Arctic P12 ARGB 0db Review

Introduction

Recently we had a look at Arctic's new BioniX P120 ARGB Fan set. Even if we were amazed by the amount of well-planned features and P12-Like performance, the inclusion of an RGB Ring around the Fan came at a cost that was compensated by making the motor stronger. This change made the Fan set perform like a P12, but it also made it a bit louder.

But now Arctic is back at it again with a new ARGB fan that will hopefully close the missing gap and offer a Fan that performs like a P12, sounds like a P12, and costs like a P12!

Meet the new Arctic P12 PWM PST ARGB 0dB, a Fan whose name suggests that it's a quieter, Unicorn Rainbow shining version of the original P12

What's in the Box?

As we mentioned before, Arctic Packaging division has one goal. Efficiency.

Every Arctic Box we opened before was stuffed with stuff. But the Arctic P12 ARGB 0dB set brings this to another level.

Once the box is opened, you'll find exactly 6 items:

3x P12 PWM PST ARGB 0db Fan,

3x Fan Screws.

That's it!

That being said, usually, we re-film the unboxing while we do the Video Review (which you can watch at the top of this page). But in this case, we had to fake it a bit as we were absolutely unable to get everything back into the box. The box is completely stuffed from the bottom to the Top.

Sadly, this level of efficiency meant that the ever-so-loved iPhone-shaped Manual QR code did not make the cut. This time Arctic decided to print it on one of the Stickers on the box.

The same applies to the Spec Sheet, which we also summarized below:

Installation

The installation process of the P12 PWM PST 0dB is really as Arctic as it gets. No additional Controller, no proprietary stuff.

You only need to screw in the Screws, attach the PWM and the 5v Addressable connection.

Additionally, these fans come with Arctic's PST system. Therefore there is an additional header coming out of both the RGB and Fan Plug. Therefore you will be able to Daisy-chain the connection to each of the three fans and install all of them using a single Fan and 5v Addressable header. 

Appearance

Looking from far away, these new Arctic P12 PWM PST ARGB 0db may look like ordinary P12's with white see-through wings, but they sure aren't.

The first major change would be the inclusion of a couple of LEDs in the Fan's center. In our Testings, the used LED's were strong enough to make their light protrude over the complete Fan Wing reaching the outer edge.

The additional major change is an outer ring that connects each of the fan blades. 

This Ring around the Fans is nothing new. The first implementation that we're aware of stems from Noise Blockers E-Loop Fans back in 2012.

Using such a ring is in no way an aesthetic addition. This ring is meant to prevent air turbulence behind the fans and help to guide the Airflow in a specific direction, making it more effective in some use-cases. Additionally, it is being said that this ring improves the noise emitted by the fan. Though we have to point out that the exact effect of this is hard to measure accurately as this requires cutting it off.

This additional ring has an extra RGB benefit due to its white see-through color. Having the LED's shine strong enough makes the Ring around the Fan shine too, creating the illusion of an additional RGB Ring around the Fan.

Overall the Fan looks exactly as we have expected an Arctic RGB Fan to look like. Simple, but powerful.

Benchmark

As usual, we needed to know how these new 0db ARGB Fans perform.

Therefore, we repeated our Standard Tests and compared them to each of our other Fans.

The Benchmark consists of an Azza Hive Case, an AMD 3600x locked at 3.26 GHz (1.1vcore), and a Palit RTX 2060s.

In order to exaggerate the Results until we can see differences between the fans, we use a Be Quiet Pure Rock Slim without any fan.

By doing so, we can use the CPU Temperature as an accurate measurement as the CPU temp now only relies on the Air that the Case Fans are pushing into the Case.

As usual, the Azza Hive got 2 Fans in the Front as Intake and 1 in the Back (or top if 140mm) as exhaust.

While letting the P12 0db ARGB spin at 100% fan speed, they were able to keep the 3600x at 64°C, just 2 degrees behind the original P12.

Making them spin at 50% fan speed lets the CPU rise to 81°C, again, just 2 degrees behind the P12.

In general, these P12 ARGB 0dB perform exceptionally well for their Price-to-Performance ratio. They are a bit behind the original P12, but you need to keep in mind that Arctic added a couple of LEDs.

That being said, these Fans had to undergo the same treatment as the BioniX P120 ARGB's had to.

Due to the included LED'S in the Fan's center, Arctic seems to have had the issue of reduced Fan-Wing-surface, which results in compensation by installing a stronger motor (+200RPM in this case).

But unlike the P120, the P12 ARGB is in no way louder than the original P12.

We are unsure if it's due to the Ring around the Fans, but the P12 ARGB 0dB's are extremely quiet under full load, and nearly un-hearable beneath 80% Fan speed. Truly an amazing Air-to-Noise ratio.

0dB Mode

Another additional feature that Arctic included in this new Set of Fans is something called 0db Mode.

Usually, when controlling a Fan over a PWM connection, it is possible to let a Fan spin between 0 and 100% of its Fan speed. (Though there are a couple of Motherboard Softwares that come with a Minimum-Limit).

When letting a Fan spin beneath a certain percentage, it can happen that the Fan is not spinning long enough to keep its momentum until the next PWM cycle (See PWM Wiki Page for more information).

This behavior can result in repetitive Clicking or Motor Ramping noises for each cycle, making it impossible to sit next to it.

Therefore Arctic Implemented its own version of a Stop-Limit, which forces the Fan to stop rotating once the Fan speed reaches below 10%.

Even if we enjoy the feature, we want to point out that there are many Fans out there implementing such a feature by standard, without specifically naming it.

Secondly, Motherboard Fan controlling Software, and PWM for that matter, are highly susceptible to rounding numbers. Therefore, it is possible that, even though you set the Fans to 10%, they will keep spinning, as the Motherboard thinks 15% PWM is +- 10%.

We had this exact issue with our ASRock Motherboards. (Though keep in mind these fans are absolutely unhearable at these speeds)

Conclusion

Generally, the P12 PWM PST 0dB ARGB's are exactly what we've expected from Arctic in terms of an RGB Fan.

They are extremely powerful,

Mostly unhearable,

Have a beautiful RGB implementation,

No extra proprietary stuff,

And Daisy-Chainable.

Additionally to all these great aspects, the new P12 0dB ARGB's are setting you back around 37€, making them just marginally more expensive than regular P12. A real Arctic Pricetag.

The only thing that we would love to see improved is the place where the wires come out of the Fans. The RGB and PWM Connection are coming out on separate sides of the Fan. Meaning that if you want to build a Wall of 3x Fans, for example in the Front of a case, you will have a bit of space in between the Fans, as at least 2 of them will have a wire between them. We would love to see the wires come out on a single side, by being placed inside a single "Motor Holding rod".

With only this (extremely) small negative aspect, we can only recommend these truly amazing fans.