InWin Neptune AN Fans

Introduction

These days, computer fans aren’t just for moving air in or out of a case. They also have the mission of giving your gaming or work machine a different look in your day-to-day life. InWin is not behind the competition when it comes to releasing the RGB LED fans be it for any segment of the market. Their premium Neptune DN PRO fans are aimed at the enthusiasts while they did not forget the budget segment who would love to get their hands on the aesthetically pleasing looks and performance coming from the fans. They have sent us their Neptune AN140/AN120 (3-fans pack) for the review, but they are sold individually as well. All models are 25mm thick and boast a ring around the blades’ edge for improved rigidity at high speeds. Currently, these fans seem to be only available in black, with transparent blades for the RGB models. Read on if you are a fan of fans.

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InWin Neptune AN140/AN120 ARGB Review features compression blades, hydraulic bearing, and a 16.8 million colors LED ring with 8 addressable LEDs that is ready to sync with 5V RGB capable motherboards from Asus, Gigabyte, MSI and ASRock in a size of 120/140mm. These design choices result in up to 88.89CFM airflow and 2.18mmH2O static pressure for the 140mm AN140 and 60.1CFM and 2.27mmH2O using the AN120 – full specifications below.

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Packaging & Contents

InWin sent over a triple-pack SKU of the Neptune AN120 and AN140 fans which understandably comes in a larger, product box with a plastic wrap over it. The fans come in cardboard blister inlay packaging that will further protect them during shipping and handling. The packaging design adopts a predominantly black and white color with the product name on the front to go with a render of the specific fan color inside. There is a picture of the fan illuminated in multiple colors to signify the addressable lighting solution. A ghosted X3 in the left corner cover how many fans are inside.

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A tech specs table and certification labels help round things off on the back. Compatibility of the lighting solution with motherboard manufacturers’ onboard solution is printed below.

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The left side of the packing box has InWin premium brand logo and product name printed on it.

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The top side of the box has InWin's brand logo printed on it.

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Interestingly we see InWin ditching a printed quick-start guide in favor of a QR code leading you to the uploaded version on the product page.

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The front side of the inner packing box has InWin premium brand logo and name printed on the bottom right.

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Compatibility of the lighting solution with motherboard manufacturers’ onboard solution is printed below the fan’s picture.

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The back side of the packing box has serial no sticker pasted on it.
Once again two QR codes leading you to the uploaded version on the product page.

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Opening the box, we see that the items inside are packaged separately, with the three fans at the bottom and the accessories above. Assuming you want to use these as case fans, three sets of four black metal screws are also included.

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InWin has bundled four cables in the accessories which allow the user to connect the fans to the motherboard’s onboard power and lighting solution (PWM Fan Cable, ARGB Cable, PWM Fan Extension Cable, ARGB Extension Cable). Those cables have a length of 80mm (plus 30-40mm) and 500mm approximately.

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A Closer Look

Fresh out of the box, and a white plastic bag, we can get our first look at the fans. To no surprise, the InWin Neptune is a standard 120 mm square frame fan that is 25 mm thick. This makes it almost guaranteed to fit inside every PC case intended to use 120 mm fans for airflow and cooling. Here's a look at the three fans together as they come with the AN120 triple pack.

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Both versions have a 9-bladed rotor in a highly curved manner that uses a frosted translucent material to help with the RGB lighting on offer thanks to eight individually addressable RGB LEDs located underneath the central hub cover. InWin calls these blades – of which there are nine – turbine blades, claiming they channel more concentrated airflow thanks to an angled design.

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The frame is made of the plastic material and is rigid without any flex. Looking closely, one can find the ARGB Ring on the green color PCB below the blades in the center. The bottom part side of the frame has two arrows on it. These serve as a visual aid to the user in determining the blades’ spin direction and airflow direction. On the other side, we find the InWin name present. Considering many times the wires are placed nearest the motherboard tray when the fans are installed, the exposed side to the case door will have the InWin name showing!

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The backside of the fan has 4-arms assembly with one of the arms having a widened surface area with clip to serve as cables pass through. The fan’s power cable and LED’s power cable are routed on this arm. The frame is curved inwards although the contact surfaces maintain the straight edges that matter in not leaking air when using these as radiator fans.

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There is a black color sticker in the center with Neptune on the top. The fan is made in China.

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Power rating and compliance information to various regulations are printed on this sticker.

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Each mounting corner has In-mold injection anti-vibration rubber pad to provide a hassle-free usage with protection coverage for all corners. These are gray color cut-to-size pads.

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The InWin Neptune AN140/AN120 fan has two flat cables coming out of the motor area. One is 4-pin PWM cable to regulate the speed of the fan. The other is ARGB LED cable with two connectors. One is the 3-pin female connector and the other is a 3-pin male connector.

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The very purpose of providing two connectors per cable per fan is that these fans are daisy chained in a series and then connected to the motherboard’s power and lighting header.

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Seen below are all three fans powered on and lit up so you get a better idea of what to expect from the LEDs on board. With 8 LEDs, there is a fair amount of illumination.

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If you are using these as case fans, you just simply install them as you would any other case fan and follow the instructions for the ARGB setup. If you are doing radiator cooling with them, it will depend on your cooler.

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Performance

Convinced by the aesthetic performance of the Neptune AN fans, we wanted to analyze their performance. We therefore put them to the test by comparing the temperatures obtained from the all in one be quiet! Pure Loop 2 FX 360, when cooled by the InWin Neptune AN120 fans, compared to when cooled by the be quiet! Light Wings 120 instead and Corsair's AF120 Elite ones. We prefer this test methodology to common static pressure and air flow measurements, to provide data that is widely understandable and compliant with real use scenarios. Also all fans have almost the same specs.
Configurations for our cooling protocol:
AMD Ryzen 7 7900X@125W
MSI X670E Carbon WiFi
Kingston Fury Beast DDR5 2×16 GB
NZXT C1000 Gold V2
Thermaltake Commander F6 rheobus
Please note that all our CPU cooling tests are carried out outside the case, in a room maintained at around 20°C (±2°C).

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Despite the very high operating speeds, the noise level remains rather low for an AIO whose three fans operate at 2200 RPM. Indeed, 44 dB is not very much. In comparison, the Corsair's fans are slower, but the noise level generated is higher: 49 dB. If we regulate the Neptune AN120 fans, the noise level drops quite quickly to 39.5 dB at mid-range, then 35 dB at low speed. In absolute terms, we can say that it offers a good speed/noise ratio. It remains to be seen how it will behave thermally.

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We test with our 125W profile on CPU. Here the heat release is more important, let’s see how our AIO is doing! I wasn't expecting much of a difference and the results certainly show that. It is clear that the manufacturer wanted to find a good balance between performance and noise, and we honestly believe that they have achieved it quite well.

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Final Thoughts

When it comes to RGB accessories for your computer probably the most popular over the past year has been fans. Pretty much every manufacturer is making them, but with so many out there it is hard to distinguish a good kit from a pretty terrible kit. So we have another RGB fan kit, so what sets t his kit apart from others that are out there? Well first these fans feature addressable RGBs, meaning that each individual LED on the fan can be a different color. This allows for cool effects like that rainbow wave, which seems to be everyone’s favorite. Being addressable RGB means that these fans have a 3-pin A-RGB connection, not the standard 4-pin RGB connection so you are going to need a newer motherboard with an A-RGB header to control the RGB effects with your motherboard software. There are many things to appreciate with the Neptune AN140/AN120 fans, whether you buy them one at a time, or in triple-packs. Many will gravitate to these fans based on three, maybe four things. Users can easily switch RGB lighting effects using ASUS Aura Sync, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light Sync, and AsRock Polychrome software. The ARGB lighting of these fans is sublime and stunning and to my liking. The reason for two connectors per cable is that the user is required to daisy chain these fans before connecting to the motherboard. The length of the cables of the fans and those bundled in the pack is sufficient enough that the user won’t find any trouble using any size chassis. The only thing really that could count against these fans is actually the absence of a controller. In terms of performance they deliver. At top speed, the AN140 deliver 88.9 CFM. There is plenty of flow, so they are suitable for things like AIOs and Cases with tighter filters! The InWin Neptune AN140/AN120 fans are so quiet you may forget they are even running … that is until you look over and see the beautiful RGB shining back at you. These fans provide great airflow and will keep your rig looking top notch! The quietness of these fans are worth mentioning. So rest assured these fans are not going to be any source of annoying sound. It is likely that the new Neptune AN140/AN120 fans are one of the fans with great balance between performance and sound on the market today, with the addition that they integrate an excellent RGB lighting system and with some possibilities of configuration and customization beyond any doubt. Now… are we looking at the best fans you can buy for PC? Probably not, but what is certain is that these fans are good at everything (especially in terms of static pressure, so if you intend to use them for a heatsink or radiator, you will gain a lot of performance) and that, since then, if you decide to buy them you will not regret it.

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As such, we can conclude this review. InWin Neptune AN140/AN120 fans are a cost-effective solution for anyone who wants to enjoy some stunning addressable RGB lighting on 120/140mm size fans with some good airflow and decent static pressure. Where other fans such as this will nearly break the bank, the InWin AN120/AN140 Triple Pack sells right now for the tiny investment of just €35-€41! With that, not only do you get the three ARGB fans, but InWin simplify the wiring and connectivity as well! It also has the benefit of being compatible with RGB motherboards so you can control the lighting direct from your own motherboard. The Neptune AN120/AN140 fans are backed by three years of warranty.

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