Everyone has had a rig at some point that sounded like an airport, but did not want to compromise the cooling power of all the fans they have. Today we review an offering from Noctua, an Austrian company that has sent us one of their NF-S12 120mm fans which shift just as much air as a normal one, whilst being up to 10% quieter. Noctua say this is done by using a Novel Rotor;

A new technology developed by the Austrian Institute for Heat-Transmission and Fan Technology. In conjunction to this, it utilises optimised blade geometry which allows for quiet operation.

From Noctua's Site:

• Size 120x120x25 mm
• Bearing SSO-Bearing
• Blade Geometry Straight-Blade-Design
• Rotational Speed (+/- 10%) 800 RPM
• Rotational Speed with U.L.N.A. (+/- 10%) 500 RPM
• Airflow 59 m³/h
• Airflow with U.L.N.A.  34 m³/h
• Acoustical Noise 8 dB (A)
• Acoustical Noise with U.L.N.A.  < 5* dB (A)
• Input Power 0, 60 W
• Input Current 0, 05 A
• Voltage Range 6-13 V
• MTBF > 150.000 h

What you get in the box is a fairly generous installation package consisting of;

• 4 Vibration Compensators
• 3:4-Pin Adaptor
• 4 Fan Screws
• Ultra-Low-Noise Adaptor (U.L.N.A.)
  

The fan itself is made from a rather dense plastic, which gives a very high quality feel to it, and this is complimented by sheathed cables and good power connectors. This is the first fan I have seen with vibration compensators; small rubber grommets that fix the fan in place but ensure it does not come in contact with the case.

This is a ingenious idea, and even when used with my existing Aspire 120mm fan it reduced the vibration considerably. At first they were a bit troublesome to install, but once id removed the Aspire and put the NF-S12 in they had loosened up just enough.

Next Installation.