Introduction

Well, look at what we have here! The Noctua NF-A12x25 fan is arguably the most anticipated product to come out of Noctua in years, if only because they took their sweet time with it. Month, nay years of a tease here, a prototype there and many a soft timeline missed led to inevitable frustration when the first product to come out of this series was a low-profile 15 mm thick fan. The public wanted the real deal, however, and Noctua finally obliged with the launch of a whole slew of new fans. This included the NF-A12x25 in not one, but three different flavors (PWM, FLX, ULN), offering choice of speed control and rated RPM. Today, we take a closer look at what should be the most popular of the trio in the form of the NF-A12x25 PWM, and thanks again to Noctua for providing a review sample to TechPowerUp.


Noctua has greatly increased their product portfolio over the years, and this has led to where they have fans not only separated by fan size, but also market segmentation (standard, redux, and industrial). The new NF-A12 series of fans are all new and part of the standard lineup now, which means we can not only expect good support when it comes to accessories and after-purchase warranty, but also a fan that adopts their tan and brown color scheme, whether you like it or not. There are some options around this from day one, however, and we will get into this and more as we begin the review with a look at the fan's specifications below.

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

If you have purchased a Noctua product or even seen one in the wild, the packaging here will immediately be familiar. As a part of their standard (aka non-redux, non-industrial) series of fans, the NF-A12x25 comes in relatively large packaging that uses the tan and brown color scheme to good effect. Indeed, we see a lot of information all over the product box as well—so much so that Noctua has two flaps, one on each side, for some more information. The flap at the front also reveals a plastic window to get a quick look at the fan inside, which also works well as a final QC check for the company and their retailers no doubt. Of interest here, at least to me, is the P-Q curve comparison Noctua makes to some of their own other fans, and those interested can take a look at it on their website here.


There are flaps and seals on the opening sides that help keep the contents in place, and we can see that Noctua has neatly packed up everything in a double plastic clamshell for further protection against shipping and handling mishaps. The cutout in the product box with the front flap open also reveals one of the silicone anti-vibration mounts, which is why you see it in a separate compartment as opposed to with the other three in the top compartment alongside other accessories that come included with the fan.


The provided accessories include an anti-vibration rubber gasket that helps seal it when up against a radiator, for example. It has nibs that are inserted into each of the four corners on the fan, which help with keeping it in place even before the fan is screwed in, so I appreciate this small and user-friendly touch. As mentioned before, we also get four rubber mounts (NA-AV2, for those keeping track of Noctua SKUs) for when using this as a case fan, and these more than suffice in keeping the fan in place when used correctly. Helping justify the price point are also three cables—a 30 cm long extension cable, 4-pin Y-splitter cable, and low-noise adapter (LNA) which reduces the rated speed of the fan from 2000 RPM to 1700 RPM, presumably via an in-line resistor. This is handy for those wanting a slightly quieter fan, which does help if you have no means to control said fan. All included cables come sleeved in a heatshrink application with all-black sleeving and terminals and a brown label I would rather Noctua not add since it takes things more to where it is an ad rather than a means of brand recognition inside of one's PC. There is also a quick note enclosed with a personal message from Noctua thanking the customer for the purchase (online version here).