New Arctic P12 Max fan. 3 for price of 1 Noctua. No downsides?

I have decade old Arctic Cooling fans that don't make any bearing noise, I'm not expecting these to be worse for no particular reason.
 
If you don't want to pay full freight, Noctua's Redux line is still good. $15 for a NF-P12 redux-1300 PWM. And it's grey if the brown and tan of their normal fans turns you off.
 
toast0 said:
If you don't want to pay full freight, Noctua's Redux line is still good. $15 for a NF-P12 redux-1300 PWM. And it's grey if the brown and tan of their normal fans turns you off.
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Noctua's Redux fans are older designs which are strictly worse. And they also usually limit their RPM. These Arctics are not strictly worse.

Also, I'm no Noctua super supporter, as I don't think their bearing quality is very good. Except possibly in their top 120mm fan tested in the video above. But I have never owned one.
 
lol, shafted again. only available from a european scalper on .ca. ill have to wait and see if artic sells them in their store. still waiting for the mx-6 to come down in price too....
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I just bought a slim 15mm 120 arctic fan
(not the one in this thread)
This one ARCTIC P12 Slim PWM PST - 120 mm Case Fan with PWM Sharing Technology (PST), Pressure-optimised, quiet motor, Computer, extra slim, 300-2100 RPM - Black https://a.co/d/2YaoPnm
for one of my rads. Looking forward to using it for it's space saving slimmer profile. I'll report my findings here.
 
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xDiVolatilX said:
I just bought a slim 15mm 120 arctic fan
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so did i and now theyre on sale... first one was a dud though, one of the blades dragged on the frame. so i exchanged it and the new one is working good. it moves almost as much air and makes almost as much noise as the normal ones. but thats all ill say, unless you wanna make a thread for those.
 
pendragon1 said:
so did i and now theyre on sale... first one was a dud though, one of the blades dragged on the frame. so i exchanged it and the new one is working good. it moves almost as much air and makes almost as much noise as the normal ones. but thats all ill say, unless you wanna make a thread for those.
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Nice, good news. If I like it a lot I may replace my rad fans with it. I'll start with the rear 120 push fan, I probably should have gotten the pull for it also in hindsight.
 
xDiVolatilX said:
I just bought a slim 15mm 120 arctic fan

(not the one in this thread)

This one ARCTIC P12 Slim PWM PST - 120 mm Case Fan with PWM Sharing Technology (PST), Pressure-optimised, quiet motor, Computer, extra slim, 300-2100 RPM - Black https://a.co/d/2YaoPnm

for one of my rads. Looking forward to using it for it's space saving slimmer profile. I'll report my findings here.
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I recently bought the updated version of Scythe's slim fan-----and it started have ticking and rubbing noises at idle speeds, after 2 days of use.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BRRQCF46/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
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Arctic is my go-to fan vendor. I feel like Noctua are better, but not better for the money. Every time I go to buy fans, it seems like I can buy 5 packs of Arctic fans for what it seems to cost for a single Noctua of the same size.
 
I ordered 2 of them to try out on my Liquid Freezer II. It's a 280mm but I have a couple of Noctua 120->140mm adapters laying around so I'll see how they fare in comparison to the stock fans.
 
sinisterDei said:
Arctic is my go-to fan vendor. I feel like Noctua are better, but not better for the money. Every time I go to buy fans, it seems like I can buy 5 packs of Arctic fans for what it seems to cost for a single Noctua of the same size.
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I don't use a lot of fans but over the past several years I've replaced most of my fans (previous fans were damn old and dying) and every 120mm and 140mm fan was replaced with an Arctic. When my son built a new system pretty much every fan in it was replaced with an Arctic as well. Neither of us has had a single problem with any of the fans and the performance is nothing to complain about. I always buy them in 5 packs and the price/performance is easily the best of anything out there.

I have no reason to go with any other fans (especially since I don't care about RBG.)
 
SmokeRngs said:
I don't use a lot of fans but over the past several years I've replaced most of my fans (previous fans were damn old and dying) and every 120mm and 140mm fan was replaced with an Arctic. When my son built a new system pretty much every fan in it was replaced with an Arctic as well. Neither of us has had a single problem with any of the fans and the performance is nothing to complain about. I always buy them in 5 packs and the price/performance is easily the best of anything out there.

I have no reason to go with any other fans (especially since I don't care about RBG.)
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RIP

rbg-poster.jpg
 
Discovered the Arctic fans myself over a decade ago now. Still have some of those same fans running even in 92mm. I have only had to replace one of the fans because of an odd noise. My HTPC has been running 24/7 for over 8 yrs now with the same fans, lol.
I'm building a new rig and discovered they have ARCTIC P14 PWM PST. Ordered a five pack. You really can't beat the price/performance from Arctic fans.
 
For my gaming and htpcs, I've long replaced all of the Noctuas for Artics P12s. Basically the exact same performance for a whole lot cheaper. Easily able to afford 3x intakes and 1 exhaust. That being said, for my Noctua NH-D15, I have two Noctua A12x25s.

I saw a youtube review (may be the on in the OP or not), but it showed that this new fan has a signfincantly higher max RPM than the normal P12. This means more air, but it also means more noise. I want the opposite. The review showed that, that at say 35 dba (which is pretty silent), this new fan put out a hell of a lot more CFM. That's great! But going to Amazon I see alot of people complaining about coil whine and it being loud of low RPM.

Anyone here have direct experience with these fans yet? Would love to get an upgrade at case fans if possible.
 
Rev. Night said:
For my gaming and htpcs, I've long replaced all of the Noctuas for Artics P12s. Basically the exact same performance for a whole lot cheaper. Easily able to afford 3x intakes and 1 exhaust. That being said, for my Noctua NH-D15, I have two Noctua A12x25s.

I saw a youtube review (may be the on in the OP or not), but it showed that this new fan has a signfincantly higher max RPM than the normal P12. This means more air, but it also means more noise. I want the opposite. The review showed that, that at say 35 dba (which is pretty silent), this new fan put out a hell of a lot more CFM. That's great! But going to Amazon I see alot of people complaining about coil whine and it being loud of low RPM.

Anyone here have direct experience with these fans yet? Would love to get an upgrade at case fans if possible.
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Dang, that's a bummer.

Looks like I will stick with Be Quiet, after all. Their quality seems very consistent. Love their fans.
 
Here is the review I watched.



Makes the P12 MAX seem like an ez buy but damn those Amazon reviews:

Ordered three of these as I needed to replace three 120mm fans and add a fan in my Lian Lil lancool2. One fan was placed in the front bottom, one in the middle under the GPU and the one rear exhaust. I hear a low "raspy" noise at low rpms. I use Fan Control v149. If the fans were ever so slightly running they would make a "raspy noise" even at low volume. I try to keep my computer near silent when working from home. Manually controlling the fans and setting to 0 would eliminate this sound but the fans are turned off and not spinning.

I have four other Artic 140mm P14's and the 2 stock fans that came with the notcuta dh15 chromax. Neiher of these fans have this raspy noise. After testing out the these max fans I ordered the original Artic p12 "non-max" and confirm they don't have this "raspy noise" at low rpm's. The p12 max will blow a lot more air at 100% compared to the non max but rather have a much more quiet environment. Hope this review helps!
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If you want things to be silent don't spend $10 on this, go buy an NF-A12x25 that doesn't hit 3300 RPM for $35. I went this route because I don't care about noise especially when gaming in a mITX build
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These definitely move a lot of air, far more than the regular P12's, but are louder, and not just because of the higher RPM's. The other reviewers are right - they do make a distinct "raspy" or whirring noise, at all RPMS. This noise is more annoying to me than the old P12 hum. I actually still prefer the regular P12 PWM, especially since the hum they produce can be minimized or even eliminated at certain RPMS. Unsure if I will keep these.

If noise is not a concern for you or your case is not conducive to letting out fan noise (mine is, as it is a fractal north with the mesh side panel) these are still a good buy and actually cost me less than the P12 PWM did
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xDiVolatilX said:
I just bought a slim 15mm 120 arctic fan
(not the one in this thread)
This one ARCTIC P12 Slim PWM PST - 120 mm Case Fan with PWM Sharing Technology (PST), Pressure-optimised, quiet motor, Computer, extra slim, 300-2100 RPM - Black https://a.co/d/2YaoPnm
for one of my rads. Looking forward to using it for it's space saving slimmer profile. I'll report my findings here.
Click to expand...
So I installed one of these (slim edition 15mm) and while I appreciate the acoustic performance and the air flow is decent the radiator screws it came with do not thread into my Alphacool radiator and because they are slim fans they require a certain exact length of rad screw. I made it work with a couple of washers and basically jamming it in enough to hold it snug but the screws don't cleanly screw down.
The normal 30mm versions should be perfect but the slim ones the screws might be a headache. I'm glad I only got one for the rear small rad cause if I got sets of these the screws wouldn't fit.
 
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I haven't installed mine yet. Meant to install them when my kid was over next and he hasn't been over. I got some fans to install in his rig too (not these ones). Hopefully Friday or Saturday cuz I'm stupid and ordered a 4090 and it arrives tomorrow so I might as well do it all at once.
 
It just seems like there is a lot of confusion about the different versions of their "P12" fan.

You have the regular P12, which is obviously the cheapest. These are basically sleeve-bearing fans (or "fluid-dynamic bearing" which is just a fancy name for a slightly more advanced type of sleeve-bearing) and are sold in both 4-pin PWM and 3-pin non-PWM versions. Often sold in 5-packs for an even better price. These work great at first but for 24/7 operation they won't last more than a few years before the bearing begins to fail.

Then you have the versions that are branded "CO" for "Continuous Operation". These are 4-pin PWM, use Ball Bearings, and are the ones to get. Maybe just very slightly louder but will basically last forever due to actually having real bearings.

This "Max" version seems to be a new version, with it's main feature being a lower RPM threshold. Nice feature if you need it, otherwise I'm not sure what it brings to the table beyond the "CO" version.

I just see a lot of people being lured into these fans by the low price and people having good experiences with the ball-bearing versions, and ending up with a cheap sleeve-bearing fan, thinking that the differences are minimal since they are all "Arctic P12 fans".
 
GotNoRice said:
It just seems like there is a lot of confusion about the different versions of their "P12" fan.
This "Max" version seems to be a new version, with it's main feature being a lower RPM threshold. Nice feature if you need it, otherwise I'm not sure what it brings to the table beyond the "CO" version.
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i havent seen any confusion over the different versions.
theyre almost twice the speed of the regular one. they do have BBs.
1679776872258.png
 
GotNoRice said:
It just seems like there is a lot of confusion about the different versions of their "P12" fan.

You have the regular P12, which is obviously the cheapest. These are basically sleeve-bearing fans (or "fluid-dynamic bearing" which is just a fancy name for a slightly more advanced type of sleeve-bearing) and are sold in both 4-pin PWM and 3-pin non-PWM versions. Often sold in 5-packs for an even better price. These work great at first but for 24/7 operation they won't last more than a few years before the bearing begins to fail.

Then you have the versions that are branded "CO" for "Continuous Operation". These are 4-pin PWM, use Ball Bearings, and are the ones to get. Maybe just very slightly louder but will basically last forever due to actually having real bearings.

This "Max" version seems to be a new version, with it's main feature being a lower RPM threshold. Nice feature if you need it, otherwise I'm not sure what it brings to the table beyond the "CO" version.

I just see a lot of people being lured into these fans by the low price and people having good experiences with the ball-bearing versions, and ending up with a cheap sleeve-bearing fan, thinking that the differences are minimal since they are all "Arctic P12 fans".
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Did you watch any reviews? The "Max" version is a new design. Performs better. and has some updated features.

However, actual users are finding some quality issues, it seems. Which makes it seems like review samples may have been cherry picked or something.
 
People crap on Amazon reviews for good reason, but there at times gold in them thar hills. Especially if they are all saying the same bad things
 
Forget it. I won't buy any arctic fans again. All failed after a year. Scythe gentle typhoons or these lovely thermalright tl-b12s for life.
 
Goddamnit, 1 of the 4 fans is defective and they're sold out on Amazon. Requested a refund, it didn't seem to have option for a replacement guessing due to oos. I replaced the 2 on the Arctic 240 AIO and they are louder than the stock ones but nothing annoying. I also did swap out my GPU so I'm not sure so maybe it's a combo of both with the slight increase in noise. Once I'm gaming and got the surround sound going I don't notice any fan noise anymore. Haven't really checked temps too much yet.
 
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THUMPer said:
Forget it. I won't buy any arctic fans again. All failed after a year. Scythe gentle typhoons or these lovely thermalright tl-b12s for life.
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I had this issue with the F12's and F14's, but I have been running at least 50-60 P12's in my many rigs that run 24/7, and over the last 2-3 years AI have not had a single failure
 
THUMPer said:
Forget it. I won't buy any arctic fans again. All failed after a year. Scythe gentle typhoons or these lovely thermalright tl-b12s for life.
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Oh wow interesting. I've never heard a negative long term review (one year isn't even that long). Thanks for sharing.
 
two years in and all 5 of my P12s are still fine. i had one P14 that went "bad" after i stuck a knuckle in it but they replaced it and i had a dud P12 slim(warped blade) that they replaced no prob.
 
So compared to the normal P12s, at the same rpm range of 500-1000, these maxs would be pushing out more air while also being quieter? If it wasn't for the QA issues/whining noises of the p12 max, these would be an easy buy?
 
Rev. Night said:
So compared to the normal P12s, at the same rpm range of 500-1000, these maxs would be pushing out more air while also being quieter? If it wasn't for the QA issues/whining noises of the p12 max, these would be an easy buy?
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no sure, i would assume about the same as the fan blades arent different it just can spin faster.
what qa issues? a couple "one offs" is hardly "issues"...
 
Rev. Night said:
Read the amazon reviews. Multiple people are complaining about the noise these new max p12 fans are making. They are saying they actually prefer the old ones.

Several reddit users are saying the same thing:
https://www.reddit.com/r/hardware/comments/11g386p/hardware_canucks_your_favorite_fan_just_got_so/
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i dont read german or spanish and the english reviews seem fine to me, except one with no real explanation.
well yeah, double the speed does mean more noise. the hum complaints appear to be people talking about the normal P12s though, but i didnt scroll through the whole thread.
 
It's not about more noise at max levels, its about raspy/whirly sounds at the 500-1500 rpm range, where most people are going to be use them. Would love if some [H] member would give them a shot
 
Rev. Night said:
It's not about more noise at max levels, its about raspy/whirly sounds at the 500-1500 rpm range, where most people are going to be use them. Would love if some [H] member would give them a shot
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so similar to the 900-1100rpm noise on the normal ones. i didnt see anyone mentioning those specific ranges, unless it was in ze german...
i would have but im not paying their insane prices. idk what happened but they are NOT a "value" option up here anymore, $36CAN for a single fan is insane...
 
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