Pctreviews: Arctic Cooling F9 PWM CO 92mm Case Fan Review

Today we're going to be taking a look at a 92mm case fan provided by Arctic Cooling. The case fan we will be taking a look at today is going to be the Arctic F9 PWM CO 92 mm fan. The Arctic F9 PWM CO case fan is the inexpensive option but provides adequate performance. The Arctic F9 PWM CO feels very durable and features quite a few different technologies that help the overall performance of the fan, like its dual ball bearing, continuous operation and its low noise impeller. Let’s take a closer look at the Arctic F9 PWM CO itself.

First we will start off with the packaging of the Arctic F9 PWM CO fan. It comes in a contact box that fits everything perfectly. All you will receive is the fan itself, a manual and four mounting screws. Accessories are pretty minimal, but what else do you want from an inexpensive case fan.

The Arctic F9 PWM CO features a gray design that makes it a little different from the standard black designed fans. When I felt the fan in my hands I was amazed by the overall construction and feel of the fan. It didn't have that cheap feel to it, the feel you get when you handle very inexpensive fans. However, just because this fan is not as pricey as some of the other case fans on the market doesn't mean it won’t outperform some of them. From my use with the Arctic F9 PWM CO, I felt this fan outperformed a lot of the 120mm fans I currently own and have tested. One weird thing aside from the performance, is the fact that this fan is only 92mm. Some cases do still use 92mm fan mounting points but not many. My test case (NZXT Phantom 410) doesn't have any installation points for a 92mm fan, assuming that 92mm fans aren't really used as case fans anymore. However with the way the Arctic F9 PWM CO fan performs I wish there was indeed a place to install this awesome little fan.

The Arctic F9 PWM CO features Continuous Operation, hence the CO in the name, this means Arctic has guaranteed that this fan will run nonstop 24/7. This is because Arctic uses a Japanese dual ball bearing design, which is better than the standard sleeve bearing fans. A lot of their products feature “CO” which ensures reliability and safety for your components.

Arctic Cooling measures noise levels in Sone (loudness) instead of dB (sound intensity). The loudness depends upon your ears response curves and tells you how noticeable a certain noise is. The Arctic F9 is rated for 0.4 Sone. This fan is extremely quiet and I cannot emphasize that enough. Arctic is big on noise levels and they have done an excellent job keeping this fan as quiet as it can be. In most cases 2mm fans are usually louder than typical 120mm fans, because they have to spin faster just too adequately cool something, this results in a higher noise level and lower cooling capabilities. The Arctic F9 PWM CO isn’t restricted by its size at all, in fact it performs better and operates at a lower noise level than most 120mm fans on the market (like mentioned before).

PST technology ensure that all the PWM-controlled fans will run at an optimized speed which also results in a lower noise level, this is based on the CPU cooling demands.

Here is a chart on the 82, 92 and 120mm models of the PWM CO fans:

Specifications:

Dimensions	92 (L) x 92 (W) x 25 (H) mm
Fan	90m, 600-1,800 RPM (Controlled by PWM
Airflow	43 CFM / 73.1 m^3/h
Bearing	Dual Ball Bearing
Noise Level	0.4 Sone
Weight	85g

Information taken directly from Arctic Cooling's site

Dedicated to operate 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, the F PWM CO series case fans cool your computer system quietly. The fan forwards the PWM signal from the CPU to the whole case ventilation system. Employing a Japanese dual ball bearing, the fan operates with reduced friction and hence its lifespan is substantially extended. The series offers you with superb performance while maintaining your computer systems under optimal temperature at all times.

	Continuous Operation "CO" stands for Continuous Operation and makes the case fans suitable for PCs with non-stop operation like servers. This feature is brought by the Japanese dual ball bearing used in the fans, which reduces rotational friction, meaning it is less sensitive to dust and high temperature and hence is up to 5 times more durable than generic or modified bearings.

Constantly Silent Thanks to the dual ball bearing and the patented fan holder design, the F PWM CO series is not only quiet, but also long-lasting.

	Quick and Easy Setup Via a single PWM signal, the CPU fan is controlled by the mainboard to maintain the ideal temperature of the CPU. The patented PST (PWM Sharing Technology) forwards the PWM signal to all other fans within the system so that all fans are spinning at the same speed. Such mechanism ensures silent operation when it is idle, but also gives sufficient performance when the demand comes.

Conclusion:

This is by far the best little 92mm fan we have tested and we enjoyed everything about it. The only problem was there isn’t a wide variety of enthusiast grade cases that still support 92mm fans, they all opt for 120mm and 140mm mounting holes. However this fan does still come in a 120mm variation and probably still outperforms many in its class. We still can’t get over of how quiet the Arctic F9 PWM CO fan is, especially for its size. With the Continuous Operation design and incorporated PST technology this fan definitely provides some nice features than any enthusiast would be pleased with. We would like to thank Arctic cooling for providing us with this awesome product.