Reviewed by Barry Little - March 21, 2008

Manufacturer: Noctua

Model: NF-P12-1300

Price: $19.99 at Amazon.com

With the number or processing cores and GPUs growing inside today’s hi-performance PCs for content creation and gaming, proper system cooling is even more of challenge—particularly when air cooling is involved. Face it: you can only add so many fans to a case before the noise becomes noticeable, and for many—unbearable. Fortunately, Noctua, a manufacturer of premium cooling products, has a solution—the Noctua NF-P12 120mm Fan.

About Noctua

What Does Noctua Mean?

The little owl, Athene noctua, is the symbol of the Greek goddess Athene, who represents wisdom, science and strategy. She has a marked preference for the most clever among the Greek heroes, like Odysseus, who endure their adventures by the use of savvy consideration instead of mere force. Until today, the owl symbolises intelligence and prudence, its manlike face emblematises attentiveness and communication. We from Noctua follow the suit of its calm and accurate observation in the dark, its soundless flight as well as the effective, economical use of its powers and precise attack.

Noctua aims at establishing a new level of quality and performance "Designed in Austria" through paying attention to the users' needs in a market burdened with all kinds of frills and furbelows and providing sound-optimised premium components, which serve their purpose in a smart, precise and reliable manner.

Noctua arises from a cooperation between the Austrian Rascom Computerdistribution Ges.m.b.H and the Taiwanese Kolink International Corporation and entertains a development partnership with the Austrian Institute of Heat Transmission and Fan Technology (Österreichisches Institut für Wärmeübertragung und Ventilatorentechnik, ÖIWV). These connections form the key to the achievement of our goal: The partnership with the ÖIWV permits the application of scientific measurement instrumentation, methods of calculation and simulation technology in the R&D process. Rascom's long, customer-oriented experience in developing and distributing sound-optimised high-end products ensures a clear focus on the users' needs. The use of Kolink's advanced manufacturing technology and ultra-modern production plants allows us to efficiently implement our technical edge and provide solutions of the highest standard in quality and performance.

All Fans are NOT Created Equal

A common misconception about cooling fans for PCs is that regardless of price they’re basically “all the same.” Which is true if you only take into consideration the fan’s primary job—which is to keep your system cool. Nevertheless, how efficiently a fan does that while maintaining an acceptable level of noise and the quality of its components is what distinguishes one fan from another. The number, shape and pitch of fan blades for example, not only determine how much air the fan can effectively move at a given RPM, but the amount of noise it makes as well. Bearing design not only impacts longevity, but noise as well. If the fan’s chassis is slightly warped, you can expect vibration noise if it mounts directly to the chassis of your case.

Another popular misconception is that the aforementioned issues are the exclusive domain of those “$2.99 specials” you often see advertised on the Internet or the bargain bins of your local computer superstore. Unfortunately, in the rush to cash-in in the growing DIY and enthusiast market, some of these fans are being marketed as “Ultra-cooling” or “Xtreme Silent”—and are usually neither, nor do they necessarily have the quality to justify their “Ultra” or “Xtreme” price tag. In a market saturated with fans all making claims that they cool better and quieter than the next, how do you choose the right fan to keep your rig cool and quiet? Noctua, with their unique line of fans, may have the answer.

Typically, when we choose a fan—whether it’s for a CPU cooler, water-cooling radiator, or to provide a little extra airflow to a case—we choose based on the amount of air the fan can move and its rated decibel level. However, most fans on the market take a “one-size-fits-all” approach to cooling to cover the widest possible range of applications. Just as many aftermarket CPU coolers are optimized for specific applications—low profile, low noise, superior cooling for overclocking—why not the same for fans? As Noctua points out:

In the design and development of axial fans, the three aerodynamic key parameters of airflow, pressure and noise play a major role. Usually, the goal is to achieve the amount of airflow and static pressure required by a specific application at the lowest possible noise emission. The design should hence provide the optimal balance of airflow, pressure and noise for a given application.

However, even in the field of PC cooling, each application has different requirements: Whereas CPU coolers with tight fin-spacing require high static pressure, it's mostly the airflow to noise ratio that counts when it comes to case fans. Moreover, fans used on CPU coolers tend to be run at higher speeds than case fans.

Common fans are usually designed to be all-round solutions with compromises in certain areas in order to achieve solid results in all typical applications.

With that in mind, to achieve no-compromise-cooling for specific cooling applications, Noctua’s NF-series fans are available in two different models. The seven-blade NF-S12 is optimized for general-purpose case ventilation, CPU coolers and water-cooling radiators with wide fin spacing. The nine-blade NF-P12 of this review, works best with CPU coolers and radiators with narrow fin spacing, and cases with restrictive fan grills, filters, and reduced airflow.

The Noctua Difference

Noctua employs a number of unique technologies to insure maximum cooling with minimum noise:

Let’s take a closer look at these features and how they give Noctua’s fans a clear advantage over the competition.

Nine Blade Design with Vortex-Control Notches

 

Most 120mm fans have seven relatively narrow blades. The NF-P12’s nine large blades are spaced close together with a low angle of attack for maximum static pressure and high airflow. As a result, Noctua rates the NF-P12 as providing no less than 1.68 mm H²O at 1300 RPM—something that conventional fans typically achieve at 1,600 RPM or higher.

 

 

Courtesy of Noctua

 

What normally happens when you increase the size and number of fan blades, you also increase the static pressure generated by the blades which makes the fan louder (increased aerodynamic and rotor-stator noise). To combat this, Noctua adds what they call Vortex-Control Notches to each of the NF-P12’s blades. Rounded in shape, cut and staggered on the trailing edge of each blade, these notches smoothes the suction and pressure side mix of the airflow traveling over the blades. This reduces turbulence (less noise) and velocity loss (better cooling).

 

 

Courtesy of Noctua

 

 

 

Courtesy of Noctua

 

 

There’s no “magic” or “marketing sleigh-of-hand” involved. The NF-P12’s Vortex Control Notches splits the airflow over the fan blades into smaller trailing vortices—a technique Noctua calls psychoacoustic optimization. Noise, as a result, is spread over a wider range of frequencies making it less noticeable to the human ear.

 

 

Courtesy of Noctua

 

The staggering of the NF-P12’s Vortex-Control Notches provides an additional noise-reduction benefit. Because the notches are staggered from blade to blade, each blade generates a different vortex pattern, resulting in a better spread of the frequency spectrum—and less noise from the fan blades while they’re doing their thing.

 

Smooth Communication Drive (SCD)

 

The motor can also contribute to the overall noise of a fan, which is why Noctua developed the SCD, or Smooth Communications Drive. According to Noctua:

 

Next to aerodynamic noise and bearing related noises, the so called "commutation noise" or "switching noise" can play a major role in the noise emission of axial fans with brushless DC motors. At each transition from one stator coil to another, the rotor receives a sudden torque pulse when the next coil switches on. Each of these torque pulses causes a minute deformation of the whole fan structure. Depending on rpm, torque and the material of the fan, this can result in noticeable noises. Noctua's Smooth Commutation Drive system provides more continuous switching in order to achieve a smoother transition between the stator coils and thereby significantly contributes to the fan's overall quietness.

 

SSO Bearing

 

The design and quality of the bearing—a fan’s most critical component—not only plays a major role in the amount of noise a fan makes, but how long the fan lives. SSO is short for Self-Stabalizing Oil Pressure—the bearing technology used in all of Noctua’s fans for maximum silence and longevity, including the NF-P12. Noctua explains how and why their patented SSO bearing has a clear advantage over the ball and sleeve bearing used in the majority of fans today:

 

The rotary motion of the axis generates pressure upon the special oil enclosed within the bearing. This causes the build-up of a dynamic pressure field that centres and stabilises the axis within the bearing shell. While conventional liquid bearings employ the principle of hydrodynamic pressure too, the SSO bearing is equipped with an additional magnet that supports the self-stabilisation of the rotor axis. This allows for a faster, more precise and more reliable centring of the rotor axis and thus increases the long-term stability and quietness of the bearing: When the fan starts, the dynamic pressure field of the liquid bearing needs to build up first, which results in an initial precession of the axis, the so called gyro effect. This amounts to an increased abrasion until the axis is stabilised through the build-up of the dynamic pressure field, which may by and by lead to increased noise emission and bearing defects. Because of this, the SSO bearing possesses a built in magnet, whose field ensures the immediate self-stabilisation of the rotor and hence reduces the gyro effect. In addition to the stabilisation during the start-up phase of the fan, the supporting magnet allows for a more exact centring of the axis within the bearing shell and thus further reduces bearing resistance, abrasion and noise emission.

 

 

Courtesy of Noctua

 

 

Courtesy of Noctua

The sleeve and ball bearings currently predominating the fan market exhibit major drawbacks: While conventional sleeve bearings initially have very low noise emissions, they mostly possess unsatisfying long-term stability, which leads to a short overall lifespan and increasing noise after longer operating times. High grade ball bearings, on the other hand, while providing satisfying long-term stability operate at slightly higher noise levels from the beginning. The SSO bearing not only surpasses the quietness of conventional sleeve bearings but also the long-term stability of current top-of-the-line ball bearings.

So now that we know what makes the Noctua NF-P12 120mm Fan tick, let’s take a closer look at it, and how well it actually works.

Packaging

When you’re competing against hundreds of up-and-coming and well-known competitors, your product not only has to be exceptional, it has to stand out from all the other generic black and LED fans battling it out for attention on websites and hanging from racks in brick-and-mortar establishments. Noctua has certainly succeeded in the looks department, with their packaging and the appearance of the NF-P12.

The NF-P12’s ships in a box designed to hang from a display rack, decked out in Nocuta’s signature brown that shifts from a lighter to darker shade towards the bottom. Noctua’s hi-tech Athene noctual Owl corporate logo with their “Designed in Austria” tagline are in the upper left-hand corner of the box, with the NF-P12’s specs and main features against a contrasting indigo background with its main features, in the upper-right hand corner. The NF-12 can be seen through the geometric cutout, while Noctua’s web address and “sound-optimised premium components” in English and Austrian, are at the bottom.

Flip the box over, and you’ll be given a brief explanation of the NF-P12’s four main selling points—Nine Blade Design, Vortex Control, SC-Drive and SSO-Bearing (which we’ve just covered in detail). There are more specs on the fan’s cooling and acoustic qualities, the contents of the box. Of particular note is the generous 6 year warranty, and that Noctua manufactures the NF-P12 to ISO9001 and ISO14001 standards. No worries about an “El-cheapo” that won’t do the job here! There’s more information in German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese and Russian; but since I’m not fluent in either of those languages, I’d be hard pressed to tell you what that information is.

I can tell you that the back of the box opens up via Velcro tabs, to reveal charts illustrating the NF-P12’s impressive cooling and noise-reduction prowess, along with numerous awards Noctua has won from a number of international websites and magazines for their NF-S12 and NF-R8 fans. A side-panel shows how to install the NF-P12 with its included Vibration Compensators, and two additional connectors used to operate the fan at different speeds.

Opening the box, the fan and its accessories are enclosed in an easy-to-open plastic clamshell. There’s the NF-P12 fan of course; the aforementioned Vibration Compensators, a small bag of regular Fan Screws, a Low-Noise (L.N.A.) Adaptor Cable, an Ultra-Low Noise (U.L.N.A.) Adaptor Cable; and a 3-Pin-to-4-Pin Molex Adaptor Cable.