Reviews

Noctua NF-S12B FLX Review

Test Setup & Results

The following setup was used whilst testing the NF-S12B:

• Intel Core 2 Quad q6600 @ 3.2GHz

• Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme

• Asus P5KC

• 4GB Gskill

• HIS 4770 512MB

• Asus Xonar D2

• WD Caviar Blue 320GB

• Corsair HX 620W

• Lian Li PC-A07B

For comparison we also tested the Noctua NF-P12 and Sharkoon SE 1000 and 2000 RPM fans.

CPU Temperature

To obtain the CPU temperature results for idle the test machine was turned on and the core temperatures reported by Core-Temp were recorded after 10 minutes. Then the average of the four core temperatures was calculated. For the load results Linx was run for 10 passes, the temperatures recorded and the average of the four cores calculated.

From the chart above we can see that the NF-S12B keeps the q6600 at the lowest temperature of 33C on par with the 2000RMP Silent Eagle from Sharkoon. A very respectable result considering the S12B is rated at 1200RPM. It also manages to stay within 1C of the 2000RMP Sharkoon on full load, which is an exceptional result. Also included in the test was the NF-P12 which was a surprising result. I wasn’t expecting a difference of 4C during load between the two Noctua fans.

Noise

Unfortunately I did not have any instruments at hand to give an accurate db reading of the NF-S12B, so you will have to make do with my interpretation of the noise each fan produced. The NF-S12B as I expected was the quietest of the four fans tested today. Other case fans could easily be heard over the S12B and they don’t output much noise either. Next was the P12 and Sharkoon SE 1000RPM. Both fans had a different noise profile, but both seemed to be roughly outputting the same amount of noise. As for the Sharkoon SE 2000RPM fan. Well let’s just say it shouldn’t be called a Silent Eagle as it certainly produced a clearly audible noise well above anything else in the case.

Installation

When testing the NF-S12B it was attached to the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme using the Thermalright retention clips. To see how easy the fan was to mount as a case fan the supplied Vibration Compensators were used to attach the fan to the rear exhaust fan space. It was a fairly simple process pushing the vibration compensators from the outside of the case in, however getting them through the fan itself proved to be a little more difficult. By no means was it impossible, but it did require quite a lot of patience on my part. Once all four vibration compensators have been pulled through the fan it was held securely, even though there was some movement in it. Move on to the next page for the Conclusion.

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