Which One is REALLY the BEST | Fan Showdown S4 Finale

Summary

In this finale of Major Hardware’s Fan Showdown Season 4, the long-running debate between the “cheater” and the “unswirl” finally gets settled head-to-head. The creator explains why the unswirl briefly seemed to outperform the cheater in a previous test, but notes that it wasn’t counted because the fan had been modified with TPU gaskets after it was originally sent in. To keep things fair, both fans are rebuilt on the same printer with the same material and settings, then tested with Noctua anti-vibration gaskets on both sides. The video also shows the process the creator uses to remove a fan hub for testing, including heat, disassembly, and cleanup. In the end, the cheater narrowly wins with a peak of 776 feet per minute versus 768 for the unswirl, keeping its title and advancing to Season 5.

Highlights

• The video kicks off by settling a season-long fan rivalry once and for all 😤
• The creator emphasizes fairness by using identical printing conditions and matching gaskets on both fans 🎯
• A detailed fan-hub removal method is shown using a soldering iron and careful cleanup 🔧
• The cheater edges out the unswirl by just 8 feet per minute 📏
• Season 5 is already being planned, with the audience invited to vote on the next cooling setup 🗳️

Key Takeaways

• The cheater vs. unswirl rivalry finally gets a proper rematch ⚔️
• Both fans are rebuilt and tested as equally as possible for a fair comparison 🛠️
• TPU gaskets played a big role in the earlier controversy, but weren’t counted as the original configuration 😮
• The cheater wins by a razor-thin margin: 776 FPM vs. 768 FPM 🥇
• Season 5 will move back to cooling tests, and viewers get to help choose the setup 🔥

Overview

Major Hardware opens the finale by revisiting one of Season 4’s most debated matchups: the cheater and the unswirl. The unswirl previously appeared to outperform the cheater after being fitted with TPU gaskets, but that result sparked controversy because the modification wasn’t part of how the fan originally arrived. So, the creator sets up a clean rematch to determine which fan truly deserves the top spot.

To keep the comparison as fair as possible, both fans are reprinted with identical materials, settings, and hardware treatment. The video also includes a practical look at how the creator disassembles a Noctua fan for testing, using heat and careful removal to strip the hub cleanly. It’s part science experiment, part teardown tutorial, and all about squeezing out the most performance possible.

In the end, the numbers settle the argument: the cheater reaches 776 feet per minute, while the unswirl tops out at 768. That narrow win keeps the cheater in first place and sends it into Season 5 for another round of testing. The creator wraps by asking viewers what kind of cooling setup they want next, teasing a return to air or water cooling with audience input shaping the new season.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Opening the Final Fan Showdown The host introduces an unresolved showdown between two fans, the cheater and the unswirl, explaining that past testing and a 3D-printed gasket modification sparked debate over which fan truly deserves the top spot.
• 00:30 - 01:15: The Rivalry: Cheater vs. Unswirl The host reopens the long-running Cheater vs. Unswirl debate, explaining that the Unswirl once outperformed the Cheater only when modified with 3D-printed TPU gaskets, which the host says doesn’t count because it wasn’t the fan’s original configuration. The speaker says this head-to-head will finally settle which fan is truly best and determine which one advances to season five.
• 01:15 - 02:10: Setting Up an Apples-to-Apples Test The host introduces an unfinished showdown between two fans, the Cheater and the Unswirl, explaining that past testing gave the Unswirl an edge only after adding custom TPU gaskets, which sparked debate over whether that result should count. He frames this as the moment to settle which fan is truly best and move the winner into season five.
• 02:10 - 03:00: Reprinting Fans and Standardizing Materials The creator revisits the long-running fan showdown between the Noctua A12x25-based “cheater” and the newer “unswirl,” explaining that the cheater remains the benchmark only because the unswirl’s previous win used custom 3D-printed TPU gaskets, which the creator didn’t count as part of the stock fan.
• 03:00 - 03:50: Using Noctua Gaskets for Maximum Performance The creator explains that the included Noctua anti-vibration gaskets will be used on both sides of the fan to maximize performance in future testing. They describe destroying the fan to remove its hub, detailing a method using a hot soldering iron to melt and separate the hub pieces for easier handling.
• 03:50 - 04:30: Breaking Down the Test Fan The test setup uses the included Noctua gaskets on both sides of the fan to maximize performance, then demonstrates an easy method for dismantling a fan for testing by melting the hub with a soldering iron and removing the blades and adhesive.
• 04:30 - 05:00: Season 4 Winner and Season 5 Tease The creator uses the included Noctua gaskets on both sides of the fans to maximize performance and explains a simple method for dismantling a fan for testing, including melting off the hub and removing the blades to prepare a new test bench.

Which One is REALLY the BEST | Fan Showdown S4 Finale Transcription

• Segment 1: 00:00 - 02:30 [Music] foreign [Music] we have some unfinished business and I think you know what it is it's the cheater and the unswirl over this season these two fans have risen it to the top the newcomer being the unswirl and the OG being the cheater which is a holdover from season three in the last fan showdown episode I made the comment that the cheater is yet to be defeated and some of you aggressively disagreed with that and the reason being that in my f l son v400 review I 3D printed some TPU gaskets and put them on the unswirl and with those gaskets it was able to outperform the cheater however I didn't count it since that's not how the the fan was sent to me and I just left the cheater in first place and it's driven a rift within the committed community so today is the day we find out truly which one of these fans is the best and then that fan will move to season five I have seen a few comments over the last last few fans showdowns saying that a lot of you want to go back to Cooling rather than flow testing so I'll leave it up to you to decide if we do air cooling or water cooling do you have a specific air cooler or AIO or do you want to go custom Loop leave me a comment down below for what setup you want to see in the you know the fan showdown season five if you have a specific cooler in mind that you want to see let me know I'm going to browse through the comments down there and I'll post a community Poll for you to vote on you know what we do for season five so if you don't mind subscribe to the channel so you can vote on that poll and then we will set off back to cooling so for this head-to-head I did purchase two brand new a12 x25s um I only need one really but I purchased two because I want the uh anti-vibration gasket we'll get to that in a minute but here are two brand new
• Segment 2: 00:00 - 02:30 fans that we're going to use as our test bench for this head head we're going to try to make everything as Apples to Apples as possible I reprinted both fans with the same material on the same printer with the same settings we're going to use them on the same fan and
• Segment 3: 02:30 - 05:00 we're going to use the gaskets that are included with these noctua fans on both the front and the back of the fan to give them the best possible chance of putting out maximum maximum power and I will use those gaskets moving forward in season five now the first step obviously is going to be taking one of these fans and destroying it and if you're curious to how do I do this if you want to like buy your own a12 x25 and test your fan design out at home I'll show you what I think is the easiest process for taking this fan hub off now I've used many different ways to remove this fan over uh the last year or so from dremels to Clippers to side cuts but I think the easiest way to do it is to use a soldering iron and a tip that you don't mind messing up I normally set my soldering iron to the the highest the hottest possible setting and then in a well ventilated area I kind of melt the Hub into quarters you can also break the blades off if you want I normally do this just makes it easier to handle things and after the blades are removed I continue melting down the the side of the fan all the way through and then using like a pick or some Flush Cutters I remove the surface plastic from the top of the The Fan Hub after that and everything's all divided up you can just use a pick to just kind of Pop the the each individual quarter off and they kind of come off pretty easily and the last thing I normally do is run an edge around the top of the the metal Hub and kind of remove that last little bit of adhesive and doing that just makes it easier to slide your fan off and on so now that we have our brand new test bench along with the Beautiful anti-vibration gaskets let's find out how these two fans did and who gets the W the cheater peaked at 776 feet per minute and the unswirl peaked at 768 feet per minute meaning that with everything as equal as I possibly can
• Segment 4: 02:30 - 05:00 make it with the with the equipment I have the cheetah remains in first place by the slimmest of margins so because of that the cheater will move forward onto season five and I'll be retesting it along with four new fans in the upcoming new season in whatever setup you guys decide we're going to use air cooling water cooling custom Loop AIO specific air cooler specific water cooler it's up to you so go down in the comments section let me know what you think for season five hope you enjoyed the video I'll see you next time