Silverstone's New Shark Force Fan Blades Adopt a Shark Skin Texture

Silverstone has launched a new range of high-performance cooling fans, claiming the new Shark Force addressable RGB fan series offers extreme cooling and spectacular lighting. Interestingly, these fans feature a new blade design, using a texture that mimics the surface of shark skin.

Silverstone claims that its inspired-by-nature fan surface texture design pushes air with enviable hydrodynamic properties because they provide "a drag-reducing mechanism to improve their aerodynamic property."

(Image credit: Silverstone)

Breaking down the sharkiness in PC cooling fan terms, Silverstone says that Shark Force series fans passively alter the airflow to improve pressure, resulting in improved overall airflow and reduced noise. These are much sought-after characteristics in all PC systems and component cooling fans.

There are just two Silverstone Shark Force fans available at launch — a 120mm fan and a 160mm fan.

The 120mm design features fans speeds from 0 – 2,500 RPM for static pressure of up to 4.66mm H2O and airflow of 100 CFM, while the 160mm design runs from 0 – 1,600 RPM for static pressure of up to 2.21mm H2O and airflow of 160 CFM. If you wonder why Silverstone has launched a 160mm fan instead of a 140mm to sell alongside the smaller unit, this 160mm fan is designed with 140mm mounts. However, please check this will play nicely in your intended application by checking the full product specs, with particular attention to measurements and clearance.

(Image credit: Silverstone)

Both fans use a Fluid Dynamic Bearing (FDB) and a three-phase, six-pole motor design for long product life and smooth and low-noise operation. The fan speeds are controlled by PWM and can go down to zero RPM, as long as your system supports it.

These fans are also aRGB LED equipped. They use standard aRGB 4-1 pin cables for compatibility. You will need an aRGB controller or suitable motherboard to get the most from the color combinations and effects these fans can be part of. Silverstone's sharkskin fan blades are translucent, which makes a nice diffuse effect with the LEDs.

The Shark Force series fans have modular cable connectivity. Of course, you'll need a power cable, but you may wish to disable lighting for some reason. The modular cabling should also be handy for replacements and cable management work. Moreover, Silverstone provides four types of cable in the box to suit various common cabling requirements and daisy chaining.

(Image credit: Silverstone)
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Model No.

SST-SF120B-ARGB

SST-SF160B-ARGB

Material

Polycarbonate fan blades, PBT frame

Polycarbonate fan blades, PBT frame

Color

Translucent fan blades, black frame

Translucent fan blades, black frame

Bearing

Fluid dynamic bearing

Fluid dynamic bearing

Connectors

4 pin PWM connector + 4-1 pin ARGB (5V LED)

4 pin PWM connector + 4-1 pin ARGB (5V LED)

Rated Voltage

12V DC

12V DC

Starting Voltage

5V

5V

Rated Current

Fan: 0.45A LED: 0.36A

Fan: 0.6A LED: 0.43A

Rated Power

Fan: 5.4W LED: 1.8W

Fan: 7.2W LED: 2.15W

Speed

0 ~ 2500 RPM*

0 ~ 1600 RPM*

Airflow

0 ~ 100 CFM

0 ~ 160 CFM

Static Pressure

0 ~ 4.66mmH2O

0 ~ 2.21mmH2O

Noise Level

0 ~ 41.2 dBA

0 ~ 38.1 dBA

Dimension

120 (W) x 25 (H) x 120mm (D) 4.72 (W) x 0.98 (H) x 4.72 inch (D)

160 (W) x 25 (H) x 160mm (D)

6.3 (W) x 0.98 (H) x 6.3 inch (D)

Weight

166g

220g

Both the Silverstone Shark Force SF120-ARGB and SF160-ARGB are available now from the usual distributors, worldwide. MSRPs are $27.99 and $34.99, respectively.

Mark Tyson
News Editor

Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.

  • Historical Fidelity
    Finally, an aRGB fan built for actual cooling! No more of this 40-50 cfm aRGB non-sense that can barely pull air through a filter.
    Reply