Noctua Shows Off 120 mm NF-S12A Case Fan

By Niels Broekhuijsen
published

Noctua has updated its well-renowned lineup of ultra silent case fan, the NF-S12 lineup.

Noctua has updated its ultra silent NF-S12 lineup of fans with the new NF-S12A. This model comes 4 years after the second generation model and is finally considered to be a "worthy successor" to its NF-S12B and is 8 percent more efficient in an airflow to noise ratio.

The new fan carries a number of new features such as Noctua's renowned Anti-Stall knobs and a revised AAO (Advanced Acoustic Optimization) frame. The frame also includes integrated anti-vibration pads and stepped inlet design along with the inner surface microstructures.

There are three variants of the NF-S12A, an FLX version with 1200/900/700 speed settings, adjustable with the low noise adapters, a ULN version with an ultra low 800/600 fan speed, also switchable with the low noise adapter, and a PWM version, which also comes with a low noise adapter to reduce the maximum speed from 1200 RPM to 900 RPM in PWM mode.

All three units come with Noctua's MTBF rating of 150,000 hours and a 6 year manufacturer warranty.

The fans are already for sale at a MSRP of $21.90.

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Niels Broekhuijsen
Niels Broekhuijsen

Niels Broekhuijsen is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He reviews cases, water cooling and pc builds.

16 Comments Comment from the forums
  • master_chen
    Mmmmm...SMEXY...another great product from a great company.
    Can't wait to get my hands on these babies....oh yeah....
    Reply
  • maximumfun
    i like noctua fan, they are durable, efficient at moving air and very low noise. i have 5 of them in my current pc.
    but they do look weird due to the color they choose. they are not visualy very appealing, especially in a case with a window
    where you can see them. i know its they're trademark but they should seriously consider making them in black.
    that way it would go whit anything and they would probably sell more.
    Reply
  • CaedenV
    maximumfuni like noctua fan, they are durable, efficient at moving air and very low noise. i have 5 of them in my current pc.but they do look weird due to the color they choose. they are not visualy very appealing, especially in a case with a windowwhere you can see them. i know its they're trademark but they should seriously consider making them in black.that way it would go whit anything and they would probably sell more.Knowing noctua they probably chose brown because some research said that the color was quieter.
    Reply
  • master_chen
    1. It's not "brown", it's "boiled caramel", a definition by Noctua itself.

    2. Their trade mark color scheme is of such combination because Noctua's founder is actually a big sweet-tooth and loves caramel very much, so they created this color scheme out of his preferences. Meaning that this color scheme won't go away for a looooooong time. So deal with it and live with it. %)

    3. It looks awesome in any case, it's a very calm, eye-candy (geddit?) color. Screw all haters.
    Reply
  • ubercake
    If they want to start selling these things like mad, they should just offer different color options. Otherwise, they are great fans.
    Reply
  • TheBigTroll
    highly doubt they'd ever change their colour. if its all black, they would just become the mainstream. they are not the mainstream by any stretch of the imagination
    Reply
  • WithoutWeakness
    10437028 said:
    i like noctua fan, they are durable, efficient at moving air and very low noise. i have 5 of them in my current pc.
    but they do look weird due to the color they choose. they are not visualy very appealing, especially in a case with a window
    where you can see them. i know its they're trademark but they should seriously consider making them in black.
    that way it would go whit anything and they would probably sell more.
    You can tape off the fan blades and just paint the frame black with a few light coats of spray paint. It voids the warranty but if you're using your custom PC right you're voiding half the warranties anyway by overclocking and making other system changes. They actually look pretty nice with the black frames and brown blades.

    Reply
  • DRosencraft
    Have to agree with everyone - the colors are a bit off-putting if you're looking for using them in a case meant to be both stylish and effective. It's really hard to get a case or general components that match the brown color palette of these fans. The closest I can think of off the top of my head is the Sabertooth motherboards. The performance is great of these fans, but it would be nice to be able to get them in black.
    Reply
  • ubercake
    WithoutWeaknessYou can tape off the fan blades and just paint the frame black with a few light coats of spray paint. It voids the warranty but if you're using your custom PC right you're voiding half the warranties anyway by overclocking and making other system changes. They actually look pretty nice with the black frames and brown blades.You sir have a true dedication to these great fans.
    Reply
  • zakaron
    I've always read that they make top notch fans, but getting a news article all to itself - that just proves right there that these fans are something unique.
    Reply