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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. This allowed us to run each of the Fans off one single PWM Header on the mainboard while connecting each of the fans together. 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. 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) But I understand the increase in motor power. I would say the original P12 is quite significantly underpowered, with small headroom.
ARCTIC P12-120 mm Case Fan, Pressure-optimised, quiet motor ARCTIC P12-120 mm Case Fan, Pressure-optimised, quiet motor
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… PDF 429.9KB ACFAN00171A - P12 PWM (White) - RoHS, REACH, PAHs declaration of Compliance - 2022-10-14 To our delightful surprise, the Arctic P12 PWM managed to beat absolutely every other Case Fan that we own. 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).
WHAT'S IN THE BOX?
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. 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.
ARCTIC P12 PWM PST - 120 mm Case Fan with PWM Sharing
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. Conclusion: The P12 PWM PST is a good, solid built fan. With only five blades I am confident that it will run quieter than those with seven or more blades. Of course, this will depend on the speeds. The fan is perfect for the "no frills" people. I know you can't believe it, but there are some out there that just have not embraced RGB and ARGB and that is OK! However, if you wanted the fan to have a little extra pizzaz, you could always use the Akasa Digital 120mm frame with RGB LED lighting to get the bling. I was not disappointedin it, and I don't think you will be. To summarize our findings, as long as we ignore the fact that the Fans look a bit Outdated or Boring and the short PST Wire, we cannot say anything negative about the P12's in regards to their performance. At first, we assumed that this was one of the reasons why these Fans could be so cheap, but upon investigation, it turned out to be a feature.P12 / F12 PWM PST CO => Has a PWM Connection + Daisy Chain Connection + Build for Constant Operation We would have hoped that the wire would be long enough to keep the rest of the Fan wires behind the mainboard. Inside of the Box, we can find the Fan, a little Bag with 4 Mounting Screws, and a Smartphone Shaped piece of paper with a QR Code redirecting to the User Manual. 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.
ARCTIC P12 PWM - 120 mm Case Fan with PWM, Pressure-optimised
Overall the P12's performance is excellent. Not only did Arctic's fan outperform a much more expensive rival, but it also managed to beat our 140mm Fans. After letting Heavyload grill the CPU, we came to the following results while the Fans were spinning at 100% PWM. well, it did once the noise became high enough to make all the finetuing Noctua does irrelevant, at 31dB(A) and below there’s no competition, and I hope we’ll see these lower noise targets soon”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. P12 / F12 PWM PST => Has a PWN Connection + a Daisy Chain Connection to hook multiple Fans to one Fan Header 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.
ARCTIC P12 Slim PWM PST - 120 mm Case Fan with PWM Sharing
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. 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)One of the differences from the BioniX P120 A-RGB that is also good to notice when judging the results is the smaller offset of the rotor from the frame. The P12 has a half centimeter narrower tunnel, so the rotor is closer to the obstacle, which changes the airflow velocity in addition to the noise. So there is actually a similar effect that the Noctua NA-IS1 frame is supposed to provide.
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