I've been pondering a fan upgrade too... New workstation currently has 'placeholder' ARCTIC P14 PWM PST but they 'sing'. They run mostly at 500-600rpm at idle, and they have a noticeable 'cycle' which can be irritating...
I've been pondering Noctua but there seems to be a growing agreement that they aren't worth the money... So I'd love to have more candidates!
Also, I couldn't find any 'wider' fans.... My case is *huge* and quite frankly the front fans could be 40mm and it wouldn't be a problem at all
As always, it's depends on what you're after and what case you are trying to fit them into.
As for the Noctua's, if it's not the A14x25 G2's - don't bother with them (older A14), they're (A14) totally outclassed by other fans since many years ago. If you're going to grab Noctua, the A14x25 G2's is where it's at.
As for them (A14x25 G2) being not worth the money, that's also dependant on your goal(s) and situation - as if you're a silence freak but want the best airflow, it will be those G2's. Sure, some will say you can get "good enough" with cheaper alternatives. And that's true. But more often than not, "good enough" is opinion based (subjective to the final user at hand). If you're lucky enough to still have excellent hearing, then the "good enough" aalternatives may not be at that point "good enough" and the G2's all of a sudden become very much worth the money. However, if your hearing is not like it used to be (age, or misuse of them, etc) then definitely go for alternatives, as more often than not, the loss of the hearing you'll have experienced would mean you won't detect the differences the fans have to make a difference.
Even minor differences matter, otherwise there wouldn't be preffered ones even amoungst the alternatives. But in this case, just keep the G2's in mind if you find that the alternatives you try aren't "good enough" an alternative.
Personally, I've had the A12x25's for some 6 years now and always loved them, as the secondary rig I have is kitted out with Arctic P12's and even has bafflers around it to dampen the sound produced, yet when I boot it up remotely and run it for stuff, even though it's some 6-8 feet away from me, whilst my main rig is only 2 feet away from me, the secondary rig can be heard very clearly over my main rig. This despite having half the fans and running at the same rpm. For me, when I upgrade later on, I'll be grabbing the G2's for the new system as I've tried the alternatives that are "good enough" for others, they're just not "good enough" for me. (cursed super hearing
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