Noctua NF-F12 PWM Fan Review

👤by James Clewer Comments 📅25-01-12
Conclusion


The NF-F12 PWM is actually a surprising little fan. In the world of fan design the focus flow frame isn't a new innovation by any stretch but it seems to have been well implemented here and nicely complements all of Noctua's other design queues.

It effectively flows a cleanly focussed column of air over a reasonable distance and from 7v down manages to do so in a very quiet and peaceful manner. 12v performance is of course louder (which is to be expected) and as I said in my summary is almost certainly down to the noise generated by the increased airflow through that focus frame.


The Noctua NF-F12 PWM.


Lower voltage operation is where I see the majority of users choosing to utilise the NF-F12 PWM. It's smooth and powerful delivery at 7v would be ideal for a quiet and effective heatsink application and the slightly less powerful but quieter 5v performance would be enough for a bit of localised chipset and PCB cooling.

Overall I am very impressed with the fan despite the slightly loud 12v presentation and it's relatively high price. It's focussed cooling potential allied to the now standard Noctua features make it a formidable little package and certainly a fan I'd consider for the applications I mentioned earlier. Add to that Noctua's excellent 6 year warranty and you have a winning combination in my book.

Pros

+ Excellent airflow and pressure at 12v
+ Good airflow and pressure at 7v and 5v
+ Resonance, chuffing and click free performance
+ Rubbery braided cabling
+ Nice selection of mounts and cabling including the low noise adapter
+ Excellent 6 Year warranty

Cons

- Not that quiet at 12v due to airflow over focus flow frame
- Not particularly cheap








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