Cooling New Alphacool SL-15 (120x120x15mm) SFF fans - Noctua budget competitor?

[Firebear]

Alphacool released their new SL-15 fans today

Alphacool SL-15 PWM Fan 600-1800rpm ( 120x120x15mm )

Der Alphacool 120 mm SL-15 Lüfter ist ein spezieller Slim-Lüfter für den Einsatz auf Radiatoren. Mit einer Rahmenhöhe von lediglich 15 mm eignet er sich besonders für die Verwendung in ultrakompakten Gehäusen, auch bekannt unter der...

www.alphacool.com

They price at € 11.69 (US$ 14,17).

Technical Data	Alphacool SL-15	Noctua NF A12x15 (as comparison)
Speed	600 - 1800rpm	450 - 1850rpm
Accoustics	32 dB(A)	23,9 dB(A)
Air Flow Rate	max 71,36 m³/h	max 94,2 m³/h
Static Pressure	1,2 mm H2O	1,53 mm H2O
MTTF	50.000h	150.000 h

Compared to the Noctua NF A12x15 (chromax) they definitely are cheaper (in Quality, too I suppose) and in terms of specs also a bit worse.
If you will run your fans failry low anyways tho, I suppose it won't make much of a difference to Noctua.
If you care about color and were to buy the Noctua Chromax NFA12-15 then you would save 10€ per unit. If you e.g. go for a 2 rad Ncase M1 style setup and you need 4 or more then you definitely save a a bit of money (although at that price point: would you cheap out?)

I'm tempted to buy and try it when I will build my Acat X2 dual rad buildin Q1 2021. Competition is always nice.

What are your thoughts?

 

[biopunk]

These seem to be quite loud.

I think ID-COOLING NO-12015-XT might be a better budget alternative if they indeed have higher static pressure than Noctua A12x15 but they are also loud:

I found these specs on eBay but the official site doesn't list static pressure which is weird.
NO-12015-XT are sold on eBay for £8 and on AliExpress for less than £4.

 

[SFF Watercooled]

In terms of specs, A12x15 is a lot better:
Lower noise
Better airflow
Better static pressure
Lasts longer

But again, the SL-15 is half the price

 

[Skripka]

Remember when reading those spec sheets....noise comparisons across brands are never fair due to differences in measuring techniques and tools and setup. But, they are generally the best foot-forward attempt to make the data look better.

That being said. Presuming the tests are fair apples/apples....The Noctua moves air faster, with more pressure, and does it at half the perceived loudness. Remember dB are logarithmic. 10dB difference is double the loudness. Alphacool's own spec sheet makes its product look bad here. I mean yea, they're probably cheap--and it shows.

 

[thelaughingman]

hope somebody can do a roundup sometimes soon. my expectation is that Noctua would still comes out on top in terms of noise-performance. need Arctic to jump into the ring on this also

 

[Thehack]

The ID-Cooling one definitely looks better. Have one myself.

 

[SFF Watercooled]

With other options:

Technical Data	ID-Cooling NO-12015-XT	Prolimatech Ultra Sleek Vortex	Scythe Kaze Flex Slim	Silverstone FN123 Slim	Scythe Slip Stream Slim 12mm (1600 RPM)	Scythe Slip Stream Slim 12mm (2000 RPM)	Alphacool SL-15	Cooler Master Xtraflo Slim	Rosewill RASF-141213	Noctua NF-A12x15
Speed	500 - 1600rpm	400 - 1300rpm	300 - 1800rpm	2000rpm	1600rpm	2000rpm	600 - 1800rpm	500 - 1600rpm	600 - 1600rpm	450 - 1850rpm
Acoustics	max 30.2 dB(A)	max 17 dB(A)	max 30 dbA	23.5 dB(A)	28.89 dB(A)	37 dB(A)	max 32 dB(A)	max 30 dB(A)	max 30.32 dB(A)	max 23.9 dB(A)
Air Flow Rate	max 53.6 CFM	max 56 CFM	max 50.79 CFM	32.6 CFM	38.05 CFM	45.47 CFM	max 42 CFM	max 58.4 CFM	max 54.55 CFM	max 55.44 CFM
Static Pressure	max 1.81 mm H2O	max 0.9 mm H2O	max 1.35mm H2O	1.52 mm H2O	1.11 mm H2O	1.35 mm H2O	max 1.2 mm H2O	max 1.76 mm H2O	???	max 1.53 mm H2O
MTTF	???	100,000 h	100,000 h	40,000 h	30,000 h	30,000 h	50,000 h	40,000 h	50,000 h	150,000 h

 

[jamescarter117]

These seem to be quite loud.

I think ID-COOLING NO-12015-XT might be a better budget alternative if they indeed have higher static pressure than Noctua A12x15 but they are also loud:

I found these specs on eBay but the official site doesn't list static pressure which is weird.
NO-12015-XT are sold on eBay for £8 and on AliExpress for less than £4.

With other options:

Technical Data	ID-Cooling NO-12015-XT	Prolimatech Ultra Sleek Vortex	Scythe Kaze Flex Slim	Scythe Slip Stream Slim	Alphacool SL-15	Cooler Master Xtraflo Slim	Rosewill RASF-141213	Noctua NF A12x15
Speed	500 - 1600rpm	400 - 1300rpm	300 - 1800rpm		600 - 1800rpm	500 - 1600rpm	600 - 1600rpm	450 - 1850rpm
Acoustics	max 30.2 dB(A)	max 17 dB(A)	max 30 dbA		max 32 dB(A)	max 30 dB(A)	max 30.32 dB(A)	max 23.9 dB(A)
Air Flow Rate	max 53.6 CFM	max 56 CFM	max 50.79 CFM		max 42 CFM	max 58.4 CFM	max 54.55 CFM	max 55.44 CFM
Static Pressure	max 1.81 mm H2O	max 0.9 mm H2O	max 1.35mm H2O		max 1.2 mm H2O	max 1.76 mm H2O	???	max 1.53 mm H2O
MTTF	???	100,000 h	100,000 h		50,000 h	40,000 h	50,000 h	150,000 h

Gonna say I second the IDCooling choice

 

[dondan]

Looks like a rebrand of Phobya G-Silent 12 Slim Edition

or

Gelid Solutions Slim

 

[Firebear]

Looks like a rebrand of Phobya G-Silent 12 Slim Edition

or

Gelid Solutions Slim

wow how come i didn't notice the phobya one? I'm like 24/7 at the aquatuning store
Yea phobya, alphacool, noiseblocker and be quiet sometimes share their fan designs or do rebranding appearantly.

I guess I will then either have a look at the ID-Cooling fan or just go for the noctua one. I mean whats an additional 40€ at a 2000€ budget lol when you want to do quality watercooling.
Thanks for all your input! Maybe out of curiousity I will still buy the SL-15 and try it and if not I just use it as a mainboard cooler for my 3d printer.

 

[SFF Watercooled]

wow how come i didn't notice the phobya one? I'm like 24/7 at the aquatuning store

The aquatuning store has terrible search results. When you search "slim fan" you get normal fans. When you specifically type "15mm fan" (because aquatuning has the dimensions of all of their fans listed) it still gives you 25mm thick fans. Most of the search results aren't even fans, they're just fittings, tubes, pads, etc.