- Review -

23.12.2007 HardwareCanucks.com

It beat out all of the other fans we put it up against even though the gap narrowed a bit in the last water cooling test. This shows that the high degree of engineering put into this product was not just window dressing since it performs exactly as Noctua promises and then some. Whether it was cooling a Thermalright heatsink or a Black Ice radiator, the NF-P12 proved that it was the best choice for applications which call for a high amount of static pressure. Without a doubt, every part of Noctua’s fan is top notch in terms of build quality and performance. I also like the fact that all of the mounting hardware is included and as well as two prepackaged adaptors for lowering the rotational speed of the fan. What really surprised me was the distinct lack of noise produced by this Noctua fan. I was prepared for a moderate increase in noise over the NF-S12 fans I was using on my case but lo and behold, the NF-P12 equaled the quiet performance of Noctua’s older fans. To have this kind of performance with the lack of blade or motor noise is a dream come true for people who demand the quietest PC possible. In many cases, an enthusiast will buy a fan speed controller or build their own resistors into a fan’s wiring in order to lower the amount of noise produced by a fan. With the NF-P12 that is no longer necessary since not only does it offer near-silent operation but Noctua has also included two fan speed adaptors to lower RPMs for even less noise.

"Personally, I think that the tests in this review speak louder than any conclusion I can write because the results were so convincing. The Noctua NF-P12 was the best fan we tested. Period." (SKYMTL, HardwareCanucks.com)