Cooling [SFF Network] Noctua Fan Roundup

confusis

John Morrison. Founder and Team Leader of SFF.N
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Noctua has been producing high-end fans since the company's inception in 2005, and today we'll be looking at - count'em - four of their products, which will form a basis of a standard testing kit for future cooler and chassis reviews. Today, we have on our review bench the NF-P12 PWM, NF-A9 PWM, NF-A8 PWM, and the tiny NF-A4x10 FLX.

These products all have high quality construction, some premium touches, and feature many of Noctua's famed design and engineering features. So, let's dive in!

Read more here.

Actual testing will come in time, I am currently working out the faults in our testing system for fans :/
 

confusis

John Morrison. Founder and Team Leader of SFF.N
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It's a shame that I couldn't post test results, but when my anemometer is reading 3.89 CFM from a fan that should hit 54.3 cfm, I know something's wrong with my test rig!
 

jØrd

S̳C̳S̳I̳ ̳f̳o̳r̳ ̳l̳i̳f̳e̳
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EdZ

Virtual Realist
May 11, 2015
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I've never encountered those Scotchlok IDCs before, but they look pretty useful. Might grab some from Farnell to keep handy.
 

GuilleAcoustic

Chief Procrastination Officer
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Jun 29, 2015
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I own several noctua products and they are always great. The only drawback I see is the over packaging that is not really green. I can imagine that they need a luxurious package for a luxurious product, but I do care for ecology and overpackaging pisses me off.

I do love Noctua and I am loyal to them, but I could live with a brown recycled box with everything printed on it with organic ink. Examples:





 

iFreilicht

FlexATX Authority
Feb 28, 2015
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I agree, the packaging could just be made from recycled cardboard. I feel like luxurious packaging doesn't have to be made of plastic. The packaging for the Steam Controller is entirely made from paper (short of the small shelf-tab and three strips of tape), even the formed shape the controller sits in. That felt a lot better than if that shape was made from plastic.

Very fond of that OmniJoin thingy, didn't know about those connectors.
 

confusis

John Morrison. Founder and Team Leader of SFF.N
Original poster
SFF Network
SFF Workshop
SFFn Staff
Jun 19, 2015
4,129
7,057
sff.network
I agree on the packaging, especially for the 40mm fan! While the current packaging does add more of a premium feel, the trend now is to more sustainable living (lower power consumption, recycled materials, space saving systems!)