- Review -

16.05.2013 APH Networks

Each fan was tested independently in a quiet room, with the power supply isolated, to ensure accuracy. On a scale from 0-10, where 0 is silent and 10 is the loudest, I would rate the Noctua NF-S12A FLX and PWM to be at 2.5/10 at full RPM. For the ULN model, I will place it in at 1.0/10. I simply could not believe what I was seeing -- motor operation was simply unbelievably smooth and was barely audible, even by APH standards. This is at max throttle, too. Thanks to Noctua's NE-FD1 IC on the PWM model, and Smooth Commutation Drive design on all fans, there was no motor clicking noise at all. Even air turbulence noise is kept at a bare minimum. There is a lot of air moving through, but you simply will not hear it.

"The NF-S12A is ridiculously good. I thought it would be hard for Noctua to do any better than they have in the past, but once again, their unmatched quiet computing products is once again outmatch by themselves. Like, No wai." (Jonathan Kwan, APH Networks)