- Review -

20.03.2013 Skratchwiz PC

We ran a large number of tests with the A14 and A15 fans at various speeds, one to see if we could better the performance of the stock fans on the NZXT coolers and two improve noise levels. First up was the Kraken X60 All-in-One liquid cooler, the stock fans did perform better over the NF-A14 FLX and ULN fans but noise levels decreased considerably. Even though temperatures did increase using the Noctua fans the difference was only marginal, a sacrifice that has to be made occasionally if you’re a silent freak! Next was to test the NF-A15 PWM but this time using the Havik 140 air cooler. The NZXT Havik 140 is a very high performing heat sink but it can be noisy at times, so replacing the stock fan with the NF-A15 PWM we were defiantly expecting it to be quieter, and it was! In regards to cooling performance we only saw a 1°c temperature increase over the stock fan, and with the PWM control we were able to reduce noise even further without having a massive impact on performance. I’ve been a fan of Noctua for some time and has I’m a silent freak It didn’t bother me that much that the temperatures were slightly higher than the stock fans during our tests. Now replacing the stock fans on a heat sink is perfectly okay but I would be more inclined to use these particular fans with a custom water loop seeing how Noctua fans have great static pressure which is perfect for radiators.

"The Noctua NF-A14 and Nf-A15 fans are priced quite high at around £20 in the UK, but if you want decent performance, high quality and low noise levels then it’s surely worth it. For this the NF-A14 FLX, NF-A14 ULN and NF-A15 PWM fans receive the Skratchwiz PC Performance award." (Mark Robinson, Skratchwiz PC)