Arctic P14 PWM PST A-RGB 0dB, review de estos ventiladores

Finally, it should be pointed out that Arctic is in the middle of the A-RGB era and, therefore, the configurable RGB lighting on these P14 fans could not be absent. For this, the manufacturer has mounted 12 digital A-RGB LEDs which can be configured independently using the motherboard control software, so you will not need to install any additional software on your PC for this.

Unpacking and external analysis

For this analysis, the manufacturer sent us a “Value Pack” consisting of a package containing three units of this fan, and which can also be purchased at a price slightly lower than if we bought three units individually. . They are packaged in a compact neutral colored box that only has an identification tag which, incidentally, includes a QR code that takes us to the product’s website where we can find all of its technical specifications and the manual of instructions.

As accessories, in this case Arctic has been as concise as with the packaging and only includes a transparent bag with twelve screws, just enough to be able to anchor the three fans included in the pack to the box.

Here you can see the three units of the Arctic P14 PWM PST A-RGB 0 dB fans that are included in this Value Pack.

Let’s start by taking a closer look at them by picking up a single unit. As you can see, these fans only have 5 very wide blades, which will promote the generation of a high static pressure at the expense of the air flow. The blades also go units in their outer area to reduce vibration and thus behave as a whole when cornering.

In all the anchors (on both sides) we have rubber inserts which will help to reduce the vibrations when the fan is running, and therefore also the noise generated.

On the opposite side, we can see that the rotor is fixed with four rather thin plastic anchors and with the shape of the blades so as not to obstruct the air flow. Something curious is that instead of putting a label behind the motor, Arctic preferred to silk-screen the unit’s data directly onto the plastic it is anchored in, a quality detail that is appreciated because many times over due to heat these labels end peeling.

Finally, we must highlight a detail that we did not like too much, and that is that the two cables that each fan has (one for power supply and PWM control, another for A-RGB lighting) come from two different places, which makes it difficult to channel once you mount the fans on the PC.

Of course, a detail that is appreciated is that both in the power and control connector and in the lighting one we have a male and a female, which means that we can connect all the fans in a chain. and thus only use one 4 pin PWM connector and another A-RGB on the motherboard to connect the three fans.

With fans seen, it’s time to plug them in to see what they look like and how they perform, so let’s get going.

The Arctic P14 PWM PST A-RGB 0dB in operation

As we said before, these fans can be daisy-chained and therefore an ARGB hub is not needed as we have seen for example in the Light Wings from be quiet! Therefore, the installation is quite simple both in the case and in the radiator, although it is true that, as we mentioned before, the routing of the cables is not so simple because they come out of different areas.

First, we mounted the fans “up in the air” to be able to test their noise and airflow without restrictions, and at the same time to show you what their lighting looks like. In the photo above, you can see the fans running in bright conditions (with two white bulbs of 2200W each pointing directly at them), and even so, the lighting can be fully appreciated; This is to give you an idea of ​​the great luminous intensity that these arctic fans generate.

Setting up the lighting is as easy as in any other device that uses A-RGB lighting and connects to the motherboard, and we will only have to install the motherboard control software. to be able to configure its color and effects, as well as to synchronize with other devices.

Admittedly, of all the fans with lighting that we have tested to date, these have the most intense lighting (at the same level as the CORSAIR HD) and beautiful, very homogeneous at the same time. In bright conditions it looks perfect, but with the light completely off, they look impressive.

Thermal and acoustic performance

As we mentioned a moment ago, we tested these fans in the air to measure their efficiency without restriction, because otherwise it would depend on which box or in which radiator we install them. In addition, we can thus make a reliable comparison with other fans that have passed through our test laboratory.

We start with Loudness, for which we used a Protmex PPM-SM001 sound level meter at an exact distance of 50 centimeters from the fans, just enough for the measurement to be given in dBA. We took two measurements: one with the speed configured in PWM so that it was the card dictating how they should operate (this would be a real-life scenario of how most users would have them configured) and another at their maximum speed. , with the following result:

According to the technical specifications, these fans emit 0.3 sone, which corresponds to about 24 dBA and this is precisely the measurement we got. As you can see, even at high speed (1900 RPM is not little and more in the case of 140 mm fans) the noise emitted is quite low, although higher than that emitted by other models like the Light Wings from be quiet! because these only operate at 1,500 rpm.

Of course when we let the board control the speed of the fans they gave us a data of only 17.7 dBA, but we have to say the fans were off so the noise captured was mostly coming from the rest of the components. test equipment or ambient noise in the room, which was completely silent.

To give you an idea of ​​what this means, in the following table you can find examples of noise values ​​in dBA.

As you can see, the noise is quieter than a whisper, something practically inaudible.

We will now see what air flow these Arctic fans deliver, and for that we used a Holdpeak HP-866A anemometer. Again, we took two data, one with the fan speed set to exactly 1000 RPM and another at its maximum speed, in this case 1900 RPM.

Just as you would expect to see the layout and shape of its five fins, these fans don’t generate much airflow and, in fact, only outperform those of be quiet! because they run at a higher speed (in fact you can see that at 1000 RPM they are the ones that generate the least airflow). Overall, their 2mm / H2O static pressure is the highest of the fans we tested and therefore makes them ideal when installed in radiators or enclosures with severe airflow limitation.

conclusion

Arctic is a brand that specializes in PC cooling systems, and it’s not for nothing that they have some of the best heat sinks and fans on the market. These P14 PWM PST A-RGB 0dB are no exception and aim to provide good performance with high static pressure but with the minimum possible noise level they have managed to fulfill their mission with an outstanding rating.

As if that were not enough, we must highlight its excellent configurable A-RGB lighting, very beautiful and with great intensity that allows to see even in bright conditions. In addition, it is remarkable the possibility of connecting all the fans in a chain (both the power supply and the lighting), so that we will only consume one connector of each on the motherboard.

In short, we may not be facing the best fans on the market in terms of performance, but we are facing some of the quietest (and with semi-passive operation) and with the best lighting that we can find. .

For all these reasons, these Arctic P14 PWM PST A-RGB 0 dB deserve our Gold Medal, as well as our recommendation for their design.