Noctua's Quiet Fans Author: faceless105 -- Posted: 2007-02-15
Recently I've had the opportunity to review some high quality fans produced by an Austrian Company, Noctua. Now like usual, I don't want to review just any ordinary product for you guys, I want the best that I can get and this is no exception to that.
These fans have been developed in part by the Austrian Institute for Heat Transmission and Fan Technology. This has allowed them to yield a fan with competitive air flow that is up to 10% quieter then current high-end fans.
This has been made possible through their special optimization of blade geometry. If you compare the NF-S12 (120mm model) to your average 120mm Fan you will see differences. First the motor housing is much smaller, this allows for the fins to move more air. Next if you do look at the fins, even they have a noticeably deeper scoop then a lot of fans have. These fans have been designed specifically to maximize airflow while keeping the noise down.
Right out of the box, these come with a number of extras. I'll start the description of the fans. With a smooth paint job these things remind me of an army op. Just out of the box I already have the feeling these guys are made for performance. The cables are sleeved and end with a 3 pin connector. The fans also come with a 4 pin adapter. Now I keep talking about features and here's the next one. While the fans do include fan screws, they also come with the option of mounting them with special "Vibration Compensators". Each fan comes with 4 rubber standoffs that you can mount your fan with.
Another cool feature that these fans have is their Ultra Low Noise Adapters, or U.L.N.A. Instead of a switch, the U.L.N.A. is a simple adapter. This allows lower fan speeds and quieter results.
So here come the real tests. I've mounted the NF-S12's (120mm) in the back and front of my case for intake and out-take and I've also mounted the NF-R8 (80mm) to the side panel for some extra intake. Mounting these fans was incredibly simple. With the rubber vibration compensators, you simple push them through the back and into the fan. Just grab the tip after it's through the holes and give it a little tug to be sure that it's locked in place.
Now that I've installed these fans I've connected the 4 pin adapters and powered them up and they do run incredibly silent. With my case side panel closed the only sound I hear is coming from the CPU cooler, which I'll be honest is pretty good. I also have a heat probe against my CPU Cooler, the regular temperatures are around 30 Celsius, and with the Noctua Fans they have been brought the internal case temperature down to approximately 25 Celsius.
Again, I'd like to thank Noctua for providing the fans for this review. If you're interested in a powerful as well as quiet cooling solution, I recommend checking out the NF-S12 and NF-R8 fans. If there are any questions, you know me; I'm always up for some discussion. :)
