IMG_6595_lrMost people don't give the fans in their PC any thought, even most enthusiasts worry about colors and led's not the noise level or performance. Noctua is in the minority when it comes to fan manufactures because they design their fans to be as quite as possible with no concern for LED's or special colors. Today I have the chance to test out their newest fan the NF-12B FLX. Similar to the NF-P12 that we tested before, but with a few updates. Let's take a look to see how their changes effected the fans performance.

Product Name: Noctua NF-S12B FLX

Review Sample Provided by: Noctua

Review by: Wes

Pictures by: Wes

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Specifications

Size

120x120x25 mm

Bearing

SSO-Bearing

Blade Geometry

NF-S12B Blade Design with BBT

Rotational Speed (+/- 10%)

1200 RPM

Rotational Speed with L.N.A. (+/- 10%)

900 RPM

Rotational Speed with U.L.N.A. (+/- 10%)

600 RPM

Airflow

100,6 m³/h

Airflow with L.N.A.

75,8 m³/h

Airflow with U.L.N.A.

49,2 m³/h

Acoustical Noise

18,1 dB(A)

Acoustical Noise with L.N.A.

10,6 dB(A)

Acoustical Noise with U.L.N.A.

6,2* dB(A)

Static Pressure

1,31 mm H2O

Static Pressure with L.N.A.

0,76 mm H2O

Static Pressure with U.L.N.A.

0,34 mm H2O

Input Power

1,2 W

Input Current

0,1 A

Voltage Range

12 V

MTBF

> 150.000 h

Included

Ultra-Low-Noise Adaptor (U.L.N.A.)

Low-Noise Adaptor (L.N.A.)

4 Vibration Compensators

3:4-Pin Adaptor

4 Fan Screws

Warranty

6 years

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Packaging

The NF-S12B FLX was packaged in typical Noctua fashion with their normal colors. The front of the package includes a window giving you a partial view of the fan and the included accessories. Behind the front of the package it opens up to a whole collection of detailed graphs and diagrams about the NF-S12B FLX. On the back there are short write-up's on different features.

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Performance

Testing out fans is always difficult, they all push air and without expensive equipment its difficult to put that to the test. BUT we can judge them by their overall quality and noise output. It seems like it was only a few months ago that I was testing out the original NF-S12. During that testing I was shocked at the noise and quality difference between Noctua and our test fans. This updated version is no different when it comes to quality. But when it comes to noise performance they somehow managed to improve on their original design. They were able to massage 18% more airflow while running at 100 RPM less. That lower speed also means the fan puts out one decibel less than its predecessor while pushing more air, very impressive considering the amazing performance of the original.

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If that isn't good enough for you Noctua includes another option to lower the noise with all of their products and the NF-S12B FLX is no exception. That option would be the ULNA and LNA that stand for Ultra-Low-Noise Adaptor and Low-Noise Adaptor. Each of the adapters go in line with the fan plug and slow the fan's speed down even more (900 with the LNA, 600 with the ULNA).  Doing this can drop the NF-S12B FLX's noise output to an amazing 6.2 dB.

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Overall

So the performance was amazing, that's not really a shocker. I don't think I have had a bad experience with any Noctua product and we have reviewed just about everything they make. My only complaints are with their choice of colors for their fans and the price. The price is a little high, but considering the quality and performance they are worth it. In the end once again Noctua has impressed me with one of their products, they somehow manages to squeeze a little more performance out of their fans.

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Author Bio
garfi3ld
Author: garfi3ldWebsite: http://lanoc.org
Editor-in-chief
You might call him obsessed or just a hardcore geek. Wes's obsession with gaming hardware and gadgets isn't anything new, he could be found taking things apart even as a child. When not poking around in PC's he can be found playing League of Legends, Awesomenauts, or Civilization 5 or watching a wide variety of TV shows and Movies. A car guy at heart, the same things that draw him into tweaking cars apply when building good looking fast computers. If you are interested in writing for Wes here at LanOC you can reach out to him directly using our contact form.

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