There is not much more to say here that I have not already said elsewhere, including on the previous page. The Noctua NF-F12, in whatever iteration you may find it, was not designed as a pressure-optimized fan. Instead, it is a hybrid fan attempting to balance the needs to tackle static pressure and maximum airflow alike. Noctua is first and foremost an air-cooling solution provider, and their own heatsinks are designed with this hybrid balance in mind. They have their NF-P and new NF-A series (for 120 mm fans) as pressure-optimized cooling solutions, and the NF-F12 is simply not good enough today to compete as a radiator fan when up against higher airflow impedance than in a typical air cooler.

While it may practically not be much different in terms of how much the coolant temperature will be, or the actual components being cooled, when we decouple all other variables as best as we can, the NF-F12 PWM chromax is found wanting. Perhaps it is not even fair to judge it in the watercooling category, but I have far too often seen it recommended for those wanting performance-oriented fans for watercooling, even on Asetek CLCs that have higher airflow restrictions, to where I had to review it one more time on TechPowerUp.

The chromax part of the fan is impressive, though. Providing a black canvas for the end user to then customize to their desire, albeit within a range of colors, is as close as Noctua will come to adopting color-based customization that is not RGB. Many will appreciate this, no doubt, especially in combination with the other chromax family accessories Noctua has on offer. These are not inexpensive, however, and those wanting to commit their money to the brand will perhaps find the NF-A12x25 or even NF-P12 redux-1700 more appealing for this application. Who knows, maybe an NF-A12x25 PWM chromax will find its way to market sooner rather than later!