ThermaltakeToughFan 12 High Static Pressure 2000 PWM, Metal-Reinforced Motor Hub, Gen.2 Hydraulic Bearing 120mm Case/Radiator Fan (2 Pack) CL-F082-PL12BL-A Black

--Update 05.22.2024--My first out of 6 fans failed. It's been close to 3 years and 6 months, and entire year less than the advertised MTBF and that's IF the computer is on 24/7 which this PC was not! Pretty crappy if you ask me!--Original Review--Thermaltake doesn't exactly have the best reputation. They are known for ripping off of successful products and putting their own badge on it.Noctua announced they would be releasing a Chromax version of their best fan, the NF-A12x25, in the recent past, I can't point to the exact date. However, there are photos of prototypes being shown at CES, and it looks EXACTLY like this.What Thermaltake CAN'T copy is:1) The motor used. It will definitely be inferior to Noctua's.2) The overall design. The toughfan actually does not sit flush on a flat surface because of the anti-vibration pads. This creates a ~1-2mm gap between the fan and radiator that reduces static pressure. It DOES sit flat without the pads.3) The blade tolerances. Despite them also using some sort of proprietary Liquid Crystal Polymer to manufacture the blades, I'm sure that Noctua's tolerances are way, way higher, which will reduce turbulent noise further.4) The MTBF. Only 40k hours. That's a joke. However, that's also 4.5 years of continuous operation. Although Noctua is 150k hours which is basically forever.5) The warranty. 2 year for Toughfan, 6 for Noctua.6) Accessories. The 2 pack does come with a splitter and screws, but that's it. Noctua comes with anti-vibration mount, anti-vibration cover, an extension cable, a low noise cable, screws, and a splitter.However, at $35 for 2? You can't beat the value. The Noctua's will surely cost that much for ONE.Do I recommend this? HELL YES. They are QUIET. I will give this sentence it's own paragraph because it CANNOT BE UNDERSTATED HOW QUIET THESE ARE. You've read other reviews of quiet fans? NO, THESE ARE IN ANOTHER LEAGUE. They are basically INAUDIBLE below 1200 rpm, and just a minor hum at 1500. They are RIDICULOUSLY quiet. Only the Arctic p12's can be compared honestly, but those have other issues, so I can't recommend those. I'm positive that the Noctua's are just imperceivably better than these because honestly, if there is no noise, then there is no noise.They push a 'decent' amount of air, not the most, but certainly not the least. However, they have excellent directional airflow and will perform very well on heatsinks and radiators. There are other fans that are far superior in moving more air. Consider this fan more of a "sniper rifle" than a "flame thrower". Want a "flame thrower"? Get a Scythe Kaze Flex 2000 rpm. That thing moves so much air, it's ridiculous. However, it's also much much louder. I personally use the Toughfan for ALL my needs, including case fans, as I value low noise more than anything else.The only other fans that might compete in value are the Arctic p12 fans, but those let out a high pitch whine sound as the fan ramps up and down that I couldn't stand, so I returned them. Those were almost perfect.These will certainly sell out as soon as Noctua releases the Chromax version of their fans, as these are nearly identical at a fraction of the cost. They look pretty much the same too!

Do you own an Arctic Rad? Then this review is relevant for you;-The Unboxing Experience;The fans come in a nice box with all the add-ons you would expect;Short and long screws, noise adapters and cable extension. You probably won't need the extensions since the cables are very long!Fitting the fans on the Arctic II 280;The problem with Arctic coolers is that the fittings for the tubes is a bit in the way so fans with big square frames like some Lian Li models often won't fit, the Toughfan 14 Pro's also have a big square frame, but fortunately they do fit, although it takes some time getting them on there, it's a very tight fit, and I made a small scrape on the plastic shroud under the fan trying to fit them on (that's really not a big deal but might give some the spooks).-Performance;Cinabench before: (83.9 C) after: (81.5)But that's not the whole story;According to reviews these fans should outperform the P14s, but not only they do so, they are also a lot more quiet when running at 50%~ speed.They sound very pleasant on lower speeds and move A LOT of air.They move so much more air through the radiator than the stock fans, I could definitely physically tell the difference was huge by simply putting my hand over my PC case as the rad is top mounted. Very impressive.Looks;The fans look great in my opinion; the color looks very nice irl, and the square frame looks very sleek. They definitely upgrade the look of the cooler.Reliability;Will update this review if something bad happens.Conclusion:This is a worthy endeavor if your stock radiator fans are bad or you just want ultimate performance. Supposedly these are some of the best if not the best radiator fans out there,They're also very good as case fans but I think there are cheaper options that will get you similar performance. It's definitely a premium product.

They have a .7a motor which is more than 4x the typical arctic fan with .15a.Arctic and others use those longer curved gradual fan blades to create static pressure. These use more, shorter blades, at a more extreme angle, which combined with more powerful motor can overcome the resistance. In combination, this fan has alot of sp, alot of airflow, and good rpm. Theses are not finesse sp fans like most other newer radiator fans.The downside? Above 80%, there can be some motor noise. At 80% and below, they are comparable in noise and performance to something like an arctic bionix. You just hear low woosh.And at 60% comparable to a P14.So do you need the extra 20%? For most users on a radiator, no. They are a bit too loud at 100% for daily comfort. But they are more versatile than an arctic sp fan because they have high cfm for use as case fans. And the extra airflow at 100% could be useful for benchmarks. And only $4 more than a bionix. And have a reallly long cable, 30" or so. If you dont want to deal with noise they have a voltage reducer whichs makes themm more mild at 100%. The corner pads are easily removable. Good fans all around, but not particularly refined.