Arctic F12 PWM PST Co 120mm Pressure-optimised Fan Black

I built a computer using a DeepCool Dukase WH and figured with the hard plastic front on that case it would probably be a good idea to include some extra circulation motivation. This computer was being built for an extended family member so I wanted to keep the cost low. At the sale price I wasn't expecting a whole lot of these fans so I bought 3 of them (2 for the front, 1 for the top, 1 rear fan came with the case). When I pulled these out of the box I noticed that they were actually Swiss-built (or at least Swiss-designed). Switzerland makes quality stuff so my expectations were immediately raised. Once I had the computer all together I booted into the BIOS to set up the fan profiles and was shocked to (not) hear how quiet these fans are! At full clip I could ... MoreI built a computer using a DeepCool Dukase WH and figured with the hard plastic front on that case it would probably be a good idea to include some extra circulation motivation. This computer was being built for an extended family member so I wanted to keep the cost low. At the sale price I wasn't expecting a whole lot of these fans so I bought 3 of them (2 for the front, 1 for the top, 1 rear fan came with the case). When I pulled these out of the box I noticed that they were actually Swiss-built (or at least Swiss-designed). Switzerland makes quality stuff so my expectations were immediately raised. Once I had the computer all together I booted into the BIOS to set up the fan profiles and was shocked to (not) hear how quiet these fans are! At full clip I could barely hear them! Very impressed. I don't care about LEDs and was actually kinda disappointed that the case came with an LED fan. I considered replacing it with another F12, but as I said earlier, the goal was to keep costs down. After the computer was all set up and running well, I set the computer to bake for a few hours on Prime95. Running the blended test to wring out the Ryzen 5 1600 and 16 gigs of Team Dark RAM, my board and chip temps never got above 65C (about 58C with the case front open). Moving forward, I expect to use these in all my builds! CONSIDERABLY cheaper than Noctua, and while Noctua may offer better longevity, the difference to me between a 3-year fan and a 6-year fan isn't important. 2 of these is still cheaper than a Noctua and the amount of effort it takes to replace a fan is minimal. One caveat, the front case fans wouldn't quite reach the fan pin header on the motherboard so I used a Y-splitter to tie them together and gain the extra few inches that were required. The Y-splitter I used was actually a left-over from a previous build in which I'd used Noctua fans, so I guess it's fair to say that the extra money you pay for Noctua in part goes to the niceities that are included, like splitters, noise suppression resistors, and rubber mounts, but again, when a Corolla will do, do you really need an LX470?

Jokey title aside - this fan is a perfectly fine budget fan.Obviously, given the price, the unit doesn't feel as sturdy as a Noctua fan, but at this price point, it doesn't need to be; and it doesn't feel like it'll fall apart in your hands either. It came efficiently packaged in a form-fitting box along with its screws, although be careful removing the fan, the little packet the screws are can just fall out.The fan cable is predictably thin, although you would have to go some way to snap it while installing the fan, which, unless you have a very old case, should be easy to avoid.In operation, the fan has a perfectly acceptable noise level running at about half speed; it will sound predictably blowy at full pelt - but again - at this price point a perfectly ... MoreJokey title aside - this fan is a perfectly fine budget fan.Obviously, given the price, the unit doesn't feel as sturdy as a Noctua fan, but at this price point, it doesn't need to be; and it doesn't feel like it'll fall apart in your hands either. It came efficiently packaged in a form-fitting box along with its screws, although be careful removing the fan, the little packet the screws are can just fall out.The fan cable is predictably thin, although you would have to go some way to snap it while installing the fan, which, unless you have a very old case, should be easy to avoid.In operation, the fan has a perfectly acceptable noise level running at about half speed; it will sound predictably blowy at full pelt - but again - at this price point a perfectly acceptable balance.In all, a perfectly acceptable fan suitable for budget builds, or as a rough and ready replacement.

These fans are very quiet for the amount of air they push, which is why I bought them, and I was not disappointed. Some people here have said they're not quiet... well, yes, they are, _as high airflow fans go,_ but if you are forcing a good amount of air through a fan grille in your case, it's going to make a whooshing noise (apart from the mechanical and air noise the fan itself makes). That will be true of any fan pushing the same amount of air through. Think of the wind making noise going through a tree or fence-- there is no fan at all, but you still hear the turbulence of the air being pushed through the obstruction. You can't go only by manufacturer's specs regarding noise. A 120mm fan is not going to give you 90 CFM at 18 dBa, as one maker claims. ... MoreThese fans are very quiet for the amount of air they push, which is why I bought them, and I was not disappointed. Some people here have said they're not quiet... well, yes, they are, _as high airflow fans go,_ but if you are forcing a good amount of air through a fan grille in your case, it's going to make a whooshing noise (apart from the mechanical and air noise the fan itself makes). That will be true of any fan pushing the same amount of air through. Think of the wind making noise going through a tree or fence-- there is no fan at all, but you still hear the turbulence of the air being pushed through the obstruction. You can't go only by manufacturer's specs regarding noise. A 120mm fan is not going to give you 90 CFM at 18 dBa, as one maker claims. Manufacturers can massage the numbers, or simply make them up, and there are several that are known to have rather rosy numbers for their products that are not reflected in tests against other fans. I have two of these fans in my case, one pulling and one pushing, and a third one (PWM version) on my CM Hyper 212+ cooler. Set to full speed with Speedfan, I can hear a soft, unobtrusive whooshing sound from the air flow, but I hear zero bearing or mechanical noise with them. Even with all three of the fans on full speed (not to mention the 2 fans for my video card and the PSU fan), the PC is almost inaudible unless I listen for it. In terms of airflow through the case vents, the Arctics are quite similar to the (discontinued) S-Flex Fs at 1600 RPM (but I did hear a touch of fan noise with the S-Flex fans that I don't with the Arctics). My crude measurement technique involves a stopwatch timing how long it takes to fill a 30 gallon trash bag (rigged up so all the fan output goes in the bag) completely, from the fan output at the back of the case. At full speed, it took 11 seconds with the S-Flex's and the Arctics... less performance-oriented fans like the Antec 120mm fan that came with my case (looks exactly like the TwoCool, but without the 2 speed function) don't even come close. The Corsair SP120 performance edition (rated LESS CFM than the Arctic-- goes to show how irrelevant CFM numbers can be if you're pushing/pulling through a case grille) turned in a time of 8 seconds, but at the cost of noticeably more fan noise. Even with the Corsair slowed to fill the bag in 11 seconds via Speedfan, it still emitted more noise. I heard some mechanical type noise... even slowed down, it was qualitatively more dissonant than the noise of the Arctics. I have the front Arctic pulling through a dust filter, and the passive side vents are filtered as well. They do restrict flow quite a lot, but I hate dust in my puter. These two fans do a great job, though; even with OCCT on the small data set setting (max heat) on my 4.4 ghz OC'd 2500k (I lost the silicon lottery... needs 1.36v to be 24h stable), the case temp does not get out of the 30s (C), and the CPU itself maxes at 71C.