Noctua NF-F12 Review - Noctua's most useless fan

[@Ayaku_ouille]

The purpose of this fan is having good static pressure. Not airflow.

[@Dorraj]

So does that mean it's best for a tower cooler? Would it perform better on a tower cooler compared to the A12?

[@bofasofa9399]

@@Dorraj The A12 seems to perform better in every circumstance. The F12 can be used on radiators, but the A12 is still good for radiators and is better for tower coolers than the F12.

[@Dorraj]

@@bofasofa9399 Interesting. Just begs the question of why they sell anything other than A12s lol

[@itsprod.472]

@@Dorraj I dunno Noctua still sells their outdated designs repackaged as the Redux series which is their cheap entry line but I would say the A series is worth it more than even the F series it’s just better in every aspect the price difference isn’t that high

[@EnderPrinceLive]

@@Dorraj for different uses, a12 is a middle ground of the 3, it will do above average in everything. But the f12 is specifically ment for pressure and will do better on radiators and cpu coolers, while the nf-s12a will do best as a case cooler.

[@ZenTunE-]

I got these for one reason: The frame on the backside looks a lot cooler than other noctuas. I got them for the side intake on my O11D Mini because those are really the only fans that you see the back side of :D

[@frostybrew13]

good idea !

[@chrism2964]

Sorry but you're wrong. The F12 is best for radiators, and the temperature drop I experienced compared to the A12 proves it. Furthermore as your dust filters get dirtier they work even better compared to the A12. I moved the A12 fans to case positions, and they are good of course, but the F12 is best for the AIO radiators.

[@brandoneverett3418]

THIS. They are good for directed airflow because of the vanes on the back of the fan, which is what makes them good for radiators. Coincidentally, they also make good intake fans depending on the case, and where they are placed.

[@morgan3625]

what about noise?

[@chrism2964]

@@morgan3625 neither make much noise.

[@f.e.dzerzhinsky]

​@@morgan3625Quiet. Allso the pitch makes them blend in, it's the classic "Noctua sound." I have 2 F12 and 1 A12 intake push through a 360x45 rad on the front of a very heavily meshed/slatted case (Fractal's Define 7 XL).+ 3 F12 pull exhaust on a 360x58 rad on top. Fan curves on all 6 have the fans at 640-700 until the Tjmax - 15, and 99% of the time I don't hear them. When they spool up, F-model's curves are below the A's, so fewer RPM's and less noise for the same perf. That said, don't run out swapping what you have for them. I bought them expressly for my rads and reused the one A12 and the one F12 I had lying around from tower coolers. 99% of the time, the A12 is as quiet and has the same pitch as the F12s. Recycle old fans, save the planet. 😉

[@maculikurkin4544]

Should I buy the nf-f12 or the NF-A12x25? @@chrism2964

[@Iridiumcosmos]

They work great cooling my monstrous 5900X (they’re setup on a radiator). My temps at most when gaming average around 65 degrees. Now when I’m playing NFS: MW 2012 which for some reason loves to boost processors. They keep the CPU at 75 degrees steadily so they do the job just fine. At least in my rig.

[@STSYT]

Nice temps though

[@allisknu11]

Static pressure and great for their Noctua CPU heatsinks. Pairs well with the Noctua NH-U12S. CPU temps are impressive.

[@FromTheHood]

Well I'm buying one for my CPU heatsink and I'll add another one when I switch to 240 AIO, 'cause, great pressure / low noise.

[@STSYT]

Sure, you do you. But the A12x25 would probably be better.

[@FromTheHood]

@@STSYT I agree but two of those are 70 euros. They aren't really cheap. 😄

[@Deviantsoundz]

noctua should cosider dropping a bunch of their models. They were top notch years ago but they haven't really progressed in a long time.

[@stanisawkowalski7440]

It's just 11 years old fan. Fan industry move forward really slow, but ten years here is like another age - there're no good fans that old. Maybe with an exception of even older Gentle Typhoon, which seems to be just ultimate 120x25mm fan design (looking at everybody now trying to improve it even further, but not being way better). Btw some big shootout of Gentle Typhoon & It's Copycats would be nice video from you (starring NF-A12x25; Wonder Snails; Adata and Corsair something; Silent Wings 4; probably Thermalright and more I forgot about :D )

[@nirantali]

The greatest Joke was the NA-SAC1 to connect Fans directly to Molex. Wanted to use with an NF-F12, but it's useless, because NA-SAC1 is 3-Pin to Molex and NF-F12 is 4-Pin, and there's no 3 to 4-pin adapter. It's like if they wanted to annoy you, why not make the NA-SAC1 4-pin then you could connect them, else include a 4 to 3-adapter. lol

[@toast1797]

The F12 should have been discontinued or made into redux when the A12X25 came out

[@oliknow]

So? The NF-F12 is an older design that is still usable for a lot of things. The F12 did not get worse just because a new product came. kinda pointless video since Noctua even has performance graphs and recommendations on the product pages.

[@STSYT]

We never found a moment where that’s the case. Although your statement is true in general, compared to nowadays, there is just no reason for it to exist anymore. It’s beaten by anything Noctua offers nowadays

[@Daniel8x8]

STS, i have 3x NF-F12 on front of my pc case, u think better to change it?

[@potatoes5829]

No. You already have the fans, no need to change them out for something that is at most, ~5-10% better

[@PocketsandOutlaw]

So they're more expensive than A12x25ss but pretty much inferior in every way? I got them because they were marked down and thought it was a good deal, but now I'm having second thoughts. For an intake with a dust filter, would the A12x25s be better than the F12s?

[@Iridiumcosmos]

I have my F12s setup on my radiator cooling a behemoth 5900X. Honestly, if you’re getting good temps with them. Don’t bother throwing more money away at an A12.

[@josefpoth8984]

Based in ur experience, where the F12 PPC 2000rpm will be fit in the rank?

[@Maatig]

In my own humble opinion I would like to state that all noctua's mainstream fans are useless except for one. If you look at 120mm fans, buy the Arctic P12 which are only 6 usd. "But I want the best fan!" is what people often say to this, well the Phanteks T30 outperforms every other challenger in noise normalised testing. If your case does not fit the extra 5mm in thickness then yes, the a12x25 makes sense to buy which is my previously mentioned exception. For 140mm: P14 beats everything else options while costing much less For 200mm: Any case that mounts these includes their own fans as far as I know. Its not worth replacing them Now there are smaller sized fans, which I did not cover because I do not consider them mainstream, but if that is what your looking for they are usually the best with the exception of 50mm where Fractal's fan takes the cake. :)

[@MATTE.U.K]

I like it because the minimum RPM can go 300rpm sub 500 pwm rpm is the sign of a really good fan. the nfa12 cant.

[@mniakan754]

I was wondering if these fans would be good as intake fans on a lian li lancool 2 mesh with no radiator

[@akujiwar]

How did you test. Can only assume you put the fans on the cpu cooler? What cooler? air? water?

[@STSYT]

We have a video explaining exactly that. It’s actually neither

[@florider_hd]

so it is good as a cpu cooling fan?

[@ItsNotFrey]

They are okay for heatsinks/tower coolers. But they perform the best with radiators/water cooling. You should consider the S12 if you're looking for case airflow or the A12X25 if you want an all-round great Noctua fan.

[@MrEricmopar]

I like this review, but I wish the new Silent Wings 4 HS was thrown in just for laughs.

[@STSYT]

Unforunately the video was recorded before the Silent Wing 4 came out

[@Kirbydreaming]

I am disappointed from this fan, using it as exhaust is really bad. The noise and the temps are just bad with this fan .... I hope it will be better if i change it with a front fan for example....

[@ManchmalGaming]

I like the NF-P12s more.

[@swag6710]

*most useless fan* bro i bought 7 of them for my pc you think I'm gonna change them back💀

[@digitalmike330]

Don't be butt hurt internet warrior. This is one TechTubers opinion, if it works for you, then it works fine.

[@stanisawkowalski7440]

Like most of the people thinking like just any Noctua's fan will be superior for any usage, because Noctua. When truth is Noctua's offer now is costing too much nothing special mixed with ancient and mediocre. You just pay premium for quality and Noctua. Better fans would just perform better, but if you're satisfied with yours, there's no need to change them - still better and more quality than random chinese garbage in AliExpress case ;)

[@Iridiumcosmos]

People are missing the fact that these are meant to be utilized on radiators/heat sinks. However, if they’re doing well in your case then no need to change them.

[@EnderPrinceLive]

@@Iridiumcosmos exactly if the dude actually read the page he was on instead of scrolling straight to the chart it says its ment for radiators and cpu coolers and recommends the nf-s12a for case fans

[@gustavmh8423]

dude did you see how restricted is the 011 evo without rads just as intakes they restricted AF ... so in that case the NF-F12 will do wonders

[@STSYT]

Sure, but I am yet to find anything restricted enough so that the F12 really makes sense