Page 1: Arctic Cooling Arctic Fan 9
It is hard to review a product such as a fan. Generally, if you plug it in, and it works, then the fan deserves a recommendation. On the contrary, today I will be reviewing the Arctic Cooling Arctic Fan 9, Arctic Cooling’s new PWM based 90mm fan. For the test, I will be replacing the stock fan on my CPU cooler with it, and seeing what the differences in temperature and noise pollution look like.
To start, I must compliment Arctic cooling on a damn fine packaging job. The fan comes in a jet black box with very tasteful logo placement, as well as a list of the key features and a picture of the fan. It is a very simple box, and looks great compared to the shrink wrap most fans are packaged in these days.
Once inside the box, I came across something that I was not entirely sure was a fan. Essentially, the “case” of this fan is actually a plastic cage, and the fan is suspended in the middle of the cage. The cage is attached to the case mount through four rubber posts, which effectively mount the fan, as well as decrease the vibration level.
The fan does not screw on like normal fans, rather, it is set onto a case mount, and pushed in until it clips into place. This mechanism is very efficient as well as tool free, but it poses a problem: Unless you use a customized mount, the fan can only be used to push air out of your system, it cannot push air in.
The fan also uses the technology PWM, which allows the fan speed to change based on the heat of the components. The fan attaches to the motherboard using a four-pin connector; the extra pin allows the instruction to be relayed from the motherboard to the fan.
I used the fan to cool my CPU, and in the tests, it did incredibly well. I replaced the stock Scythe fan with it, and immediately, my temps dropped 2 to 3 degrees C* across the board. It was quite the pleasant surprise. The fan was also exceptionally quiet, I did not hear it above any of my other computer components, and it caused no vibration within my system.
Overall, this fan is definitely a good product. It is well built, looks good, and works very well, even though it cannot be used as an intake. I would suggest this to anybody looking for an exhaust fan, as it does the job quite well, and looks great doing it.
To start, I must compliment Arctic cooling on a damn fine packaging job. The fan comes in a jet black box with very tasteful logo placement, as well as a list of the key features and a picture of the fan. It is a very simple box, and looks great compared to the shrink wrap most fans are packaged in these days.
Once inside the box, I came across something that I was not entirely sure was a fan. Essentially, the “case” of this fan is actually a plastic cage, and the fan is suspended in the middle of the cage. The cage is attached to the case mount through four rubber posts, which effectively mount the fan, as well as decrease the vibration level.
The fan does not screw on like normal fans, rather, it is set onto a case mount, and pushed in until it clips into place. This mechanism is very efficient as well as tool free, but it poses a problem: Unless you use a customized mount, the fan can only be used to push air out of your system, it cannot push air in.
The fan also uses the technology PWM, which allows the fan speed to change based on the heat of the components. The fan attaches to the motherboard using a four-pin connector; the extra pin allows the instruction to be relayed from the motherboard to the fan.
I used the fan to cool my CPU, and in the tests, it did incredibly well. I replaced the stock Scythe fan with it, and immediately, my temps dropped 2 to 3 degrees C* across the board. It was quite the pleasant surprise. The fan was also exceptionally quiet, I did not hear it above any of my other computer components, and it caused no vibration within my system.
Overall, this fan is definitely a good product. It is well built, looks good, and works very well, even though it cannot be used as an intake. I would suggest this to anybody looking for an exhaust fan, as it does the job quite well, and looks great doing it.