Noctua NF-S12A FLX, Premium Quiet Fan, 3-Pin (120mm, Brown)

I was looking for a good fan to push a good amount of airflow through the case that doesn't have any radiators and these worked out great. The build quality is top notch and they bundle accessories for just about any use case/situation. They include screws and rubber push pins depending on how you want to mount them, I personally prefer the rubber mounts for ease of install and quick removal if I ever need to, but depending on accessibility you may want to use the screws, the only downside is that the screws are silver so they may be a little bit of an eye sore if they are visible and you have a different color case. They also include a Y splitter if you want to connect 2 fans to 1 header and a resistor cable if you want to bring the noise level down even more (They are super quiet right out of the box as is), as well as an extension cable to get to further headers, the stock cable coming off the fan is only about 6" long so you will most likely need to use it if you are trying to get some nice cable management. I have also used these fans for almost 8 years at this point and I haven't had a single issue with any of them, other brand fans I have used that use a different bearing method usually will start to wobble/grind after a couple of years, typically right out of the warranty period go figure, after switching to Noctua I won't go back to any other brand. If you are looking for a Noctua to match a black case/if you are not a fan of the color scheme (although I think it will grow on you after a little while, I love the look now) they sell an Industrial version that is black but admittedly are slightly louder. 10/10 fans, look no further!

UPDATE:these two 120mm beasts are still running just as good as the day I put them in. I wanted to include some specification information I learned after spending the better part of my day combing through the specs on noctua’s site. They provide a wide range of specs for these fans and it’s helpful because they make several versions of each size. Each version mainly consisting of different fan blade, size, shape and number of blades. Noctua provides a very wide and comprehensive amount of data for each fan variant.My first conclusion is that the 120mm fan line is by far noctua’s most efficient in power consumption and cfm output at a given power draw. Also the 120mm line is generally the quietest line of fans when compared to the cfm output. 120mm seems to be a sweet spot for the range of fan sizes noctua makes. I had considered gettin 140mm fans for my next build but after learning what I have. I’m sticking to 120mmOut of the 120mm line up the NF-S12 series moves more air by a wide margin. It generally blows away every other version and even beats out the larger size fans. The only place this fan was slightly beat out was in sustained air pressure.Basically this fan had slightly lower numbers in sustained air pressure output because of the aggressive angle of attack these blades have but generally unless you are placing this fan rite up against a very restrictive air flow environment like say a densely packed set of fins for a cpu cooler. The slight air pressure deficiency won’t ever become an issue. Keep in mind that it wouldn’t even become a factor unless the fan began to build air pressure in its operating environment. Something that shouldn’t happen with case cooling fans if you are doing it rite. Matter of fact. Noctua uses the higher air pressure output variant fans on there line of coolers. So, perfect example of how knowing your specs and operating environment can enable you to engineer a damn near perfect air flow profile for a given need/situation/preference.ORIGINAL REVIEW:NF-S12A FLX - is the fan I ordered and before I ever installed it. I hooked it to a 12.5v constant power source and spun it up in free air at full power. NOT A DAMN SOUND! Completely silent. A mouse fart would have broke the silence. On top of that. The cfm output is astonishing. Just keep in mind. The fan may be silent but what it pushes air through or past can still create noise. Think strategically. I had two silenX fans go bad after about 13 years in a old rig I use for basic stuff ( the one pictured ) so I figured I’d try these out as a test for my new rig I’m currently planning out. I was blown away by the amount of air flow in and out of the case. Again, the fan may be silent but if the case is not conducive to smooth air flow, you can still experience noise. So using the limiting adapters may be a good idea if you experience this.Case and point. These are the best fans I’ve used or experienced in my life. Combine that with a VERY aggressive angle of attack from the blades, which is difficult to sustain airflow and keep unwanted volumes down. You can see on the fan blades and inside the fan housing. The little dips and dimples added to counteract the negative effects of that given aggressive blade angle and speed. The engineering and time that went into making these the best fans on the market. that is what elevated them to the amazing status in my book. You know the technical details.Just do your research. Study the specs and with a little forethought. You can get all the cooling muscle you want and need and keep everything super quiet at the same time.

I'm using this fan in a pretty non-traditional manner as an exhaust fan for my composting toilet. The fan must run silently, 24/7, and be able to pull air through a 3"x6' duct. This fan performs admirably. I hooked it up to a simple, two-prong "DC Motor PWM Speed Controller" and it's perfect! I can adjust the speed easily and don't notice any off-effects. It's then wired directly to a 12v battery bank.As previously mentioned, this fan runs 24/7 and is just a few feet away from my bed. With the PWM controller, I am able to drop the fan way down so that the noise is *barely* above ambient. If I need extra exhaust, I can crank it up to max and it still runs whisper quietly - much softer than any other exhaust fan I've used. And at any power level, it pulls enough air to keep the composting toilet vented & dry.It comes with a good handful of electrical adapters as well. I could cut up one of the adapters to attach to the PWM controller without destroying the hardwired connectors into the fan. Perfect!!

Got a 4000D Case for airflow and already had 2 of these fans when I upgraded and they are less than half as noisy as the ones from Corsair

You need to "tap" the screw holes in the corners before mounting. The 4 ->3 pin connector too loose, wouldn't stay connected to motherboard.

I bought two of these fans to use in place of a duct fan because each fan running full on handles 107 CFM, so 214 CFM combined and they are virtually silent. I used angle magnet brackets from Lee Valley to mount them in the rectangular duct and because of their vibration dampers they have no vibration and are much cheaper to run than AC fans. I picked Noctua because of their stellar reputation. Two fans side to side fit a 4x10 duct. I use a duct I built in under floor to ceiling bookcases to pull heated air from a Direct Vent gas fireplace in a surround 10 feet away. Huge difference in circulating the air. I added a small power supply to power the units and I am adding a thermostatic controller to automatically turn them on and off. The overall solution is half the cost of a fireplace squirrel cage fan, way quieter, cheaper to operate (12V), and if Noctua's MTBF data is correct they will outlast me.

The fan is quite silent at full speed but it becomes very silent at reduced speed.For radiator fan or some cases where the airflow is not very good,i would recommend getting a fan with better static pressure.Installation is easy.All i all,i am very satisfied with this purchase and i recommend this fan if you need a good case fan.

Oh oh oh! Where to start? First of all, I can't believe theses fans are only twice the price of some of the more cheaply made fans we viewed for sale. We received the 6 year online warranty from the company before we even received the fans. Absolutely amazing and impressive-this company knows how to add the wow factor. The fans themselves arrived within two days and we are in a rural community. We purchased these not for a computer but for our motor home to cool the back of our RV refrigerator and replace the very cheap and oh so noisy fan in the bathroom. The fans take minimal power and are so quiet we weren't certain they were working when we put them in for the refrigerator ( we put in two on a perforated L bracket using the rubber anti vibration plugs that come with the fans and it was easy as pie) and the one in the bathroom we just switched out the old RV fan of the same shape and size and bolted the Noctua in the existing bracket. These displace a lot of air and we opted to not use the low noise and ultra low noise adaptors so we could get the full 1200 rpms. You can get a slower speed by incorporating the adapters if you like, but we wanted maximum airflow and as they only run on a single speed depending on your needs we opted for the full blast. Noctua makes a wide selection of fans for different applications so if you are considering this type of application, these babies are perfect. Even the boxing these came in were top quality! I wish these people made cars and houses and computers and and and-lol. You won't be sorry you spent the extra 12 bucks over a cheaper fan

I would be willing to lose a finger to avoid constant noise. This keeps my fingers and house at bay. We all end up like winners. If you don't like the colours then you probably don't need to be this cool and quiet.Inner and outer fan peace!

I used this product to add an intake fan on my Dad's computer chassis. I was very surprised by how utterly quiet it was. It was easy to install and comes with a healthy amount of extras, like low noise adapters, anti-vibration mounts, and an extension cable.Rated at a max of 1,200 RPM you may be looking for something with a bit more power, but according to the figures I've read on Noctua's website, this unit is able to displace just as much air as many of its faster counterparts. However if your are after static pressure optimized fans Noctua offers better options than this unit. This model is an excellent chassis fan.Note: this unit uses a 3-pin fan header, these do work with 4-pin headers but in order to control the speed you will have to use the included low noise adapters. Although in my opinion you will probably not need to use the low noise adapters since even at its max 1200RPM the fan is extremely quiet.