Surmising from the name, this is likely AC's third (and latest) case fan incarnation, and it has a built-in thermistor acting as a RPM regulator depending on air temperature. A little less than a year ago, I bought two earlier Arctic Fan Pro TCs, not sure if this product was first or second generation, but they both served with distinction up until the moment of replacement.
Anyway, this new model follows the now increasingly popular sidewall-less design that is supposed to bring less turbulence and noise. The fan motor hangs from four plastic struts from the "reverse side" compared to standard fans, so there are no obstructions in the airflow's direct path out of the fan. There's four small rubber feet in the corners on the side that goes against the PC case to help isolate vibrations (though I doubt they really do much difference), and the 3-pinned power cord is sleeved in a black woven tube like all AC products and shrinkwrapped at both ends. There's also a metallic film case badge and four screws included with each fan.
The small printed data sheet on the cardboard box the fan comes in states these brief technical specs:
Dimensions: 80*80*45mm
Fan speed: 1000-1900RPM
Air flow: 10-32CFM
Power consumption: 12V, 0.12A (That's 1.44W)
Lifetime (L10 at 40C): 117,000h (!!!)
Weight: 75g
There's also some key features listed:
- 6 years warranty (!)
-Temperature controlled fan
-Circulation optimized fanblades
-Patented case design
-High airflow
-Extremely quiet
Speaking of the 'circulation optimized fanblades' and 'patented case design', one would think that without sidewalls acting as a kind of duct, there would be lots of inefficient spillage/waste where air is flung sideways out of the axially spinning impeller, but remarkably, this isn't so. Pretty much 100% goes out the back like with any fan, at least judging from the feel I get by using my hand (hardly a precision instrument I admit). The blades of the fan have a kind of scoop-like general design where the inside is hollowed out compared to the edge of the blade that I believe helps with this.
One downside to this newer design is it takes up a lot more space. The central hub and the four struts holding it up is much higher than the thickness of a standard case fan, and with no encasing sides, the rather large impeller is likely to snag loose hanging wires in ye average PC case. Also, due to its design, it can't be used as an intake fan; there are no screw holes at the front, so exhaust only. Those who like to rely on overpressure inside the PC case to filter incoming air at the point(s) of entry, look someplace else for your fan needs...
The positive side is, the fan is very very quiet, and the airflow is much better than with the previous standard-design Arctic Fan Pro TC which was also quiet, but had a very feeble throughput. I don't think it'd manage much static pressure however without air starting to "backflow" out of the fan, so it would probably not be too good as a CPU fan, but just scooping air out of a PC case and doing it quietly, it seems to do a superb job. The temperature controlled aspect is also a nice bonus. The text on the box doesn't say what temp range the thermistor responds to though, so all I have to go on is the fan spins faster when the thermistor gets warmer (I checked by warming it between thumb and forefinger). Nevertheless, it's a nice bonus.
Oh, and due to the already very low RPM, it probably isn't a good idea to use a fanbus or similar to regulate the speed by varying the input voltage. The fan might not start at all and could possibly be damaged from that. There's no warning of this on the box, but just using common sense tells me that much.
There's no point in giving it less than 12V anyway as it's barely audible as it is.
One can't really go wrong with a case fan with a 6 year warranty that costs only about €5.50, even if it should only manage 4 years you'd probably be shopping for an entirely new computer by then... Crazy fact: 117,000 hours is over 13 years. In fact, the AC website claims the ceramic bearing has a 163,000 MTBF at 70C, that's nearly two decades. Should last long enough for most of us I think!
This item has thusly earned the Guden Seal of Approval.
Final grade: highly recommended!
Anyway, this new model follows the now increasingly popular sidewall-less design that is supposed to bring less turbulence and noise. The fan motor hangs from four plastic struts from the "reverse side" compared to standard fans, so there are no obstructions in the airflow's direct path out of the fan. There's four small rubber feet in the corners on the side that goes against the PC case to help isolate vibrations (though I doubt they really do much difference), and the 3-pinned power cord is sleeved in a black woven tube like all AC products and shrinkwrapped at both ends. There's also a metallic film case badge and four screws included with each fan.
The small printed data sheet on the cardboard box the fan comes in states these brief technical specs:
Dimensions: 80*80*45mm
Fan speed: 1000-1900RPM
Air flow: 10-32CFM
Power consumption: 12V, 0.12A (That's 1.44W)
Lifetime (L10 at 40C): 117,000h (!!!)
Weight: 75g
There's also some key features listed:
- 6 years warranty (!)
-Temperature controlled fan
-Circulation optimized fanblades
-Patented case design
-High airflow
-Extremely quiet
Speaking of the 'circulation optimized fanblades' and 'patented case design', one would think that without sidewalls acting as a kind of duct, there would be lots of inefficient spillage/waste where air is flung sideways out of the axially spinning impeller, but remarkably, this isn't so. Pretty much 100% goes out the back like with any fan, at least judging from the feel I get by using my hand (hardly a precision instrument I admit). The blades of the fan have a kind of scoop-like general design where the inside is hollowed out compared to the edge of the blade that I believe helps with this.
One downside to this newer design is it takes up a lot more space. The central hub and the four struts holding it up is much higher than the thickness of a standard case fan, and with no encasing sides, the rather large impeller is likely to snag loose hanging wires in ye average PC case. Also, due to its design, it can't be used as an intake fan; there are no screw holes at the front, so exhaust only. Those who like to rely on overpressure inside the PC case to filter incoming air at the point(s) of entry, look someplace else for your fan needs...
The positive side is, the fan is very very quiet, and the airflow is much better than with the previous standard-design Arctic Fan Pro TC which was also quiet, but had a very feeble throughput. I don't think it'd manage much static pressure however without air starting to "backflow" out of the fan, so it would probably not be too good as a CPU fan, but just scooping air out of a PC case and doing it quietly, it seems to do a superb job. The temperature controlled aspect is also a nice bonus. The text on the box doesn't say what temp range the thermistor responds to though, so all I have to go on is the fan spins faster when the thermistor gets warmer (I checked by warming it between thumb and forefinger). Nevertheless, it's a nice bonus.
Oh, and due to the already very low RPM, it probably isn't a good idea to use a fanbus or similar to regulate the speed by varying the input voltage. The fan might not start at all and could possibly be damaged from that. There's no warning of this on the box, but just using common sense tells me that much.
There's no point in giving it less than 12V anyway as it's barely audible as it is.One can't really go wrong with a case fan with a 6 year warranty that costs only about €5.50, even if it should only manage 4 years you'd probably be shopping for an entirely new computer by then... Crazy fact: 117,000 hours is over 13 years. In fact, the AC website claims the ceramic bearing has a 163,000 MTBF at 70C, that's nearly two decades.
Should last long enough for most of us I think!This item has thusly earned the Guden Seal of Approval.
Final grade: highly recommended!
