Noctua NF-F12 PWM Fan Review
Introduction and specification
Noctua are back at Vortez with their new NF-F12 PWM fan. The cooling guru's from Austria are a favourite here and tend not to disappoint when it comes to high end cooling and airflow solutions. Hopefully this new focussed flow fan will be no different. The design aims to directly flow air over heatsinks and radiators meaning greater performance at lower RPM's compared to identically sized but regular designs.
Fan design is something that has remained fairly constant and consistent over the years. Fluid bearing's, vortex creation (through ribs, dimples and cuts) and various add ons to reduce and dampen vibration and resonance are the main areas that have been concentrated on. With this new innovation Noctua has created a unit that focuses airflow into a column with the intention of flowing a greater volume of air through a smaller cross sectional area. Although the benefits of this in standard case fans is a little limited for applications such as heatsinks a focused column of airflow could really be beneficial since no air is wasted on its journey through the fan and onto the finned construction of a cooler or radiator.
Specification is pretty standard for a 1500rpm 120mm fan. It'll be interesting to see how the focus flow frame effects noise and absolute performance.
Fan design is something that has remained fairly constant and consistent over the years. Fluid bearing's, vortex creation (through ribs, dimples and cuts) and various add ons to reduce and dampen vibration and resonance are the main areas that have been concentrated on. With this new innovation Noctua has created a unit that focuses airflow into a column with the intention of flowing a greater volume of air through a smaller cross sectional area. Although the benefits of this in standard case fans is a little limited for applications such as heatsinks a focused column of airflow could really be beneficial since no air is wasted on its journey through the fan and onto the finned construction of a cooler or radiator.
Noctua say this about the NF-F12 PWM:
Teaming up eleven stator guide vanes with a specially conceived seven blade impeller, the NF-F12’s Focused Flow™ system creates outstanding static pressure and focuses the airflow for superior performance on heatsinks and radiators. At the same time, a wide range of advanced aerodynamic design measures, second generation SSO-Bearings and Noctua’s new, custom designed PWM IC for fully automatic control guarantee astounding quietness of operation. The NF-F12 comes with modular cabling, integrated anti-vibration pads and two speed settings for full flexibility. Its commanding performance, exhaustive set of features and Noctua’s trusted premium quality make it an elite choice for use on air coolers, radiators and other pressure demanding applications.
Teaming up eleven stator guide vanes with a specially conceived seven blade impeller, the NF-F12’s Focused Flow™ system creates outstanding static pressure and focuses the airflow for superior performance on heatsinks and radiators. At the same time, a wide range of advanced aerodynamic design measures, second generation SSO-Bearings and Noctua’s new, custom designed PWM IC for fully automatic control guarantee astounding quietness of operation. The NF-F12 comes with modular cabling, integrated anti-vibration pads and two speed settings for full flexibility. Its commanding performance, exhaustive set of features and Noctua’s trusted premium quality make it an elite choice for use on air coolers, radiators and other pressure demanding applications.
Specification is pretty standard for a 1500rpm 120mm fan. It'll be interesting to see how the focus flow frame effects noise and absolute performance.
