Cooler Master New Case Fans at 2023 CES: MasterFan Halo2 and Mobius Series

Cooler Master at the 2023 International CES introduced several new case fans for various use-cases—case ventilation, air-heatsinks, and liquid-cooling radiators. The MasterFan Halo2 is the brightest and most striking of these, and the company is including them with some of their latest Hyper-series CPU coolers. They will be sold in standalone kits, too. The Halo2 gets its name from its two ARGB LED lighting zones—one along the bore of the frame, and the other inside the impeller hub. There are a couple of upgrades of the original MasterFan Halo series from 2020, including enlarged fan blades, a redesigned hybrid frame structure that minimizes frame footprint without sacrificing the fan’s axial airflow; and updated motor driver IC. The MF Halo2 comes in 120 mm and 140 mm sizes; and in black- and white color trims. Both sizes feature rifle bearings that are rated for over 160,000 hours of operation.

The MasterFan MF140 Halo2 features up to 1,600 RPM of speed, up to 58.5 CFM airflow, at up to 2.53 mm H?O static pressure, and up to 27 dBA noise output. The MF120 Halo2 turns at speeds of up to 2,050 RPM, pushing up to 51.88 CFM of airflow, at up to 2.89 mm H?O static pressure, and up to 27 dBA noise output. The fans take 4-pin PWM for their main function, and 3-pin Gen 2 ARGB for both their lighting zones.

The Cooler Master Mobius series is a class of high-end fans the company recommends for liquid-cooling radiators, as well as CPU fans, for their optimal static-pressure, and durability. There are four distinct variants of the fan that were shown at CES—the Mobius 120, the Mobius 120 OC, the Mobius 120P (and its white-edition sub-variant); and the Mobius 140P. These fans feature CM’s latest loop-dynamic bearings that are rated for over 200,000 hours of operation.

The Mobius 120 is the base version without any illumination. It turns at speeds of up to 2,050 RPM, pushing up to 63.1 CFM of airflow, at 2.69 mm H?O static pressure, and an impressive 22.6 dBA maximum noise. The fan takes in 4-pin PWM connection.

The Mobius 120 OC is an interesting high-speed variant of the series. It features a double-ball bearing rated for over 200,000 hours; and comes with a fan-speed toggle that switches between three presets—low (L), mid (M), and high (H). In the L setting, the fan turns at 1,500 RPM, pushing 42.2 CFM of airflow at 17.4 dBA of noise output and 1.19 mm H?O static pressure. In the M setting, it does 2,400 RPM, pushing 65.5 CFM of airflow at 2.76 mm H?O static pressure, and 31.1 dBA of noise output. In its top H setting, the fan does a blistering 3,200 RPM, pushing 88.1 CFM of airflow, at 4.75 mm H?O static pressure, and 39.3 dBA noise output. Although the fan comes with a 4-pin PWM connection, you need to set your fan-controller or motherboard BIOS to run this fan at 100% in order to accurately use these fan-speed presets.

The Mobius 120P ARGB comes with a ring blade design, in which the impeller is webbed along its edges, to direct all its airflow axially. It features a loop-dynamic bearing just like the base Mobius 120, which is rated for over 200,000 hours. The fan features addressable RGB LED elements located in the impeller hub. It turns at speeds of up to 2,400 RPM, pushing up to 75.2 CFM of airflow at 3.63 mm H?O static pressure, and 30 dBA maximum noise output. The fan takes in 4-pin PWM for the main function, and 3-pin Gen 2 ARGB for the lighting. The Mobius 120P ARGB White Edition is essentially the same fan, but with a white frame.

Lastly, there’s the large Mobius 140P ARGB, one of the few high-end 140 mm fans we’ve come across that feature a perfectly square frame. It features the same webbed Ring Blade impeller design as the Mobius 120P, which is designed to maximize axial airflow; and a loop dynamic bearing, but rated for over 160,000 hours in this variant. The fan turns at speeds of up to 1,900 RPM, pushing up to 76.5 CFM of airflow at 2.30 mm H?O static pressure, and 30 dBA noise output.