Which Noctua fans to buy?

BH1983 · 14 Oct 2020 at 13:17

Hi guys,

I was recently considering updating my case from the Corsair R200 however I need a 5.25" bay and there is nothing else on the market I like the look of so have decided to stick with the R200 for now.

I'm running a 3800x cooled by a Corsair H80i V2 and want to try and make sure I'm getting the best temps possible so I am going to upgrade the fans both on the cooler and in the case.

Question, should I be using different fans for the radiator on the cooler vs on the case? I'm looking at the Noctua NF-A12x25, will these work well as case and radiator fans?

My fan config is currently:

x 1 120mm intake fan on the front of the case
x 1 240mm outtake fan on the side of the case
x 2 120mm fans attached either side of the radiator pulling air in from the case and exhausting it from the rear

Seeing as I'm sticking with this case for the foreseeable I want to ensure the components are as cool and quiet as possible.

Hakanese · 14 Oct 2020 at 14:08

You should be looking at fans with a "high" static pressure for radiator fans, or if you will have the airflow impeded by something like a heavy mesh cover, "high" airflow for fans that have no impedence. Is there any particular reason you want just Noctua, or are you open to other brands?

BH1983 · 14 Oct 2020 at 14:27

Hakanese said:
You should be looking at fans with a "high" static pressure for radiator fans, or if you will have the airflow impeded by something like a heavy mesh cover, "high" airflow for fans that have no impedence. Is there any particular reason you want just Noctua, or are you open to other brands?

My reason for choosing Noctua is because from everything I've read/watched they seem to be the best in terms of cooling performance vs noise, but I would be open to others.

Armageus · 14 Oct 2020 at 14:35

For almost £100 less Arctic P12 PWM PST are a no brainer - they perform very well, and are very quiet.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

4 x Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM Fan - 120mm= £29.99 = £119.96
4 x Arctic Cooling P12 PWM PST Black Fan - 120mm= £5.95 = £23.80

Total: £152.46 (includes shipping: £8.70)

BH1983 · 14 Oct 2020 at 14:47

Armageus said:
For almost £100 less Arctic P12 PWM PST are a no brainer - they perform very well, and are very quiet.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

4 x Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM Fan - 120mm= £29.99 = £119.96

4 x Arctic Cooling P12 PWM PST Black Fan - 120mm= £5.95 = £23.80

Total: £152.46 (includes shipping: £8.70)

Optimum Tech have a great video that put these head to head and the P12's performed very close to the Noctua's so thanks for the recommendation, will take a closer look at them!