ARCTIC F12-120 mm Standard Case Fan, quite motor, Computer, Push- or Pull Configuration, Fan Speed: 1350 RPM - Black, White

Product Information

Noctua makes a few different versions, but the ones we’re interested in are the 3000 RPM versions, which are the best airflow fans in the range. Both the 120 mm and 140 mm versions offer more than 100 CFM of airflow, with the 140 mm fan, in particular, impressing with its 158.5 CFM. Static pressure is also impressive, and the 120 mm fan takes the cake here with a staggering 7.63 mm-H2O. Overall, we think that the Arctic P12 and P14 are some of the best PC case fans to come out in recent years. Both prove that you don’t need to spend a lot of money to get quiet, high-performance fans for your rig.

Passive CPU coolers, however, have no fans. The biggest advantage is the completely silent operation. The heat is conducted into the heatsink and discharged from there into the surrounding air. Since air, without additional airflow, is a poor conductor of heat, passive coolers need to have quite large heatsinks to achieve adequate cooling performance, yet are not as powerful as active coolers. Adding two top intakes reduced CPU temperatures by a single degree and raised GPU temperatures by the same amount, although that may just be run-to-run variance. Even if it isn’t, a single degree Celsius reduction in CPU temps isn’t worth the additional cost of two extra fans.

Many RGB fans only have a single RGB ring on the intake side, limiting the visibility of the ring depending on their placement. Not so with the Corsair QL fans. These have RGB LED rings on the intake and exhaust sides; the upshot of this design is that you get that sweet RGB ring lighting no matter the fans’ orientation. If you’ve always been frustrated by the dull exhaust sides of many RGB fans, these Corsair QLs are for you. So, on paper, you should be able to run the P14 PWM at 1500 RPM (or less) and achieve cooling performance on par with the P12 PWM. If the 120 and 140 mm fans have a similar price, you might as well go with larger fans if they’ll fit in your case. The be quiet! Silent Wings Pro 4, ENDORFY Fluctus 120 PWM ARGB, and Arctic P12 are not the overall winners, but deliver very solid results in all tests. The Cooler Master Mobius 120P ARGB are thus also the strongest RGB fans in this test run, are followed by the RGB version of the DeepCool FC120 and the ENDORFY Fluctus 120 PWM ARGB.

The MSI Silent Gale P12, DeepCool CF120, and Cooler Master Mobius 120 still perform very well in the 120mm case fan test, even when nearly inaudible.

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At the lower performance end remain the Alseye Xtreme X12, which not only provide the lowest performance, but are also many times louder than the next two fans at the lower performance end. The be quiet! Shadow Wings 2 and the Fractal Design Aspect 12 do not offer high peak performance, but they remain quiet enough on uncontrolled full power that they do not attract negative attention. Observation over all results Quiet yet powerful case fans: Cooler Master Mobius (bottom left), MSI Silent Gale P12 (bottom right), DeepCool FK120 (top left) and Arctic P12 (top right) Choosing the best case fans for your rig depends a lot on what you need out of your PC’s cooling solution. Some fans excel at near-silent running, while others crank the fan speeds up to push as much air as possible to feed your hot, power-hungry PC components regardless of noise. It’s all about finding the right fan for the job.

There are two types of PC case fans: static pressure fans and airflow fans. Static pressure fans excel at pulling or pushing air through restrictions such as dust filters, radiators, and drive cages. On the other hand, airflow fans work best at moving air as fast as possible, at the cost of reduced performance through the restrictions mentioned above. Fan noise (like everything else) is measured in decibels (or dBA), and the smaller the number, the quieter the fan. If noise is important, prioritize a fan with a low decibel level, or one with several modes you can switch between, so you’ll have quiet options without sacrificing performance when you need it. Also, as we said before, larger fans can spin more slowly, and therefore more quietly, while still moving lots of air, so it’s probably a good idea to get the largest fans your case can hold. With a name like be quiet!, you’d expect their products to focus on low-noise operation above all else. And that’s exactly what you get with the Silent Wings 3 PWM fans, in both 120 mm and 140 mm guises. The NF-A12x25 PWM and the NF-A14 PWM are static pressure-focused fans, but they also offer more than enough airflow to make them viable for every position in a PC case. We particularly like the NF-A14 as an all-purpose cooling solution. Its 82.5 CFM of airflow trumps even some airflow-focused fans while still offering a decent 2.08 mm-H2O of static pressure for pulling air through dust filters and other intake obstructions.Value is all well and good, but what if you have the money to spare and want a truly premium case fan? If that sounds like you, you’ll want to make a beeline for Noctua’s NF-A12x25 PWM and NF-A14 PWM case fans. They’re modern classics of the case fan world for good reasons.

Let’s take Arctic’s 140 mm P14 and 120 mm P12 for example. The P14 boasts 72.8 CFM of airflow and 2.40 mm-H2O of static pressure at 1700 RPM. The P12, on the other hand, offers 56.3 CFM and 2.20 mm-H2O at a slightly higher 1800 RPM. I’m a big fan of cooling hardware that strikes a good balance between noise and performance, which is why the Arctic and mainline Noctua products top our list. But what if you don’t care about low noise operation and just need a ton of airflow and static pressure? Say hello to Noctua’s Industrial PPC fans. Another thing to keep in mind is that fans are generally specialized for one of two things. Either they are optimized to move a high volume of air (generally with large blades and high RPM) or generate high static pressure. High-airflow fans can run into problems when used in a case with restricted airflow – that’s what high static pressure fans are for.Speaking of moving air, the stat you want to keep your eyes out for is “CFM,” which stands for “cubic feet per minute.” The higher the number, the more air the fan can move, the better. That said, fans with the highest CFM also tend to be loudest. Most gaming PC cases will support 120 and 140 mm fans, letting you choose between the two. While both will be fine, 140 mm fans tend to be the better choice overall. Why? 140 mm fans’ increased diameter means they can perform better than 120 mm fans at a given RPM. So you can run your 140 mm fans slower for reduced noise while maintaining equal airflow to a 120 mm fan. In the budget range, I had particularly counted on the Arctic fans, with the P12 and P12 Max also delivering upper-class performance at a very low price. The Arctic F12s unfortunately don’t quite make the cut of their 140mm sisters and lose out significantly to the P12 models.