Noctua Introduces the NF-S12A 120 mm Fan

[Cristian_25H]

Noctua today presented the new, third generation of its signature S12 series quiet case fans, which have received more than 250 awards and recommendations from the international press. Featuring a further refined blade design with Anti-Stall Knobs that works in tandem with the new AAO (Advanced Acoustic Optimisation) frame, the NF-S12A improves the airflow/noise efficiency of its renowned predecessor by up to 8%.

"Introduced in 2006, the original NF-S12 became a cornerstone of our reputation as one of the leading manufacturers of premium quality quiet fans. The second generation NF-S12B, introduced in 2009, continued this tradition with an even better airflow to noise ratio, making it one of our most popular models of all time", says Mag. Roland Mossig, Noctua CEO. "We've been working on the next generation for about three years and now we're thrilled to be able to present a worthy successor with the new NF-S12A: The new Anti-Stall Knobs and our AAO type frame allowed us to squeeze out another 8% in airflow to noise efficiency!"





The NF-S12A's novel Anti-Stall Knobs reduce flow separation phenomena in medium to high impedance situations and thereby increase the fan's stall margin. This means that the NF-S12A is even more versatile than its renowned predecessor and can achieve better performance on heatsinks and radiators. Noctua's AAO (Advanced Acoustic Optimisation) frames feature integrated anti-vibration pads as well as Noctua's proprietary Stepped Inlet Design and Inner Surface Microstructures, both of which further refine the fan's performance/noise efficiency.

Three models will be available upon launch: While the NF-S12A FLX version provides 1200/900/700 rpm speed settings via the supplied Low-Noise Adaptors in order to give you full flexibility in fine-tuning the fan for maximum ventilation performance or near-silent operation, the NF-S12A ULN version provides super-slow 800/600 rpm speed settings for ultra-low-noise applications and highly noise-sensitive users. The NF-S12A PWM sports Noctua's custom designed NE-FD1 IC for fully automatic speed control via 4-pin fan headers and comes with a Low-Noise-Adaptor to reduce the maximum speed during PWM control from 1200 to 900 rpm.

All three models employ the further optimised second generation of Noctua's renowned, time-tested SSO bearing and use CNC milled brass bearing shells in order to guarantee the highest possible degree of manufacturing precision, minimum tolerance and excellent long-term stability. Like all Noctua fans, the NF-S12A models have an MTBF rating of more than 150.000 hours and come with a full 6 years manufacturer's warranty.

Pricing and availability
The new NF-S12A fans will be available immediately at recommended retail prices of EUR 19.90 / USD 21.90.

[Dj-ElectriC]

I love notcua's fans, but for the love of everything that is holy and unholy....
Make like.. idk.. extreme series or something that will carry other color schemes.
I get the diarrhea brown and skin-gut one, sure, it match your logo and all.

Yes, I'm bringing it up again.

[RejZoR]

If they'd only use some other color scheme and not this blood stained diarrhea colored mess.

Is it so hard to use black frame and dark red blades? Or black and transparent blades? Or black frame and white blades? Or entire black or entire transparent? If they want an unique color, black and dark red or dark red and white would be great as no one is using it, yet its still nice.

[tastegw]

I dont care how good they are, too ugly, even if they would never be seen.
It's like buying a pair of boxers with skid mark designs already in it.

[terrastrife]

I run all Noctua fans, even in my 5 in 3 hotswaps have R8. But I never recommend Noctua to friends or for customer builds, haha, too expensive for their taste.

The brown is at least better than the reddish colour, no idea why some fans are brown others are red.

But seriously, if you don't like the colour don't buy it, you have plenty of alternatives, it's not like there are only 2 or 3 vendors. The colour works well in non flashy builds where colour matching isn't required because at first glance you know that it's good and expensive from just seeing the colour. If you do want to colour coordinate, Corsair C70, Sabertooth, Noctua fans

[Fx]

I love Noctua fans, and they are all I build my PCs with. My rigs don't have side windows so I could care less what it looks like in there.

Performance > Looks

[madness777]

Why do they need to change the scheme? It's awesome if you ask me! You people should think outside the box, not Noctua!

[Dj-ElectriC]

You are totally right. We should sleeve all our cables, get a matching motherboard and a power supply.
Good thinking

[madness777]

Well, if you're buying premium fans, you SHOULD build a proper, premium system...
Or, you can just continue to complain over the color of the fan...
If you ask me, Noctua deserves all the respect! Complaining won't change a thing...
Work with it =]

[adulaamin]

Originally Posted by madness777

Why do they need to change the scheme? It's awesome if you ask me! You people should think outside the box, not Noctua!

My opinion is the other way around. If Noctua wants to sell more of their fans, they should start thinking around the box and offer them in other colors. I would really like to buy some of their fans as I've been reading very good things about them but I really don't like the color. I had a choice between Scythe GTs and the Noctua NF-F12 and I went for the GTs because of the color.

[WaroDaBeast]

Originally Posted by Dj-ElectriC

I love notcua's fans, but for the love of everything that is holy and unholy....
Make like.. idk.. extreme series or something that will carry other color schemes.
I get the diarrhea brown and skin-gut one, sure, it match your logo and all.

Yes, I'm bringing it up again.

Alright man, let's bring this conversation — if we can even call it that — to a whole new level: I can't buy black and white stuff 'cause they remind me of gecko poop.

Seriously now... If everything brown reminds you of poop, you've got serious mental issues. Noctua aren't the only player on the market. No one's forcing you to buy their stuff.

[Chevalr1c]

Originally Posted by Dj-ElectriC

I love notcua's fans, but for the love of everything that is holy and unholy....
Make like.. idk.. extreme series or something that will carry other color schemes.
I get the diarrhea brown and skin-gut one, sure, it match your logo and all.

Yes, I'm bringing it up again.

Originally Posted by RejZoR

If they'd only use some other color scheme and not this blood stained diarrhea colored mess.

Is it so hard to use black frame and dark red blades? Or black and transparent blades? Or black frame and white blades? Or entire black or entire transparent? If they want an unique color, black and dark red or dark red and white would be great as no one is using it, yet its still nice.

Similar price range, at least as good and not brown.

Originally Posted by WaroDaBeast

Alright man, let's bring this conversation — if we can even call it that — to a whole new level: I can't buy black and white stuff 'cause they remind me of gecko poop.

Seriously now... If everything brown reminds you of poop, you've got serious mental issues. Noctua aren't the only player on the market. No one's forcing you to buy their stuff.

I agree completely.

[captjazz]

Originally Posted by madness777

http://shrani.si/f/43/rY/1n9TVJnx/img7051.jpg Why do they need to change the scheme? It's awesome if you ask me! You people should think outside the box, not Noctua!

One of the better builds I have seen. Nice contrast.

[terrastrife]

If you don't like the, peachy/brown theme, how about dark grey and lime?

P12
http://www.coolink-europe.com/en/categories/23_29.html

They used to be clear/blue. (the silicon mounts blue etc) and cost half as much.

If you have no idea what I am on about, Coolink manufacture and are 'joint parent' of Noctua. They share the same technology between products.

Even Coolink CPU coolers use identical Noctua mounts, with the same SecuFirm 2 branding. Some of their heatsinks are also identical except for the stamping of the company name on the fins (identical products to the U12 and the U6, possibly others).

[Jorge]

Noctua fans are OK but their airflow volume and static pressure is pretty low making them OK for case fans but not good for heatsink fans. The low rpm model fans tend to have low static pressure which means low airflow thru a heatsink or radiator. It's always nice to see some new tech in PC fans to lower noise and increase cooling performance. It's funny how the color scheme is a big issue for some folks.

[MeanBruce]

Ummm, there are some fans that outperform the Noctua NF-F12s and also come in a nice black color.

They move more cold air than the NF-F12s at every rpm.

I have 4 NF-F12s, they go inaudible at 800rpm and lower.

These fans go inaudible at 1000rpm and lower.

The fan out front in this photo is the brand that is so amazing:



These:



They arrive unfinished, just bare spliced wires. I took some nylon parachute cord, pulled the stuffing out, and used the outer skin as sleeving:



The Sanyo-Denki SanAce S-Type Silent fans, same fans Corsair and Seasonic use in their PSUs:



They are available in 4 different Amperages and rated Max RPMs, this chart lists 3 of them.

[RejZoR]

I was testing Noctua fans once and they had this annoying interval buzzing noise which was really annoying. Thats why i still keep on insisting with Noiseblocker fans. Granted they are also expensive, but they look way better and don't make crappy buzzing noises.

[terrastrife]

One thing that's amazing however is how little power Noctua fans use vs other fans, often 3-4x less power <:

RejZoR: Interval buzzing? In my usage span I've used 4+ R8-1800, 2 B9-1600, 7+ P12-1200, 1 S12-1200, 2 P14 FLX. None of the newer PWM ones sadly, these P12's just won't die and give me a reason to upgrade. But I've never had any buzzing issues? I've had resonating issues like with any branded fan hard mounted to the same surface however. I don't run any above 1000RPM in typical builds however.

[tastegw]

There is no doubt they are good fans, but there are plenty of other good fans on the market as well, some of those just stick to black, and cost less than these aweful colors here in the OP

Like previously stated, they limit their sales by going with this color pallet.
Yate Loon, Delta, and some others dont waste money trying to make their fans look "different", but they still perform like they should.

[AsRock]

I'll stick with COUGAR just as every bit as good and cheaper.

[Max Mojo]

The color is suicidal.
An insult and sort of harassment. Is Noctua colorblind or perverted or both? Have two Noctuas, elder generation but black. Although they have this rubber bracket, they make a whining nervekilling buzz in combination with my Corsair H80.

[Sasqui]

Originally Posted by MeanBruce

Ummm, there are some fans that outperform the Noctua NF-F12s and also come in a nice black color.

They move more cold air than the NF-F12s at every rpm.

I have 4 NF-F12s, they go inaudible at 800rpm and lower.

These fans go inaudible at 1000rpm and lower.

The fan out front in this photo is the brand that is so amazing:

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...psfe6dc355.jpg

These:

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...psd2a02d4a.jpg

They arrive unfinished, just bare spliced wires. I took some nylon parachute cord, pulled the stuffing out, and used the outer skin as sleeving:

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6470a78f.jpg

The Sanyo-Denki SanAce S-Type Silent fans, same fans Corsair and Seasonic use in their PSUs:

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...psa3821590.jpg

They are available in 4 different Amperages and rated Max RPMs, this chart lists 3 of them.

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/...psa2ac2411.png

Where do you find those (Sanyo-Denki SanAce S-Type)?

[radrok]

I didn't like their colour scheme but then I changed my mind about it and now I love it.

Every single fan I've bought recently is from Noctua, their 140mm NF-A14 FLX are the best 140mm fan I've ever tried (noise/performance ratio).

[Arrakis+9]

Originally Posted by Sasqui

Where do you find those (Sanyo-Denki SanAce S-Type)?

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=29337

All they have is the High speed version if you have a fan controller hooked to it it would work just fine

[micropage7]

if they have more blades it may better