Noctua's NF-A12x25 - Magic on Radiators!

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Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM: amzn.to/2MpMm66
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[@volodymyrm.3848]

The normalized results are awesome! That's what each fan and case test should have!

[@strikye7]

very true

[@xjmnz]

4real

[@bananya6020]

what about gn

[@xavierbedouet2323]

You really make a great job at reviewing with precision with all real world scenarios in mind. Congrats ! Can't wait to see channel evolve on KZbin !

[@jkaustok]

THANK YOU for adding a chart that compares sound level to temperatures. In all honesty I think that's the most important chart that most fan comparisons leave out.

[@e2622]

This is a killer video man. You should be proud of the work you put in. Easily accessible, easily understood, plain to read. I know this is an old video but it's a good one.

[@ericvanree2385]

I really appreciate the quality of your videos. Keep up m the good work!

[@atticusrussell1225]

Hey today I was literally looking for info on EK Vardar fans on rads compared to Noctuas for a build of mine and this delivered! Perfect!!!

[@kaddasixseven3581]

I really appreciate those audio recordings of the fans. Soooo helpful.

[@socialistsuccubus822]

Another good thing about these fans is that the high RPM operation on thin radiators will push cooler air into the case for a rear radiator. Worth a thought with loop design!

[@mikemercenary6071]

This is the test review that should be done, clear and precise tests, so glad to find your channel. Just digging all your vids here :P

[@SIedgeHammer83]

Looks like I'm keeping NF-F12 PPC for quite a while. Thanks for uploading this video, you are the only person on youtube who compares it to NF-F12 which helps with my decision. Subscribed and shared.

[@optimumtech]

Artorias - glad you enjoyed, thanks for the support

[@slims2503]

You are right, i am really debating hard which one of these 2 fans to get for my rads. 1x60mm rad and 2 x45mm, i belive i can stick with the 3000rpm ppc as when they go into turbine mode they can remove a lot of heat. Also the ip stuff regarding dist modt likely is superior to the new A version. Though decision.

[@TryhardTechy]

i love these fans, they have the perfect blade design that i have been waiting for going on 7 years now. they are high performance beasts and probably Noctua's best fan yet. as soon as black versions of these come out i will be buying 4 of them for some killer push pull action on my H100i.

[@FlumenSanctiViti]

I confirm this test. I've been running Vardars for over a year now and recently replaced them for new Noctua's NF-A12x25's because of the noise they make. At full speed, Vardars do *slightly* outperform Noctuas, but they also run 200 rpm faster. However, noise is *significantly* lower with Noctuas! I only used my ears as a measurement, but they seem more than twice quieter. I couldn't be happier with Noctuas, even though they are *ridiculously* expensive. And just as he mentioned in the end of the video, if you need top of the line fans in a system that is sitting right next to you, new Noctuas are a must! Otherwise, you might consider some other fans, like Vardars.

[@Termiux]

Man everytime that I start one of your videos I feel I'm watching Hardware Canucks nice shots and editing 👌

[@Erksah68]

We need black a12x25 we really do.

[@cthulhu4606]

just paint them dude

[@vincentv.berchem2085]

@@cthulhu4606 does painting them lower the performance?

[@MrCaine69]

@@vincentv.berchem2085 O.o

[@Lukas-pj5ls]

@@vincentv.berchem2085 Just a bit

[@eLmY-ni4ye]

@@cthulhu4606 what spray should i use? Do you have any recomendations?

[@onionsonstilts]

This is as close to a perfect fan review as I can find, good job!

[@beanc2982]

"streamers could benefit from the quietest system possible as well, so it doesn't interfere with their scream" You made my entire morning, thank you! Can't wait to get my cooling setup started, this was very helpful!

[@GucciGamerTV]

I really liked that you had results for 500RPM in this testing. Especially since we can see here that the Noctua F12 can actually perform better in low RPM situations. As someone that like to run my case fans extremely low, seeing 500RPM results for fan tests is great!

[@cryptonymsslc]

This must've taken some time. Thanks for your hard work to show us these results!

[@wbwright79]

holy crap! you're always a step ahead of me for my whole build. in this case, 2 years ahead, lol. thx!

[@Rhamnusia]

Im sad that im dont see BQ's Silent Wings 3 fans in theese kind of videos. Anyway content is always top level, good job.

[@szeimanncsabi]

My thoughts exactly

[@G3rain1]

I have both Noctuas and Silent Wings 3. While the SW3 is very quiet, in fact nearly silent even at full speed, its air flow and static pressure performance are only mediocre at best.

[@Rhamnusia]

Geo in paper both should have the same or very close perfomance. Thx for the info anyway

[@Denois95]

According to thermalbench's reviews, the SW3's are THE objective best fans for radiator use with regards to performance / noise ratio in low - medium RPM ranges, or at least they were before the A12x25's came out. I would assume the A12'^s perform better.

[@JOHN-wm2on]

I wouldn't recommend silent wings 3 for radiators. The open fan frame design results in a loss of performance. Those types of frames are generally not recommend for radiator use.

[@patrickirsapoulle4977]

Thx for this review, I love these fans (noctua NF-A12x25 PWM), silent and impressive performances!

[@ksquared6000]

Thank you for your video. Still viable after 3 years. My rig: intel Core i7_8700K @ 3.70 GHz_6 cores - 12 threads, Kraken X62, NZXT stock fans, purchased latter part of 2018. I just replaced one of two NZXT rad stock fans due to fan failure, so stock fan life-span quality is not that great. On the upside, NZXT sent me 2 new stock fans...even after 3 years...so kudos to them! Fan operation is whisper quiet on silent mode, but audible on performance mode. Performance mode is not distracting or annoying, just audible. I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my rig and will be very unhappy when the bigger/badder/faster upgrade comes around. In the mean time, if any one of the stock fan(s) fail again, I'll be replacing them with another fan configurations until the upgrade life has been reached.

[@GuyFromJupiter]

You compete with gamers nexus and hardware unboxed in quality, but you test very relevant stuff that they never do. Well worth subscribing to. Keep up the great work!

[@Jerome-iwnl]

I recently upgrades my AIO fan to the nfa12, and it reduced my noise by half to my ears and even lowered the temps. The fan is magical!

[@jamestech9109]

This channel actually talks about computer stuff i want to know about. The other channels are hype blah blah 4090 rumors. Optimum tech hands down gives the most useful information.

[@spIette]

This is the comparison I was searching for. Thanks for taking the time to test those fans.

[@theforge4591]

Nothing beat the Puke Brown Fan from Noctua!!

[@philipbaker6516]

Thanks for the normalized dB testing!. This is what I like to see.

[@Bandit5317]

Great review. I noticed that you didn't use the radiator-mount rubber gasket that's included with the NF-A12s, though. Those may have improved performance even further.

[@MrLincoln87]

Hey Ali, would it be possible to do some testing on push/pull vs push+pull ? Noise normalized what would be better ? for example .. 4x fans at say 1200rpm, or 2 fans at 1600rpm ??

[@adeliokilcullen263]

8:07 My man has lost his io shield.

[@hakont.4960]

Or he does what I do and not install it in the first place.

[@ottrr_]

Great video! Thanks for the last test, that's very helpful and so few ppl do that. Do you think you could do a similar 140mm roundup video?

[@evergreenalba]

Wow those fans are insane! Hats off to Noctua for their innovation 😊

[@Layarion]

Those new Noctua ones have a strange hum to them

[@Joey-bq4hu]

Yeah, that A12x25 has a high pitch that I can't stand. Would rather have slightly louder but a lower pitch!

[@joaopelosi.]

Great vídeo! Would be nice to add the be quiet! fans in the comparison.

[@optimumtech]

If they'd be happy to send some over, I'd be happy to add them to the chart. I can only buy so many fans before I'm clinically insane.

[@atticusrussell1225]

Optimum Tech that would be fantastic!!

[@UCANTESCAPE1992]

These are so similar to the gentle typhoon AP series, close enough to call noctua out on copying the GT AP15. The AP15's we're the popular ones. Unbeatable noise levels and static pressure. I still use them to this day. They're now sold as AP53's I think.

[@goblinphreak2132]

gentle typhoons are garbage. just look at the stats. horrible performance. the noctuas blow them out of the water.

[@thejonathandoan]

This was awesome. Thank you for all the hard work put in! I'm using these to replace the RGB fans on my Cooler Master ML240R AIO because they're just too loud, and I want my computer to stay on the desk as it's really pretty and I paid a lot for aesthetics, but I need a fairly silent PC for audio recording. I'm also replacing the 140 mm rear exhaust fan with a Noctua NF A14 Chromax to round out the fan upgrade. I already updated the fan curve which helps a lot.

[@Time4House]

IM looking to do the same with that AIO. its really loud under load. did you manage to do the upgrade>?

[@thejonathandoan]

@@Time4House Oh yes. One of the best upgrades I've ever done. They're super silent and work like a charm! Worth it.

[@virtual9003]

It's very impressive how the Noctua's sounds at 15000rpm ! I actually have a PC with 3x120mm front, 2x120mm top and 1x140 back of bequiet! Light Wings and when they achieved something like 1100 rpm i can hear them a lot (which... is not quiet ?) Going to replace all of them for NF-A12x25.

[@sgtsixpack]

How about the redux version? Its 1700rpm max is half the price, it does have the old bearing but is at least grey/black. Also you should run the fans at full speed, which is where the IPCC fans will beat any other not running @ 3000prm. I have 3 set to respond to my X72's water temperature. They need a little fine tuning now that its summer. They also have the latest SSO2 bearing, and are more efficient at 2000rpm than 4 pole fans. They have the low speed accoustic tuning of a less sharp PWM pulse.

[@EssZee323]

Great info Thanks

[@Cheekymonkeytoday]

Seem's like other's in the comments were like me as this video has come out at the perfect time as I too I'm looking at replacing my fans on my 240 AIO, perfect timing, well done on the great video!

[@devilboykillz]

on mesify c. you can take front pannel off. cut the plastic lines out of it and put the radiator in it. looks way better and gives some extra room.

[@ahmedsolieman598]

That video is gold. Subscribed.

[@reginalb124]

I wish there was someone this thorough that didn't just do SFF! I'd love to see a comparison of the NF-F12 vs A12x25 with a thicc radiator.

[@Metalhead-4life]

The Noctua roadmap says the Black NF-A12X25's are coming out Q3 2020 which means any day now. You should contact Noctua & have them send you a couple of them for review

[@yuxianwang3238]

really looking forward to see be quiet silent wings 3 in this test

[@Dogzilla07]

Would be awesome if you could get a few more fans to compare like the Be Quiet! Silent Wings 3 120mm PWM high-speed, Phanteks PH-F120MP, Corsair ML120 Pro, the basic Thermaltake Riing 12 LED and Cooler Master Silencio 2400RPM (also know as NEPTON 120XL FP FAN) or atleast the 1400RPM version of the Silencio.

[@tubawest9768]

Wow, great review! Very revealing. Wasn't expecting that dB difference!

[@BeckOfficial]

There is a very slight audible difference between 800rpm and 1000rpm on the NF-A12x25. I found that with my 3 in the system 800rpm was the absolute sweet spot for silence. My phone tells me I have an ambient dB of 25 in my room with my PC on. That is really quiet! Do note that case also matters, and where it is placed and so on. 1000RPM is definatly not loud at ALL. I'm just extreamly picky. I have to hold my breath to actually hear the difference xD

[@8lack8bird]

Would be nice to see BQ included, as they're both living the same ethos.

[@Rucarlos]

I spent the last few days trying to find a comparison like this between stock radiator fans and Noctuas, this is even better than I hoped! Now is there any hope they're releasing a black Chromax edition of these new fans?

[@Mikkel111]

I noticed you didn't use the included silicone frame which helps further reduce vibration noise and air escaping before entering the radiator. I know it probably won't make the largest impact, but it'd be cool to know.

[@Netsuko]

Amazingly put together video. Thank you very much for all that effort and clear info! This was the first video I have seen from you, subbed right away! edit: BTW, that B-Roll material is done really well!

[@IndrasilDesignStudio]

Thank you for the outstanding review. I have a request though - could you please compare the NF-A12 to 140mm fans on a radiator the same way you did here?

[@goblinphreak2132]

noctua doesnt make sterrox 140mm fans yet. only in 120mm

[@terp02Andrew]

Finally a thorough review on these fans! I was hoping for Thermalbench to release their results, but seems like there's no ETA in sight for them lol.

[@Republic3D]

I've always chosen Noctua due to their performance in both temperatures and noise. They're simply the best.

[@sheek1982]

Great video sir! I've been tired of people acting as if Noctua fans out perform other fans by some crazy wide margin.

[@nicholasbrown4245]

I have these exhausting out the bottom of my NCase, and they are magic.. theyre dead silent and keep my Strix 1080ti maxed at 60c (I modded it by removing the shroud and fans). Great vid!

[@hunterlong1820]

Wait what? Removed the shroud and fans on what lol

[@megapro125]

I put 2 of the Noctua NF-F12 industrial fans in the 3000 rpm version on my radiator. They are blasting the air through that thing lol

[@shaneheimanjr9178]

I've watched quite a few of your videos and I'm terrible at actually listening to the end about liking afterwards and I feel bad for not liking every single one because you make great vids

[@bronzeagehuman]

If you have the possibility in the future, I suggest considering doing comparisons on 15mm fans since you already are invested in the SFF market in general. Either way, nice work.

[@KC-bg1th]

I have 14MM PPC case fans on a Fractal Define R5 (No window, has sound padding on side panel). I wouldn't get them unless you don't mind the volume.

[@tech_splitter]

excellent video and graphs man

[@MattTheriot]

Great video! Great to see reviewers taking a very scientific and well explained approach like Gamers Nexus.

[@StreekG]

Awesome, I have IPPC fans and yeah at 2000rpm they are very loud, I will be picking these up when they eventually make it to our shores

[@grlmgor]

I have the 3000 rpm 140mm IPPC fans and their like a jet engine at max.

[@Reedith]

I'd like to see this done with their new slim black fan. It's the only way you can water cool and use a full-size graphics card in the the fractal design meshify c

[@hungerxhunger]

Just what I was looking for! I’m going to swap out my aer p fans eventually

[@kanishka.b8550]

Nice..great.... thanks! Your content is good..Noctua is always amazing! Hats off to both

[@johnathancrotzer5491]

If you stepped up from an Intel i7. Ryzen actually puts out less heat according to ltt testing because amd expects full load and some boost clocks and Intel just trys to prevent thermal throttling

[@Peter-gb4ey]

I'm drooling over the new Noctua fans for my dream ITX build. Maybe get them for my current build that gets really hot and noisy. Yet, I'm a poor college student. 😢

[@ThisOrThat13]

2023 this is still hugely helpful information.

[@jondonnelly4831]

Great review, the performance at 2000rpm is just wow, thinking of getting 6 in push pull on 45mm 360 rad dedicated to cooling my 7920x at 4.7Ghz.

[@GrayFox370]

I really wanna see you try the Raijintek Morpheus 2 with Noctua 2x Noctua A12x15 slim fans in the Ncase M1 and compare that to the Accelero with 25mm fans.

[@oferkrupka]

*Don't like the brown shit color of the NF-A12x25?* Noctua said they are going to release Black version of it around Q1 2019. But it might be delayed because it's not a simple drop of color at 0.5mm clearance, the materials of the fan are delicate and any little change can cause the fan to touch the frame overtime.

[@tomwes8390]

Oferk99 Its a coffee and leather color. Not shit as shit is alot darker

[@Gungarr]

it depends on the shit x) and i understand his frustration to wanting to buy Noctua stuff but just can't because of the color.

[@oferkrupka]

generaldwarf Yep, it will ruin my beautiful build, and I don’t want to buy last gen fans. I’m better to wait for black NF-A12x25 and NF-A14x25

[@mdexterc2894]

It depends on how your food was digested. Noctua brown can mean healthy digestion, while pcb green can mean stomach flu. Case fan black can mean stomach ulcers, while AMD red can mean internal bleeding. If your poop is Intel blue, it probably means you live in Chernobyl and need to move out. If your poop is Zotac yellow, you probably ate too much corn. Finally, RGB lighted poop means you partied too hard and had too much drink Hope this helps

[@KillJD]

@@mdexterc2894 Lol! Nice one! Got a chuckle out of me.

[@user-eb9xz2vz8p]

Great job. Would be nice to see similar comparison for 140mm fans.

[@cootason]

Great video mate, was looking at these for the NZXT G12 to put on a small radiator in the near future.

[@koford]

cool test, before this.. i was actually looking for Noctua NF-F12... but seeing this video, might change my mind. The only and only reason i dont like.. is the colour. If this NF-A12x25 was the same as NF-F12.. then yea, totally buy it.

[@Alex25CoB]

thank you for the video, exactly what i was looking for :) !

[@bufftammy735]

Absolutely jaw dropping.... Oh the fans are okay too ;). I would also like to see BeQuiet fans vs Noctua's fans

[@grizzly6699]

I'd love to see the new NH- U12 and how it performs with those new A-12 fans. It's not listed on Noctua's website so i'd say it will be some time before they release it.

[@Amarushaya92]

Awsome quality video! i can just say the same those Fans are pure magic. i use 2 of them in my mini-Itx build ( Sharkon C10 ) to suck all the air truh my modded ( passiv cooled) gtx 1070. Im barely hitting 50 C on full load .. those Fans are insane.

[@Scoobydcs]

im about to put 13 or 16 (depends if i have the room to push/pull both rads) of these things into my new case!

[@chokysenge]

Great comparison! I can imagine it would definetly have yet more impact on a kraken x72 swapping 3 of these instead of 2. The sound on the x72 really annoys me on full load.

[@arfmf]

Thumbs up even before watching! That title was enough!

[@ydihtty]

Tbh I'd like to see a direct comparison between the NF-A12x25, Nidec Gentle Typhoon, and Arctic P12 fans.

[@FlesHBoX]

I've been quite happy with 8 120mm Noiseblocker M12s in my case. Great temps (typically under 45C under heavy load with two GPUs in the loop), and it's ACTUALLY silent, lol. The first time I fired it up, I thought I had missed the button, or forgotten to plug the fans in, it's that quiet.

[@mjaminian]

Great work, really. I love your sober voice and tone.

[@TheStigma]

Finally someone who does fan testing right! Good methodology and useful datapoints. The nf-a12 just seems insane... with dba being a logarithmic scale the other industrial f-noctua (an already exellent fan) is literally twice as loud at 1000rpm. At 2000 the nzxts are 4x as loud. Absurd... the gains have to be from the reduced turbulence right? Because aside from the tighter tolerances it doesn't seem like any major deviations from traditional noctua design. Is there anything that can even remotely compete with this currently? Now, just give me the black chromax versions of these and I will buy them so fast... The first thing I will do is probably take off the shroud of my GPU and mount these. Silent full-load gpu, yes please... and with noctua quality they will last for a good few gpu generations too :)

[@yoitsbryan1]

Definitely getting the a12s once ncase m1s are shipping again

[@FT099]

The best fan on the market. No competition.

[@icanthelplt90]

Hey, pretty sure you will never see this or care to comment on it, but i wonder what the performance of the slim a12x15 would be in comparison to these fans. Haven't seen anyone really try/comment and show testing with using them, but in SFF all the clearance you can get matters :D

[@ChrisPanton]

If the Noctuas came in black or even white, that'd be great. Went with EK Vardar RGB

[@jradish]

8:45 says r5 2700x instead of r7, but this video was absolutely amazing nice job

[@phaselaser]

also at 4:20

[@EnnTomi1]

this channel need MORE SUB !!!!!!! like 100X more !!!love this no BS, full info, solid evidence videos.

[@edgarsnezinu1439]

To use 1000 rpm i need voltage 1.45v so it will heat up but if you running 1.32v no point to have 1000 rpm only on max load and heavy gaming or editing you will reach 1000rpm or if you live in some Australia or Africa where you need massive rpm day to day usage not going heat up radiator

[@ulvidamirli2758]

high quality content as always! Big thanks!

[@AtakanArisoy]

09:10 From what I see here, the place where the heat comes out from the radiator is facing inwards. Wouldn't this cause a serious temperature increase inside the case? Fans cannot remove heat by pulling it out from here. Additionally, the exhaust fan at the back cannot drain the unnecessary heat inside. I don't understand why such a thing was done.

[@daviasdf]

Old video, but in hopes you see this: Radiator, if mounted vertically, should be oriented the other way around to prevent the pump from gurgling air. The opposite cap is designed to trap air but only works if you mount it in the opposite orientation. Will improve performance and reduce noise.

[@scottwangkl8882]

Do a case fan test like this but with fans from Arctic, Scythe, Noctua and be quiet! Although I already know Noctuas will be king again but will be good to have them as the highest bar to compare against

[@oreolamp5676]

One MAJOR thing you didnt control for is boost clock on the CPU. That SERIOUSLY effects the temps.

[@Pertamax7-HD]

Noctua powered