighting applications.

The short version

Pick the cooler for the processor's wattage, pick the fans for where they mount, then pick one lighting ecosystem and stay inside it, because mixing three of them is what makes a build look accidental.

Cooling and lighting used to be two separate shopping trips and now are usually the same one. That is fine, as long as the order holds: the fan has to move air first and carry the look second. A fan chosen only for its face will be the reason the machine is loud.

The good news is that this is the cheapest part of a build to get right, and the part where careful choices show the most. A hundred dollars of well planned fans changes how a machine looks and sounds far more than a hundred dollars anywhere else on the parts list.

How to pick

Answer these, in this order.

Each question narrows the field. By the last one there is usually only one sensible answer left, and it is often cheaper than where you started.

  1. How many watts does your processor actually pull under load?

    This sets the cooler, and nothing else does. A 65 W part is comfortable on a modest tower cooler. A 120 to 170 W part wants a large dual tower or a 240 mm radiator. Anything above that, or a chip you intend to push, wants 360 mm. Buying more cooler than the wattage needs does not make the machine faster, it makes it quieter, which is a legitimate reason on its own.

  2. Is this fan mounting in open air or through a radiator?

    Open case positions want airflow, measured in CFM. Anything pushing through a radiator, a dense filter, or a heatsink wants static pressure, measured in millimetres of water. A high CFM fan with poor static pressure sounds impressive and moves very little air through a 38 mm radiator, which is the single most common fan buying mistake.

  3. Which lighting standard does your motherboard have?

    Addressable ARGB is a 3-pin 5 V header and plain RGB is a 4-pin 12 V header, and they are not interchangeable. The 4-pin connector will physically fit onto a 3-pin header if you force it, and doing so puts 12 V through 5 V parts and destroys them. Check the header before the first cable goes in, every time.

  4. How many lighting applications are you prepared to run?

    The honest answer should be one. Every vendor ships software that wants to own all the lighting in the machine, and two of them installed together produce flickering, fighting, and a start-up folder full of processes. Pick one ecosystem, buy the fans and the strips inside it, and accept that as a real constraint on the parts list.

  5. Will anyone actually see the side of this machine?

    If the tower lives in a footwell, every dollar spent on lighting is a dollar that bought nothing, and unlit fans are usually better air movers at the same price. If it sits on the desk beside the monitor, the opposite is true and the lighting is a meaningful part of what you get for the money.

The ladder

Cooling and lighting by tier, top to bottom.

Every tier here is a real answer for a real person. Lineup reviewed September 2026. Prices shown are launch MSRP, which is a fixed fact. Street prices move, so every product links to a live search.

Halo

Screens in the fans

A small display in the hub of every fan, running artwork, temperatures, or an animation across a row. This is the tier behind most of the themed builds that go past on a feed, and it is a real cost rather than a finishing touch.

Who it is for
The build has a theme, the case has a glass side, and the fans are the artwork rather than a part you happen to see.
The tradeoff
Three of them cost more than a graphics card tier step, and any screen facing a radiator or the back of the case is money spent where nobody will look.

Lian Li

UNI FAN TL LCD FLEX

Halo

A 1.8 inch 400 by 400 screen in the hub of a fan that is still a genuinely good fan, with liquid crystal polymer blades and 2600 RPM on tap. Each screen holds its own images in onboard memory, so a row of three can run artwork, temperatures, or an animation without a cable to every hub. This is the part behind most of the themed builds you have seen scrolling past.

Best for
A themed build where the fans are the artwork rather than a component you happen to see.
Watch out
Three of them cost more than a decent graphics card tier step, they need the vendor software running to show anything custom, and screens facing into a radiator or out the back of the case are money spent on something nobody will look at. Point them at the glass or do not buy them.
Screen
1.8 inch, 400 x 400, 60 Hz
Sold as
Single fan; a three-pack with the controller costs less per fan
Onboard memory
512 MB per fan
Max speed
2600 RPM
Airflow
Up to 90.1 CFM
Control
Wireless, USB, or motherboard PWM and ARGB
Enthusiast

The best of one job, not both

Either a 360 mm liquid cooler with a display on the pump block, or a thick static pressure fan with no lighting at all. Two opposite answers, and which one is right depends entirely on whether anyone is going to see inside the case.

Who it is for
You have a high wattage processor and a clear opinion about whether this machine is meant to be looked at.
The tradeoff
The screen version pays a real premium over identical cooling performance. The silent version looks like nothing at all.

NZXT

Kraken Elite 360 RGB

Enthusiast

A 360 mm liquid cooler with a round display on the pump block, which is the other place a build puts a screen. Cooling performance is solidly in the front rank of 360 mm units, and the display is the one that sits at eye level in a side panel view rather than edge on.

Best for
A high wattage processor in a showcase case where the pump block is visible through the glass.
Watch out
You are paying a real premium over an identically performing cooler without the screen, and the screen needs the vendor software running at all times. Check your top clearance too: a 360 mm radiator plus fans is thicker than most people plan for.
Radiator
360 mm
Display
Round LCD on the pump block
Fans
3x 120 mm RGB
Best paired with
High wattage desktop processors

Phanteks

T30-120

Enthusiast

A 30 mm thick fan built for static pressure through a radiator, with a hardware switch for performance, advanced, and hybrid modes. It is the fan people buy when the goal is a quiet machine that never throttles, and it has no lighting at all, which is the entire point.

Best for
A blackout build, or any radiator where noise at load matters more than the light show.
Watch out
It is 30 mm thick rather than 25 mm, so it will not fit every top mount, and it costs about what an RGB fan costs while looking like nothing. If the build is meant to be seen, this is the wrong fan.
Thickness
30 mm
Modes
Hardware switch: performance, advanced, hybrid
Lighting
None
Built for
Static pressure through radiators
Midrange

Where the sensible money goes

A thick radiator that beats coolers twice its price, or the interlocking fans that make a clean fan wall a single afternoon rather than a cable management project. Most builds should buy from this row.

Who it is for
You want the cooling handled properly and either a tidy lit build or no lighting at all, without paying for a screen.
The tradeoff
Industrial looks on one, a lifetime commitment to one vendor's software on the other.

ARCTIC

Liquid Freezer III 360

Midrange

A thicker than standard radiator and a small fan blowing across the voltage regulators next to the socket, for roughly half the price of the coolers it beats. It is the least glamorous recommendation on this page and it is also the one most builds should take.

Best for
Anyone who wants top tier cooling numbers and would rather spend the difference on the graphics card.
Watch out
The radiator is 38 mm thick, so measure the top of your case before you commit. The tubing is stiff and the aesthetic is industrial, and the ARGB version costs more without changing a single degree.
Radiator
360 mm, 38 mm thick
Extra
VRM fan on the pump block
Lighting
Optional ARGB version
Best paired with
Anything up to the top of the desktop range

Lian Li

UNI FAN SL-Infinity

Midrange

The interlocking fan that made fan walls easy: each fan clips to the next and one cable leaves the group, so a nine fan build has three cables instead of eighteen. The infinity mirror effect on both faces means it still looks deliberate when it is mounted facing away from you.

Best for
A dual chamber showcase case where a wall of matching fans is the whole design.
Watch out
It locks you into one vendor's controller and software for the rest of the build, and mixing it with another brand's lighting means two applications fighting over the same light show. As a pure air mover it is good rather than exceptional.
Size
120 mm and 140 mm
Daisy chain
Yes, one cable per group
Lighting
Both faces, infinity mirror
Control
Vendor controller plus software
Value

Air, and nothing to go wrong

A dual tower air cooler within a few degrees of liquid coolers costing five times as much, with no pump to fail and no fluid to leak. The unglamorous answer that a lot of quiet, reliable machines should be built around.

Who it is for
The machine should be quiet and last a decade, and nobody is going to be looking inside it.
The tradeoff
It is a large black slab across the top of the board. It hides the memory and blocks the view in a glass case.

Thermalright

Peerless Assassin 120 SE

Value

Two towers, six heat pipes, and a price that reads like a typing error. It cools within a few degrees of liquid coolers that cost five times as much, it cannot leak, and it will still be working in ten years because there is no pump in it to fail.

Best for
A build that should be quiet and reliable, where nobody is going to be looking inside the case.
Watch out
It is a large black slab that covers the top of the motherboard, so it hides the memory lighting and blocks the view in a glass case. Check RAM height clearance, and check that your case is tall enough before you order.
Type
Dual tower air cooler
Heat pipes
6
Fans
2x 120 mm
Lighting
None
Budget

Airflow, five at a time

Plain unlit fans bought in a pack to fix a case that does not breathe. This is the highest return per dollar anywhere in a build, and it is the thing most budget machines are actually missing.

Who it is for
A budget build that runs hot, or intake positions that will never be visible.
The tradeoff
No lighting, no hub, and a nest of cables behind the tray if you buy a lot of them.

ARCTIC

P12 PWM PST

Budget

The fan you buy five of when the case needs airflow and the build does not need a light show. It is a competent static pressure fan for a few dollars each, and a set of them fixes a badly ventilated case for less than the cost of one lit fan.

Best for
Fixing airflow in a budget build, or filling intake positions nobody will ever see.
Watch out
No lighting and no daisy chain hub, so a wall of them is a nest of cables behind the tray. They are also audible at full speed, which matters if the case has no fan curve set.
Size
120 mm
Control
PWM with sharing on one header
Lighting
None
Sold as
Single or five pack

Affiliate disclosure. As an Amazon Associate, Lake Effect Rigs earns from qualifying purchases. These links may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

Air against liquid, decided plainly

A good dual tower air cooler and a 360 mm liquid cooler land within a few degrees of each other on most processors. The decision is not really about performance, it is about where the heat is dumped, how the build looks, and what can fail.

Air has no pump, so it has no part that can stop. It is also a large object in the middle of the case that hides the memory and blocks the view. Liquid moves the heat to a radiator at the edge of the case, opens up the view around the socket, and adds a pump that will eventually wear out.

Neither is the enthusiast answer. A quiet, reliable machine that nobody looks inside is very well served by air, and there is no shame in it.

Dual tower air360 mm liquid
Cooling at the top of the desktop rangeWithin a few degreesWithin a few degrees
Parts that can failA fanA fan and a pump
View around the socketBlockedClear
Clearance to checkCooler height, RAM heightRadiator position and thickness
Typical costLowestTwo to four times more

What the numbers on a fan box mean

CFM is cubic feet per minute, the volume of air moved with nothing in the way. Static pressure, given in millimetres of water, is how hard the fan can push against resistance. A fan optimised for one is usually mediocre at the other, and the box will quote whichever number flatters it.

RPM is the speed, and it is the one to look at alongside the noise figure. A fan advertised at a very high CFM usually reaches it at a speed nobody would run in a room they sit in. Compare fans at a speed you would actually use, not at their maximum.

Noise in dBA is measured in a lab at a fixed distance and is only useful for comparing fans from the same manufacturer. Across brands it is nearly meaningless, because the test conditions are not shared.

PositionOptimise forWhy
Open case intakeAirflow, CFMNothing is in the way, so volume is the job
Radiator or heatsinkStatic pressureDense fins resist air, and volume figures collapse
Dust filtered intakeStatic pressureA filter is resistance, and it gets worse as it loads
Rear or top exhaustEither, matched to intakeBalance matters more than the specification
Run slightly more intake than exhaust. Positive pressure means dust arrives through the filters instead of through every gap in the chassis.

Lighting, and the one mistake that costs real money

Addressable ARGB is a 3-pin connector at 5 V, where every diode can be a different colour. Plain RGB is a 4-pin connector at 12 V, where the whole strip is one colour at a time. The 4-pin plug will slot onto a 3-pin header if you push it, and doing so sends 12 V into 5 V electronics and kills them permanently. Look at the header, count the pins, and check the voltage printed next to it before anything is connected.

Beyond the wiring, the real decision is the ecosystem. Fan vendors, motherboard vendors, memory vendors, and cooler vendors each ship a lighting application, and each wants to be the one in charge. Two of them running at once is a well known source of flickering and of lighting that resets on every reboot.

Pick one and buy inside it. That single constraint is worth more to how a finished build looks than any individual product on this page.

StandardConnectorVoltageIf you cross them
ARGB, addressable3-pin5 VA 12 V signal destroys the controller in the fan
RGB, plain4-pin12 VA 5 V header cannot drive it, so nothing lights
Some motherboards have both headers side by side and label them in very small print. Read them with a torch rather than by feel.

Screen fans, and whether they are worth it

A screen fan is a small display in the fan hub, typically under two inches, with enough onboard memory to hold its own images so a row of them can show one picture across three fans. They are genuinely striking in a glass sided case and they are the reason a lot of build photographs look the way they do.

They are also expensive per unit of airflow, they depend on vendor software running for anything custom, and they are completely wasted in a position nobody sees. A screen facing into a radiator, or out the back of the case, is a display showing a picture to a wall.

If you want them, buy three and point them at the glass. If the budget is tight, the same money in the graphics card will be felt every day and the fans will only be seen when the room light is off.

ChoiceRoughly what it addsWhat you get for it
Unlit fans, bought in a packUnder fifty dollarsAirflow, silence, and nothing to look at
One vendor's lit fans, six of themTwo to three hundred dollarsA coherent fan wall on one controller
Three screen fansAround a hundred and thirty five dollarsThe row of artwork most themed builds are built around
Cooler with a pump block displayAbout a hundred over the same coolerA second small screen at eye level
Prices are what these have typically launched at, not live prices. Every product on this page links to a current search instead.

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