As I prepare for the next wave of computer upgrades in 2025, I’m reevaluating the chassis and cooling hardware I use on my desktop PC. I’ve been eyeing the new modular fans that’ve become popular in recent years and as luck would have it, the guys at TechTraders sent over the new Cougar Apolar 120 ARGB modular fans along with a cool new Cougar PC chassis – but more on that next week.
The Apolar 120 ARGB modular fan can be bought as a single unit or as a 3-pack, as I’ve received for this review. Comparatively, the pricing for this pack is a little more expensive than the average 3-pack case fans you can buy (at around R850) but read on and you’ll see why I think there is a lot of value with the Cougar offering.
Right out of the box, the Cougar Apolar 120 ARGB Modular Fan kit has everything you need to use each fan on its own or daisy-chained together for optimal cable management. You’ll also notice that these fans look really sexy; from a design engineering point of view, they have all the goods.
You can get these fans in White or Black finish and there are no cables attached to the fans directly; instead, there are two contact points on either end that allow you to snap the fans together. On one side, you’ll see pins with fold-out clips, and on the other, you’ll see flat contacts with holes for the clips of another fan to attach to. The clip’s construction feels rigid and requires a bit of force to fold out; I have no doubt these will never snap off, at least not easily.
To connect fans together, you simply fold out these clips and snap them onto the next fan frame. You’ll hear a satisfying click when the fan slots into place. The Apolar 120 ARGB modular fan manual advises that you do not connect more than three fans together “The recommended configuration is no more than three fans due to the limitations of your power source devices. Connecting four or more fans may increase the probability of malfunction due to insufficient voltage.” Not that you’d really need to for most user scenarios, but it’s good to know. For reference, each fan uses about 9w in total when the RGB is on.
With your fan configuration set, connecting power is a snap. You’ll find three fan connector cables in the box, but if you daisy chain your fans, you’ll only need one. The connector snaps firmly in place and gives you a 4-pin power and 3-pin RGB connector to connect to your motherboard.
Impressively, the Cougar Apolar 120 ARGB Modular Fans are not very loud, even at full RPM. This is thanks to the clever fin design that gives the edge of each blade three raised winglets, Cougar calls it silent stream and it works quite well, I’m impressed.
Speaking of colour, the RGB lighting on each fan is really impressive and is not just limited to the fan blades. On each side where there are no connectors, you’ll see an RGB light bar that further enhances that gamer feel. It looks really great installed in a case, and it’s rather bright, too.
Last and certainly not least, one of my other favourite things about the Cougar Apolar 120 ARGB fans are the built-in dampeners that sit between the fan body and the mounting points where your screws fit through. Its called Quiet Stop and helps with eliminating noise and oscillatory load on the chassis.
Overall, I am very impressed; for just under R1,000, you get three fans that snap together, offer impressive RGB lighting, and, when it comes to cooling, move plenty of air. I would recommend the Cougar Apolar 120 ARGB Modular Fan kit for gamers striving to eliminate unsightly cables from their beautiful gaming rig.
