Reviews

Noctua NF-S12B FLX Review

Features & Technology

I wouldn’t be doing the S12B or Noctua justice if I didn’t go into some detail about the technology behind the fan, so let’s take a look at the features and how they work.

Blade Design

Here is what Noctua has to say about the Blade Design:

Building on the proven basis of the award-winning NF-S12’s impeller, the design goal for the NF-S12B was to further improve its predecessor’s much acclaimed airflow/noise ratio and to increase static pressure in order to allow for a broader range of application. These goals have been achieved by reducing the tip clearance at the leading edge and adding Bevelled Blade-Tips, a feature first introduced with the NF-B9 92mm fan.

So how does this new blade design increase airflow, static pressure and reduce noise I hear you ask. Well it’s quite simple:

Reducing the tip clearance by increasing the length of the blades allows for a bigger blade surface area as well as improvements both in airflow and static pressure. This measure though tends to come at the expense of increased noise emission due to critical rotor-stator interaction. For the NF-S12B, this issue has been dealt with by only increasing the length of the blades at the leading edges and adding a bevelled structure (Bevelled Blade-Tips). By increasing the distance between the impeller and the frame at the outermost areas of the fan where the impeller achieves the highest velocities, Bevelled Blade-Tips help to reduce critical rotor-stator interaction. As a result, the NF-S12B’s modification of the original NF-S12 blade geometry combines the benefits of a reduced tip clearance with those of a bigger distance between the tip of the trailing edge and stator parts, achieving up to 10% improvement both in airflow to noise and pressure to noise ratio.

I told you it was simple Next we take a look at the SMC technology. Smooth Commutation Drive From Noctua’s website:

Next to aerodynamic noise and bearing related noises, the so called “commutation noise” or “switching noise” can play a major role in the noise emission of axial fans with brushless DC motors. At each transition from one stator coil to another, the rotor receives a sudden torque pulse when the next coil switches on. Each of these torque pulses causes a minute deformation of the whole fan structure. Depending on rpm, torque and the material of the fan, this can result in noticeable noises. Noctua’s Smooth Commutation Drive system provides more continuous switching in order to achieve a smoother transition between the stator coils and thereby significantly contributes to the fan’s overall quietness. The second generation of this technology (SCD2) further improves running smoothness and reduces minute noises in close proximity to the motor.

On the next page we take a look at the SSO-Bearing technology.

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Tags: 120mm Fan, Cooling, NF-S12B, Noctua