Thermaltake Pure 14 ARGB Review

Thermaltake is not behind the competition when it comes to releasing the RGB LED fans be it for any segment of the market. Their premium Riing Trio fans are aimed at the enthusiasts while they did not forget the budget segment who would love to get their hands on the aesthetically pleasing looks and performance coming from the fans.

Thermaltake Pure 14 ARGB Review

Thermaltake release the Pure 12/14 series fans featuring addressable RGB LED lighting and performance. They have sent us their Pure 14 ARGB Sync Radiator Fan TT Premium Edition fans (3-fans pack) for the review. Thermaltake Pure 14 ARGB Review features compression blades, hydraulic bearing, and a 16.8 million colors LED ring with 9 addressable LEDs that is ready to sync with 5V RGB capable motherboards from Asus, Gigabyte, MSI and ASRock in a size of 140mm.

There is a dedicated controller bundled in the pack as we are reviewing the 3-fans pack. The above lines summed up these fans accurately and entirely. These fans are rated at 1400 RPM using 4-pin PWM connector. The sound rating is 30.4 dBA and airflow is rated at 70.32 CFM at 1.62 mmH₂O. Each fan has two cables coming out of it. One is to power the fan motor and the other is to power the LEDs.

• Item:                 Pure 14 ARGB Sync Fans
• Manufacturer:   Thermaltake
• Price:                Check Price on Amazon

Pure 14 ARGB Sync Fans Specifications

Related: Thermaltake H550 Review

Pure 14 ARGB Fan Packaging and Unboxing

The fans are shipped inside the paperboard packing of Thermaltake TT Premium styling.

The front side of the packing box has Thermaltake premium brand logo and name printed on the top left. There is a picture of the fan illuminated in multiple colors to signify the addressable lighting solution. Compatibility of the lighting solution with motherboard manufacturers’ onboard solution is printed below the fan’s picture. Fan’s mode and salient specifications are printed on the right side below the picture.

The backside of the packing box has Thermaltake premium brand logo and name printed on the top left. Features and specifications of the fans are printed on the left side. Lighting modes are mentioned pictorially.

This side of the packing box has features of the fans printed in 11 languages.

This side of the packing box has three pictures printed here showcasing the 9 addressable LEDs, ARGB Controller, and anti-vibration rubber pads. The fans are made in China. Part no sticker is pasted at the bottom.

The bottom side of the packing box has serial no sticker pasted on it.

The top side of the box has TT Premium brand logo printed on the lower left side. Pure14 ARGB Sync is printed on the lower right side. A catcher is coming out from the middle. Two seals can be seen on the left and right sides.

The accessories are placed inside a transparent container which is placed on the top of the fans.

Thermaltake Pure 14 ARGB Contents

Following is included:

• 3x Thermaltake Pure 14 ARGB Sync Fans
• 1x ARGB Controller
• 1x 3-way PWM splitter Cable
• 1x Cable marked ‘E’ for motherboard sync
• 1x Cable Marked ‘F’ for motherboard sync
• 12x Long Screws
• 12x Short Screws
• 1x User Manual
• 1x Warranty Brochure

Thermaltake Pure 14 ARGB Closer Look

Thermaltake Pure 14 ARGB Sync Radiator Fan TT Premium Edition is a cost-effective solution for anyone who wants to enjoy some stunning addressable RGB lighting on 140mm size fans with some good airflow and decent static pressure.

Here is what Thermaltake is saying about these fans, “Thermaltake Pure 14 ARGB review Sync Radiator Fan TT Premium Edition features compression blades, hydraulic bearing, and a 16.8 million colors LED ring with 9 addressable LEDs that is ready to sync with 5V RGB capable motherboards from Asus, Gigabyte, MSI and ASRock.

Users can easily switch RGB lighting effects using the ARGB controller that is included in the packet, or by ASUS Aura Sync, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light Sync, and AsRock Polychrome software. Pure 14 ARGB Sync Radiator Fan delivers 16.8 million-color RGB illumination and unparalleled ventilation.” Let’s take a look at the fans and what is bundled in the pack.

The Thermaltake Pure 14 ARGB Sync Radiator Fan TT Premium Edition features 9x white color semi-frosted blades for even spreading of the lighting across the entire surface. There is a TT Premium logo sticker in the center. Each fan has a LED ring comprising of 9 ARGB LEDs for some vivid visual effects featuring 16.8M colors.

The blades are designed for maximum airflow. The frame is made of the plastic material and is rigid without any flex. Looking closely, one can find the ARGB Ring on the green color PCB below the blades in the center.

Each mounting corner has In-mold injection anti-vibration rubber pad to provide a hassle-free usage with 80% protection coverage for all corners. These are gray color cut-to-size pads.

This side of the frame has two arrows on it. These serve as a visual aid to the user in determining the blades’ spin direction and airflow direction.

The backside of the fan has 4-arms assembly with one of the arms having a widened surface area with clip to serve as cables pass through. The fan’s power cable and LED’s power cable are routed on this arm. There is a black color sticker in the center with TT Premium logo on the top. The fan is made in China. Power rating and compliance information to various regulations are printed on this sticker.

The Thermaltake Pure 14 ARGB review Sync Radiator Fan TT Premium Edition has two cables coming out of the motor area. One is 4-pin PWM cable to regulate the speed of the fan. The other is ARGB LED cable with two connectors. One is the 3-pin female connector and the other is a 3-pin male connector.

The very purpose of providing two connectors per cable per fan is that these fans are daisy chained in a series and then either connected to a single connector of the ARGB controller or to the motherboard’s lighting header. The length of the PWM cable is 960mm approximately and the length of the LED cable is 95+894 mm approximately.

Here is the power rating and other specifications of these fans:

Property	Value
Dimension (mm)	140x140x25
Rated Speed (RPM)	500 ~ 1400
Max Air Flow (mmH₂O)	1.62
Max Sound Level (dBA)	30.4
Rated Current for Fan (A)	0.22
Rated Current for LED (A)	0.32
Rated Power of a fan (W) at 12VDC	2.64
Rated Power of LEDs (W) at 5VDC	1.6
Combined Power of 3x Fans (W)	7.92W
Combined Power of 3x Fans’ LED (W)	4.8W
Fan Started Voltage	9V
MTTF	40,000 hrs at 25°C
Weight of a fan	193.1g

The Thermaltake Pure 14 ARGB Review is using hydraulic bearings. The hydraulic bearing self-lubricates with a high-quality, friction-reducing substance, which lowers operation noise while improving thermal efficiency. The seal cap prevents lubricant leakage and extends the lifespan of the unit.

Thermaltake has bundled two cables in the accessories which allow the user to connect the fans to the motherboard’s onboard lighting solution. These cables have been labeled for ease of identification. The cable labeled as E is motherboard signal bridge cable for onboard lighting solution from ASUS, MSI, and ASRock. Please, make sure to use 5V rated ARGB lighting headers on the motherboard otherwise fans could be damaged. This cable has a length of 898mm approximately.

The cable labeled as F is the motherboard signal bridge cable for the Gigabyte RGB Fusion lighting solution as Gigabyte is using 4-pin interface (5V, ARGB). Thermaltake pure 14 argb review is clearly ahead of the thinking as the user has been relieved of the interface considerations. This cable has a length of 898mm approximately.

The controller can be used to control:

• Lighting Modes
• Color Mode
• Speed for Dynamic Modes

It has TT premium logo printed on its top. The ARGB controller allows users to switch LED modes, LED colors, and LED Speeds when using a motherboard without a 5V addressable RGB header. Users can switch between flow, ripple, pulse, blink, wave, full light, RGB spectrum, and off modes with various colors and LED speeds options.

The Controller is using SATA connector (5V) and connects directly to the PSU. As mentioned above these fans are daisy chained before being connected to the controller, the maximum no of ARGB LEDs that the controller can support is 90 that would mean up to 10x Thermaltake Pure 14 ARGB Sync Radiator Fan TT Premium Edition can be daisy-chained to a single controller. The SATA interfaced cable has a length of 444mm approximately.

The other end of the controller has a single 3-pin connector to which the daisy chained fans are connected. Please, note that the controller is only needed to power on and control the ARGB LEDs on these fans. The power of the fan is independently controlled using the 4-pin PWM cable. This cable has a length of 440mm approximately.

The Thermaltake has bundled a 3-way splitter cable so that all three Thermaltake Pure 14 ARGB Sync Radiator Fans TT Premium Edition can be controlled using a single source be it a motherboard’s fan header or the fan controller (not included). Each cable has a length of 120mm approximately.

RGB Lighting

There are 7x LED modes on the Thermaltake Pure 14 ARGB Review. These are:

• Wave
• Full Light
• RGB Spectrum
• Off
• Flow
• Ripple
• Pulse
• Blink

These modes are available when using the ARGB Controller provided in the pack.

The Color Mode has order options under each lighting mode. When the lighting mode is either Full Light, Pulse or Blink, the color mode order is Red, Yellow, Green, Teal, Blue, White, Purple, and Rainbow in that order. When the lighting mode is in Ripple then the color mode is Red, Yellow, Green, Teal, Blue, White, and Purple in that order.

When a light mode is in RGB Spectrum then clicking the Color Mode button on the controller will memorize and lock the color that the user wants, clicking again will unlock the 256 colors auto selection. Please, note that LED color can’t be adjusted in Wave and Flow modes.

The Speed Button on the controller has 4 pre-defined modes which are:

• Slow
• Normal
• Fast
• Extreme

Below are the links to the videos from Thermaltake website showcasing the lighting effect on Thermaltake Pure 14 ARGB Sync Radiator Fan TT Premium Edition.

Testing

Unfortunately, I don’t have any 140mm size AIO or radiator to test the thermal performance of the Thermaltake Pure 14 ARGB Sync Radiator Fans TT Premium Edition. Hence, I have only measured the airflow and checked the speed range of these fans. The unrestricted airflow has been tested on these fans using the PerfectPrime WD9819 Anemometer. The speed was regulated from within the UEFI of the Asus Rampage V Edition 10 using Intel i7 6850k.

The above graph shows the PWM range of these fans. The lowest percentage of speed was 14%. At 14% the speed was 610 RPM and airflow was 37 CFM. Next measurement was taken at 20% at which the speed was 637 RPM and airflow was 42 CFM. Afterward, the speed and airflow were measured at an increment of 10% as can be seen in the graph.

The PWM range is good on these fans. At 100% the speed was 1510 RPM which has validated the rated speed of the fans. At 100% the airflow was 76 CFM which also validates the rated airflow of these fans.

Noise

Though, I have the right equipment to measure the noise level of the fan, I don’t have the right environment to isolate the environmental noises where possible hence, I have not been measuring the noise level of the fans under testing and rather using my own judgment based on my personal listening and hands-on experience with the fans testing. The Thermaltake Pure 14 ARGB Sync Radiator Fans TT Premium Edition gave me quite a pleasant experience even running at full speed.

Conclusion

The Thermaltake Pure 14 ARGB Review are their budget oriented fans which pack some stunning lighting effects and decent numbers on the specs table.

Thermaltake Pure 14 ARGB Sync Radiator Fan TT Premium Edition features compression blades, hydraulic bearing, and a 16.8 million colors LED ring with 9 addressable LEDs that is ready to sync with 5V RGB capable motherboards from Asus, Gigabyte, MSI and ASRock. Users can easily switch RGB lighting effects using the ARGB controller that is included in the packet, or by ASUS Aura Sync, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light Sync, and AsRock Polychrome software.

Pure 14 ARGB Sync Radiator Fan delivers 16.8 million-color RGB illumination and unparalleled ventilation. These fans can be used as case fans and on the radiators. Unfortunately, I could not test their thermal performance on the radiator due to non-availability of 140mm sizing AIO or radiator for that matter.

The Thermaltake Pure 14 ARGB Sync Radiator Fans TT Premium Edition have a dimension of 140x140x25mm and are rated for 500 ~ 1400 RPM at 12VDC. Their maximum rated static pressure is 1.62 mmH₂O. The maximum airflow rating is 70.32 CFM and the noise level is 30.4 dBA. The fan has a current rating of 0.22A for the power cable with 2.64W per fan.

The ARGB LEDs are rated at 0.32A per fan with 1.6W of power per fan. The combined power for the 3x fans is 7.92W and for all the ARGB LEDs is 4.8W. The starting voltage for the fan is 9.0V. These fans are using hydraulic bearings with a life expectancy of 40,000 hours at 25°C.

Each fan has 9x white color semi-frosted blades which are designed to ensure the maximum airflow. There is a ring of 9 ARGB LEDs located right above the rotor PCB of the fan below the blades assembly. The frame of the fans is made of the hard plastic and it is rigid without any flex. There are two arrow indicators on one side of the frame showing the direction of blades spin and airflow.

These serve as a visual helper to the user in determining these directions. Each mounting corner has In-mold injection anti-vibration rubber pad to provide a hassle-free usage with 80% protection coverage for all corners. These are gray color cut-to-size pads. Thermaltake has bundled 4x small and 4x long screws per fan in the accessories.

There are 2x cables per fan which are sleeved though I personally prefer the flat cables. The length of the cables of the fans and those bundled in the pack is sufficient enough that the user won’t find any trouble using any size chassis. But, this thermaltake pure 14 argb review on the same account makes the cable management task challenging. 1x cable is 4-pin PWM cable to power the fan’s motor whereas the other cable is to power the ARGB LEDs and has two connectors at its end.

One is the 3-pin female and the other is 3-pin male header. The reason for two connectors per cable is that the user is required to daisy chain these fans before connecting to the motherboard or provided controller. Thermaltake has bundled a 3-way PWM splitter cable that allows the user to connect all three fans to a single fan header of the motherboard for effective control.

From the RGB lighting perspective, these fans pack addressable RGB lighting rated at 5V. These are compatible with the ASUS AURA Sync, MSI Mystic Lighting, Gigabyte RGB Fusion, and AsRock Polychrome RGB lighting solution. Thermaltake has bundled two motherboard signal bridge cables to connect the fans to the motherboard’s 5V ARGB headers.

As Gigabyte is using proprietary 4-pin ARGB header, the cable labeled as F is to be used on the Gigabyte motherboards whereas the cable E is to be used for any other motherboard. Don’t connect the LED cable of these fans to the 12V header as it would damage the fans.

Thermaltake has bundled a dedicated ARGB controller in the pack to make the life of the users easier who are using the motherboards without ARGB lighting headers. This controller draws power using SATA connector directly from the PSU. There is a limit of 90 ARGB LEDs per controller at a time that would mean maximum of 10 Pure14 Sync fans can be connected to a single controller.

The user can control the lighting mode, color mode, and speed of the dynamic effects using this controller. Please, refer to our RGB Lighting section for more details. These fans feature 16.8Million colors with 7 lighting modes and off mode as well as different color modes under each lighting mode.

The ARGB lighting of these fans is sublime and stunning and to my liking. Unfortunately, I could not test the fans for their thermal performance making them the first ever fans from my test bench that are being reported without the thermal performance due to the very fact that I don’t have 140mm size AIO or radiator in my inventory. The airflow rating of the fans has been validated as well as the rated speed but the very question of how good are these fans remain to be answered.

I will try to get my hands on 140mm size to measure the thermal performance of the Thermaltake Pure 14 ARGB Sync Radiator Fans TT Premium Edition. Hence, for now, I am giving these fans a Recommended Award.

We are thankful to Thermaltake for giving us the opportunity to Thermaltake Pure 14 ARGB Review.

Check Price on Amazon