Noctua NF-F12 review
2. A closer look
The Noctua NF-F12 retails in an attractive package with all the product features printed on the front and back sides of it. The product costs around $19.50 (6-years warranty), which is not much for such a promising 120mm fan. For our tests we used two NF-F12 fans.
Inside the box is a plastic shell that holds the NF-F12 PWM fan and the accessory bundle. All the features of the fan are presented and well-explained in the inner part of the box:
Opening the box unveils the contents
- 1x Noctua NH-L12 product
- 1x Low-Noise Adapter (L.N.A.)
- 1x 4-Pin Y-Cable
- 1x 30cm Extension Cable
- 4x Vibration-Compensators
- 4x Fan Screws
The Noctua NF-F12 has the typical dimensions (120x120x25) of 120mm fans so it will fit in all cases/cpu coolers. Noctua;s products are easily recognizable by their ‘Marmite’ colors and the standard seven blade fan design. The 4-pin cable is shielded and durable. What's different from from the previous fan designs that there are larger rubberized vibration pads placed at each corner of the fan. These vibration pads can be easily removed.
You can also see the unusual fan design developed by Noctua. Air notches are no longer on the blades as in the P12 range but are now placed upon the fan chassis itself. According to Noctua, these are the guide vanes that help to generate sound ‘pulses’ along the framework when one of the fan blades crosses over this section:
The Noctua NF-F12 also comes with a SSO2 bearing with a metal shell. The second generation SSO2 full metal bearing is machined from solid brass for a longer lifespan and improved fan blade stabilization. When the 4-pin fan header is plugged on board, it uses the NE-FD1 PWM sensor to determine the fan speed.
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