Arctic P14 Pro fans really do get LOUD

[GotNoRice]

Setting up the new fans in my Corsair 6500D Airflow case, I used 4 different sets of 3 fans. On the front are 3 modest Thermalright TL-C12C-X28 fans. On the side I used the 3 Thermalright TL-B12 fans that came stock with the Thermalright Frozen Edge 360 AIO that I bought.

But I also put in two sets of fans that could move some serious air. On my AIO (up top), I swapped out the 3 stock Thermalright TL-B12 fans with 3 TL-B12 "Extrem" fans, which are similar but have a much higher maximum RPM. For my bottom intake fans I used 3 Arctic P14 Pro fans.

Now I've used the Thermalright TL-B12 "Extrem" fans before, so I knew what to expect. They are no-BS Dual Ball-Bearing fans. At max RPM they are the loudest fans I've used aside from things like Delta server fans that pull 1-2A per fan, etc. I've used many Arctic fans before but this is my first build with the newer P14 Pro.

At first I had the 3 TL-B12 "extrem" fans and the 3 P14 Pro fans all on the same PWM fan hub since they all have higher power consumption. After initial testing though, I was surprised just how loud it was. I assumed that it had to be the TL-B12 "Extrem" fans that were so noisy, so I moved the P14 Pro fans onto their own motherboard header so I could control each set of fans independently. Turns out that it was really the P14 Pro fans that were making the most noise at maximum RPM. The TL-B12 "Extrem" fans were noisy at max also of course, but it was a much more tolerable loud "woosh" noise. The Arctic P14 Pro fans are more like a vaccum cleaner at max RPM.

I'm surprised to see the Arctic P14 Pro get seemingly outclassed by the TL-B12 "Extrem". The two fans have the same listed power consumption (0.35A). The P14 Pro is rated for 110CFM while the TL-B12 "Extrem" is rated for 112CFM so very similar there also. Even the air pressure rating is nearly identical, with the P14 Pro rated at 5.2 mmH2O while the TL-B12 "Extrem" is rated at 5.0 mmH2O. So similar, yet remember we are comparing a 120mm fan vs a 140mm fan, so really the 140mm P14 Pro should have a huge advantage here, especially when it comes to moving the same amount of air with less noise. Yet the P14 Pro is noisy as hell at max RPM!

Granted, it's not a true apples to apples comparison because I'm using the TL-B12 "Extrem" fans as push fans on my AIO while I'm using the P14 Pro fans as pull fans on the bottom of the case. Maybe the P14 Pro fans just really don't like being used in that configuration. Also, both are quite tolerable once I got the PWM curves dialed in, but while I set my curves to start shallow, they climb steep to 100% as my CPU approaches 75C. That does occur in some tasks, so noise at max RPM is still relevant.

I'm curious what others here think about the P14 Pro and what their experiences have been.

 

[freeagentt]

I was surprised by how quiet the Extrem fans are. I know the whoosh you are talking about. It is like a B12, but louder. I find them to be more tolerable than T30s. The T30 has an annoying motor whine at around 2500 and up.

Noctua iPPC 3K are by far the most annoying fans that I own. The motor noise is absolutely monstrous. I have 3x 140s and a 120, and all of them together are intolerable at full speed.

I have 6 or 8 120x38s ranging from 2000-2500rpm and they are far more tolerable than those iPPC.

 

[Wade88]

I was surprised by how quiet the Extrem fans are. I know the whoosh you are talking about. It is like a B12, but louder. I find them to be more tolerable than T30s. The T30 has an annoying motor whine at around 2500 and up.

Noctua iPPC 3K are by far the most annoying fans that I own. The motor noise is absolutely monstrous. I have 3x 140s and a 120, and all of them together are intolerable at full speed.

I have 6 or 8 120x38s ranging from 2000-2500rpm and they are far more tolerable than those iPPC.

I use the ippc3k only in headless systems that are in rooms where no pets are ever allowed and humans only when remote stuff isn't working.

 

[freeagentt]

I use the ippc3k only in headless systems that are in rooms where no pets are ever allowed and humans only when remote stuff isn't working.

Not very many doors in my house, but if I run them I can hear my system clearly on the main floor, and I keep my system in the basement rec room.. pretty intense!

And passing out on the couch.. or even in the room beside hahaha.. good luck..

 

[yinzerniner]

Had the exact same experience. Tried numerous Arctic fans and their main benefit seems to be extreme air flow at the cost of very high noise. And comparing them to my various Thermalright, Nzxt, Corsair, etc fans the build quality is a runs below. And two rungs fully below Noctua and Phanteks.

Thankfully I’ve never had to run the Phanteks at higher speeds since they move so much air at lower RPM. But the noise profile around 2000rpm isn’t bad, and the Arctics I’ve used have hideous tonality.

The C12 x28 are legit great fans. Other than needing crazy airflow they work very well and have a nice tone for less than $4 a piece. If they could somehow make a 30mm LCP model it would crush just about everyone else out there.

 

[freeagentt]

I am running a set of H12-X28 2100s as pull on mine. I took off my Extrems and put the P12s back on as push lol.. its a bit quieter..

 

[Wade88]

Not very many doors in my house, but if I run them I can hear my system clearly on the main floor, and I keep my system in the basement rec room.. pretty intense!

And passing out on the couch.. or even in the room beside hahaha.. good luck..

Insulate the ceiling/floor between floors and the interior walls.

 

[ivandagiant]

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I'm looking to buy some case fans. Wanting a couple intakes on the bottom of my Jonsbo Z20, and an exhaust on the back and top corner.

What is the difference between the P14 Pro and the P14 Max?? From the specs I see it just seems that the Pros are literally better in every way. Less noise, more CFM, better static pressure. The pros are even significantly cheaper on Amazon too, so whats the deal?

I've seen this post basically and some comments on reddit say the P14 pros sound bad when used as an intake against your case. So should I be looking to get the Max instead then?

 

[yinzerniner]

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I'm looking to buy some case fans. Wanting a couple intakes on the bottom of my Jonsbo Z20, and an exhaust on the back and top corner.

What is the difference between the P14 Pro and the P14 Max?? From the specs I see it just seems that the Pros are literally better in every way. Less noise, more CFM, better static pressure. The pros are even significantly cheaper on Amazon too, so whats the deal?

I've seen this post basically and some comments on reddit say the P14 pros sound bad when used as an intake against your case. So should I be looking to get the Max instead then?

I have the exact same case, and don’t recommend the Arctic. They’re nothing special until about 2k rpm in terms of airflow, and above that the airflow can get very high but loud but even worse they have a pitch that’s almost unbearable to my ears. Here’s the best test I’ve seen so far:

View: https://youtu.be/leeSg-wjUYk?si=r-FB0O8zY2M6iXqa

Obviously if you can stomach the costs Noctua or Phanteks are the best at just about any noise level, but unless you have a seriously cooling compromised system you’re better off getting great value fans and running them at lower rpm’s and taking the small temp hit if noise is a concern.

Ended up with simple Thermalright and Corsair fans that I had left over, I believe the model names were C12-x28 for the TR and RS120 for the Corsair, and they both run decent airflow at low noise below 1750 rpm. I tried the Arctic 140mm fans in this case and even at max rpm/noise the temp difference was at most 1-2c for both cpu and gpu vs the smaller fans at lower rpm/noise. Would probably just go with all Thermalright again if buying new as they’re like $5 a fan and are amazing for that price, while Corsair’s are nice but not 4x the price nice.

For intake on the bottom would suggest only fans that have thicker isolation pads as otherwise the blade center could make contact with the case bottom (ask me how I know) as the bottom flexes a decent amount.

If you were to splurge for any fan it would be the back fan. A single Phankteks T30, Noctua or other highly rated noise/Cfm model will help a lot since it handles the majority of exhaust if you have an air cpu cooler.

 

[ivandagiant]

I have the exact same case, and don’t recommend the Arctic. They’re nothing special until about 2k rpm in terms of airflow, and above that the airflow can get very high but loud but even worse they have a pitch that’s almost unbearable to my ears. Here’s the best test I’ve seen so far:

View: https://youtu.be/leeSg-wjUYk?si=r-FB0O8zY2M6iXqa

Obviously if you can stomach the costs Noctua or Phanteks are the best at just about any noise level, but unless you have a seriously cooling compromised system you’re better off getting great value fans and running them at lower rpm’s and taking the small temp hit if noise is a concern.

Ended up with simple Thermalright and Corsair fans that I had left over, I believe the model names were C12-x28 for the TR and RS120 for the Corsair, and they both run decent airflow at low noise below 1750 rpm. I tried the Arctic 140mm fans in this case and even at max rpm/noise the temp difference was at most 1-2c for both cpu and gpu vs the smaller fans at lower rpm/noise. Would probably just go with all Thermalright again if buying new as they’re like $5 a fan and are amazing for that price, while Corsair’s are nice but not 4x the price nice.

For intake on the bottom would suggest only fans that have thicker isolation pads as otherwise the blade center could make contact with the case bottom (ask me how I know) as the bottom flexes a decent amount.

If you were to splurge for any fan it would be the back fan. A single Phankteks T30, Noctua or other highly rated noise/Cfm model will help a lot since it handles the majority of exhaust if you have an air cpu cooler.

Ah I see, I got some Corsair RS120s from Walmart just because I'm really bad when it comes to remembering to order things online. They can get really loud though, was wanting something quieter, and 140mm as well (bigger fan = less RPM = quieter right?). Also the RS120s were kinda pricey, got it for $50 (I just realized they overcharged me it was supposed to be $40) for a 3 pack, was wanting to return them.

I'm running a peerless assassin from TR for CPU cooling. I appreciate the advice about splurging on the exhaust.

 

[GotNoRice]

What is the difference between the P14 Pro and the P14 Max??

The P14 Pro is the successor to the P14 Max.

 

[GraveNoX]

I'll try to make a comparison between p12 pro, thermalright ty-143 SQ and icegale xtra 140, all when used as exhaust fan at the back without any dampening.
ty-143 and icegale are slightly louder than p12 pro but both move alot more air than p12 pro
p12 pro doesn't perform like a 3000rpm fan, but it sounds like a 3000rpm fan
p12 pro have an annoying noise, like a vacuum cleaner
ty-143 have an annoying type of sound even at 5 volts
icegale don't have annoying sound at lower rpm.
icegale don't have a hum type of sound even at high rpm, the fan doesn't vibrate in hand even at full rpm
icegale is slighly quieter than ty-143 at 2500rpm
icegale is slightly more powerful than ty-143 at 2500rpm (icegale can hit almost 2600)
ty-143 and icegale move a lot of air even at low rpm
ty-143 and icegale move air at an angle, p12 pro moves air in a straight line. From 1 meter I can feel the air from p12 pro but not so much from ty-143/icegale
I also had few Arctic P120 and P140, poor performance, also all broke in 1-2 years. They still work but they vibrate, like the motor is not fixed anymore
I also had icegale 120 (not extra), wanted to use it on the table to cool an external hard drive, it had a type of noise even at lower rpm. Gave it to a friend to use it as front fan. To cool the hard drive I use the fan the came with id-cooling se-226-xt, much quieter than the icegale 120 when used on the table.
So.. I recommend the icegale xtra.
But the iceberg thermal website no longer works, no idea what happened to them. I will buy 5-6 more icegale xtra 140, they are $8 each in a shop in my country. I will replace all my ty-143 SQ with these icegales.

Some people are annoyed even by some 1000rpm fans, well none of these fans are good for them.

 

[GotNoRice]

I ended up pulling the P14 Pro fans out of my main case. I put some modest Thermalright TL-C14CW-S fans in their place. Seems that the P14 Pro is just really noisy especially in a horizontal orientation with an obstructed intake. I'm still using other P14 Pro fans in my file server, vertical orientation, with dust filters even, and they are not loud.

 

[pendragon1]

high flow fans do tend to be louder BUT in my experience ALL arctic fans have a noisy spot. my reg 14s and 12s all make odd noises at ~1000rpm, i keep it lower or higher to dodge it.

 

[Nobu]

high flow fans do tend to be louder BUT in my experience ALL arctic fans have a noisy spot. my reg 14s and 12s all make odd noises at ~1000rpm, i keep it lower or higher to dodge it.

Sounds like that could be caused by resonance. If it's not just a result of the blade shape and number, you might get less noise if you move it farther from any nearby objects (fan grill, cables, etc).

 

[pendragon1]

Sounds like that could be caused by resonance. If it's not just a result of the blade shape and number, you might get less noise if you move it farther from any nearby objects (fan grill, cables, etc).

the top and back have grills in the case and that would be why, but the fronts are wide open and still do it. motor noise i assume, easy enough to avoid with a fan curve.