Review on Fan Noctua NF-A12x15 PWM

Good afternoon! Your attention is given a review of the fan for the case Noctua NF-A12x15 PWM.

Package

The fan is delivered in a rectangular thick cardboard box measuring 15 * 4 * 18 cm (W * H * D). Here is the box in front:

On the back of the box in various languages provides general information about the fan, its key properties, technical specifications and equipment.

The area of the sides of the box is occupied by several bar and qr codes, with which you can verify the authenticity of the product. On the right side there is also a small schematic image of a fan with an indication of its size (W * H * D). The inscription “NF-A12x15” on the title and left faces is made with corrugation. The quality of printing and packaging design is impeccable.

Open the box and inspect the contents.

Scope of delivery.

The first thing that can not be ignored is the truly premium approach of the manufacturer to packaging and packaging.

When you take the box in your hands and unpack it, you get considerable aesthetic pleasure, and you understand that you are really dealing with a high-quality and expensive product.

Having opened the title side of the box (it is with Velcro) we can see the following.

On the left side, in the lower part, the design of the blades for the better organization of air flows is described, and a schematic image is compared with the design of the blades used by other manufacturers. On the same side at the top are the properties and advantages of the bearing used in the fan (SSO ver. 2 with magnetic centering) compared to its earlier version.

On the right side of the spread, components are listed and depicted. Through the transparent window, the central part of the fan itself is visible.

But the box opens on the back!

By opening the back of the box (it is also Velcro) we can see a description of the technologies used and the advantages of the fan (it’s a pity that again only in English). Yes, the manufacturer took a lot of space to describe the technologies used and the properties of the product.

To get the fan and accessories, you need to open the box from the top or bottom edge. We open and see that in the cardboard box there is another plastic transparent box in which they fit:

Noctua NF-A12x15 PWM fan itself;
30-cm extension cable (Extension cable NA-EC1) – will be useful in large cases, if the length of the main fan power cable is suddenly not enough;
Adapter to reduce fan speed from 1850 to 1400 revolutions (Low-Noise Adapter NA-RC7), length ~ 7.5 cm;
Y-splitter (Y-CableNA-YC1) ~ 10 cm long, allowing you to connect two 4-pin PWM fans to one connector on the motherboard;
4 rubber anti-vibration mounting legs;
4 metal screws;
Instruction.

As you can see, the equipment is very rich and really useful. All cables are braided.

You should also pay special attention to the 4 rubber anti-vibration feet-mounts with which the fan is attached to the case. They are needed in order to completely eliminate even the slightest vibration.

However, the user may well use 4 metal screws for mounting the fan.

The instructions describe the installation process. It is a pity that it is again only in English, however, there are pictures, and even the process of attaching the fan to the case does not present any difficult task that even a beginner can successfully cope with. The printing in the manual is of high quality.

Finally, go to the fan itself.

Fan Noctua NF-A12x15 PWM

Fan 120 mm, low profile (height is only 1.5 cm). Such fans are designed for compact systems (HTPC, mini-ITX), where free space is limited.

The reverse side of the fan looks like this:

The number of blades in the fan is 7 pieces. They are ribbed. On one of the faces of the frame there are arrows – they indicate in which direction the air flow is moving, which helps to orient when installing the fan in the system unit.

The fan casing is not fragile, the structure is strong, the blades are strong. Nothing creaks, does not play, does not bend. The fan motor is located in a metal case, which not only adds reliability, but also contributes to better heat dissipation from the motor during operation.

Protruding rubber anti-vibration pads are located on both sides at all corners of the fan.

The fan is brown-beige.

The fan comes with a braided power cable ~ 20 cm long.

Connector for connecting to the motherboard – 4-pin. There is PWM – the ability to control the fan speed through a PWM controller (the control range is extremely wide).

The fan has no backlight (which, in my opinion, is a plus). Fan weight ~ 130 gr.

The warranty for the fan is as much as 6 years.

The manufacturer declared the following technical characteristics of the fan:

The maximum rotation speed is 1850 revolutions;
The rotation speed when connecting a fan through the Low-Noise Adapter is 1400 revolutions;
The minimum rotation speed – a specific figure is not indicated, however, the vast majority of specialized Internet technical resources show a figure of 450 revolutions (but in some sources the ability of the fan to work at 300 revolutions is noted);
MTBF – more than 150,000 hours;
The maximum input power is 1.56W;
The maximum input current is 0.13A;
The operating voltage is 12V;
Airflow: 94.2 m³ / h (when connected via LNA: 70.8 m³ / h);
Noise level: 23.9 dB (when connected via LNA: 16.8 dB);
Static pressure: 1.53 mm H2O (when connected via LNA: 0.9 mm H2O).

Of course, in this review for obvious reasons (lack of technical capabilities at home) there will be no test measurements of real indicators of static pressure, speed and noise level of the fan in different operating modes.

Conclusions

Briefly summarize the main advantages and disadvantages of the fan.

Advantages:

Noctua is one of the world leaders among manufacturers of computer fans;
PWM – the ability to control the fan speed through the PWM controller;
A very long time between failures – over 150,000 hours;
Anti-vibration pads;
Rich equipment, very useful in filling;
Premium packaging approach;
The fan is declared by the manufacturer as virtually silent, which is what the whole design and the technologies used are oriented to;
Very worthy characteristics;
A long guarantee – 6 years.

Disadvantages: perhaps, except for the price. However, this is still not a drawback, but a completely adequate condition for a truly high-quality premium product from a very famous company.

I recommend the product for purchase.

This is the end of the review. Thank you for the attention!

The article is written on the basis of materials of this site.