Noctua Fans, do they perform or just another scam?

[UncleJT]

These days, everyone is claiming "our fan is the quietest and highest output fan ever created". However, we all know few live up to this claim. As I was browsing the various mod stores, looking for red fans to go with my new color scheme, I happened across these Noctua designed fans. Now, supposedly this Noctua dude is a world famous CPU cooler designer but I have never heard of him. However, I haven't been following this stuff for a number of years.

Basically, are these fans any good?

- JT

[alexk]

Well, I don't really see what's so special about them (and what would justify their high price) aside from the color... "sound-optimized blade design" sounds like a typical marketing BS (I've seen plenty of fans which claimed that, especially SilenX fans - in my practice they were no different in terms of silence as fans with "normal" blades). As for fluid bearing, plenty of fans have it nowadays (Arctic Cooling, Panaflo, Scythe). But if you really like the color and the price is affordable for you, then perhaps you should try them

[UncleJT]

Actually, this color doesn't match my scheme. I just happened upon them as I was searching for red fans. My new scheme is mostly black and red. The white frame on these would kind of clash.

However, if they do actually perform well I wouldn't mind paying for them to try for myself. But it is probably all marketing hype as usual.

Edit: I've always been an old school Panaflo and Sunon person. But if I can find something else decent that is red or red and black I wouldn't mind.

- JT

[burebista]

Have fun. Or, have fan?

[UncleJT]

Huh, I'm a bit surprised by that review.

"The best fan of the bunch was the Noctua, which overcame our skepticism and lived up to its hype by producing more airflow at lower speeds. Its airflow-to-noise ratio is its best feature, which gives it enough of an edge to make up for its slightly rougher noise character. The Noctua has seen recommendations around the web, and we have no qualms about adding our own to the list."

Edit: However, I wish they would have tested the 80mm ones as those are the ones I am interested in. I need a total of 3 80mm fans.

- JT

[alexk]

You might consider something like these models, I've heard good things about them (in terms of performance:noise ratio):
http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=75026
http://www.coolermaster.com/index.ph...20%20x120%20mm

Note that CoolerMaster fan has a sleeve bearing type, which might not last as long as other type of bearings (such as regular ball bearing or fluid bearing). I personally have one of the Antec's TriCool fans (it's black, though) and have no complaints with its performance or noise.

Edit: if you need a 80mm fans, both of these fans I linked are available in 80mm size too.

[UncleJT]

I'd be willing to try the 120mm Noctua if I needed a 120mm fan. However, from what I can tell, the 80mm version doesn't seem like a very good fan.

Alex: Thanks for those links, I've got those on the list.

Right now I am researching these Thermaltake A2367 fans. The colors would match my scheme perfectly and the price is very attractive... 4-pack for $12.

I'm not looking for ultra quiet, I can live with a little bit of noise so long as they move enough air and it doesn't buzz.

- JT

[alexk]

Originally Posted by burebista

Have fun. Or, have fan?

I really wouldn't trust their reviews since they only test a single fan of specific model, which is not a real-life representative of how ALL of the fans of that specific model will perform For example, they talk about Antec's TriCool fan and they say something about "chuffing noise" at its lowest speed - I have that fan too in my case and it doesn't produce any weird or any noticeable noises at all when running at lowest speed, which might simply mean that they simply got a defective sample (which can happen any time regardless of the brand). Here's another example: I bought a few AC 92mm fans, at the same place and at the same exact time, same exact model. When I received them and plugged them in, I immediately noticed that one of them was making the intermittent, highly annoying wooshing noise (you can call it "chuffing" or whatever), the other fans in this batch sounded perfectly normal, without any intermittent noises of any kind.

[UncleJT]

Fans are probably one of those components that are impossible to review properly because each one in a batch can have differing qualities from the next.

*shrugs*

- JT

[jonnyGURU]

Originally Posted by UncleJT

Fans are probably one of those components that are impossible to review properly because each one in a batch can have differing qualities from the next.

*shrugs*

- JT

Shouldn't.

A fan motor is designed to run at a certain RPM at a particular voltage. The design of the blades, number of blades, etc. dictates how much air it moves at that RPM. There should be minimal variance between two fans of the same make/model.

What makes buying a fan based on what the label alone says is that not all fans are giving you dBA or CFM ratings at full voltage. And if the fan is thermostatically controlled, what's the rated curve of that fan? It ramps up to what RPM at what temperature and how loud is it at that RPM?