Arctic P12 Max (White)
“With the P12 Max (White), Arctic is responding to customer feedback. The high-speed fan offers white PC builds pure performance in a wintry look, as well as a special feature.”
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Once upon a time, you were given the choice between high performance or theming your rig. White fans were few and far between and required a sacrifice at the altar: temperatures or noise. Nowadays, that isn’t the case, as Arctic reinforces that 2024 is truly the year of the bleached build.
Arctic P12 Max fans landed on shelves last March, billed as the brand’s most powerful 120mm blowers yet. Rotating anywhere between 200 and 3,300rpm, it’s easy to see why. They’re 44% better than the standard P12s, pushing up to 81.04CFM of airflow and 4.35mmH₂O of static pressure. The only issue is that the choice was black, black, or black.
Now, the Arctic P12 Max comes in white, joining the army of snowy components we’ve already seen this year. This is all thanks to Arctic listening to customer feedback. Although the new wintery look is welcome, it’s more than just a new paint job.
Unlike the dual ball bearing on the black P12 Max, the new white model uses the same fluid dynamic bearings as the standard P12. This should make them a little quieter when ramping up to full speeds.
This isn’t to say the black version made much more than a whisper with PWM control and 0rpm under 5% load, but these take it to the next level. After all, they vibrate less with a better impact resistance. On paper, they also use less power and should last longer, although that needs rigorous testing before we can say one way or another.
The white Arctic P12 Max is already available at select stores. Perhaps the best part of the release is that it shouldn’t cost you too much more than the black version.
Arctic P12 Max’s MSRP carries a slight premium at $14.49, which we’re used to seeing on white components. Fortunately, starting prices are lower than that at $10.99. This will depend on which retailer you prefer, so it’s always worth hunting around. Generally, this is on the cheaper end for coloured components of any kind.
