Closer Examination

Given I have three fans here, I decided to do a group photo which also helped with the title image on page one. As of the date of this review, there are no special color versions for the Thermaltake TOUGHFAN 12 Pro. This means we end up with a safe design that's predominantly black. The frame is different from the older TOUGHFAN 12 in being more even on the sides of its square shape—there should not be much leakage between the frame and a radiator thus, as well as between multiple fans installed together given these are standard 120 mm fans that are 25 mm thick. This makes these fans effectively guaranteed to easily fit inside any PC case intended to use 120 mm fans for airflow and cooling. Then we get to the dark gray LCP rotor with its nine highly extended and widened fan blades that are only 0.6 mm away from the inside of the frame at their leading edge. The LCP composition helps reduce vibrations and prevents blade creep at higher fan speeds over time, which is how Tt is able to get that close. The longer blades should help push air even faster compared to shorter blade fans. There is branding on the sides as well as arrows indicating the direction of airflow and that of the blades rotating. We see further branding on the metal sticker on the front hub too. The corners are closed, despite there being a cutout as you head into the center, and have anti-vibration rubber pads integrated in the plastic to dampen vibrations from the case/radiator to the fans and vice versa. There are small holes cut in the pads to allow for fan screws to go through.


From the back we see a fairly standard 4-way stator vane configuration employing a typical curved design. But then my eyes were drawn to the beveled edge on the frame which Thermaltake claims can "enhance the overall cooling efficiency." It looks like a simpler version of a stepped edge employed by the likes of Noctua and can indeed reduce the airflow resistance from the otherwise square frame design. On the back hub is another sticker—once again made of metal—which tells us that these fans are manufactured by popular fan OEM Hong Sheng—as with the TOUGHFAN 12 before—to Thermaltake's specifications. Each fan is rated to consume 0.7 A off the 12 VDC rail which corresponds to a whopping 8.4 W each. This number clashes heavily with the 2.28 W on the product box and the Tt product page, and Thermaltake says the 0.7 A rating is just for the safety sticker. I assume this is to help get them to easily pass any certification tests but it can be misleading to the end user since the fans consume far less power than this number indicates. You should be fine powering two to three fans from a standard 1 A header thus. Peeling off the sticker shows the motor and bearing are mostly sealed with just a small section of the PCB exposed through the plastic for the wiring.


The motor hub and bearing have also been updated compared to the older TOUGHFAN 12. The new hub is reinforced by steel, which is also why we have the metal stickers on either side. There is also a full copper housing around the bearing, which Thermaltake says adds stability and durability during operation. The fans use a 2nd gen hydraulic (fluid dynamic) bearing design with a new shaft that has "inside etches allowing preservation of lubricant on both sides." This should help further reduce operating noise and increase bearing lifespan due to the more uniform lubrication, but seems the same as what was used on the older TOUGHFAN 12.


Four individually insulated wires in black are combined into a flat ribbon-style cable, which then comes out of the fan hub on the back and exits the frame. The cable is ~50 cm long and terminates in a standard 4-pin PWM connector for power and control over a compatible header. If you do use the LNC, it adds an additional ~10 cm.