Cooling Arctic P12 Slim PWM PST officially released and available for purchase

thelaughingman

SFF Guru
Original poster
Jul 14, 2018
1,413
1,566
Initially shared in the T1 thread but I feel this fan merits a thread of its own.
For those needing slim fans on radiators and are having a hard time getting Noctua NF A12x15, Arctic now has P12 in 15mm thickness.

Given the great track record of the full size P12 especially in terms of p/p, I have high hopes for this fan to offer a good alternative to Noctua A12x15 which has been the de facto slim fan for SFF-enthusiasts for a long time.

Already some reviews are out, but no direct comparison with the A12x15 yet:
For those in Europe, you could already order it via the local Amazon webpage - UK, FR, ES, DE. The rest of us can order directly from Arctic's web store but the high international shipping costs just negates all the savings. So in my case I'll have to wait for local vendors to stock these 😁
 
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SFF Watercooled

Master of Cramming
Sep 26, 2020
398
172
120mm Slim Fans Table

Technical DataID-Cooling NO-12015-XTProlimatech Ultra Sleek Vortex 12Scythe Kaze Flex SlimSilverstone FN123 SlimScythe Slip Stream Slim 12mm (1600 RPM)Scythe Slip Stream Slim 12mm (2000 RPM)Alphacool SL-15Cooler Master Xtraflo SlimRosewill RASF-141213Noctua NF-A12x15Arctic P12 Slim PWM PST
Speed500 - 1600rpm400 - 1300rpm300 - 1800rpm2000rpm1600rpm2000rpm600 - 1800rpm500 - 1600rpm600 - 1600rpm450 - 1850rpm300 - 2100 RPM
Acousticsmax 30.2 dB(A)max 17 dB(A)max 30 dbA23.5 dB(A)28.89 dB(A)37 dB(A)max 32 dB(A)max 30 dB(A)max 30.32 dB(A)max 23.9 dB(A)max 22.5 dB(A)
Air Flow Ratemax 53.6 CFMmax 56 CFMmax 50.79 CFM32.6 CFM38.05 CFM45.47 CFMmax 42 CFMmax 58.4 CFMmax 54.55 CFMmax 55.44 CFMmax 41.1 CFM
Static Pressuremax 1.81 mm H2Omax 0.9 mm H2Omax 1.35mm H2O1.52 mm H2O1.11 mm H2O1.35 mm H2Omax 1.2 mm H2Omax 1.76 mm H2O???max 1.53 mm H2Omax 1.45 mm H2O
Average Lifespan???100,000 h100,000 h40,000 h30,000 h30,000 h50,000 h40,000 h50,000 h150,000 h???


Good Slim 120mm Fans With Good Availability

Arctic P12 Slim PWM PST (Low Price, Average Airflow, Average Pressure, Low Noise)


Scythe Kaze Flex Slim (Average Price, Good Airflow, Good Static Pressure, Average Noise, Good Quality)


Noctua NF-A12x15 (High Price, High Airflow, High Static Pressure, Low Noise, Great Lifespan)


Rosewill RASF-141213 (Low Price, High Airflow, Average Noise, Average Lifespan)


Silverstone FN123 Slim (Average Price, Low Airflow, Low Noise, Good Lifespan)


Alphacool SL-15 (Average Price, Average Airflow, Average Static Pressure, Average Noise, Average Lifespan)

Overall, the Noctua A12x15 is still the best slim 120mm fan if you're willing to pay the premium
 
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thelaughingman

SFF Guru
Original poster
Jul 14, 2018
1,413
1,566
I don't think the max RPM really matters because you're buying fans for airflow, static pressure, price, availability, quality, thickness, etc. but not RPM?
You never run your fan to max RPM? I do set my fan curve such that it hits 100% with certain trigger.

At 100% RPM - Diminishing return? Yes. More performance though? Still yes.
 

Kommando

Average Stuffer
Dec 19, 2020
78
54
I don't want to hear my fans at 100%, so my fan curve stops way earlier around 60 %. Which i consider very loud already.
I mean, would you set your fan curve to 100% if your current 2000rpm fans would run around 3000 rpm at maximum?
 
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thelaughingman

SFF Guru
Original poster
Jul 14, 2018
1,413
1,566
I don't want to hear my fans at 100%, so my fan curve stops way earlier around 60 %. Which i consider very loud already.
I mean, would you set your fan curve to 100% if your current 2000rpm fans would run around 3000 rpm at maximum?
I do let my A12x25 hit 2000-2050 RPM and it's fine with me. You're different so you do you.

But I will just ask - How can more information hurt?
 
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thelaughingman

SFF Guru
Original poster
Jul 14, 2018
1,413
1,566
and it keeps coming! this guy prefers Arctic noise profile to that of Noctua, to each his own indeed! the only caveat is that his P12 Slim only hitting 1900 RPM instead of 2100 RPM listed spec.

 
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Kommando

Average Stuffer
Dec 19, 2020
78
54
I do let my A12x25 hit 2000-2050 RPM and it's fine with me. You're different so you do you.

But I will just ask - How can more information hurt?
Ah no, i didn't point towards the information thing. I was just triggered by your maximum fan curve. ;-)
Sure, the additional information would be nice!

PS: I had the NF A12x15 on the L12S. And this fan was the reason that i replaced the whole cooler (25mm doesn't fit with L12S in my case). It really becomes noisy very quick. There sure is a lot of potential in slim fans that needs to be exploited.
 
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