Thermaltake Pure Plus 12 Radiator Fan Kit Premium Review

Mike Sanders / 6 years ago

Final Thoughts

How Much Does it Cost?

At the time of writing, no exact price was available. We have, however, been informed that the Thermaltake Pure Plus 12 will retail for a price in the region of £59.99. In terms of a 3 pack of fans, that may initially seem a little expensive. There are, however, factors with these that you have to consider.

Firstly, this is a three pack of 120mm fans that have excellent RGB options. When you consider that these cost less than £20, already you can see the value. Secondly, the RGB controls on offer here are truly special, with the excellent software available for both smart devices and desktop PC’s you are spoilt for what you can do with this package. In addition, the added voice controls tip the scales for this being excellent in terms of value for money.

Overview

I love this product from top to bottom. The packaging and presentation is spot on and perfectly addresses the target audience of those who are looking to improve significantly on what they already have. The fans themselves both look and feel exceptionally well built and in addition the software to control them, even the voice activated stuff, works really well with more than enough options to get the set-up you want perfect.

While these are marketed as radiator fans, we found no reason why they couldn’t be used as chassis fans or even a CPU cooler fan.

Performance

Given that these are radiator fans designed to operate on another system, there isn’t any particular methodology we can apply here that would strictly give a fair test. We do however have a Noctua NF-F12 120mm fan on our bench system and as such we incorporated a brief comparative test. In this, we found that in idle the fan was able to keep the CPU temperature below 30c and at full load at around 68c. This was, of course, at full load as these fans are not specifically designed to operate based on the motherboard speed setting.

Despite this though, even at full power (at 1500rpm), the fans were remarkably quiet and as such, these 3 fans mounted to any 360 AIO cooler should provide an excellent alternative not just in terms of the RBG lighting effects, but also in general cooling levels.

Acoustics

While operating at full speed, we did not record a noise level higher than 46dba. For a 3 fan kit, this is quite impressive. At idle loads, the fan speed is only around 500rpm and is practically whisper quiet. As such, in terms of noise levels, we see no reason to suggest that these fans should be any discernably louder than what you would already have in place.

Design

The fan design is rather straightforward and overall, without the RGB, the fans look exactly as you would expect. In terms of the RBG lighting though, this is where the Thermaltake Pure Plus 12 really starts to shine. The effects on offer are fantastic and varied. Better still, the controller hub feels exceptionally well made and durable.

This isn’t always the case and we have in the past seem many such controllers feel like they were made of glass. In terms of the overall design though, this feels bulletproof throughout and should suit any set-up.

We should note the software in this aspect as well. It was, after all, designed. The software to use the fans can be controlled both via a desktop PC or via your smart device. The software is easy to understand, easy to use and better still has a fantastic range of options available. Even the most ardent technophobe would be able to figure this out!

Should I Buy One?

When it comes to system fans, it’s not unfair to say that the market isn’t struggling. The problem largely though is that if you go cheap, you get loud and noisy ones. The Thermaltake Pure Plus 12 kit, however, is a little different. These are fans designed to replace those already on your cooler. It’s certainly a bit more of a niche market.

That being said though, based on the design, there is no reason why you couldn’t potentially use these also as chassis fans. As can be seen in our RGB display video, we were even able to use one as a CPU cooler.

In terms of whats on offer here though, this is a truly excellent option and given the number of coolers I have seen and reviewed (and by proxy their fans), there are very few that I wouldn’t consider these an upgrade on.

If you had a good AIO 360 cooler but didn’t like the non-existent or basic RGB options that it comes with, the Thermaltake Pure Plus 12 is a fantastic alternative and for the price, you are getting some exceptional control options and modes to choose from.

These fans could well be the coup de gras to really set off your system.

Pros

Excellently packaged and presented.
Awesome lighting effects.
The product feels built to last in every aspect.
The software to control the RGB is available on PC and smart devices and is some of the easiest I have used.
Fan performance is strong and very quiet.
While marketed as radiator fans, there is no reason why they couldn’t be used as chassis fans just as well.

Cons

None.

Neutral

Given that these are designed as replacement fans for a pre-existing 360 set up, these are a little niche. Albeit perfect if you’re after an upgrade at least in terms of visual presentation.
Pigeonholing these at ‘radiator fans’ might put some people off buying them as general chassis fans.