Impact
Site Admin Joined: 01 May 2004 Posts: 3258 Location: Pinecrest, FL	Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2006 3:13 pm    Post subject: Arctic Cooling - Arctic Fan 8 Review   Arctic Cooling sent us another item from their latest line of products. Just released were the Arctic Fan 8, and the AF. Both fufill the same job as a case fan. The AF is a more traditional, square, blocky, normal looking case fan. The Arctic Fan however follows the new style of Arctic Cooling's fans. If you look back at our review of the Freezer 64 Pro, you can see the struts that Arctic Cooling has started using on the corners of fans to dampen vibrations. Before we get into the review, take note that both the AF and the Arctic Fan 8 come in 80, 92, and 120mm sizes. Lets go ahead and get the obligatory demo shots out of the way... I present you with: The Arctic Fan 8 (80mm) In the box was exactly what you would expect: the fan itself, a bag with four screws, and an AC case badge. All two of the installation steps were posted on the back of the box, but lets be honest, you shouldn't need instructions for attaching a case fan. Incase you're new to this, I'll sum it up for you: screw it in, plug it in. When I went to install the fan into my case, I got slightly worried. I have two cases here (both by Antec), and both of them have little purple brackets to make installing fans easier. What these brackets do, is remove the need to screw in a case fan. Instead of screwing it in, you just push the fan until it clicks into the socket, and two little clasps hold the fan in place (studs where the screws would be make sure the fan is aligned correctly). What worried me is that the Arctic Fan is not normal in the sense that it doesn't have the square lip around the edge (which is what the clasps grab). Quote: The Original Fan Lucky for us, Arctic Cooling must have thought about Antec cases before, because one of the rings around the top of the fan is the exact height that the rim of an 80mm fan is. The Arctic Fan fit into the "easy connect" sockets on my Antec case without a problem. Plugged it into a fan connector on the board, and was ready to go. Unfortunately after an hour of testing, there was no noticable temperature difference between my generic Antec fan, and the Arctic Fan 8. Both showed the same case temperature (35-36c) which was dissappointing. However, the Arctic Fan was significantly quieter. With the case closed up, the Antec fan was noticable over the hard drives, however, with the Arctic Fan installed, the hard drives were the loudest thing I could hear. All in all, quite a good fan if you're looking for something to lower the sound coming out of your computer. The Arctic Fan could find a great home inside of a Home Theatre PC Case, or in any case where noise is a problem. At the nice price of $5.99 (MSRP), its a cheap way to keep your case quiet, while not sacrificing any performance. Pros: Quite Quiet! Priced right at $5.99 Cons: Cools as well as the generic antec case fan
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