What do you get in the box? Well the three variants have accessories specifically for the type of fan and its intended use. We are only showing the PWM fan here, for more information visit the Noctua site.
Test Setup
- BitFenix Phenom Mini ITX Chassis
- Processor: Intel Core i5-4670K CPU @ 3.40GHz
- Motherboard: MSI Z97I GAMING AC (MS-7897)
- Memory: 16GB Corsair Vengeance (PC3-19200)
- Graphics: MSI GTX 970 GAMING Twin Frozr V
- Drive: Samsung SSD 840 PRO Series 256 GB x2 RAID 0
- Audio: On-board Realtek High Definition Audio
- PSU: Thermaltake Smart SE 730W
- Microsoft Windows 10 Technical Preview
- 2048 x 1152 60Hz Native Resolution
- Battlefield 4 Graphical settings at Ultra
So how do we test these fans? We decided upon a mITX build using the Phenom, it is small and comes with 2 internal 120mm fans. We have disconnected one fan leaving the exhaust fan to manage all the airflow out of the chassis. We will test each fan including the stock exhaust fan over a series of gaming tests, something that you will see during a normal weekend or gaming evening.
The ambient air temperature averaged at 22 Degrees C at the beginning of our tests. The noise levels measured from 12 inches from the chassis was 42.0 Db at idle. Smart Fan is off for the chassis fan but it’s on for the CPU stock cooler.
We tested each set up for 60 minutes of online multi player carnage, namely the Operation Locker map in Battlefield 4. On with the results
Noctua NF-S12A FLX, ULN and PWM Series Fan Review
Package - 9.5
Performance - 9.2
Price - 9
Consumer Experience - 9.5
9.3
Using the three variants of the same fan it was clear that a system builder could manage airflow and noise with a high degree of accuracy. The level of design and thought in these fans is amazing, you will know it when you feel and open the box.