We’ve used other Fractal Design fans in some of our rigs before, and they’ve always been reliable and fuss-free. Their products are always a solid choice, and the Prisma AL-14/PWM looks to continue that tradition. How To Choose The Best RGB Fans As for the comparison of the paper specifications of the P12 and P12 A-RGB, I really don’t see the technical reason why the static pressure of the P12 at the same speed should be higher by… what, 25%, when at a speed lower by 200 rpm it should be +19%? It makes sense to me the other way round. Of course, a higher static pressure is indirectly caused by the larger hub, if only because it leaves a smaller empty area between the blades. The smaller the fan format, the higher the static pressure per unit of airflow. With the P12 A-RGB, the hoop itself also increases the overall pressure (i.e. static pressure as well) to a certain extent, as I mentioned in the article. In addition, Arctic states that the P12 also achieves higher airflow at lower speeds, which is partially true, but not to the extent that the specs suggest. At the same speeds, the P12 A-RGB’s airflow is indeed lower because there’s more hub area for the same overall cross-sectional area. This by approximately 47%. However, in terms of the rotor as a whole, this difference is not that dramatic. Subtracting the internal cross-section (hub), the external cross-section (blades) of the P12 A-RGB is only 4.9% smaller. And it is also important to note that this is in an area where the effect of area on efficiency decreases. The MSI Silent Gale P12, DeepCool CF120, and Cooler Master Mobius 120 still perform very well in the 120mm case fan test, even when nearly inaudible.

Arctic P12 PWM PST A-RGB: Hoop? Anti-rumble rescue Arctic P12 PWM PST A-RGB: Hoop? Anti-rumble rescue

There are a lot of droning or downright rumbling fans out there, but none have been as popularized by this sound profile as the Arctic P12. Probably also because this acoustic deficiency is really pronounced here and has pushed the manufacturer to make design changes in newer models that are aimed at suppressing critical tonal peaks. But even so, the base model P12 PWM PST is a remarkable fan and is unbeatable in its price range. I do not claim that NF-A12x25 PWM is at 787 rpm (i.e. the speed in our “31 dBA” mode) a noiseless or soundless fan, I am just trying to balance it a bit. At this speed you write about industrial noise or use in noisy technical rooms, which is misleading. I respect that in your idea of quiet operation the NF-A12x25 PWM has an even lower speed. In this test, the temperatures and the noise development are added together. Therefore, it is not surprising that the fans that combine good performance with low noise are at the top. Cooler Master’s Mobius 120 in the regular and RGB versions are at the top together with MSI’s Silent Gale P12. Those who would have expected the Noctua NF-A12x25, which is considered revolutionary and has received a lot of praise, to be at the top will be somewhat disappointed in this case. While these offer good performance as case fans and are quiet, they are definitely beaten by other models in this area. The P12 has larger blades compared to the BioniX P120, although it doesn’t seem like it unless one sees those fans side by side. So with the same size hub, the gaps between the blades are naturally smaller on the P12, so there is less room for airflow leakage and higher static pressure is achieved. This means that the airflow loss due to obstacle resistance is smaller with the P12 than with the P120.The signal quality of the motherboard/hub should not make a difference in noise, it is determined by the NE-FD1 IC inside the fan. Noctua often has complaints about the PWM signal quality of third party devices and states that it can be misinterpreted at lower speeds. But this is not the case with Noctua fans and it should not affect the noise level anyway, as long as the fan is running stable at the given speed. The misinterpretation of PWM that Noctua mentions is that the fan operation may not correspond to the set PWM duty cycle ( we have discussed this in more detail in this article, where we also discuss the key features of the new Noctua NA-FH1 hub).

Arctic P12 PWM PST ( ACFAN00134A ) Review | Tech For Techs Arctic P12 PWM PST ( ACFAN00134A ) Review | Tech For Techs

These fans are the ARGB versions of the company’s excellent P-series fans, which top our list of the best case fans. The main difference is that the ARGB fans swap the solid fan blades for translucent blades that showcase and diffuse the RGB lighting from the 12 ARGB LEDs in the fan hub. Quiet yet powerful case fans: Cooler Master Mobius (bottom left), MSI Silent Gale P12 (bottom right), DeepCool FK120 (top left) and Arctic P12 (top right) So I must admit that I missed that there are also different revisions of the P12 PWM PST. In this case, ours, tested, will be the rev. 1. – 0.08 A and without the revision specified next to the EAN code. That’s how Artcic usually does it when it’s the first revision… The P12 PWM PST fan (hereafter referred to as the P12, but we’re still talking about the PWM PST variant) has a 5-blade axial rotor, which is typical of Arctic’s current “P” series models. Because of the small number of blades and the intention to achieve high static pressure, each blade must be large. If the blades were smaller, a lot of air would escape through them, which would reduce the airflow the more resistance the fan would have to overcome. Thus there is a considerable cross-sectional area covered by the blades, so that the airflow does not decrease excessively even if the fan is operating on restrictive obstacles.But I understand the increase in motor power. I would say the original P12 is quite significantly underpowered, with small headroom. Within all testing of all the fans, there was only ever 1°C difference between them. So, the fan is no better or worse at the specific tasks than any other fans we tested.