Primarily for the needs of very small computer systems, Arctic has expanded its range of low-profile fans. It did this with the P8 Slim PWM PST, which is not only low-profile, it keeps its dimensions smaller in the remaining two axes as well. With 80 mm it copies well, for example, minimalist cases for Raspberry Pi and similar single-board computers. This small fan has a blade count above Arctic’s standards.
Arctic is among the few to consider 80-millimeter fans relevant as well. With the new P8 Slim PWM PST, it’s trying to reach a slightly different target audience than with what it had before. Airflow at comparable speeds should not be significantly lower than the “standard” variant of the P8 PWM PST with a 10 mm thicker profile than the new P8 Slim PWM PST – 15 mm.
At 38.23 m3/h, it is less than 4% lower with the P8 Slim PWM PST. That is, as long as we take the manufacturer’s official specifications as a guideline. It is notable, however, that compared to the P8 PWM PST, Arctic reports up to approximately 24% higher static pressure at 2.35 mm H2O for the low-profile P8 Slim PWM PST. It should be mentioned here that the design of the impeller differs significantly compared to other Arctic fans not only in shape but also in the number of blades. There are up to nine of them (instead of the usual five), with relatively shorter leading edges.
For some reason, noise is not mentioned in the P8 Slim PWM PST parameters, which opens up room for speculation that this fan could be noisier than other 80mm Arctic fans. Of course, at a comparable speed or airflow. The high-speed P8 Max (with 5000 rpm) or the S8038-7K (with up to 7000 rpm) server fans are naturally significantly noisier at top speeds. The specified operating speed range of the P8 Slim PWM PST fan is 300–3000 rpm. PWM control is also supported and the cables are terminated with two connectors. One is for the fan itself (female) and the other (male) for connecting another fan in parallel, with which you want to share the same signal and most importantly ultimately save one header, which is especially handy for SFF motherboards. There are only a few headers on these. The advantage is then also in a more sensible cable management.
In addition to the low 15mm profile, Arctic highlights passive operation from PWM with a duty cycle equal to or less than 5% for this 80mm fan. And then the vibrations are supposed to be very low as well. So much so that Arctic writes about the fan not needing rubber pads in the corners. This fan can be used in the SBC (single-board computer) segment and maybe in larger computers where only smaller fans can be installed in selected positions for some reason. Typically this can be in PC cases with vertically split interiors.
The manufacturer’s suggested end price for the P8 PWM PST fan is 10 EUR. However, the listing price is slightly lower (8 EUR). The fan is already available in stores and you can also order it via the Arctic e-shop.
English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš
