Arctic Cooling- Arctic Fan 8L and 12L

Most cooling fans are pretty much the same, there hasn’t been much in the way of innovations or design of them. Yes there has been some cosmetic changes to fans but nothing major until now, Arctic Cooling has released its’ ‘L’ series of fans, and today for review I have the 120mm and the 80mm sized fans. They not only look very interesting but they are essentially redesigned from the bottom up, and they work very well. The new Arctic Cooling ‘L’ series of fans are something that I can easily recommend to anyone looking to upgrade their noisy fans with something that is whisper quiet and performs well. Read on to learn more..

Reviewed by: Kristofer Brozio AkA Dracos

Sponsor: Arctic Cooling

Tech Specs,Features or the Basic Info:

Arctic Fan 8L/Arctic Fan 12L

http://www.arctic-cooling.com/fans1.php

Features:

Best Noise-Performance Ratio

Patented Case Design

Patented Vibration Absorption

Compatible with toolless Mounting Mechanisms for Standard 25 mm deep fans

6 Years Warranty

The Fluid Dynamic Bearing offers a unique 400’000 h MTTF at 40C. Therefore we grant a unique 6 years warranty.

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Specifications:

Arctic Fan 8L:

Dimension: 80x80x38.5mm

Fan Speed: 1500 RPM

Air Flow: 18 CFM

Power Consumption: 12v/0.1 Amp

Weight: 82g

iPod Nano MP3 Players

iPod Nano 4 GB

iPod Nano 2 GB

Arctic Fan 12L:

Dimension: 120x120x38.5mm

Fan Speed: 1000 RPM

Air Flow: 37 CFM

Power Consumption: 12v/0.15 Amp

Weight: 126g

Arctic Fan 8L

Recommended Retail Price (excl. VAT):

5.99 USD / 4.90 EUR

Arctic Fan 12L

Recommended Retail Price (excl. VAT):

9.99USD / 7.90 EUR

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A Better Look at Things

First up of course we have the packaging, the box for both fans are essentially the same, just a different size of course and with different specs listed on them. Here are the box shots of the Arctic Fan 12L

And here are the box shots of the Arctic Fan 8L, both boxes are done in the familiar Arctic Cooling black and gray style.

The fans fit nice and snug in their boxes.

Both of the fans come with four mounting screws and a nice Arctic Cooling sticker or case badge.

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A Better Look at Things

Continued:

The Arctic Fan ‘L’ series of fans are an open frame design, where the fan actually hangs down from the top of the frame. The ‘L’ series of fans can only be mounted one way.

The Arctic Fans comes with a nice long standard 3 pin connector for power that is nicely sleeved.

What makes the ‘L’ series of Arctic Fans different, besides the fact that the fan hangs from the frame is the rubber connection system. The fans are connected to the main frame by means of rubber fasteners, these fasteners are to absorb vibrations and make the fan quieter. The fan actually floats on the frame essentially so no vibrations are transferred to your PC case, it’s a very interesting system and makes them look very unique.

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The new Arctic Cooling 8L and 12L fans look very unique, they are made to be exhaust fans as they can only be mounted one way. The open frame design should allow for more airflow thus increasing cooling performance. The seem very well made and are rated for 400,000 hours of use, and they have a 6 year warranty, these fans should outlast your computer and be transferred through many upgrades.

Installation, Testing and Comparison

I mentioned that the fans can only be installed as exhaust fans, that is not quite entirely true. I already took a Dremel to my Cooler Master Centurion case side panel to remove the air holes to permit better airflow, by doing this I was able to route the power wire of the Arctic Fan 8L on the side of the fan and into the case. So if you do a bit of modification the Arctic Fan ‘L’ series can be used as an intake fan as well.

Of course installation is very easy, just screw in four screws and plug the fan in.

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After installation I powered the system on and was treated to silence, yes the fans were on, they are that quiet. The only thing I could hear running was the Corsair Nautilus 500 liquid cooling system, very nice indeed. As for how well they cool, the temperatures of my case didn’t drop, but they didn’t go up either, basically the only thing the Arctic Fans did was make my case a whole lot quieter, which for the price is very much worth it to me.

Summary:

Yes it’s a short review, but they are just fans after all, very cool looking fans but still just fans. The design of the Arctic Fans works well, it makes them whisper quiet. These would be great for anyone looking to replace their loud stock fans or even better for use in an HTPC system where you want the noise level to be as low as possible. I found nothing wrong with these fans they are excellent, and I can easily recommend them.

DragonSteelMods gives the Arctic Cooling- Arctic Fan 8L and 12L fans a 5 out of 5 and our Recommended Award as well.