I know opinion on Noctua can be divide, but it seem like the have updated the design of the NF-S12A 120mm fan.

http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=presse_archiv&step=2&news_id=83&lng=en

Its got knobs now

Finaly S12A with PWM, I've been waiting for this for a long time! It will be pricey, but it's first fan that has a chance to replace my Slipstream PWM!

Hum, I wonder just how well it would fare in a restrictive environment i.e. a heatsink or radiator. It may shine best as a case fan. I need to look more into this one.

According to Noctua, its designed more for case fans and less restrictive environments: http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=whic ... _me&lng=en

BTW, has anyone seen these for less than $20 a piece? Cheapest I've seen is $20.95, but not sure I'm comfortable spending ~$60 for 3 fans to replace my perfectly good Slip Streams; however, the extra 30CFM and quietness would be nice...

Buy one, check it out, and report back

I just bought my first Noctua product, S12A.

My first reaction: why isn't Noctua more popular on SPCR??

I compared it with Slipstream PWM, probably the most popular PWM case fan around here. It totally blew it away!!

First things first, my PC:
Define Mini
1 exhaust fan (Slipstream, 350RPM idle, 450-500RPM full load)
3770 with HR-02 (passive)
2 SSD's
2.5' HDD in QuietDrive enclosure
Corsair HX450 with Kama PWM running at fixed 280 RPM (I can afford this, since my max power usage is 97W).

It has different duty cycle / RPM curve that Slipstream, so the first time I powered it on, it started spinning at around 560 RPM, compared to SS at about 350 RPM.

Strange thing, it wasn't louder than SS, and telling by my hand, it was obviously pushing more air.

I've been using SS for the last few years, and I really got to know this fan. Anything over 450-500 RPM was producing whoosh-ing turbolent noise that I could hear. I was really afraid to run Noctua at any faster speeds, but I must report, I can run NF-S12A at 550 RPM while prime95 testing, and I honestly cannot hear it.

So in conclusion, I can run this fan at faster speeds than Slipstream without hearing it, it pushes more air through and I have better CPU temperatures. I'm not sure if this makes sense, but it works!

I concur with you completely. Noctua fans are far more quiet and produce less vibration and even studier than others. Apart from them, they exhibit really nice and stable PWM characteristics. I have been brooding upon the reason from time to time and my conclusion is as follows: (i) Noctua fans are more expensive than others, which perhaps diminishes the performance to cost ratio. (ii) Noctua is not included as one of official sponsors of SPCR, hence their products are less reveiwed than other fans. (iii) Lastly, Noctua fans are truly quiet around relatively low rpms, e.g, 300-700 rpms, in which general readers are less interested than normal range, 700-1500 rpms. Only noise-obssessed people highly value silent operations at low rpms.

My temperatures dropped 7°C in idle (not really important), running it on 373RPM. They are about 5°C lower on full load at 550 RPM, but that doesn't matter for me. Slipstream was too loud at 500 RPM, but I can't hear Noctua fan at that speeds. My general rule is: if temperatures are in the "safe zone", that's enough. There's no point cooling CPU any more than that.

20€ for one fan is alot. They don't have best p/p ratio. I will keep recommending Slipstreams, they are really first fans that come in mind when somebody asks me about silencing PC's.

But if you are really enthustiastic about silencing PC, Noctua products might be worth the higher price tag.

It is not that we are noise-obsessed but that other people tolerate high noise, often because they think they have no choice except to endure unwanted sounds.

I have the Noctua NH-C14 CPU cooler after reading reviews about the cooler as well as the fan on this site, with some confirmation on other sites.

Btw, my current account is recent but I was member around the time when the P180 V1 was introduced and my current PC is the P180 with everything else replaced this summer.