Overclockers Tech

Introduction

In the beginning, when Man made machines, it became clear that some people were more enthusiastic about technology than others, indeed some people just want the utmost performance possible for the minimum price, often sacrificing other areas to achieve this.

While others decided that performance was important, there was a necessity for quiet operation too, so in order to decrease noise they were willing to sacrifice performance. Unfortunately, these two different groups co-existed for a long time, and many failed to persuade users of the other faction to switch their allegiance, until that is, Noctua came along…

Established in 2005, Noctua arose from a cooperation of the Austrian Rascom Computer distribution and the Taiwanese cooling specialist ,Kolink International Corporation. Combining more than ten years of experience in the development, manufacturing and marketing of high-end cooling components, Noctua was born

Today, Noctua is present in more than 30 countries across the globe and working with several hundred sales partners.

So what does Noctua mean?

The little owl, Athene noctua, is the symbol of the Greek goddess Athene, who represents wisdom, science and strategy. This it seems a very prudent choice for a technology company.

However, We digress…

Due to the advancement of technology, there is a real need to move hot air away from the thermal structures that adorn our systems. The best tried and tested method is by using a fan, but with so many companies claiming that their products are the best, how do you choice the right one? The answer is simple really, going back to the beginning, there are two choices, high airflow or silence. You have to pick your poison, however, Noctua believes that they have solved this problem…

 

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Specification

As you can see, the specifications of the NF-P12 are quite impressive, offering ~54.3CFM @19.8dB, but one thing that a decibel rating doesn’t cover is the actual pitch of the sound that the fan outputs, this will be covered later in the review.

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Packaging

The outer box is quite fancy for a fan, it features simple colours and lots of information. There is a window on the front of the box which allows you to see the blades of the fan and a silicon mount.

Front	Back

The box also has a little flap, which honestly was not noticed for a long time, underneath the flap is lots of extra information about various aspects of the fan:

Left side	Right side

To make things easier, here are the various sections of information, first there is the nine blade design with vortex control notches:

9 Blade Design

Then there is the staggering of the vortex control notches:

Staggering of VCN

Next, there is a comparison between the P12s trailing edge and standard trailing edges:

Trailing edge vortices

Joining edge

Then the SSO bearing operation is detailed:

SSO Bearing

And finally a comparison of different bearings:

Bearing comparison

 

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Package contents

Inner packaging

 

 

Included in the package are:

• Low-Noise-Adapter (L.N.A)
• Ultra-Low-Noise Adapter (U.L.N.A)
• 3pin to molex adapt er
• 4 Silicon mounts
• 4 Fan screws
• 1 NF-P12 fan

Silicon mounts	LNA | ULNA | 3pin convertor

The noise lowering adapters have different resistors in series with the supply line, the “Low noise adapter” houses a 51ohm resistor*, which would drop the voltage from 12 volts to ~8.7v

LNA Resistor

The “Ultra Low noise adapter” houses an 82ohm resistor*, which would drop the voltage from 12 volts down to ~7.4v

ULNA Resistor

There is of course nothing to stop you connecting both low noise connectors in series and having a potential 133ohm reduction, meaning the voltage supply to the fan would be lowered to ~6v

The silicon mounts allow you to mount the fans without having direct contact between the case and the fan itself, this means that vibration isn’t transferred to the chassis structure, which means that you don’t get an annoying rattle.

The 3pin to molex connector allows you to use the fan in any situation do to the universal appeal of the connector.

*both resistors are rated for +/-5%

The fan

In true Noctua attire, the fan is in the usual ‘love-it-or-hate-it’ colours, sporting a golden beige frame and a brown blade structure.

Front	Side	Rear

 

As you can see in the photo, the blades have notches cut out of the edges, this is the clever part of the fan, the notches act to reduce the noise output of the fan by spreading the sound output over a wider range of frequencies.

Close-up of the notches:

Notches

The fan is designed with sound levels in mind and due to the nine fan blades, the structure of the way lends itself to optimal pressure. This means that the fan will perform better in restricted environments such as on a radiator or CPU cooler with close fin spacing.

The fan’s smoothness of operation is ensured by the usage of smooth commutation drive which reduces torque variations.

Test rig

Temperature comparison

Temperature comparison using NF-P12 in conjunction with the LNA

Temperature comparison using the NF-P12 in conjunction with the ULNA

Temperature comparison using the NF-P12 in conjunction with the UNLA and LNA