- Review -
NF-S12A FLX,NF-S12A PWM,NF-S12A ULN
Noctua products are far from typical, not just in terms of aesthetic with the unique love-it-or-hate-it beige and brown color scheme but in terms of build quality as well. At its core, a cooling fan is essentially just a set of impellers rotating to push or pull air but Noctua fans takes the idea one step further and hones the science of cooling to an art form. This is evident from the moment you open the box and see the organized packaging and the accessory kit, carefully chosen with so much consideration. Every cable is covered and even the labels are printed in thick glossy paper and will not easily come off over time. The Noctua S12A series fans are premium products after all and it is also very evident in the price. While most case fans have an MSRP of $10 to 15 USD, the Noctua S12A costs $27 USD per fan (The lowest price currently that I could find is $23 from Amazon.com). Considering how much R&D Noctua puts in to their fan designs however, this isn’t surprising. Also, the build quality is beyond compare so it is somewhat justified. Is it practical? It is about as practical as a Ferrari in that it is an investment for the long run instead of just for the current build. With a MTBF of 150,000 hours and 6-year warranty, the Noctua S12A will outlast multiple system builds so it essentially pays for itself after a while. In terms of performance, the Noctua S12A series are designed primarily as a case ventilation fan. Despite improvements in design compared to its predecessors, Noctua offers the NF-F12 and the NF-P12 fans as superior choices for heatsinks and radiators due to their static pressure performance which the NF-S12A lacks. In our testing, the S12A was noticeably very quiet without any high pitch whine at maximum voltage and had a very even airflow distribution compared to other fans. Even when the low-noise and ultra-low noise adapters were added, the performance did not drop significantly and still cooled the overclocked CPU decently.
"Overall the Noctua S12A series provides flexible cooling options across three different versions. The price is noticeably higher than other fans but considering the longevity promised by the excellent build quality and the lengthy 6-year warranty, users eventually get their money’s worth. For the Noctua S12A’s technological innovations, unique design and extremely silent performance, it earns the HiTechLegion Editor’s Choice Award." (Ron Perillo, HiTechLegion.com)
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