ARCTIC P12 PWM - PC Fan, 120mm Fan, PC Case Fan with PWM, Pressure-optimised, quiet motor, Computer, Fan Speed: 200-1800 rpm (0 rpm <5%) - Black

Product Information

Then it’s very strange. We use spectrograms instead of sound recordings for sound analysis precisely because we do not want a dispute to arise at the level of subjective perception of individual frequencies. Everyone sees their intensity in spectrograms in the same way and the results of NF-A12x25 PWM clearly show that there is practically no noise that can be perceived by a person when using PWM control. Or if you can hear some sound in the frequency band we are talking about, you should also hear it with Silent Wings 3. With 62°C on the CPU and 43.5 dbA, the P12 even managed to outrank the Noctua NF-F12 in both metrics, even though the Noctua's are almost double the price. 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. 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… Once we turned down the PWM Speed to 50%, the P12 placed themselves just behind the Noctua NF-F12 's and Inter-Tech RS-14 (Yes a 140mm set)

ARCTIC P12 PWM - 120 mm Case Fan with PWM, Pressure-optimised ARCTIC P12 PWM - 120 mm Case Fan with PWM, Pressure-optimised

As we used the P12 PWM in their "PST" Version, we were able to make use of their "Power Sharing Technology". This PST Plug basically adds an additional 3-Pin Output to the cable of Each Fan. The cable is “ordinary” but solid – flat, with the wires holding together nicely. There are two connectors at the end. One to connect the fan to the motherboard or hub/controllers, and the other to daisy-chain another fan. The cable is 40–45 cm in length. Unfortunately, I cannot agree with this statement even now. The extra details that Noctua has often stand out more with relatively higher speeds. Whether it’s Flow Acceleration Channels, Stepped Inlet Design, a significant narrowing of the gap between the blade tips and the frame or Inner Surface Microstructures. These elements counteract the shortcomings that become stronger with increasing pressure. The fact that the NF-A12x25 gives excellent results at low speeds is largely due to the fact that the operation of the motor and blades does not create any noise, so at this level there are no such pronounced limitations as with other fans, and the NF-A12x25 fits into the same noise level at higher speeds.

Compliance Documents

While benchmarking the Fans, we also tried to test if their claims were true. For this, we simply cut the Anti-Vibration Pads of other fans into an acceptable shape and added them to our Benchmark schedule. After letting Heavyload grill the CPU, we came to the following results while the Fans were spinning at 100% PWM. And in fact, our dB-meter and the Audio Recording of our Benchmarking both confirmed that there is absolutely no difference between having Anti-Vibration-Pads and not. (Or we unable to, no matter how loud we played the audio recordings) While we attached the first Fan to the PWM header on the Mainboard, the short PST extension forced us to also rout the Cable of every other fan to the front of the case.

ARCTIC P12 PWM - PC Fan, 120mm Fan, PC Case Fan with PWM

During the development of the P12 PWM PST, special emphasis was placed on a focused airstream and thus a high static pressure. The fan guarantees extremely efficient cooling, even with increased air resistance. Therefore, the P12 PWM PST is particularly suitable for use on heatsinks and radiators. A 10 °C lower motor temperature roughly doubles the life span of a fan. The new ARCTIC motor has a four times longer service life through its low coil temperature. Consequently, we have extended the warranty to 10 years. PDF 429.9KB ACFAN00171A - P12 PWM (White) - RoHS, REACH, PAHs declaration of Compliance - 2022-10-14 Starting out, it’s still worth noting that the Arctic P12 compares with the previously tested BioniX P120 A-RGB, although it has seemingly the same rotor – it doesn’t. And there are more than enough differences, including a shorter tunnel (P12) with less rotor clearance from an obstacle, but let’s start the analysis as usual from the top.

So overall, on the performance side, the Arctic P12's are an excellent choice for anybody that does not want any unnecessary RGB features in their build. While we installed the P12's we did notice a small thing that could have been better thought through. Even though the PST (Daisy-Chain) system was very useful while mounting them, the attached extra wire was way too short.