In recent times, the market has seen an influx of high-performance PC fans with different designs all competing for your bucks. One thing, which I guess I am sure of, is that Noctua set the standard with their NF-A12x25 PWM series of fans. Those fans deliver high performance at low noise output. Then we saw Phanteks releasing their PH-F120T30 fans that gain praise all around. This was followed by yet another success from be quiet! Silent Wings 4 Pro 120mm fans. SilverStone released Shark Force 120 and the game goes on.

ARCTIC made their entry with P12 MAX fans. These fans are based on ARCTIC’s most popular P12 PWM fans and ARCTIC has taken the design to the next level with the MAX series of fans. One thing that significantly differentiates these fans from the competition is the price point. ARCTIC is still able to keep prices in check while delivering a next-generation high-end cooling solution.

In this article, we will take a look at these fans and see what the hype all about is.

Item:                     ARCTIC P12 MAX

Pricing:                 MSRP €12.99 at the time of the Review for a single fan

ARCTIC P12 MAX Fans Specifications

Closer Look

It is time to take a look at the fans.

ARCTIC at present is offering a single fan pack. We have received three fans for testing. These fans feature 0dB mode meaning they would come to stand still at < 5% PWM cycle under no load or at idle.

Fan’s specifications are listed over here.

ARCTIC has provided 4x self-tapping screws in the box.

We have been mentioning that ARCTIC is good at retaining the footprint of its core design when it comes to these fans. P12 MAX is no different from that. But there is more to it than meet the eyes. These fans are in a gray and black color finish giving them quite a look even without RGB lighting. I think ARCTIC may release the RGB/A-RGB variants down the road but not sure. These fans have a dimension of 120x120x25mm. Looking at the fan, we can see that there is still a 5-blades assembly but this time, it has a key difference. These blades are connected to a ring inside the main frame. This ring in turn spins along with the fans. ARCTIC refers this design as Fan Wheel. The P12 Max features a closed fan-wheel design. According to ARCTIC, this Fan Wheel provides pressure stability in certain cases where there is high resistance to airflow and resultantly on the pressure. This resistance force is distributed evenly on this wheel which in turn enables this fan to maintain the high static pressure.

We can see a black color sticker on the hub. It has ARCTIC branding. Nothing significant but it seems like ARCTIC is not using a metal-reinforce bearing shell. The overall outlook of these fans is square in design which is good. Since we are at it, let’s take a look at the key parameters of these fans.

• The airflow rating is 81.04CFM which is quite good at this price point.
• Static Pressure rating is 4.35mmH₂O
• Sound Level of 0.6 Sone

A simple online conversion will tell us that 0.6 Sone means 20.63 dB. I am not sure about it but this seems to be a low value by the brand as our testing is showing opposite results. These fans have a speed range of 200 to 3300 RPM. What is impressive is the function of 0dB. This would mean that these fans would come to stand still or stop spinning at less than 5% PWM cycle. Please keep in mind that for this to achieve you have to have a supported motherboard with enabled feature in UEFI/BIOS settings. These fans don’t have ARCTIC PST technology. In simple words, these fans don’t have a daisy-chain function.

Each mounting corner has a gray color anti-vibration pad that minimizes the vibrational noise coming from the surface on which the fans are installed.

The frame of these fans is sturdy but unfortunately, we had bad luck. All of three fans came broken or cracked. This is not the first time we have seen from ARCTIC. Their P14 PWM and P14 Slim PWM fans also came broken and we never found their reply satisfactory to be honest.

Take a look. Clearly, we can’t use this corner to install the fan. We ended up using a dual mount only to install these fans on the radiator for testing. This was not it as one of the fan’s bearings seems to be roughed out. It was making a grinding noise that was 76 dB on our sound meter. Clearly, this would have already violated the very purpose of testing these fans in first place but we still use the non-affected fans to measure the noise output. ARCTIC needs to up the game with QC and the shipping department.

There are two small arrows on one side of the frame. These provide a visual clue to the users in determining the direction of airflow through the fans and the direction in which blades will spin.

Each fan has a flat cable with a 4-pin PWM connector to power these fans. PWM range is quite good on these fans.

Looking at the backside of the fan, we can spot a 4-arms assembly. One arm has a slim inset on the right side. Wires are routed vertically through this inset towards the frame of the fan. The power rating of this fan is mentioned as 0.29A at 12VDC. This means the power consumption would be 3.48W. This would mean we can easily connect 3x of these fans to a single fan header (rated at 12W) of the motherboard since their combined power draw would be 10.44W. The starting voltage of these fans is 3.9V. Take a look at the top left corner and you will find it cracked.

Unlike the P12 PWM fans which use Fluid Dynamic Bearings, the P12 MAX fans are using Double-Ball Bearings. We know that double ball bearings can handle the axial and radial loads in both directions which would mean installing these fans vertically or horizontally would not affect the performance in the long run and will provide durability. ARCTIC has employed bearings from Japanese manufacturer NMB. However, there is a catch. Running these fans at high speed would make more noise compared to fluid dynamic or sleeve bearing. These fans have MTTF of >500,000 hours thanks to these bearings. Due to sinus-magnetizing the new motor only creates about 5 % of the vibration from the commutation of a regular DC motor without a filter.

Testing

We have used the below-mentioned configuration: –

• Intel i7 10700k
• MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHWAK
• XPG D41 16GB @ 2666MHz DDR4 Kit
• GGIABYTE GeForce RTX 3060 VISION OC
• addlink S70 256GB NVMe SSD
• bequiet! Straight Power 11 850W Platinum PSU
• Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow Edition in an open frame layout

Here is the settings table for testing:

We are reporting the absolute temperature on the graph. The testing is done on an open-air bench system. Once inside the chassis, the temperatures are expected to rise and would largely depend upon the optimal airflow inside the chassis. Not every run of the stress test may yield the same result. This could well be due to many factors like mounting pressure, thermal paste application, and varying ambient temperature. Not to mention the silicon differences even among the same category of chips. Hence, it is pertinent to mention the testing methodology along with the specifics.

Before we take a look at the results, we have pitched the P12 MAX fans against the P12 PWM fans on ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 360 cooler. Here is a comparison data of these fans:

The ambient or room temperature was 25°C to 25.5°C hence we are reporting absolute temperature from CPU Package. Our initial test run was with both fans running at 100% PWM cycles and this is where P12 MAX came out a winner by a margin of 3°C. However, there is a catch, although these fans take a win, they did that making more noise output compared to P12 PWM fans. This is where you would like to draw a line between high performance with more noise output and decent but still adequate thermal performance but at a significantly better noise profile.

Now coming to the next round of testing, since P12 PWM fans were operated at 43 dB(A), we normalized the P12 MAX fans to operate at 43 dB(A). The ARCTIC P12 MAX fans reached this sound level at roughly 50% PWM duty cycle. When the test was repeated, we found both fans giving the same thermal performance. This shows the thermal headroom that P12 MAX have even when operating at half of their rated speed.

Here is a table showing RPM range and corresponding airflow and speed measurements of the ARCTIC P12 MAX fan:

The anemometer was placed close to the fan. Since we measure all 120mm fans the same way, the error of margin would apply to all.

Acoustic

The fans at 100% of their speed were doing approximately 53 dB(A) at an ambient of 32 dBA. One of the fans was making 76 dB(A) due to bad bearing. We have to mention this since we are testing these fans.

Conclusion

ARCTIC makes its entry in the arena where major players have been releasing their new generation fans with P12 MAX fans. These are 120mm size fans based on ARCTIC’s famous P12 PWM fans. Much has been hyped about these fans and it is understandable after all it is ARCTIC we are talking about. They sent us three fans for testing but it got delayed due to my total hip replacement surgery. I am getting back at this slowly and this time these fans are tested.

There are a few changes in the design department of these fans compared to the regular P12 PWM fans. ARCTIC has still retained the famous 5-blade design but this time around there is a ring attached to the tips of these blades making it one complete assembly. This ring is named Fan Wheel by ARCTIC and it serves the purpose of taking the hit from resistance force from the surface but ensuring that static pressure is maintained without losing airflow.

These fans feature 0dB mode as these would stop spinning at or below 5% PWM cycle. Please note that you would need a supporting motherboard and would also need to enable the Auto Stop or what settings your motherboard’s UEFI BIOS provides. This would come in handy when the system is idling or at no load. However, these fans don’t have ARCTIC PST technology. Simply put you can’t daisy-chain these fans. This is what PST is all about – a fancy name. These fans are powered by a 4-pin PWM connector cable. These cables are flat in design.

These fans feature double ball bearings from Japanese manufacturer NMB. These bearings provide a much longer service life of these fans having a minimum of 500,000 hours. One possible reason to use these bearings is that these fans have high speed. Maintaining these speeds over a much longer time period would need better bearings but it is also surprising that many other manufacturers are providing similar speed range using Fluid Dynamic Bearings. Anyhow, we don’t know if the motor of these fans has a 6-pole, 3-phase design or not. According to ARCTIC using sinus-magnetizing, the new motor only creates about 5 % of the vibration from the commutation of a regular DC motor without a filter.

Let’s take a look at the numbers because numbers do speak. These fans are rated for 200 to 3300 RPM. We can see a wide PWM range on these fans. These are rated to generate a maximum of airflow of 81.04 CFM at a static pressure of 4.35 mmH₂O. ARCTIC has stated the noise output of 0.6 Sone which roughly equates to 20 dB. This is something I don’t agree with or maybe I have found a wrong or basic conversion online without digging deep. These fans draw 0.29A at 12VDC using 3.48W. We have compared the stats of these fans with the numbers of regular P12 PWM fans. You can check that in the Testing section above.

We can’t comment on the build quality of these fans since all three fans come with mounting corners cracked or broken and ARCTIC did not provide a replacement. I think ARCTIC forgot that they sent us these fans for review or maybe they were busy. That was not all as one of the fans was making a horrible large noise which comes to 76 dB(A) on our sound meter. This alone was enough to invalidate all the testing. Their P14 PWM and P14 Slim PWM fans were also delivered in a similar state in the last delivery. Their QC and shipping departments really need to up their game.

Now coming to the main point of thermal performance of these fans, we pitched these fans against ARCTIC’s P12 PWM fans using Liquid Freezer II 360 cooler. Here is a summary:

ARCTIC with their P12 PWM fans has been at an advantage when it comes to noise performance and we have seen that P12 MAX fans at roughly 50% of their speed are now doing what regular P12 PWM fans are doing at their full speed (100% PWM cycle). This has provided P12 MAX a thermal headroom of 3°C (as per our testing) coming from going above 50% PWM cycle. This is one way of doing it. We did not see any benefit of going below 43 B(A) as fans are silent at this range. This tells us that the thermal performance of P12 MAX fans is quite good albeit at a high noise output.

ARCTIC is shipping a single fan pack at the time of this writing. A single fan pack is listed at €12.99. This is a good price point making these fans highly lucrative. Combined with good performance albeit high noise output and user-friendly pricing make these fans are one heck of a solid deal and this is further augmented with a 6-year warranty. All-in-all, these fans are a win-win for a budget user provided ARCTIC does not ship the broken fans! These fans are a perfect choice for any scenario including case ventilation on rail mount or mesh panel, use on a radiator or air cooler, you name it. We are not giving any badges to these fans and you know the reason.

Pros:

• Thermal Performance
• Warranty
• Price
• Wide PWM Range and Control
• Double-Ball Bearings
• Fan wheel

Cons:

• Broken Mounting Corners

We are back with another project taking place soon. This time we are doing a round-up content of 360mm AIOs. Earlier we did a 240mm AIO round-up that is still among our best contents. ARCTIC Liquid Freezer-II  240 came out all round winner hands down. This time, ARCTIC has sent us Liquid Freezer – II 360 cooler for this project. We are taking a look at this cooler in this article. This cooler has the same design and layout as we have seen on ARCTIC Liquid Freezer – II 240, 280, and 420. Yes, we have tested all the variants and them high-performance editions. The 360mm is a more mainstream version. We have got the Revision 7 of this cooler which is the latest of all. This would mean two things:

• Slim Backplate for Intel LGA1700 socket in particular
• Offset Mounting for AMD AM5 socket

This cooler has a same VRM cooling fan integrated into the block. The thickness of the radiator is 38mm and we are seeing P12 PWM fans pre-installed on this radiator. I am sure I don’t need to go into the details over here. This unit is compatible with Intel LGA 1700/1200/115x/2066/2011(-3) Square ILM sockets and AMD’s AM4 and AM5 sockets.

Product:               Liquid Freezer II – 360

Price:     

€124.99 [MSRP at the time of this writing]
£119.99 Overclockers UK
£124.99 Amazon UK

ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II – 360 Liquid Cooler Specifications

Packaging and Unboxing

The cooler is shipped inside a sleek packing box. Following are mentioned:

• 6-Year Warranty
• Intel LGA1200 and 1700 Compatible
• AMD AM4 and AM5 Compatible
• MX-5 Included

As has been the case, ARCTIC does not provide printed user guides for their coolers. User can scan the label which would take them to the online user manual with animations and instructions.

The internal packing is similar to what we have seen on LF-II 240 and 280 variants. There is no egged carton used in this packing.

Accessories

It is time to see what is provided in the accessories:

There are 4x spacers and 4x screws for AMD platform.

There are:

• Intel Mounting Brackets
• AMD Mounting Bracket
• Refined Intel Backplate

Looking closer at the AMD bracket, we can see that both have different designs and they are designed to provide offset mounting so that the cold plate can make direct contact with the hot zone area on the AMD CPU.

We have:

• 4x Thumb Nuts
• 4x Intel LGA-20xx Standoffs/bolts
• 4x Intel other sockets Standoffs/bolts
• 4x Sockets
• 2x Screws for Brackets
• 4x rubber o-rings

There is a 0.8gm thermal paste tube of MX-5 and 8x pasting washers. These washers are something I would like to go away unless they don’t require pasting on motherboard.

• 12x Radiator Screws
• 12x Fans Screws

Closer Look

Let’s start with a statement from ARCTIC about these coolers. “At ARCTIC, we are proud of our completely new all-in-one CPU water cooler series. For the Liquid Freezer II Series, we have used our experience in CPU water cooling to develop a completely new compact water cooling pump. The new pump of the Liquid Freezer II Series ensures an ideal ratio of high CPU cooling performance to low noise levels. The CPU AiO water cooler has integrated cable management within fully sleeved tubes for a clean look in your PC’s case. Our powerful P-fans provide a fast heat transfer thanks to their high static pressure and outstanding performance.”

Looking at the unit, we can see that P12 PWM fans are pre-installed and cables are routed on the side of these fans. The only exposed connection or cable is at the last fan. ARCTIC has done a neat job. Why these fans are pre-installed and cable-routed? ARCTIC has integrated the fans, pump, and VRM fan’s power connections inside the loop and has provided a single connection for the end user which is a 4-pin PWM connector. Though it has its own pitfalls, this is a convenient solution as well.

The above picture shows the routing of these cables clearly.

We removed the P12 fans without actually disconnecting them. The user can easily disconnect these fans and using extension cables can connect these fans directly to a power source as per the requirement. Each fan has specially designed 5 blades designed and optimized for high performance with low noise operation. There is an ARCTIC branding in the center. There is no anti-vibration pad on any mounting corner. The frame of the fan is quite sturdy.

The specification of the fans is:

Here we are showing the splitter cable after removing them from the fans. One of these has a 4-pin, and others have a 3-pin interface. This is a standard design.

ARCTIC is using aluminum-made radiator having a dimension of 398x120x38mm. Here 38mm refers to the thickness of this radiator. The AIOs have a standard height or thickness of 27mm. ARCTIC has provided a thicker radiator and giving more surface area to the users. Now adding 120x25mm fans would make the overall thickness of this unit 65mm or so including the heads of the screws. The FPI count is 18 on this radiator. It has 12 channels for coolant flow. There is a gap of 105mm between any two fan mounting holes on the radiator on opposite ends. The assembly is in black color finish.

Looking at the side of this radiator, we can see ARCTIC branding in the center. The blocks on both ends of the radiator are rectangular.

There is a gap between the fin stack and the side frame. This would mean that the actual thickness of the fin stack is less than 38mm. There is no protection under the mounting holes. But you are good as long as you are using ARCTIC screws.

Looking at the tube end of this radiator, we can see aluminum clamps covering the tube’s connection with the fittings. There is a QC-passed sticker as well. You can see a flat cable going into the sleeve of the left tube. This cable goes along the length of this tube and ends up inside the pump housing. The ARCTIC is using fiber-reinforced, long EPDM rubber tubes. These tubes run to approximately 450mm in length which is more than enough for any situational requirement. The sleeving is in a bit of gray shade with white lining. The tubes are designed to reduce the coolant evaporation. The tubes have ID/OD measurements of 12.4/6.0mm.

The block or pump housing is a different story on Liquid Freezer II coolers. This is a futuristic design that is drastically different compared to other coolers. The tubes are installed on top of the block which eliminates the DIMM slots clearance. We can spot ARCTIC branding on the side. The pump is ARCTIC’s own design and it is also a PWM controller which is obvious due to a single 4-pin PWM connector to power all 4x fans and pump. The power consumption is a maximum of 0.8 W at no load, 2.3 W under typical load, and a maximum of 4.3 W under full load for the entire cooler. Here are the specifications of the pump:

There is a fan integrated towards the front side of this pump housing. It has a size of 40mm and it actively cools the VRM area with almost inaudible operation. ARCTIC has done an impressive job in providing a low-noise VRM cooling solution as well on the AIO. Here is a statement about this fan from ARCTIC, “Small fans have a reputation for being particularly loud and not very durable. However, we have developed a quiet and durable diagonal fan especially for the Liquid Freezer II and are 100% convinced that this 40 mm fan is just as durable as our other case fans. In the unlikely event that it should fail, our customer service team will send you a replacement free of charge and easily, without a need to replace the entire unit.” “The fan is PWM-controlled and can cool your voltage transformers and the base area almost inaudibly by up to 15°C. This is especially effective in overclocking scenarios, inadequate VRM cooling or in housings with poor airflow, thus permitting continuously high loads. If sufficient VRM cooling is available, it can be switched off at will.”

While this sounds quite astounding, there is a drawback as well. We can’t disable this fan using any software. Instead one would need to disconnect the cable connection under the pump housing.

Here are the specifications of the VRM fan:

The backside has a removable cover. To remove this cover, one would need to remove the two screws behind the copper base of this unit. This would come in handy where there is a space restriction or constraint on the motherboard.

There are openings around the VRM fan from where the air flows out of the fan towards the VRM area on the motherboard.

There is a small size copper base measuring 39x43mm. There is a 4-pin PWM cable coming out from the base of the block. There are two cables connected on the top left side. This is powering the VRM fan on the block. Disconnect these cables to power off the VRM fan on the block. ARCTIC is using Micro-Skived fins on the cold plate for effective heat dissipation.

We are showing a 4-pin PWM connector on a single cable coming out of this complete unit.

Installation

We are not covering the details of installation. Please refer to the online user guide for detailed instructions about installing this cooler. However, we could not install this cooler on the GIGABYTE Z690 AERO G DDR5 motherboard. The cooler was not making even contact with the CPU. We tried two different backplates and whatnot and ended up giving up. Also, I would like to mention that personally, I don’t like to paste anything on my motherboard’s PCB as its removal after some time is trivial. ARCTIC should work this out and maybe a simple retrofit mounting can be employed.

Testing

We have used below-mentioned configuration: –

• Intel i7 10700k
• MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHWAK
• XPG D41 16GB @ 2666MHz DDR4 Kit
• GGIABYTE GeForce RTX 3060 VISION OC
• addlink S70 256GB NVMe SSD
• bequiet! Straight Power 11 850W Platinum PSU
• Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow Edition in an open frame layout

Here is the settings table for testing:

We are reporting the absolute temperature on the graph. The testing is done on an open-air bench system. Once inside the chassis, the temperatures are expected to rise and would largely depend upon the optimal airflow inside the chassis. Not every run of the stress test may yield the same result. This could well be due to many factors like mounting pressure, thermal paste application, and varying ambient temperature. Not to mention the silicon differences even among the same category of chips. Hence, it is pertinent to mention the testing methodology along with the specifics.

Results

ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II – 360 was doing 77°C (average of all cores temperature values) under load which is 1°C lower than the SilverStone cooler.

Our previously recorded observations stand still on this cooler as well:

• The P12 PWM fans, the pump and the VRM fan are being controlled using a single PWM cable.
• That single PWM cable is reporting the speed of the fans by default.
• There is no way we can monitor the speed of the VRM fan and the pump.
• On Auto PWM settings, the pump’s speed will be regulated by the PWM controller depending upon the load.
• There is no way we can have the pump run at full speed while the fans operate at Auto PWM setting depending upon the load.

Noise

The ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II – 360 at 100% PWM duty cycle was giving noise output of 43 dBA with an ambient sound level of 32 dB(A). Impressive performance for sure.

Conclusion

We are continuing our testing of 360mm AIOs from various manufacturers as part of the upcoming roundup content of 360mm AIOs. This time we have tested the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II – 360 cooler. Their 240mm AIO was the winner of our 240mm round-up content. It is obvious that we would have high expectations from this cooler as well but the competition is stiff in 360mm size coolers and this makes it even harder with new generation AIOs coming out this year. We have already seen what EK Nucleus AIO CR360 Lux D-RGB cooler can do as it smashed the competition out of the equation in our testing.

The ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II – 360 has the same footprint that we have seen on the other versions. It comes with 3x P12 PWM fans pre-installed and integrated cable management making the life of users easy. This unit is compatible with Intel LGA 1700/1200/115x/2066/2011(-3) Square ILM sockets and AMD’s AM4 and AM5 sockets. Our unit has a marking of Revision 7. It is the latest and this revision indicates that besides having MX-5, this unit has a slim backplate for Intel platform and offset mounting for AMD AM5 platform.

ARCTIC is using 38mm thick radiator that is made of aluminum alloy.  It has an 18 FPI count with 12 channels for coolant flow. The radiator has a dimension of 398x120x38mm. While length of this unit is not an issue as we have seen 400mm and above length AIOs, the overall thickness of 65mm with fans could be an issue so do your homework properly. There are metallic clamps on the tube connection with fittings. The pre-installed fans have shorter length cables which is understandable since ARCTIC has done cable management in the factory. There is a single cable going under the mesh sleeve running across the length (450mm) of the tube and ending in the pump housing. The ARCTIC is using fiber-reinforced, EPDM rubber tubes which are flexible without kinking and reduces coolant evaporation. They have an OD/ID of 12.4/6.0mm.

The pump housing is a design to speak of. It is radically different than the other designs on the market. The tubes are installed on top of this block eliminating any DIMM clearance issue. There is a 40mm fan integrated into this housing to cool the VRM. ARCTIC has provided a single cable connection for the users. This single cable is controlling all three P12 PWM fans, 40mm VRM fan, and the pump. While this is a good thing, you can’t control the speed of fans and pump individually. Using a custom fan curve will also reduce the pump speed which could impact the thermal performance. We can’t control the VRM fan speed either and to make it stop, one would need to disconnect the physical connection under the pump housing. The BIOS will report the fans’ speed by default and there is no way of knowing the speed of pump and VRM fan.

Since every component is being controlled by that single cable and that cable has a 4-pin PWM connector, we can say that pump is also PWM controlled. Being PWM controlled, the pump is optimized to reduce the humming and operate at efficiency with a lower noise level. The power consumption is a maximum of 0.8 W at no load, 2.3 W under typical load, and a maximum of 4.3 W under full load for the entire cooler. The pump is rated for up to 2000 RPM speed. We have a large footprint of this pump housing and it could make compatibility issues for some motherboards. ARCTIC is continuously updating the list of incompatible motherboards on their website. The VRM fan is rated for a maximum of 3000 RPM speed.

ARCTIC has provided three P12 PWM high-performance fans with the cooler. These fans are all black adding more to the overall neutral/stealth look of the cooler. These are rated for a maximum of 1800 RPM at 12VDC. Their airflow rating is 55.6 CFM, air pressure of 2.2 mmH₂O, and noise level of 0.3 sonne. They are using Fluid Dynamic Bearings.

Speaking of the installation, it is same as we have seen on other ARCTIC coolers. Installation of this cooler on Intel LGA1700 would require 29 items to install the block on the CPU. I personally don’t like to paste anything on the PCB of motherboard and this cooler would need 8x washers to be pasted behind and on front side of the motherboard. I was unable to install this cooler on GIGABYTE Z690 AERO G D5 motherboard as all tries resulted in uneven connection. This is why we have tested this cooler on MSI Z490 TOMAHAWK motherboard instead.

The ARCTIC Liquid Freezer – II 360 is listed at €124.99 on ARCTIC website at the time of this writing, which is a good price point for this cooler. On top of this attractive pricing, ARCTIC is offering a 6-year warranty on these coolers. This cooler has a nice performance in our testing though we saw SilverStone bridging the gap with their V2 of PF360 cooler. The low noise output on ARCTIC is another strong factor and it favors this thermal performance since SST cooler was roughly at 51 dB(A) compared to 43 dB(A) in our testing. This is the fourth ARCTIC liquid cooler on our test bench and it did not disappoint us as well. ARCTIC means business with these coolers and I am just imagining what their next-generation coolers would do!

Pros:

• Good Thermal Performance
• VRM Fan
• Integrated Cable Management
• Pre-Installed Fans
• Intel LGA1700 and AMD AM5 Sockets support
• Noise Output
• Warranty
• Price

Cons:

• Trivial Installation
• Washers need to be pasted on PCB
• No separate speed control for fans and pump
• No auto mechanism to stop VRM Fan
• Motherboard Compatibility

FAQ

Q1: Can the Arctic Liquid Freezer II 360 Liquid Cooler be used with both Intel and AMD processors?
A1: Yes, the Arctic Liquid Freezer II 360 Liquid Cooler is compatible with both Intel and AMD platforms, including Intel’s LGA 1700 and AMD’s AM5 sockets.

Q2: Does the Arctic Liquid Freezer II 360 Liquid Cooler come with thermal paste?
A2: Yes, the liquid cooler includes a tube of MX-5 thermal paste to help ensure proper heat transfer between the CPU and the cooler.

Q3: Can the Arctic Liquid Freezer II 360 Liquid Cooler handle overclocking?
A3: Absolutely! This liquid cooler is designed to handle overclocking with ease, providing efficient cooling even under heavy CPU loads.

Q4: How long is the warranty period for the Arctic Liquid Freezer II 360 Liquid Cooler?
A4: The Arctic Liquid Freezer II 360 Liquid Cooler comes with a generous warranty period of 6+ years.

Q5: Is it possible to add additional fans to the Arctic Liquid Freezer II 360 Liquid Cooler?
A5: Yes, it is possible to add extra fans to the radiator for enhanced cooling performance. However, it is important to ensure proper compatibility and airflow optimization. It is suggested to use the same type of fans for best compatibility.

When it comes to PC Cooling, enough attention is paid to the coolers, which is obvious. But thermal pastes and thermal pads play a critical role as well. After all, it is the thermal paste that will be conducting a thermal transfer from source to the cooler. Thermal paste is of paramount consideration when it comes to the effective cooling of the main components like CPU, GPU, PCH, and any other chipset. There are multiple factors contributing towards the optimal performance of the given thermal paste over the period of time like its thermal conductance, viscosity, operating temperature range, make-up, electrically conductive, cure time, etc.

Well, to be honest, I was not expecting to see a new thermal paste from ARCTIC given their MX-5 thermal paste release a couple of years back. In our testing of MX-5, there was not a substantial difference between the ever-popular MX-4 and MX-5 at that time. I think it was 0.8°C or something. I wanted to test the MX-4, MX-5, and MX-6 in this content but given my continuous run of poor health, I only managed to pitch the new MX-6 against our standard test bench thermal paste Noctua NT-H1.

Pricing

It is important to pay attention to the packing quantity of the thermal paste when comparing the price. ARCTCI has sent us a couple of 4gm pack. This thermal paste is also available in 2gm and 8gm packs. Since we are comparing this thermal paste against Noctua NT-H1 so we have included its pricing as well.

We have taken NT-H1 pricing from NewEgg whereas the ARCTIC prices are taken from their website. We can see that higher capacity packs offer more value compared to lower capacity. Since we are testing a 4gm pack with MX Cleaner, it is costing € 1.00 on top of the 4gm pack without MX Cleaner. At the time of this writing, a Euro is doing 1.08 US dollars in trade. Using this info, we can see that MX-6 4gm pack would cost 16.13 dollars making it 4.03 dollars per gram. 3.70 dollars per gram would be for a basic 4gm pack. Even then, Noctus thermal paste is costing less. Pricing alone would not tell anything and this is where the performance of the thermal paste would come into the equation to give a full answer.

Specifications

Packing Box

The paste and MX Cleaner are shipped inside a paperboard box finished in ARCTIC theme. This is a 4gm pack that comes with 6x MX Cleaner wipes.

There is a scan label that will take you to the ARCTIC website for the user manual. There is a video showing the application of the thermal paste on that page.

Closer Look

Here is a statement from ARCTIC about MX-6. “With its improved composition, the ARCTIC MX-6 has a measurably lower thermal resistance than the MX-4. The basis for calculation is the temperature difference between the cooler base and the heat source (in C) in relation to the applied heat load (in W), which also results in the unit C/W. The higher the thermal resistance, the worse the heat can be transferred through the TIM layer. Thermal insulators, as an example, therefore always have a particularly high thermal resistance, while thermal interface materials usually have a particularly low one.”

The paste is supplied inside a tube with a teal color sticker overlay.

There are 5 small size holes on the sticker overlay showing the remaining thermal paste inside the tube. This visual presentation would make it easier for the user to know how much paste is left inside. Don’t be surprised to know this tube is not fully filled with 4 gm paste. We can see the tip of the handle at the end of the fifth hole. Seems like ARCTIC is using the same tube for the 8gm pack as well. Nothing wrong with saving costs.

ARCTIC does not indicate or mention the thermal conductivity rating of its thermal pastes. Noctua also does not provide this information. The viscosity of this thermal paste is 45000 Poise. Doing the conversion, you would get 4,500,000 mPa.s. This thermal paste has crazy high viscosity. Higher viscosity would mean that the thermal paste would not bleed or disappear quickly. The operating temperature range is -50~150°C. The breakdown voltage is mentioned to be 7.5 kV/mm, however, breakdown temperature and voltage are not mentioned. The volume resistance is 1.8×10¹²Ω-cm. the density or specific gravity is 2.6g/cm³. The ARCTIC MX-6 has a gray color like the previous generations. This thermal paste is not electrically conductive and it is not capacitive either. It is a carbon filler-based thermal paste and reaches its maximum performance without burn-in. Simply speaking, this thermal paste is mentioned to have no cure time and you would instantly get the result that would otherwise come after the paste has completed cure time. ARCTIC has mentioned that this paste is using Silicone gel for optimal distribution through high mounting pressure. ARCTIC has mentioned that due to the high viscosity of this thermal paste, it does not leak due to Pump-Out effect.

Speaking of the properties, this thermal paste is:

• Non Conductive
• Non Capacitive
• Non Drying
• Non Bleeding
• No Cure Time

ARCTIC has mentioned that this thermal paste is suitable for many applications like direct die applications, graphics cards, console chips, and laptop chips.

MX Cleaner is a 100% biodegradable wipe to clean the surface of CPU and other chips for easy and complete removal of the thermal paste and its residue. Each wipe is provided in a separate sealed container to ensure a longer shelf life.

The above picture shows the backside of the wipe container.

The wipe is made of 100% Limonene extracted from citrus essential oil. This would mean that these wipes don’t have alcohol or benzenes as this substance is used in industrial applications for cleaning as it is effective and gentle on metals and alloys.

However, there is a catch to it. These wipes have very strong and unpleasant smell that doesn’t go away instantly. ARCTIC is not adding or mixing any artificial flavor for the fragrance to alter this smell. Each wipe is 115x115mm.

Testing

Now coming to the main point of this article, the following configuration is used for thermal paste testing: –

• Intel i7 10700k [5.0GHz at 1.350V]
• MSI Z490 TOMAHAWK
• Noctua NH-D15 Chromax.Black
• T-Force NightHawk RGB DDR4 16GB @ 3200MHz CAS 16
• Colorful iGame GeForce GTX 1050Ti [For Display]
• Addlink S70 256GB NVMe SSD [For OS]
• bequiet! Straight Power 11 850W Platinum PSU
• Praxis Wetbench

Following testing methodology is used for the thermal paste testing:

• Intel core i7 10700k was set to run at 5.0GHz on all cores using 1.350V.
• The chip was drawing power of nearly 182W on the package.
• A graphics card with a much higher heat load or the HEDT/EPYC CPUs with large surface areas are better candidates for thermal paste testing.
• Thermal pastes were spread evenly on the CPU IHS.
• A test run of 30 minutes was done using Cinebench R23.2 on stock settings first.
• PC was powered off for a minimum of 30 minutes after a stress test run. This would allow the completion of the thermal cycle with hot and cold runs giving the thermal paste some time to reach its near-optimal condition.
• The System was idle for 10 minutes before taking the Idle temperature values.
• A stress run of 30 minutes was done using Cinebench R23.2.
• CPU Package Temperature is taken as a reporting value.
• Ideally, we would have wanted to do 3 tests as a minimum for a single thermal paste and show the average of these three runs. I am recovering from a total hip replacement surgery and slowly resuming the testing hence only one test result is used
• The fans of the air cooler were set to run at their full speed for which the settings were made in UEFI/BIOS.
• HWInfo64 was used to monitor the sensors.

The above picture shows a thermal paste. This paste is not easy to spread in my opinion unlike MX-5 or even Noctua NT-H1.

Please note that not every run of the stress test may yield the same result. This could well be due to many factors like mounting pressure, thermal paste application, and varying ambient temperature. Not to mention the silicon differences even among the same category of chips. Hence, it is pertinent to mention the testing methodology along with the specifics. Each time the even spread of the thermal paste was verified and where the thermal paste spread was not even or gives the impression of a tear or a poor application, the result was dropped and the new test with correct spread was repeated. This is done to ensure the validity of the data.

In case you are wondering why I did not use a new platform like AMD Ryzen 7000 series or Intel 13th generation platform, the issue with new platforms is their high thermal density. AMD Ryzen 7000 series CPU will hit 95°C which is by design whereas the Intel SKUs run warm even on stock settings. This makes it difficult to test the coolers and thermal pastes the old traditional way. The only way around is to see for how long a given cooler can maintain the operating frequencies before hitting thermal junction or what score a cooler gives in software like CINEBENCH R23.2. Cutting it short, we stick with the 10th generation platform so that we can test using the traditional way.

Let’s take a look at the results.

Well, the ARCTIC MX-6 lowers the temperature by 1°C over the Noctua NT-H1. I would hardly declare it as a winner.

Conclusion

ARCTIC has released a new thermal paste named MX-6. Honestly speaking, I was not expecting the new thermal paste to be out that soon taking over the ever-popular MX-4 and less-popular MX-5. But, will this paste be able to actually take over the MX-4? That is a million-dollar question. The MX-6 is termed an Ultimate Performance Thermal Paste by ARCTIC. This thermal paste is available in three size packs including:

• 2gm
• 4gm
• 8gm

Then there are packs with 6x MX Cleaner swipes or wipes as well. We have tested the MX-6 4gm pack with MX Cleaner. This thermal paste is:

• Electrically Non-Conductive
• Non-Corrosive
• Non-Curing
• High Viscosity
• Non Capacitative

This thermal paste is based on Carbon filler nanoparticles and is using silicone gen for optimal distribution requiring high mounting pressure. ARCTIC does not provide the thermal conductivity ratings of its thermal pastes and the MX-6 is no exception to that as well. This thermal paste has a high viscosity rating of 45000 Poise (4,500,000 mPa.s). This would mean it will not bleed out and dry that soon. The operating temperature range is -50~150°C. The breakdown voltage is mentioned to be 7.5 kV/mm, however, breakdown temperature and voltage are not mentioned. The volume resistance is 1.8×10¹²Ω-cm. the density or specific gravity is 2.6g/cm³. The ARCTIC MX-6 has a gray color like the previous generations. ARCTIC has mentioned that due to the high viscosity of this thermal paste, it does not leak due to Pump-Out effect.

You can use the blob method or can even spread this paste but I have found that this paste is not easy to spread compared to MX-5 and NT-H1. But this is not that big of a deal. ARCTIC has provided 6x MX Cleaners with this thermal paste. You can also buy a simple pack without these wipes. MX Cleaner is a 100% biodegradable wipe to clean the surface of CPU and other chips for an easy and complete removal of the thermal paste and its residue. Each wipe is provided in a separate sealed container to ensure a longer shelf life. The wipe is made of 100% Limonene extracted from citrus essential oil. This would mean that these wipes don’t have alcohol or benzenes. However, there is a catch to it. These wipes have very strong and unpleasant smell that doesn’t go away instantly. ARCTIC is not adding or mixing any artificial flavor for a fragrance to alter this smell. Each wipe is 115x115mm.

The MX-6 4gm with 6x MX Cleaners will cost you € 14.99. The simple pack without MX Cleaners would cost € 13.99. We have taken these prices from ARCTIC website at the time of this writing. We have compared this thermal paste against our standard test bench thermal paste Noctua NT-H1. Noctua thermal paste is costing less than ARCTIC MX-6. Our testing has shown that ARCTIC MX-6 has hardly a 1°C temperature drop compared to the NT-H1. This is definitely not a deal breaker. This thermal paste is suitable for regular use.

We are doing a 140mm fan’s comparative performance testing on a gigantic radiator from ALPHACOOL named SuperNova having a size of 1260mm. We reached out to a few brands for the provision of 140mm size fans. ARCTIC has joined this content with their popular P14 PWM PST and P14 PWM PST Slim fans. We have already tested the ARCTIC P14 PWM PST Slim fans. This time we are doing a dedicated review of P14 PWM PST Fans.

Item:                     ARCTIC P14 PWM PST Value Pack of 5 Fans

Pricing:                 MSRP $€39.99 at the time of the Review

Specifications

Dimension

Packaging

ARCTIC is using minimalistic packaging for these fans. A pack of 5x fans is shipped inside a cardboard box. There is a blue color label having a title of P14 PWM PST Value Pack. ACFAN00138A is a part number. Their website is listing the products based on part numbers in the URL. These fans are rated for a maximum of 1700RPM while generating airflow of 72.8 CFM at 2.4mmH₂O static pressure.

There is a scanning label over here. Scanning it with the right app on your phone will load the webpage of the product from the ARCTC website.

Opening the box will show all 5 fans stacked vertically. Oopsss! One fan has a broken mounting corner.

ARCTIC has provided 20x self-tapping screws in silver color.

Closer Look

Let’s take a closer look at these fans.

Each fan has a dimension of 140x140x27mm. These fans have a 27mm height compared to the 25mm standard height of the majority of the fans. The complete assembly is black in color. There is a stylish ARCTIC branded sticker on the center. These fans have 5x blades in a special layout. There are insets near the inner frame coming from the mounting corners. It seems like the tips of the blades sit closer to the frame however, there is still a gap between the tips and the frame. Each fan weighs 194gm.

There is no ant-vibration pad on any mounting corner. The mounting corners have a recessed area compared to the mounting holes.

We have a standard black color frame for the fan. The frame is quite sturdy. There are two arrow indicators located towards a mounting corner. These are there to identify the direction in which blades spin and the direction of airflow through the fans.

There is a 4-arms assembly on the backside holding the fan motor and blades to the frame. Pay attention to the orientation of these 4 arms. They are in a spiral direction as well opposite to the direction of the blades. There is no sticker on the center. Instead, the power rating of the fan and other data are carved on the frame.

These fans are using Fluid Dynamic Bearings. According to ARCTIC, a combination of alloy/lubricant which is developed in Germany is used to reduce the friction within the bearing. This in turn would generate less heat and improves efficiency. This will increase the service life of the fans. ARCTIC has also mentioned that their newly developed fan motor has a low noise output even at full speed. It is also stated that the new motor produces no startup jerk and less commutation vibration. This is the reason we don’t see any anti-vibration pads on the mounting corners.

These fans feature a flat cable. Each cable is terminating at a 4-pin PWM connector and a 3-pin socket. This is what ARCTIC refers to as PST (PWM Sharing Technology). These connectors allow an easy daisy chaining of the ARCTIC fans for single-source control.

The salient specifications are:

Thermal Testing

We have used the below-mentioned configuration for this testing:

• Intel i7 13700k
• GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS ELITE AX
• DIY Setup
• Sabrent Rocket DDR5 2x16GB @ 4800MHz CL40 kit
• Colorful GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4G [For Display]
• Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 2TB NVMe SSD
• be quiet! Straight Power 11 850W Platinum PSU
• Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow Edition converted into an open-frame layout

Following DIY setup is used:

• ALPHACOOL Eisblock XPX PRO AURORA Digital RGB – Full Brass Black
• ALPHACOOL Core 100 AURORA Acetal/Acrylic with D5/VPP Pump
• ALPHACOOL HF Clear Tube 16/10mm
• ALPHACOOL NexXxos HPE-30 280mm Full Copper Radiator
• ALPHACOOL 90° Rotary 16/10mm Fittings
• ALPHACOOL Quick-Release Fittings

Here is the settings table for testing:

Before we move on to the results, let me write a few lines on the new platforms from both camps. We have seen AMD AM5 and Intel Raptor Lake S CPUs taking more power and this time both sides have aimed at reaching the maximum clocks regardless of thermal limit. In fact, they run into thermal limits right away depending on the cooling solution and the clocks being used. This has made testing of CPU coolers challenging because viewers/readers are not used to a new nomenclature which is what clocks are sustained under a given load using a particular cooler. That is if the cooler is capable of providing enough cooling head to sustain the high frequencies. Traditionally we are used to going the other way around which is which cooler is better in terms of thermal capacity. Despite this, we are using temperatures as a base for measuring this unit.

The testing is done on an open-air bench system. Once inside the chassis, the temperatures are expected to rise and would largely depend upon the optimal airflow inside the chassis. Let’s take a look at the results. This test was done using Intel’s default settings with power limits imposed. The CPU was drawing roughly 225W power so this is a 220W domain result.

For comparison, we have ALPHACOOL Core 140mm PWM 3200RPM Fan in the graph. Below is a specifications comparison:

Result

Compared to SilverStone and ALPHACOOL fans, ARCTIC fan has mediocre but still good enough specifications. This is exactly what we are seeing on the graph. Despite sitting on the bottom with a difference of only 1.9°C compared to the top slot fan, these fans have a significant advantage of having better acoustic performance compared to the other two fans. We recorded approximately 48 dB(A) sound output on ARCTIC fans running at full speed at an ambient of 32~33 dB(A) sound level.

Conclusion

The ARCTIC P14 PWM PST fans are 140mm size fans that are the backbone of ARCTIC’s most famous Liquid Freezer – II 280 and 420mm version liquid coolers. ARCTIC is known to make powerful yet balanced spec products and the P14 also fits that criterion. Rather they fit that criterion with some style. We will come to this point shortly. These fans are available as a single fan pack and a value of 5 fans. The dimension of these fans is 140x140x27mm. These fans have a thickness or a height of 27mm. Usually, 140mm size fans have a gap of 125mm between any two mounting holes on a side.

Each fan has 5 blades in a similar spiral layout as we have seen on the P14 slim series fans. The complete assembly is in black color. The frame is sturdy. There are two arrow indicators that would be helpful for novice users to identify the direction in which blades will spin and the direction of airflow through the fan. These fans are rated for up to 1700 RPM starting from 200 RPM. The starting voltage is 3.9VDC. This fan draws 1.14W using 0.12A at 12VDC. The airflow rating is 72.8 CFM with a static pressure rating of 2.40mmH₂O at 12VDC.

These fans feature Dynamic Fluid Bearings and their newly designed fan motor which is mentioned to be producing less computational vibration. This is why there is no anti-vibration pad on any mounting corner as the motor does not produce any jerk. It is also mentioned that the motor produces less heat which enhances the life of the fan.

ARCTIC has provided 20x silver color self-tapping screws in the box. Two of the fans came damaged with their mounting corners broken. This is probably done during shipping but I am not sure of a probable cause either. These fans feature PST technology or terminology. It stands for PWM Sharing Technology. Ides is simple. ARCTIC has provided a 4-pin PWM connector and a 3-pin socket per fan on a flat cable. This allows the users to daisy-chain these fans easily and controls the connected fans from a single source.

The ARCTIC P14 SLIM PWM PST is a value pack of 5 fans having an MSRP of $39.99. ARCTIC is providing a 6-year warranty on these fans. We have pitched these fans against the SilverStone Shark Force 140 and ALPHACOOL Core 140mm PWM 3200RPM fans. Those fans have high-end specifications compared to ARCTIC P14 fans. Despite that, ARCTIC fans have performed quite well with an overall difference of 1.9°C but offering an impressive noise output and consuming much lower power. These fans come recommended by us.

Thanks to ARCTIC for the provision of these fans.

ARCTIC has released a new series of P14 PWM PST fans called P14 SLIM PWM PST. The main feature of these fans is their 16mm thickness hence the term; SLIM. The standard thickness of the fans is 25mm or 27mm unless stated otherwise. The 16mm thick fans make them better suited for SFF builds. These fans are available in a single fan pack only. These fans can be used for case ventilation as well as on radiators. ARCTIC has provided custom-length long screws to install these fans on the radiators.

Item:                        ARCTIC P14 SLIM PWM PST

Pricing:                 MSRP $13.99 at the time of the Review

Specifications

Dimension

Closer Look

It is time to take a look at the fans.

The fan is shipped inside a paperboard packing box with an ARCTIC-colored theme all around. Since this is a P-series fan, hence it is static pressure optimized one. ARCTIC is offering a 6-year warranty on these fans.

The salient specifications of the fan include 52 CFM at 1.55mmH₂O pressure at 12VDC. the noise level is 0.3 Sone.

The layout of the blades is similar to what we have seen on the P14 PWM fans. However, these fans have 7 blades. The fans are rated for up to 1800 RPM speed. These fans feature 0dB mode meaning these would come to a halt under certain loads and conditions for which the UEFI/BIOS must have a Fan stop function/feature. These fans feature a wide range of RPM 150~1800 and using the PST (PWM Sharing Technology) one can achieve the same speed across all the fans. There is an ARCTIC branded sticker on the center. These are non-RGB fans. There is no anti-vibration pad on any mounting corner of the frame and there is a reason for that which we will cover later. These fans have a dimension of 140x140x16mm. This is 9mm less thickness than the standard fans 25mm fans or 11mm less when compared to the standard P14 PWM fans. The difference between any two mounting holes is a standard 105mm.

We have a standard black color frame for the fan. The frame is quite sturdy despite having a 16mm thickness.

Looking closely at the inside of the corner, we can spot the arrows. These arrows show the direction in which the blades would spin and the direction of airflow.

There is a 4-arms assembly on the backside holding the fan motor and blades to the frame. There is no sticker on the center. Instead, the power rating of the fan and other data are carved on the frame.

These fans are using Fluid Dynamic Bearings. According to ARCTIC, a combination of alloy/lubricant which is developed in Germany is used to reduce the friction within the bearing. This in turn would generate less heat and improves efficiency. This will increase the service life of the fans.

ARCTIC has also mentioned that their newly developed fan motor has a low noise output even at full speed. It is also stated that the new motor produces no startup jerk less commutation vibration. This is the reason we don’t see any anti-vibration pads on the mounting corners.

Each fan has a flat cable with two connectors. One is the 4-pin PWM connector and the other is a 3-pin socket. This allows the users to daisy-chain these fans and connects to a single source of power for the same speed during the operation.

The salient specifications are:

ARCTIC has provided long and short screws which would help the user in convenient installation in the case or on the radiator as the case may be.

The above picture shows the thickness of these fans and the standard fans for comparison.

Testing

The following test bench is used for thermal performance testing: –

• MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK
• Intel i7 10700k [4.8GHz, 1.256V]
• Liquid Freezer – II 420
• T-Force NightHawk RGB 16GB @ 3200MHz
• GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3060 VISION OC Rev 2
• addlink S70 256GB NVMe SSD [For OS]
• bequiet! Straight Power 11 850W Platinum PSU
• Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow Edition in an open frame layout

We have used AIDA64 Extreme 6.35 to stress the CPU for 30 minutes using FPU. The system is left idle for 5 minutes to record the idle temperature. The average of all the cores’ maximum temperatures is taken and reported in the graph. For comparison, we have the ARCTIC P14 PWM from Liquid Freezer – II 420 fans. Noctua NT-H1 thermal paste is used.

Please note that not every run of the stress test may yield the same result. This could well be due to many factors like mounting pressure, thermal paste application and varying ambient temperature. Not to mention the silicon differences even among the same category of chips. Hence, it is pertinent to mention the testing methodology along with the specifics.

Let’s take a look at the results.

There is roughly a difference of 1.7°C between the ARCTIC P14 SLIM PWM PST fans and the reference ARCTIC P14 PWM fans. I must say, these new slim fans pack quite a punch to deliver good performance at the same noise level.

Here is a table showing the RPM range and corresponding airflow and speed measurements of the ARCTIC P14 SLIM PWM PST fan:

We are raking the airflow reading by placing the instrument closer to the fan. The values would vary depending upon the distance between the anemometer and the fan.

We are not recording the noise output due to certain uncontrollable environment noise. Based on our actual hearing which is subjective, these fans run silently.

Conclusion

The ARCTIC P14 SLIM PWM PST fans are a new addition to the P14 series line-up from the ARCTIC. These are designed for particular use in the SFF or space constraint builds. Coming from the P-series, we expect them to favor good air pressure handling to deliver the air volume. These fans have a dimension of 140x140x16mm where 16mm is the thickness of the fans which is normally 25mm standard unless stated otherwise. The gap between any two mounting holes is 105mm.

Each fan has 7 blades in a similar layout as we have seen on the P14 series fans. The complete assembly is in black color. The frame is sturdy. There are two arrow indicators that would be helpful for novice users. These fans are rated for up to 1800 RPM starting from 150 RPM. In case you are wondering why 150 RPM, that is due to the fact that these fans would stop spinning below the 5% RPM range but for that, the motherboard’s UEFI/BIOS must support the Fan Auto Stop feature.

The starting voltage is 4VDC. This fan draws 2.28W using 0.19A at 12VDC. The airflow rating is 52 CFM with a static pressure rating of 1.55mmH₂O at 12VDC. These are mediocre ratings which would suffice for this size fan. These fans feature Dynamic Fluid Bearings and their newly designed fan motor which is mentioned to be producing less computational vibration. This is why there is no anti-vibration pad on any mounting corner as the motor does not produce any jerk as well. It is also mentioned that the motor produces less heat which enhances the life of the fan.

ARCTIC has provided custom-length long screws which allow the fans to be installed on the radiator. This is due to the fact that the standard length screws are designed around 25mm thickness of the fans. Each fan has a 4-pin PWM connector and a 4-pin socket. This allows the daisy-chain connection of these fans so that they can be controlled from a single header or power source.

The ARCTIC P14 SLIM PWM PST single fan pack has an MSRP of $13.99. There is no value pack of 3 fans yet from the ARCTIC. These fans offer a silent operation without actually comprising much of the thermal performance as we have seen in our testing. These fans were behind the more powerful P14 PWM fans by roughly 1.7°C at the same noise output level. With this good performance and a 6-year warranty, these fans are expected to perform well in the SFF build.

Thanks to ARCTIC for the test units.

ARCTIC has released the white edition of the famous P12 PST PWM series fan with stunning A-RGB lighting. We have tested multiple fans from ARCTIC and have found them to be a compelling offer in the market. This time around, we are taking a look at P12 PWM PST A-RGB 0dB White fans (Value pack of 3). These are 120mm fans with 5V based A-RGB lighting but all this is in the white color. Could not have asked for more! These are designed for use as PC Case fans having a static pressure of 1.85mmH₂O and airflow rating of 48.8 CFM. Their most salient feature is the low noise operation which is highlighted by 0dB in the model of the fan.

Item:                     ARCTIC P12 PWM PST A-RGB White 0dB Fans

Pricing:                 MSRP €41.99 at the time of the Review

Specifications

ARCTIC P12 PWM PST A-RGB Fans Closer Look

It is time to take a look at the fans.

We have received the value pack of 3 fans. They are shipped in a simple cardboard box with minimal packaging.

ARCTIC has provided 12x self-tapping screws in the box. The other items provided in the box are the fans themselves. That is all we have in the value pack.

One thing that ARCTIC is doing well is maintaining the core design element of their P series fans. We still have 5 blades in the same design as the original P12 fans have though the layout is different due to digital lighting implementation. The fans are rated for up to 2000 RPM speed with the ability to come at a standstill hence the term 0dB in the model name. Please note that this capability will only work if the motherboard supports the fan stop function. These fans feature a wide range of RPM and using the PST (PWM Sharing Technology) one can achieve the same speed across all the fans.

The P12 PWM PST RGB 0dB fans have a dimension of 120x120x25mm. The difference between any two mounting holes is a standard 105mm. the thickness of the frame on the mounting holes is 3.50mm. The mounting hole has a diameter of 4.50mm.

We have a standard white color frame of the fan. The blades are translucent and their tips are connected to the translucent ring running across the diameter of the outer frame. The center has ARCTIC branding on it. The P12 PWM PST RGB 0dB has 12 digital RGB LEDs in the center housing. These can be controlled uniformly and are compatible with the common A-RGB (5V) standards of leading motherboard manufacturers. Keep in mind that ARCTIC is not providing any external controller with these fans in the value pack but they have provided a standard 3-pin interface to that end. One cool design element is the gray color anti-vibration pads and gray color cover on the hub. This goes hand in hand with the overall white layout.

Each mounting corner of the fan has a gray color cut-to-size anti-vibration pad pasted.

There are no arrow symbols on the side frame. These arrow symbols provide a visual aid to novice users in identifying the directions before the installation.

There is a 4-arms assembly on the backside holding the fan motor and blades to the frame. The power rating of the fan with respect to the fan motor and LEDs is mentioned here.

These fans are using Fluid Dynamic Bearings. ARCTIC has mentioned that they have used a combination of alloy/lubricant developed in Germany to reduce the friction within the bearing. This in turn would generate less heat and improves efficiency. This will increase the service life of the fans.

Another wise implementation is the white color cables coming out from the frame. Each fan has two sets of cables routing out of the center. One is the 4-pin PWM cable with the socket and the other is a 3-pin, 5V RGB connector with a socket/pass-through connector. This allows daisy-chaining the fans for synchronous operation and uniform effect. The starting voltage of the fan is 5V. The fan is rated for 12V using 0.11A.

A-RGB Lighting

Here are a few pictures of these fans in action:

Testing

The following test bench is used for thermal performance testing: –

• MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK Motherboard
• Intel i7 10700k [4.7GHz, 1.25V]
• Alphacool Eisbaer 360LT HPE
• T-Force NightHawk RGB 16GB @ 3200MHz
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 FE
• Addlink S70 256GB NVMe SSD
• bequiet! Straight Power 11 850W Platinum PSU
• Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow Edition in an open-frame layout

AIDA64 Extreme is used to stress test the CPU cooler using FPU.

Please note that not every run of the stress test may yield the same result. This could well be due to many factors like mounting pressure, thermal paste application, varying ambient temperature. Not to mention the silicon differences even among the same category of chips. Hence, it is pertinent to mention the testing methodology along with the specifics.

For comparison, we have tested the stock Alphacool Rise AURORA fans on the Eisbaer cooler and compared the performance against the ARCTIC P12 PWM PST A-RGB White 0dB fans.

Let’s take a look at the results.

The ambient temperature was 25°C approximately. There is roughly a difference of 2°C between the Alphacool fans and ARCTIC P12 PWM PST A-RGB White 0dB fan. This is actually a better performance from the ARCTIC fans as the Alphacool fans are rated for up to 2500 RPM with a static pressure rating of 3.15 mmH₂O and an airflow rating of 118.3m³/h. Those are clearly high-performance edition fans optimized for high static pressure. Despite all this, the ARCTIC fans have delivered a nice performance with much better sound output.

Here is a table showing the RPM range and corresponding airflow and speed measurements of the ARCTIC P12 PWM PST A-RGB White 0dB fan:

Acoustic

The fans at 100% of their speed were doing approximately 49 dB(A) at an ambient of 33 dBA.

Conclusion

ARCTIC P12 PWM PST A-RGB White 0dB fans are a budget-friendly offer from the manufacturer without much compromise on the performance. About the time that ARCTIC has released the white edition of these P12 PWM PST 0dB fans. We received the value pack of 3 fans. The value pack provides 3x fans and 12x screws. There is nothing else in the box.

The outlook on these fans speaks for itself and ARCTIC has done a good job in providing a balance between the white and gray colors on these fans. The frame I quite sturdy and finished in coated white whereas we have gray color anti-vibration pads on the mounting corners and gray color on the fan’s hub.

These fans are 120mm in size having a dimension of 120x120x25mm. They have a speed rating of 0 ~ 2000 RPM with a maximum airflow rating of 48.8 CFM and a static pressure rating of 1.85 mmH₂O. Their sound level is rated at 0.30 Sone. They are using Fluid Dynamic bearings.

These fans feature the same design concept as is on the original P12 series fans with 5 specially designed blades. The difference is these fans boast translucent blades with a translucent ring for vivid and dynamic light effects as we have 12 A-RGB LEDs in the central housing of the fan. The A-RGB version of these fans has standard 3-pin (5V) A-RGB connectors. The use of standard connectors makes these fans compatible with the majority of the motherboards and external controllers. The fans were working fine on the MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK motherboard and responded flawlessly to the change in dynamic and static color mode changing using the Mystic Sync app.

The fans feature a 0dB mode implying that under no-load or on idle, these fans can come to stop provided your motherboard supports this function. Another good feature is the low noise operation of these fans even at full speed.

The ARCTIC P12 PWM PST A-RGB 0dB White 3 fans Value pack has an MSRP of $41.99. We don’t get a dedicated controller with this value pack. The ARCTIC P12 PWM PST A-RGB 0dB White fan (Value Pack of 3) offers comparable performance in this price range with a nice feature set including the stunning A-RGB lighting, low noise operation, 0dB support, and foremost the white color frame.

These fans come with 6 years warranty which is an added advantage with the pocket-friendly pricing. Honestly speaking, one could not have asked for more! We are getting much more than we are paying with these P12 PWM PST series fans. They can be employed for case ventilation as well as on the CPU cooler and all that glory is augmented by the vivid A-RGB light show.

We have found these fans a compelling offer for budget-conscious users who would want no compromise on the quality and performance yet without breaking the wallet. The ARCTIC P12 PWM PST A-RGB 0dB white fans come recommended by us.

ARCTIC has released a new cooler in the Freezer series lien of air cooling category. The new cooler is named Freezer 35 A-RGB. ARCTIC has released dedicated versions for Intel and AMD. This would mean one can’t have a single cooler for both platforms as they provide the mounting hardware of that particular versions’ platform only. We have tested the Freezer i35 A-RGB and as the name indicates, it is for the Intel platform.

This is a single tower cooler with a black coated assembly featuring 4x heat pipes. ARCTIC is continuing the frame style design as we have seen on the Freezer 50 cooler. There is a single P12 A-RGB fan pre-installed in a stylish shroud. The shroud is attached to the front side of the heatsink.

The cooler is compatible with Intel LGA1700/1200/115x. Yes, this cooler is ready for the Intel LGA1700 socket out of the box. The cooler is not compatible with the Intel LGA20xx socket which is understandable. Given that it has 4x heat pipes in a 120mm size heatsink, I am expecting this cooler to handle the TDP of say 150W or so. The cooler has an MSRP of $49.99.

Specifications

Packing and Unboxing

The cooler is shipped inside a cardboard box.

The cooler is compatible with Intel LGA1200/1700 sockets out of the box. This cooler is dedicated to the Intel platform only. The lighting is compatible with:

• ASUS AURA SYNC
• GIGABYTE RGB FUSION READY
• MSI MYSTIC LIGHT SYNC
• ASRock POLYCHROME SYNC

The specifications of the cooler are printed in a tabular format. The height of the cooler is 166mm. The user guide is not included in the box. Scan the label to access the online manual.

The colorful scheme indicates the A-RGB lighting on the cooler.

Opening the box shows that the cooler and the accessory box are placed side-by-side.

Contents

Let’s take a look at what is bundled with the cooler.

There is an accessory box containing the mounting hardware.

We have:

• 1x Intel backplate
• 4x Long Screws
• 4x Black spacers for Intel LGA1700 socket
• 4x White spacers for Intel LGA115x/1200 sockets
• 2x Brackets
• 4x Thumbnuts
• 4x Washers
• 1x 0.8gm MX5 thermal paste

Closer Look

It is time to take a look at the cooler.

The cooler has a dimension of 91x133x158.5mm (LxWxH) where 158.5mm is the overall height of the cooler. The weight of the cooler is 746gm with the fan. The ARCTIC Freezer i35 A-RGB is compatible with Intel LGA1200/115x/1700 sockets. There is a dedicated version for AMD. The cooler has a black color housing which is encapsulating the fan.

The top of the cooler is covered with stylish housing. There is an ARCTIC branding in the middle. We have quite an aggressive yet beautiful design/layout.

The above picture shows the top view of the heatsink itself after removing the housing/cover. The cooler has 4x copper heat pipes which are also in black color coated. Terminating tips of the heat pipes can be seen here.

The left and right sides of the housing are identical in layout. The heatsink is not fully covered on the sides. The housing is covering only a minute area. We can see the aluminum jointed assembly of the fins here. This layout will help the focused airflow through the heatsink.

The above picture shows the side with the housing removed. The heatsink has an offset layout. This particular aspect gives maximum clearance for the RAM height. This cooler does not overhang the DIMM slots on the consumer platform making it universally compatible with any RAM.

The front side of the cooler has a 120mm P12 A-RGB fan which is pre-installed and fixed in the housing. The fan has 5 translucent blades and an inner circle which lights up to give some vivid effects.

The above picture shows the backside of the housing. The housing does not cover the entire sides of the heatsink as can be seen in the picture. The top side has protruded design as it sits on the entire top of the heatsink. There is a 4-arms assembly holding the motor and the blades. The fan features a low-vibration, power-saving motor, and hydrodynamic plain bearing for silent operations. The fan has 12 A-RGB LEDs.

There are two latches on each side of the frame. These act like catchers on the heatsink. the housing can be removed by pulling its sides.

There is a label on the base of the housing showing the power ratings of the fan and LEDs.

The fan is powered by a 4-pin PWM connector. There is a 3-pin 5V standard A-RGB LED cable as well. Both cables are routed on both sides (one on each side) of the frame.

The ARCTIC Freezer i35 A-RGB has 54 aluminum fins. The complete assembly is in the black color coating. The front side has V-shaped notches to improve the focused flow.

The rear side has fins in a plain layout. The center has a large inset to provide room for the screwdriver to access the spring-loaded screw on the cross-bar. There are two cutouts in the stack at equal distance.

The ARCTIC Freezer i35 A-RGB packs 4 black coated copper heat pipes each having a 6mm thickness.

The mounting plate is pre-installed on the base and has a spring-loaded screw on each side.

The ARCTIC Freezer i35 A-RGB is following a direct contact technology (not continuous). The heat pipes make direct contact with the heat source. The base area roughly measures 28x30mm.

Installation

The installation on Intel LGA1200 is as follow:

Pass the long screws through the designated screw holes on the backplate. This backplate also supports the Intel LGA1700 socket.

User rubber washers to secure the screws on the backplate. Place the backplate on the motherboard such as the arrow indicators point to up and down direction while facing the motherboard.

Place the white color spacers on the threaded portion of the screws.

Place the mounting brackets on the tips of the screws and secure the assembly using the thumb nuts.

Apply the thermal paste on the CPU. Remove the housing from the heatsink. Place the cooler on the CPU by aligning the spring-loaded screws with the standoffs on the mounting brackets/clips. Tighten the spring-loaded screws in an alternate manner with even pressure for optimal installation. Put the housing panel back on the heatsink.

Connect the 4-pin PWM fan cable to the 4-pin PWM header on the motherboard and connect the 3-pin A-RGB cable to the 5V header on the motherboard. This would complete the installation.

Clearance

The height of the cooler is 158.5mm. Keep this in mind while planning your build with respect to the PC Chassis as the chassis should have support for CPU cooler’s height of a minimum of 160mm or so.

The cooler does not overhand the DIMM slots so there is no clearance issue with respect to the RAM height. There is no obstruction to the first PCIe x16 3.0/4.0 slot on the motherboard.

A-RGB Lighting

The Freezer i35 A-RGB is compatible with the common A-RGB standards of leading motherboard manufacturers. Here are a few pictures:

Testing

Following configuration has been used: –

• Intel i7 10700k
• MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK
• T-Force NightHawk RGB 16GB @ 3200MHz
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 FE
• addlink S70 256GB NVMe SSDbequiet! Straight Power 11 850W Platinum PSU
• Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow Edition in open-frame layout

Here is the settings table for testing:

We are using Noctua NT-H1 thermal paste for cooler testing. Using the same thermal paste for all coolers would ensure standardization. Delta temperatures are reported on the graphs. The testing is done on an open-air bench system. Once inside the chassis, the temperatures are expected to rise and would largely depend upon the optimal airflow inside the chassis.

Not every run of the stress test may yield the same result. This could well be due to many factors like mounting pressure, thermal paste application, varying ambient temperature. Not to mention the silicon differences even among the same category of the chips. Hence, it is pertinent to mention the testing methodology along with the specifics.

We have recently updated the BIOS of the motherboard and certain parameters are changed. We have to truncate the previous results to ensure consistency and transparency in the test results. We will gradually test those coolers again to have them feature in the graphs.

Let’s take a look at the results.

3.8GHz All Cores

4.7GHz All Cores

5.0GHz All Cores

The cooler could not handle the load as after two minutes of the stress test, the cores started hitting 100°C. Please keep in mind that this cooler is not designed to handle extreme overclocking scenarios. It is best suited for a mid-range cooling solution.

 Noise

The fan was almost silent. We are not measuring the noise output due to construction work going around the place.

Conclusion

Freezer 34 and 34 Duo have been quite popular air coolers for some time. ARCTIC has recently released their new mid-range air cooler named Freezer 35. This cooler is available for AMD and Intel platforms separately. We have tested the ARCTIC Freezer i35 A-RGB cooler. This cooler is compatible with Intel LGA 115x/1200/1700 sockets. Yes, this cooler is out-of-the-box compatible with the Intel LGA-1700 socket.

The cooler has a dimension of 91x133x158.5mm (LxWxH) where 158.5mm is the overall height of the cooler. The weight of the cooler is 746gm with the fan. This is a single tower configuration with a 120mm fan. The cooling solution comprises 54 aluminum fins forming dense fin-stack and 4x copper heat pipes. The complete assembly is in the black color coating. To make its appearance further elaborated, ARCTIC has continued the shroud approach from the Freezer 50 design to the Freezer i35 A-RGB. The cooler has a P12 A-RGB PWM fan.

The shroud features a bold and beautiful design all around, particularly on the top since that portion will be visible after installing in the PC Case. This goes hand-in-hand with the P12 PWM A-RGB fan which is pre-installed inside the shroud. The heat sink has V-shaped notches on the front side to improve the focused airflow through the heatsink. The backside has a linear layout with insets. The fin thickness is 0.4mm.

The cooler is following the direct contact technology in which the heat pipes (in their natural copper color) make direct contact with the CPU. This is to ensure the maximize the heat dissipation from the source. The crossbar is pre-installed and it has two spring-loaded screws which make the installation convenient.

The fan is fixed in the shroud and is not removable. It is rated to spin up to 1700 RPM and uses Fluid Dynamic bearing. The sound rating is 0.35 Sone. The airflow and static pressure ratings are not provided. The fan features 5 translucent blades and an inner ring on the frame of the fan to give some vivid lighting effect. The lighting on the cooler is compatible with all leading motherboard manufacturers. We have tested the fan’s lighting using the MSI Mystic Light Sync app and the fan was responding seamlessly to the change in the modes. The fan is using a standard 3-pin, 5V, A-RGB connector which is a wise implementation.

From the installation point of view, we are dealing with 19 pieces to install the mounting hardware only. ARCTIC has provided 0.8gm of MX5 thermal paste. Thankfully, there are no pasting washers on this cooler. I wish ARCTIC could come up with the same approach on their Liquid Freezer – II series coolers. There is no clearance issue with respect to the RAM height and first PCIe x16 3.0/4.0 slot on the MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK motherboard.

The ARCTIC FREEZER i35 A-RGB has an MSRP of $49.99 at the time of the review. ARCTIC is offering 6 years warranty on this cooler. The cooler is not designed to handle extreme overclocking loads. This cooler has decent thermal performance and is best aimed at the mid-range cooling solution in the market where the users would be looking for a silent cooler with adequate cooling potential in style. This is exactly what Freezer i35 A-RGB delivers!

We are thankful to ARCTIC for the provision of Freezer i35 A-RGB for the testing.

ARCTIC has sent us their new iteration in the ever-popular Liquid Freezer – II series coolers namely Liquid Freezer – II 280 A-RGB. As the name indicates, we have the same powerful radiator and pump but the change is the inclusion of 2x 140mm P14 PWM ARGB fans. The basic design element and styling are the same as is on the other Liquid Freezer – II coolers. The cooler has a uniquely designed pump housing, a VRM cooling 40mm fan, and a 38mm radiator powered by their popular P fans in 140mm sizing with A-RGB lighting. Another striking feature is the integrated cable management on the unit. The fans are connected to the pump and VRM fan. We have a single 4-pin PWM cable that needs to be connected to the 4-pin PWM header and we are good to go. The same goes for the A-RGB cable. The cables are routed under the texture pattern sleeve on the tube for a neat and clean look. The cooler is compatible with Intel LGA 1200/115x/2066/2011(-3) Square ILM sockets and AM4 sockets in the AMD camp. For the Intel LGA1700 socket, the upgrade kit is also available for purchase separately. The cooler has an MSRP of $113.99.

Specifications

Dimensions

Packing and Unboxing

The cooler is shipped inside a cardboard box packing box in a colorful theme signifying the A-RGB lighting.

The cooler comes with a whopping 6 years warranty. It has MX5 thermal paste and is compatible with:

• ASUS AURA SYNC
• GIGABYTE RGB FUSION 2.0
• MSI MYSTIC SYNC LIGHT
• ASRock POLYCHROME SYNC

The colorful packing style indicates the A-RGB lighting.

The specifications are printed in a tabular format along with the contents of the box.

As is the case with ARCTIC products, we don’t get the user manual in the box. The user is required to visit their website for animated and detailed guide(s).

There is no Revision data printed which indicates that it is Rev 1.0.

Contents

Let’s take a look at what is provided in the box.

Mounting hardware is provided inside a white color box.

AM4 kit includes:

• 2x AMD Mounting Brackets
• 4x black spacers
• 4x long screws

We have:

• 1x Intel Backplate
• 2x Intel Mounting Brackets

We have:

• 4x Thumb Nuts
• 4x Intel LGA-20xx Standoffs
• 4x Intel other sockets Standoffs

• 8x Washers
• 2x Long Screws for the Mounting Brackets
• 8x Radiator Screws
• 8x Fans Screws

• 8x Pasting washers
• 1x MX5 Thermal Paste [0.8gm]

Closer Look

It is time to take a closer look at the components. Before that here is what ARCTIC is saying about the cooler. “At ARCTIC, we are proud of our completely new all-in-one CPU water cooler series. For the Liquid Freezer II Series, we have used our experience in CPU water cooling to develop a completely new compact water cooling pump. The new pump of the Liquid Freezer II Series ensures an ideal ratio of high CPU cooling performance to low noise levels. The CPU AiO water cooler has integrated cable management within fully sleeved tubes for a clean look in your PC’s case. Our powerful P-fans provide a fast heat transfer thanks to their high static pressure and outstanding performance.”

RADIATOR

The ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II – 280 A-RGB is a 280mm CLC cooling solution. It has a 280mm radiator with 2x P 140mm A-RGB High-Performance fans. The fans are pre-installed on the radiator and we can see why. The cable management is integrated into the unit. The 4-pin PWM cables and 3-pin A-RGB cables on the fans have short lengths to have neat and tidy cable routing on the side of the radiator.

The dimension of the radiator is 317 x 138 x 38mm. The thickness of the radiator is 38mm. The overall thickness would be approximately 65mm with the fans. The radiator has 15 fins per inch (FPI). There is a gap of 105mm between any two fan mounting holes on the radiator. The assembly is in the black color finish with a better build quality. We have taken the pre-installed fans off to show the radiator itself.

The radiator is made of aluminum hence it is lightweight. This is ARCTIC’s own design. The blocks on both ends of the radiator are rectangular. The fin stack is not dense with 15 FPI and taking into account the left and right side channels, it has a total of 12 channels for water flow.

The ARCTIC has done a fairly good job with the fin stacking.

There is no protective plating under each mounting hole to prevent damage to the fins from excessive screwing. Take a note of that and it is suggested to use the bundled long screws only for the installation of the fans. The underside of the mounting hole would serve to restrict the screws’ excessive movement.

There is an ARTIC branding on the sides of the radiator housing.

The far block has a rectangular design with sharp-looking edges though they are not sharp. There is no sticker pasted here.

The tubes are installed using straight barbs in aluminum covers to give one clean look on the fittings point.

The ARCTIC is using fiber-reinforced, long EPDM rubber tubes. These tubes run to approximately 450mm in length which is more than enough for any situational requirement. The sleeving is in a bit of gray shade with a white lining. The tubes are designed to reduce coolant evaporation. The tubes have an ID/OD measurements of 12.4/6.0mm.

The above picture shows routing the fans’ cables out of the box. The cables have a shorter length and are well routed to give a clean look. Both fans are daisy-chained.

Pump/Block

The front side of the pump housing has a 40mm PWM fan for active VRM cooling. ARCTIC is optimistic about this 40mm fan’s performance. Here is what they are saying, “Small fans have a reputation for being particularly loud and not very durable. However, we have developed a quiet and durable diagonal fan especially for the Liquid Freezer – II, and are 100% convinced that this 40 mm fan is just as durable as our other case fans. In the unlikely event that it should fail, our customer service team will send you a replacement free of charge and easily, without a need to replace the entire unit.”

In continuation of the above statement, “The fan is PWM-controlled and can cool your voltage transformers and the base area almost inaudibly by up to 15°C. This is especially effective in overclocking scenarios, inadequate VRM cooling, or in housings with poor airflow, thus permitting continuously high loads. If sufficient VRM cooling is available, it can be switched off at will.”

In our testing, we have found this fan to be silent even at full speed. Switching off the 40mm fan is not a convenient task as one would need to access the base section of the pump housing to disconnect the small cable powering this fan. This would mean we need to take off the block from the CPU socket to complete this task.

Here are the specifications of the VRM fan:

There is an ARCTIC branding on both sides of the block. The pump is ARCTIC’s own design. Good thing is that the Pump is PWM controlled. This would reduce humming and improve the efficiency as the pump will draw power as per the load. This would also reduce the noise level. The power consumption is a maximum of 0.8 W at no load, 2.3 W under typical load, and a maximum of 4.3 W under full load for the entire cooler. Here are the specifications of the pump:

This is the rear or backside of the block. Tell me if I am wrong in calling this block mimicking a spaceship! The tubes are installed on the straight barbs and we have the same aluminum clamps covering the tubes.

The base of the block has a copper cold plate measuring 39x43mm. It is relatively a small size base as compared to the other coolers. The model of the cooler is printed in white at the base. There are two cables (4-pin PWM and 3-pin 5v ARGB cable) coming out from the base of the block. There are two cables connected on the top left side. This is powering the VRM fan on the block. Disconnect these cables to power off the VRM fan on the block. There is a protective sheet pasted on the block. Take it off before installing the block. ARCTIC is using Micro-Skived fins on the cold plate for effective heat dissipation.

The 4-pin PWM cable has an approximate length of 242mm. The 5V A-RGB cable almost has the same length. The PWM cable is handling the PWM functions of the P14 ARGB PWM fans, the pump itself, and the 40mm VRM fan. This cable will report the fans’ speed in the BIOS which means there is no monitoring of the pump and VRM fan speed.

FAN

ARCTIC has provided two P14 A-RGB PWM fans with the Liquid Freezer II – 280 A-RGB. We have a black color frame of the fans. Each fan has specially designed 5 blades designed and optimized for high performance with low noise operation. There is an ARCTIC branding in the center. There is no anti-vibration pad on any mounting corner. The frame of the fan is quite sturdy. The blades of the fans are translucent. There are 12 A-RGB LEDs in a fan rated at 0.4A/5V.

Installation

The cooler is tested on an Intel LGA1200 socket using the MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK motherboard. Installation is as follow:

Place the pasting rubber washers over the mounting holes on the motherboard’s backside and place the backplate.

Place the pasting rubber washers on the mounting holes around the socket area on the front side of the motherboard. Install the Intel standoffs.

Install the Intel mounting brackets on the block using 2x screws. We have shown the picture from our content of Liquid Freezer – II 420.

Apply the thermal paste on the CPU. Peel off the protective cover from the base of the block. Place the block on the CPU by aligning the pre-mounted screws to the holes on the mounting brackets. The VRM fan is preferred to be on the top near the VRM areas for effective cooling.

Use the thumb nuts to secure the block on the socket.

Connect the 4-pin PWM cable coming out of the block to the 4-pin PWM fan header preferably the CPU fan header on the motherboard. Connect the 3-pin 5V A-RGB connector to the header on the motherboard.

There is no clearance issue with respect to the DIMM slots and first PCIe slot. Make sure your chassis has clearance for 280mm radiator with 65mm clearance for the thickness of the unit.

PS: On a personal note, I don’t prefer to paste anything on the motherboard area. Maybe ARCTIC would consider changing the pasting washers with something else!

A-RGB Lighting

We have tested the lighting using MSI MYSTIC LIGHT SYNC on MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK motherboard. One point we noticed is that both fans’ lighting mode is out of sync by default. But both were synced as soon as the app was launched and responded seamlessly to the change in the lighting mode. Here are a few pictures:

Testing

Following configuration has been used: –

• Intel i7 10700k
• MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK
• T-Force NightHawk RGB 16GB @ 3200MHz
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 FE
• addlink S70 256GB NVMe SSD
• bequiet! Straight Power 11 850W Platinum PSU
• Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow Edition in open-frame layout

Here is the settings table for testing:

We are using Noctua NT-H1 thermal paste for cooler testing. Using the same thermal paste for all coolers would ensure standardization. Delta temperatures are reported on the graphs. The testing is done on an open-air bench system. Once inside the chassis, the temperatures are expected to rise and would largely depend upon the optimal airflow inside the chassis.

Not every run of the stress test may yield the same result. This could well be due to many factors like mounting pressure, thermal paste application, varying ambient temperature. Not to mention the silicon differences even among the same category of the chips. Hence, it is pertinent to mention the testing methodology along with the specifics.

We have recently updated the BIOS of the motherboard and certain parameters are changed. We have to truncate the previous results to ensure consistency and transparency in the test results. We will gradually test those coolers again to have them feature in the graphs.

Let’s take a look at the results.

3.8GHz All Cores

The result is self-explanatory.

4.7GHz All Cores

The result is self-explanatory.

5.0GHz All Cores

The result is self-explanatory.

The ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II – 280 A-RGB has performed excellently on our test bench.

Here are some of the observations from the testing:

• The P14 A-RGB PWM fans, the pump, and the VRM fan are being controlled using a single PWM cable.
• That single PWM cable is reporting the speed of the fans by default.
• There is no way we can monitor the speed of the VRM fan and the pump.
• At 100% PWM duty cycle the maximum reported speed of the fan was 1856.
• On Auto PWM settings, the pump’s speed will also be regulated by the PWM controller depending upon the load.
• There is no way we can have the pump run at full speed while the fans operate at Auto PWM setting depending upon the load.

Noise

We are not measuring the noise output of the coolers at the moment due to high environmental noise at present. But my take is that the Liquid Freezer – II 280 A-RGB has a bit louder noise output as compared to the Liquid Freezer – II 420.

Conclusion

The Liquid Freezer – II 280 A-RGB is our third cooler on the test bench in this series after testing the 240mm and 420mm variants. The 240mm variant got our high praise as it won our 240mm AIO round-up content this year. The 280mm retains the same footprint that is the hallmark of the Liquid Series coolers from the ARCTIC. We have the same 38mm thick radiator but in 280mm size with 15 FPI count. The cooler is compatible with Intel LGA115x/1200/2066 and 2011(-3) square ILM sockets and AMD AM4 sockets. An upgrade kit is available for purchase from ARCTIC for the Intel LGA1700 socket.

The Liquid Freezer – II 280 A-RGB has an aluminum radiator measuring 317 x 138 x 38mm. The thickness of the radiator is 38mm. The overall thickness would be 65mm after installing the fans. The radiator has 15 FPI. This makes sense with the overall thickness of the fin stack and ARTIC has wisely chosen the P14 A-RGB PWM fans for this radiator to achieve optimal cooling performance out of the box. The radiator housing has a black color finish which is a fingerprint magnet. We have 450mm length tubes on this cooler which is plentiful for any requirement. The ARCTIC is using fiber-reinforced, EPDM rubber tubes which are flexible without kinking and reduce the coolant evaporation. The barb fittings have aluminum covers on the radiator and the block which look good in person.

The cooler features an integrated cable management system. The P14 A-RGB PWM fans are pre-installed on the radiator and daisy-chained. Their 4-pin PWM and 3-pin 5V A-RGB cables have shorter lengths and cables are already routed in a clean manner. The cables are routed under the sleeve of the tube to the block. The pump and the VRM fans are also PWM controlled. These all are connected inside the block’s housing and we have a single 4-pin PWM cable to control all the fans and the pump using a single fan header. The same goes for the A-RGB cables.

While this is a good choice, it has two caveats: we get to monitor only one component in the loop. Out of the 2x P14 A-RGB PWM fans, VRM fan and the pump, the unit reports the fans’ speed only in the UEFI BIOS. There is no monitoring of the pump and VRM fan. The second issue is that setting the control on Auto PWM will make all three active components run on the Auto PWM settings. There is no way we can make the pump run at full speed while fans on Auto PWM. The only way to do this is to disconnect the fans from the integration and connect them directly to the motherboard for which PWM extension cables would be needed.

The power consumption of the pump unit is a maximum of 0.8 W at no load, 2.3 W under typical load, and a maximum of 4.3 W under full load for the entire cooler. The pump is rated for up to 2000 RPM speed. ARCTIC has installed a 40mm fan for VRM active cooling. The fan is rated for a maximum of 3000 RPM speed. The Pump and the VRM fan are rated for 0.5~2.7W power.

ARCTIC has provided 2x P14 A-RGB PWM fans with the cooler. These fans feature frosted blades with an inner circular ring which light up for some vivid lighting effect. These are rated for a maximum of 1900 RPM at 12VDC. Their airflow rating is 68.9 CFM, air pressure of 2.0 mmH₂O, and noise level of 0.3 sonne. They are using Fluid Dynamic Bearings. Please note that the fans on the 420mm version have higher airflow and static pressure ratings.

As is the case with the Liquid Freezer – II series coolers, we are dealing with 21 pieces to install the mounting hardware. I am ok with it but personally speaking, I don’t like pasting any mounting hardware on the PCB of the motherboard. We have 8x pasting washers provided with this cooler and we need to paste all 8 of them. We pointed this out in the round-up content as well. Hopefully, ARCTIC would come up with a better solution in the coming time.

ARCTIC is using standard 3-pin 5V A-RGB connectors making their fans compatible with a wide variety of sources. We noticed that both fans were out-of-sync by default. But they were found responding seamlessly to the change in lighting mode using the MSI Mystic Sync app.

The ARCTIC Liquid Freezer – II 280 A-RGB has an MSRP of $113.99 at the time of the review. ARCTIC is offering 6 years warranty. The cooler comes with their new MX5 thermal paste and dedicated AM4 mounting kit. This is our third cooler in the Liquid Freezer – II series and ARCTIC has scored a hat-trick when it comes to thermal performance. The Liquid Freezer – II 280 A-RGB offers fantastic performance with some vivid lighting ambiance. The ARCTIC has once again delivered a solid punch with the 280mm variant and did that in style.

We are thankful to ARCTIC for the opportunity to test the Liquid Freezer – II 280 A-RGB and looking forward to testing the 360mm variant in the coming time.

If you know about the world-famous MX-4 then you already know of ARCTIC! They started in 2001 with the name ARCTIC Cooling and has evolved into a much more popular and reliable cooling solution provider now known as ARCTIC. Their bases of operation are in Switzerland, Germany, Hong Kong, and the USA with the availability of their products in over 45 countries. Quiet cooling without performance compromise is their motto. Their product lines include CPU Coolers, Case Fans, Thermal Pastes, Charging solutions, Audio solutions, and monitor stands to name a few.

MX-2 and MX-4 have been the popular thermal paste from ARCTIC. Recently, the ARCTIC has released the next iteration named MX-5. ARCTIC MX-5 is available in sizes ranging from 2 to 50 grams. Resealable packaging prevents the paste from drying out. Some variants are available with a spatula to evenly spread the paste on the IHS. The paste is safe to apply as it is not electrically conductive and not capacitive.

Item:                       MX-5 8g with Spatula

Manufacturer:   ARCTIC

Pricing:                 MSRP USD 14.99 at the time of the Review

Specifications

Packaging and Unboxing

The thermal paste tube is shipped inside a paperboard box.

This particular variant is 8gm and comes with the Spatula for even spreading the paste on the IHS.

The new formula allows a thin layer of the paste on the surface due to less viscosity resulting in less thermal resistance. The EAN and UPC info labels are printed over here.

The salient features of the thermal paste are printed in 4 languages.

Closer Look

It is time to take a look at the thermal paste.

As mentioned already, this variant of MX-5 comes with an ARTIC branded Spatula. The user can use the spatula to evenly spread the thermal paste. The MX-5 has low viscosity making it more liquid than the MX-4. Hence it is easy to apply. The tube has ARCTIC branding over it.

There are two cutouts on the overleaf which would give a visual indication of the available quantity of the thermal paste in the tube. The attention to such minute detail is appreciated.

The above picture shows the tip of the tube. ARCTIC has mentioned that the color of MX-5 is blue though it seems more like a shade of light blue color.

We were able to find the mixture of substances used in the MX-5 as can be seen in the above picture. These are not hazardous.

The above table lists the properties of the MX-5. Check the Viscosity rating of the MX-5. It is lower than most of the thermal pastes.

When the paste was placed on the IHS, it gave the impression that it is almost liquid (low Viscosity). The quantity shown in the picture is not used as it is only to show the thermal paste. A blob method was used to test the thermal performance. The surfaces of processor chips and cooler floors are covered with microscopic dents; ARCTIC‘s MX-5 thermal paste is composed of carbon micro-particles which fill these cavities guaranteeing that heat is dissipated efficiently from the heat source.

Please keep in mind that the thermal conductivity of the thermal paste is much lower than the thermal conductivity of metals likes aluminum or copper since aluminum has 205 W/mK and copper has 385 W/mK whereas the majority of the thermal pastes have up to 5 W/mK ratings with a few ranging up to 14 W/mK. This is very why we would want a thin layer of the thermal paste on the surface of the heat source. The IHS of the CPU is nickel-coated copper whereas the base of the cooler is copper or nickel-coated copper. The too thick or too thin thermal paste would not help result in efficient thermal conductivity since too sparse or too thick to even spread out would be counterproductive.

The above picture shows the various sizes in which the MX-5 is available.

Testing

The following test bench is used for thermal performance testing: –

·         MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK Motherboard

·         Intel i7 10700k

·         Noctua NH-D15

·         GSkill AEGIS 16GB @ 2800MHz

·         Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 FE

·         Addlink S70 256GB NVMe SSD

·         bequiet! Straight Power 11 850W Platinum PSU

·         Open-air Test bench

AIDA64 Extreme is used to stress test the CPU cooler using FPU.

Following testing methodology is used for the thermal paste testing:

• ·      Intel i7 10700k was set to run 4.8GHz on all cores using 1.270V VCore (manual). We had wanted to test the chip at 5.0GHz but the high ambient temperature did not warrant that testing.
• ·      The chip was drawing power of nearly 156W so we still have enough thermal heat output to deal with.
• ·      A graphics card with a much higher heat load or the HEDT/EPYC CPUs with large surface areas are better candidates for the thermal paste testing.
• ·      A blob method is used with a pea-size drop in the center of IHS.
• ·      A test run of 30 minutes was done using AIDA64 Extreme on stock settings.
• ·     PC was powered off for a minimum of 30 minutes stress test run. This would allow completion of the thermal cycle with hot and cold runs giving the thermal paste some time to reach its near-optimal condition.
• ·     System was on idle for 10 minutes before taking the Idle temperature values.
• ·     A stress run of 30 minutes was made using AIDA64 Extreme (FPU). Temperature values on all cores are taken at the end of the result.
• ·     Ideally, we would have wanted to do 3 tests as a minimum for a single thermal paste and showing the average of these three runs but due to my poor health condition, one test result is shown.
• ·     Test results were dropped if the mounting pressure was found not enough as indicated by the spread of the thermal paste. And the test was repeated so as to have validated results.
• ·     The fans on the NH-D15 were set to run at their full speed for which the settings were made in UEFI/BIOS.

·         The values on the graphs are calculated by taking the average of all cores temperature values and deducting ambient temperature from the average value to yield delta temperature values.

Please note that not every run of the stress test may yield the same result. This could well be due to many factors like mounting pressure, thermal paste application, varying ambient temperature. Not to mention the silicon differences even among the same category of the chips. Hence, it is pertinent to mention the testing methodology along with the specifics.

Let’s take a look at the results.

The ARCTIC MX-5 has shown an improvement of 1°C over the MX-4 in our testing.

Conclusion

The ARCTIC MX-5 is the next iteration in the ever-popular MX series taking over MX-4. The ARCTIC MX-5 has a thermal conductivity rating of 5.0 W/m-K with a viscosity of 550 poise. The temperature range is from -40°C to 180°C. ARCTIC‘s MX-5 thermal paste is composed of carbon micro-particles. It has a light blue color and is very liquid in its physical form. The application of the thermal paste is convenient. You can use the spatula to evenly spread the paste or simply use a blob method for even spreading coming from the mounting pressure. The ARCTIC MX-5 8m with a spatula is listed at $14.99. The per gram pricing is roughly $1.6 which is quite a competitive pricing. The MX-5 has a durability of 8 years (this is not a warranty). The paste due to its ease of application, relatively better performance comes recommended by us.

If you know about world-famous MX-4 then you already know of ARCTIC! They started in 2001 with the name ARCTIC Cooling and has evolved into a much more popular and reliable cooling solution provider now known as ARCTIC. Their bases of operation are in Switzerland, Germany, Hong Kong, and the USA with the availability of their products in over 45 countries. Quiet cooling without performance compromise is their motto. Their product lines include CPU Coolers, Case Fans, Thermal Pastes, Charging solutions, Audio solutions, and monitor stands to name a few.

The P series fans from ARCTIC are famous all around for their silent operations and good performance. ARCTIC has released several iterations of their P12 series fans. We have earlier taken a spin on BioniX P 120 A-RGB fans and this time we are taking a look at P12 PWM PST RGB 0dB fans (Value pack of 3). These are 120mm fans with 12V based RGB lighting. They are also available in the A-RGB version. These are designed for use as PC Case fans having a static pressure of 1.85mmH₂O and airflow rating of 48.8 CFM. Their most salient feature is the low noise operation which is highlighted by 0dB in the model of the fan.

Item:                        P12 PWM PST RGB 0dB Value Pack

Manufacturer:   ARCTIC

Pricing:                 MSRP at the time of the Review

We have also listed the pricing of the A-RGB version of these fans.

Specifications

Packaging and Unboxing

The value pack edition is shipped inside a cardboard box with minimal packaging and packaging information.

There is an information label pasted showing the major specifications of the fans. This is a Value pack and fans are in black color which is giving a hint that other colors (white) may also be available. We have not confirmed the color scheme from ARCTIC.

As is the case with the ARCTIC products, there is no manual or user guide provided with the fans. The user can scan the label which will take to their website address where the comprehensive user guide with visuals is available.

There are only three fans and self-tapping screws provided in the Value Pack. There is no lighting controller provided with it.

ARCTIC has provided 12x silver color self-tapping screws to install the fans on the chassis.

Closer Look

It is time to take a look at the fans.

One thing that ARCTIC is doing well is maintaining the core design element of their P series fans. We still have 5 blades in the same design as the original P12 fans have though the layout is different due to RGB lighting implementation. The fans are rated for up to 2000 RPM speed with the ability to come at a standstill hence the term 0dB in the model name. Please note that this capability will only work if the motherboard supports the fan stop function. These fans feature a wide range of RPM and using the PST (PWM Sharing Technology) one can achieve the same speed across all the fans.

The P12 PWM PST RGB 0dB fans have a dimension of 120x120x25mm. The difference between any two mounting holes is a standard 105mm. the thickness of the frame on the mounting holes is 3.50mm. The mounting hole has a diameter of 4.50mm. The above picture is taken from the ARCTIC website for this content only.

We have a standard black color frame of the fan. The blades are translucent and their tips are connected to the translucent ring running across the diameter of the outer frame. The center has ARCTIC branding on it. The P12 PWM PST RGB 0dB has 12 analog RGB LEDs in the center housing. These can be controlled uniformly and are compatible with the common RGB (12V) standards of leading motherboard manufacturers. Keep in mind that ARCTIC is not providing an external controller with these fans.

Each mounting corner of the fan has a gray color cut-to-size anti-vibration pad pasted.

There are two arrow symbols on the side frame. These indicate the direction of airflow and the direction of blades movement. These arrow symbols provide a visual aid to novice users in identifying the directions before the installation.

There is a 4-arms assembly on the backside holding the fan motor and blades to the frame. There is a black color sticker on the center with a power rating of the fan with respect to the fan motor and LEDs.

These fans are using Fluid Dynamic Bearings. ARCTIC has mentioned that they have used a combination of alloy/lubricant developed in Germany to reduce the friction within the bearing. This in turn would generate less heat and improves efficiency. This will increase the service life of the fans.

Each fan has two sets of cables routing out of the center. One is the 4-pin PWM cable with the socket and the other is 4-pin 12V RGB female connector with an extended length on the male connector. This would allow for daisy-chaining the fans for a synchronous operation and uniform effect. The starting voltage of the fan is 5V. The fan is rated for 12V using 0.11A.

The above picture shows the 4-pin PWM connector with the 3-pin socket connector.

The above picture shows the standard 12V RGB female and male connectors.

RGB Lighting

Here are a few pictures of these fans in action:

Testing

The following test bench is used for thermal performance testing: –

• MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK Motherboard
• Intel i7 10700k [4.7GHz, 1.25V]
• Noctua NH-U12S
• T-Force NightHawk RGB 16GB @ 3200MHz
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 FE
• Addlink S70 256GB NVMe SSD
• bequiet! Straight Power 11 850W Platinum PSU
• Open-air Test bench

AIDA64 Extreme is used to stress test the CPU cooler using FPU.

Please note that not every run of the stress test may yield the same result. This could well be due to many factors like mounting pressure, thermal paste application, varying ambient temperature. Not to mention the silicon differences even among the same category of the chips. Hence, it is pertinent to mention the testing methodology along with the specifics.

For comparison, we have tested the stock Noctua NF-F12 fan on the Noctua NH-U12S and compared the performance against the ARCTIC P12 PWM PST RGB 0dB fan.

Let’s take a look at the results.

There is roughly a difference of 2.1°C between the Noctua NF-F12 and ARCTIC P12 PWM PST RGB 0dB fan. The ambient was roughly at 30°C. The ARCTIC fan achieved 2101 RPM at 100% PWM duty cycle.

Here is a table showing RPM range and corresponding airflow and speed measurements of the ARCTIC P12 PWM PST RGB 0dB fan:

The above plotting is showing the graph of three metrics (PWM Duty Cycle, Speed, and Airflow) of the values shown in the table above.

Acoustic

The fans at 100% of their speed were doing approximately 45 dB(A) at an ambient of 33 dBA. This is too good an acoustic performance from these fans.

Conclusion

ARCTIC P12 PWM PST RGB/A-RGB 0dB fans are budget-friendly offer from the manufacturer without much compromising the performance. These fans are available in RGB and A-RGB configurations. One can get these fan in a Value pack of 3 or a single fan edition. These fans are 120mm in size having a dimension of 120x120x25mm. They have a speed rating of 0 ~ 2000 RPM with a maximum airflow rating of 48.8 CFM and a static pressure rating of 1.85 mmH₂O. Their sound level is rated at 0.30 Sone.

These fans feature the same design concept as is on the original P12 series fans with 5 specially designed blades. The difference is these fans boast translucent blades with a translucent ring for vivid and dynamic light effects as we have 12 RGB LEDs in the central housing of the fan. The RGB version of these fans have standard 4-pin (12V) RGB connectors compatible with multiple motherboard manufacturers’ 12V, 4-pin headers. The A-RGB version of these fans has standard 3-pin (5V) A-RGB connectors compatible with multiple motherboard manufacturers’ 5V, 3-pin headers. The use of standard connectors makes these fans compatible with the majority of the motherboards and external controllers. The fans were working fine on MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK motherboard using the MysticSync app.

ARCTIC has mentioned that these fans can be used as case ventilation as well as on the heatsink and radiator though we found the 1.85 mmH₂O rating a mediocre one. The fans feature a 0dB mode implying that under no-load or on idle, these fans can come to stop provided your motherboard supports this function. At 20% PWM cycle, the blades of the fan were hardly spinning and the anemometer registers 0 airflow confirming the specification. Another good feature is the low noise operation of these fans even at full speed.

The ARCTIC P12 PWM PST RGB 0dB single fan pack has an MSRP of $14.99 whereas the value pack of 3 has an MSRP of $39.99. The MSRP of the A-RGB edition single fan pack is $16.99 and the MSRP of the value pack of 3 A-RGB fans is $42.99. None of these options includes an external controller. The ARCTIC P12 PWM PST RGB 0dB fan (Value Pack of 3) offers comparable performance in this price range with a nice feature set including the RGB lighting, low noise operation, and 0dB support. These fans come with 6 years warranty which is an added advantage with the pocket-friendly pricing. We have found these fans a compelling offer for budget-conscious users who would want no compromise on the quality and performance yet without breaking the wallet. The ARCTIC P12 PWM PST RGB/A-RGB 0dB fans come recommended by us as these fans could possibly be the best buy option at this price.