Dynamic GP-12 et GP-14 VS Venturi HF-12 and HP-14: Review| Specs | Test | Setup

Test – Fractal Design Dynamic & Venturi: Review | Specs| Config | Advantage (Pros) and Disadvantages (Cons) and other important features that will help you make better decision.

In addition to AIO boxes, power supplies and watercooling kits Fractal Design does not stop there and also markets its own fans, often of very good quality and which have made part of the brand’s reputation for silent boxes, that’s what I’m going to see today! Fractal Design offers two new references to its catalogs, the Dynamic and Venturi, the former being oriented all-purpose with a good balance between static pressure and air flow while the Venturi are given to have a large static pressure and a large airflow, to sum up the Dynamic will be more inclined to be used in a quiet PC while the Venturi will be there for those who want performance.

Several models are available for sale, the Dynamic in 12 and 14 cm version (3-pin) while the Venturi are also in 12 and 14 cm version but either in 3-pin or in 4-pin PWM. For today’s test I have the two Dynamics as well as the Venturi in 12cm 3-pin and 14cm 4-pin PWM. Let’s take a closer look!

Specification: Dynamic GP-12 and Dynamic GP-14

As we can see the characteristics are rather different between the 2 families of fans, the Dynamic GP are equipped with a hydraulic bearing given for a lifespan of 40,000 hours (4.5 years) while the venturi themselves are more enduring with their FDB bearing (Fluid Dynamic Bearing) given to hold 150,000 hours (17 years) which clearly gives the advantage to the latter.

Regarding the speed the Venturi as I said above being cut for performance have a higher maximum speed than the Dynamic, in 12cm the HF-12 goes up to 1400 RPM (or 1100 RPM with the adapter supplied, at the image of the Noctua fans) against 1200 RPM for the Dynamic GP-12 while for the 14cm one goes up to 1500 RPM for the HP-14 (a PWM version) against 1000 RPM for the Dynamic GP-14. All this obviously affects the maximum airflow and sound level, 52.3 CFM (19.4 dB) and 68.4 CFM (18.9 dB) for the Dynamic GP-12 and GP-14 against 83.4 CFM (25.3 dB) and 78.1 CFM (30.1 dB) for the Venturi HF-12 and HP-14, a clear advantage for the latter in terms of air flow but also a noise level and quite logically higher!

The consumption of the 4 fans is really very contained, between 1.3W for the Venturi HF-12 and 1.7W for the Dynamic GP-14, it should be noted that despite a rotation speed and a lower air flow, the Dynamic series consumes a little more, even if we remain in the very reasonable.

The price is very low for the Dynamic with € 10.99 for the 12cm version and € 12.99 for the 14cm while the Venturi starts at € 12.99 for the 12cm version and € 16.99 for the 14cm.

Dynamic GP-12 et GP-14

The front of the box could not be more sober here, a photo of the fan accompanied by the model, the brand as well as the size, the RPMs and the color on the right side. We cannot say that Fractal Design has abused marketing, quite the contrary and that is to its credit!

At the rear we find a few little words saying that the Dynamic is versatile and will adapt to all uses and that it was created jointly with the Venturi, thus sharing the same aerodynamics and improvements in sound level. In addition to that there are of course the complete technical characteristics, dimensions, bearings, connections, air flow etc.

In terms of the bundle there will not be too much to linger, in fact Fractal Design only provides 4 screws to fix the beast to a box and that’s it!

Here are the beasts! The build quality is very good, the fans present very well, it goes without saying here that we are not in the presence of very high-end models such as the Noctua for example, but given the belly price there is no clearly no complaints. Everything is plastic and there are unfortunately no rubber pads to isolate the fan from the case, but knowing the fans (the GP-14 is present in the Fractal Design Definr R5 and S) this shouldn’t really be a problem.

The blades were given a special treatment with 3 notches near the center as well as one along the upper part, the whole aim of course being to improve the air flow!

At the rear nothing very noticeable, a sticker is present showing the size, the maximum speed of rotation, the consumption etc. The only little thing that stands out from the lot being the small clips that hold the cable in place, indeed I no longer count the number of times the cable came out of the frame when handling a fan, here at least that will not happen!

To finish a little note on the cable which is unfortunately not braided but all the wires are glued and painted black, at least we have to avoid cables of all colors!

Come HF-12 and HP-14

The boxes take the design of the Dynamic, the model, the brand, a picture of the fan as well as the size and the speed of rotation per minute on the right.

At the back a little note saying that the Venturi is designed for a narrow environment which requires a high air pressure (ventilator for example), there are also some photos of the strong points of the ventilator (high-end materials, optimized deisng, rubber pads). Of course and like the Dynamic the full technical characteristics are present.

Here are the beasts! The build quality here is a cut above the Dynamic GPs, the fan is heavy and we feel that it is clearly made to last. At the level of the blades on the HP-14 there are no differences with the Dynamic ones, on the other hand the smaller HF-12 sports a design with more blades but they are especially less wide.

The corners are made of a rubber that completely covers the width of the fan, it goes without saying that it will clearly not touch the surface on which the fan is placed, goodbye vibrations!

At the back as usual nothing new, we keep the small clips that are used to retain the cable and we replace the flexible plastic sticker with a metal sticker, just to make everything more upscale!

The cable is braided here, to reinforce the premium placement of the fan.

On the left, the HF-12 bundle which consists of 4 screws as well as an adapter which will lower the maximum rotation speed from 1400 RPM to 1100 RPM, in order to have a quieter fan. On the right the bundle of the HP-14 is a little more supplied, we find the 4 eternal screws but also an adapter 2 x 4-pin -> 1 x 4-pin and also rubber pads allowing to install the fan in 12cm fixing holes, a little touch that may be useful depending on the boxes (or coolers).

Once the pads are installed the HP-14 has a much rounder shape to fit the mounting holes of a 12cm fan.

Fractal Design fans have been tested on the Prolimatech Megalahems radiator on the configuration below:

• Processor : Intel Core i7 875K @ 3.2 Ghz
• Ventirad : Prolimatech Megahalems
• Motherboard : Asus P7P55D
• Mémoire: Kingston HyperX 4 x 2 Go 1600Mhz
• Disque dur: WD Raptor 150 Go
• Graphics card : Sapphire Toxic 5850
• Power supply : Seasonic X650

The core i7 875K has been slightly overclocked to 3.2Ghz. The temperatures under load are an average of all the cores for 3 tests of 30 minutes on OCCT, the temperatures at rest were taken after 15mins on the desktop (still an average of the 4 cores).

As we can see the Fractal Design fans behave very well and clearly do not have to be ashamed of the other fans in the comparison. As was to be expected, the Venturi are more efficient due to their higher rotation speed, except for the Venturi HP-14 at 5V because it turns slower than the Dynamic GP-14 at the same voltage.
In general, they are able to cool the Core i7 of the test very well with a maximum of 78 ° in 5V for the Venturi HP-14, which in any case has very little chance of happening since it is a PWM model which will be managed directly by the motherboard.

Ambient sound level: 31dB

Again it is very good for the Fractal Design, the Dynamic series as I said above are clearly oriented silence even at high speed, indeed they are inaudible at 5V and really very quiet at 12V with a maximum of 38 dB for the 12cm version and 36 dB for the 14cm version, one thing is certain they will not be heard once in a tower (which we can clearly see in the Fractal Design Define R5 and S tested here and here). Note that in most cases a very slight noise from the motor when the ear is really stuck to the latter which disappears from 10cm, so really nothing serious!
Regarding the Venturi being more efficient they are also noisier, in 5V the HP-14 is inaudible (thank you the PWM which allows a big drop in RPM) and the HF-12 is slightly less silent with its 33 dB, for example. against with the adapter allowing to lower its speed of rotation it will be inaudible. In 12V we arrive at 41 dB for the 14cm version 44 dB for the 12cm, as much to say that they are audible but it remains a noise of air flow and not of motor so they are not unpleasant. Note like the Dynamic a very slight engine noise less than 10cm which will be inaudible once in the box.

Here we are at the end of this test, given that there are 2 types of fans present I will split the conclusion, one for the Dynamic and the other for the Venturi.

Dynamic GP-12 et GP-14

Fractal Design offers a range of mid-range fans here that clearly does not lack strengths, the build quality is good and the performance is average. The strong point of these beasts is clearly the silence of operation, inaudible in 5V they will be very discreet at bottom and they will therefore be perfect for ventilating a box (The 14 cm models are also integrated in the Define R5 and S, it’s not for nothing!).
The only small complaints that could be made, and even if this is very clearly to quibble, are a fairly low MTBF and the absence of rubber to isolate them from the case, but given the price of respectively 10.99 € and 12.99 € for the 12cm versions and 14cm we can clearly not be choosy given the overall quality.

Advantages – Dynamic GP-12 et GP-14

• Quiet
• Good performance
• Price

Disadvantages – Dynamic GP-12 et GP-14

• No rubber pads

Come HF-12 and HP-14

The venturi represent the top of the range of the brand, so there are better quality materials (plastic for the casing, metal sticker on the rear, more upscale bearing, etc.), a more substantial bundle (adapter 2 x 4-pin -> 1 x 4-pin as well as rubber for mounting on a 12cm location for the 14cm version, an adapter to reduce the maximum RPMs on the 12cm) but also a wider operating range. The performances are logically higher than the Dynamic ones because of a higher rotation speed at the maximum without denigrating the noise nuisance at rest, which makes the Venturi excellent fans for use on heatsink.

The price is quite logically higher than the little Dynamic brothers without exploding with 12.99 € for the HF-12 and 16.99 € for the HP-14, while remaining below the symbolic bar of 20 € like the “premium” fans ( like the Noctua or be quiet!), at this price they will really be an excellent compromise!

Advantages – Come HF-12 and HP-14

• Quiet at low speed
• Solidity
• Build quality
• Performances

Disadvantages – Come HF-12 and HP-14

• A bit noisy at high revs

A big thank you to Fractal Design who allowed me to do this test.

Where to find Fractal Design Dynamic and Venturi?

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