Cooler Master's latest MasterFan XT lineup is getting thicker, bulking up to 30 mm versus the typical 25 mm. This is a trend we've seen with new fans from from Hyte, Lian Li, and others, as the extra thickness increases the blade area, improving airflow and static pressure, or reducing the fan speed while maintaining the same performance as a standard 25 mm-thick fan.
But while the standard XT fans will be made using the typical plastic blades and frame, and will come in standard 120 mm and 140 mm sizes to fit your case and cooling needs, the company also showed off an XT Pro model, with an all-aluminum frame and fan blades. A company representative says this reduces vibration and noise, also allowing for slower fan rotation and quieter operation.
There's a good chance that, if you're paying extra for a premium metal fan, you care more about absolute air-moving performance than silent operation. And to that end, Cooler Master says its aluminum MF XT Pro fans will be able to operate at 4,000 RPM, 33% faster than the lesser XT models. That's a speed more typical of server rooms than reasonably quiet-running PCs, so it will be interesting to hear what these spinners sound (as well as perform) like inside a case. But of course, in typical gaming or mainstream productivity workloads, these fans should never need to reach their max speed.
