Noctua NF-P12 120mm Case Fan Review

Conclusion

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Along with the fan, you get a set of rubber vibration compensators and two cables.The first cable is a 3:4 pin adaptor that allows you to connect the fan to a standard molex connector directly from a power supply, thus leaving a 3-pin connector on your motherboard free for another fan.The other cables are a low-noise and an ultra-low-noise adaptor, which reduces the speed of the fan (from 1300 RPM to either 1100 or 900 RPM) by reducing the power sent to it.All of these accessories are absent from most fan packages and are a quality addition that increases the overall value of the product.

Installation:

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Installation of the Noctua NF-P12 fan was similar to most case fans of this design that use vibration compensators.The compensators are actually used in the place of fan screws; they secure the fan to the case using a couple of slots.My method of installation involved first inserting the compensators into the case screw holes and then attaching the fan to the compensators one corner at a time, which involved a forceful tug on the end of the compensator to seat it into place.It does take a bit of effort due to lack of finger clearance, and I had to remove the power supply to gain access to one of them.

Once installed and powered-on, it was clear that Noctua was successful in their main goals: I found the fan to be extremely quiet and powerful.The noise performance was on par with other Noctua fans and other high-end fans such as AcoustiFans and the Silenx fans we receivently reviewed.I could barely hear the sound of the fan over the sound of the air moving by, and the air flow was dramatically improved over the generic fan I had installed.The fan seemed to be very balanced, and I couldn�t feel any vibrations on the case.I tried out both low-noise adaptors also, but frankly the noise at full-speed is already so low that I don�t think the reduced speed is necessary unless you�re going for a silent PC build.

Conclusion:

I�m a believer- Noctua knows what they�re doing when it comes to case fans.The Noctua NF-P12 120mm fan is a solid-performing product that delivers results as promised, without any frills.Despite moving more air than other high-end fans, the NF-P12 is still very quiet.And the included low and ultra-low noise adapters allow you to customize your setup just the way you want it.Noctua has performed a lot of research and testing to optimize these fans; maybe it�s your turn to give them a whirl.

Pros:

+ Quiet operations
+ High airflow
+ High-tech design
+ Comes with useful accessories
+ Quality construction

Cons:

- None so far

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