Fans are such an integral part of any computer system that you often overlook how important they are. Now you're thinking to yourself, 'Aren't all fans the same'? No, they are not. In this review we will be looking at four 120mm fans from Arctic Cooling. These fans are all part of the F12 cooling series and feature a variety of different technologies to fit your particular application. The fans in this review are all different but come in two basic styles with two different configurations each.
The first Arctic F12 fan is a standard high performance case fan featuring a 1350 RPM fan speed, Fluid Dynamic Bearings and moving 57CFM. This next fan is the Arctic F12 TC which is identical to the standard F12 in outward appearance and specifications. TC stands for Temperature Control and will vary the fan speed based on ambient temperature. The sensor is calibrated to keep the case temperature between 30c and 40c. The fan does this by adjusting the fan speed between 300rpm and 1350rpm as the interior temperature rises above 32c. At 38c the fan should be spinning at full RPM.
The Pro Series is available in three basic configurations, standard (without rpm control), TC for thermal rpm adjustments and PWM to be controlled by the motherboard in response to system load and temperature. The Pro Series fans are quite impressive and offer, in a single fan, many of the things modders look for to increase cooling performance. The first is the inverted design that positions the fan away from the cooling surface. This reduces fan noise and increases airflow in situations where you have a perforated fan opening. Source