Arctic P12 Pro Reverse A-RGB Review

Introduction to the features of the Arctic P12 Pro Reverse A-RGB

Configuring a high-performance inverted fan is not just about turning the rotor, at least not if we want to do it well and maintain the performance expected from a quality product. Managing flow, static pressure and noise comes at the expense of thinking carefully about how to approach the change.

Arctic is well known for doing things right, and at a reasonable price, so they have taken their time, after the launch of the Arctic Extender case, to market their 120 and 140mm inverted fans in the right configurations, with and without RGB and with a black and white frame.

Arctic’s premise for the Arctic P12 Pro Reverse A-RGB: maintain the performance of their most recognized fans, for case and cooling, while offering a finish that is perfect for the most modern cases, where inverted fans allow us to configure the appropriate flow without losing a bit of the aesthetic capabilities of the fan, especially those with ARGB lighting.

Therefore, these Arctic P12 Pro Reverse They must offer powerful air flows, with high rotation speeds, high static pressure to be skilled in cooling radiators and, at the same time, maintain a great relationship between revolutions and noise produced. Now we will see how Arctic has designed these fans trying to achieve these objectives, which are also typical of its conventional P12 Pro range.

Technical characteristics of the Arctic P12 Pro Reverse A-RGB

• Warranty: 6 years
• Operating temperature: 0–40°C
• Dimensions: 120(L) × 120(W) × 27(H)mm
• Net weight: 172g
• Fan speed: 500–3000 rpm (PWM controlled), 0 rpm below 5% PWM
• Air flow: 73cfm | 124 m³/h
• Static pressure: 4.5mm H₂O
• Bearing type: Fluid Dynamic Bearing
• Typical voltage: 12V DC
• Starting voltage: 3.5V
• Current: 0.4A
• Cable length: 400mm + 80mm (Daisy-Chain cable)
• Fan connector: 4-Pin Fan Plug + 4-Pin Socket
• LEDs: 12 × A-RGB Gen2 LEDs
• LED Current/Voltage: 0.40A | 5VDC
• RGB connector: 3-Pin A-RGB Plug + 3-Pin Socket

Specifications of the new Arctic P12 Pro Reverse A-RGB

With this model, Arctic has managed to cover any use need with its P12 and P14 series, although in this article I will focus on the P12, which, on the other hand, due to its dimensions, is undoubtedly more important. This format continues to be the reference in case assembly and refrigeration today, although the 14 cm size continues to gain momentum.

Arctic P12 Pro Reverse It is undoubtedly a fan intended for mounting in boxes, especially very striking formats that expose the internal components a lot. This box format, with two or three tempered glass panels, is precisely what has given life to reverse rotation fans, especially those where we want to have lighting.

Its only objective is to get air into the case exposing the blades, which are the main lighting focus in ARGB fans, since the blades are the largest surface of the fan and, therefore, the most important lighting point. In these boxes, in addition, the entrance is usually at the bottom of the box, with less impact on the components, so we need good ventilation at this point so that the air flow is important. This combination of factors, lighting and airflow, is what makes fans like the Arctic P12 Pro Reverse “shine” especially.

He Arctic P12 Pro Reverse It has a wide range of working frequencies, from 500 to 3000 rpm, from 3.5 to 12 V, controlled by PWM. Thanks to this wide RPM spectrum, the P12 Pro Reverse can be used as a case fan, to support general cooling or as a key component in heatsinks and radiatorswhere we can use them as a push-pull configuration with the advantage that they offer the best performance in extracting air from the radiator to be dissipated.

Arctic returns in this model to a 5-blade design (the normal P12 Pro has 7), where the separation of the blade itself from the channeling frame has been substantially reduced. In addition to the millimeter adjustments between components, reducing spaces, Arctic has specially worked on the supports and frames to improve air flow in this type of configuration. Aerodynamics are improved and also the air intake to the fan.

They also have an automatic balancing mechanism in manufacturing which allows ballast to be added in the appropriate areas to perfectly balance the fan. In addition, a microcontroller ensures quieter operation, which compensates for load fluctuations, as well as other adverse effects such as reverse polarity with overloads.

One of its main assets is its rotor with Fluid Dynamic Submerged Bearing (FDB)capable of operating between 500 and 3000 RPM, including an automatic stop mode when the PWM signal drops below 5%. This wide range of working frequencies allows us to devise interesting ways to use them, beyond the air intake for modern boxes. Its full stop mode also allows us to explore very low noise modes on PCs that allow very deep sleep states.

He Arctic P12 Pro Reverse It consumes a maximum of 0.33 A at 12 V, and can operate with a minimum voltage of only 3.3 V. Below this threshold, the fan stops completely. At 120 mm in size, it offers a maximum air flow of 73 CFM (more than 124 m³/h) and a static pressure of up to 4.5 mmH₂O. It doesn’t reach the levels of its “normal” brothers but, without a doubt, they are high-end specifications for a 120mm case fan.

The fan comes with other functional details, such as the silent blocks in each corner and, in this kit of three units that we have tested, we also enjoy a “PST” design which adds a “Y” connector so that we can concatenate some fans with others. In this way we can synchronize its operation and better manage the wiring. The length of the cable is 400 mm, plus the 80 mm of the female connector, and the same goes for the A-RGB wiring, which is configured in the same way.

Finally, the quality of its motorization, with bearings immersed in liquid, guarantees more than 60,000 hours of useful life. This allows Arctic to offer a guarantee of up to 6 years, the same as other products in its range with similar design and materials.

Noise and performance

One of the things I like about this fan, that we can find it loose or in packs of 3 at a fantastic priceis that they are not mere ARGB fans to install in a case and make it pretty. They are high quality fans that we can use perfectly in a case to improve the ratio between performance and noise, but that we can also apply to other components, such as active cooling, maintaining the attractiveness of the fan.

We have applied our usual tests, which we do on all fans, but we have also added these fans to a liquid cooling kit to improve the radiator capacity in a “push-pull” configuration to see the performance differences we can achieve in this scenario.

Test equipment:

• Motherboard: ASUS ProArt X870E-CREATOR WIFI Review
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
• Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws M5 Neo RGB DDR5-6000 CL28
• Source: Cooler Master V PLATINUM 1600 V2
• Hard drive: Kioxia Exceria Plus G4 2TB

Noise

Performance with conventional heatsink

Performance with water kit

Performance with water kit, supporting “push-pull” configuration

Analysis and conclusion

Arctic has not been satisfied with taking a normal fan and configuring it in reverse; They have taken one of their main fans, a reference in its price-performance ratio, and have developed it in the most appropriate way so that it behaves as expected from a range like this.

These fans are not only aesthetically attractive for putting air into a panoramic box, but they offer high-level features, such as complete stop in rest states, a wide range of operating frequencies, “Y” wiring for easy installation and a very careful motorization that offers a great relationship between flow, static pressure and noise.

He Arctic P12 Pro Reverse A-RGB It is a powerful and versatile fan that we can find for a really attractive price: 12.49 euros loose and 28.99 euros in packs of three units. Given the results, it seems like a really surprising price to us, although, on the other hand, it has been common in all the products of this brand.