NoctuaNF-P12 PWM, Premium Quiet Fan, 4-Pin (120mm, Brown)

I have tried about ten different fans in my Corsair Obsidian 550D case to cool down my newly built computer. The three Corsair fans that come already installed are quite quiet but they don't move much air. It seems that fans that move a lot of air have higher RPM and therefore also produce more noise. Some manufacturers including Noctua deal with this by including step down resistors to decrease the RPM which also decreases the volume of air they are capable of moving. Almost any fan if you get it to run slow enough will be quieter. Fortunately this fan running at it's full 1300 RPM is still very quiet AND moves a lot of air.So what other fans have I tried?Corsair CO-9050009-WW AF140 Quiet Edition High Airflow FanGelid Gamer FN-FW14B-12 140mm Fan CoolerCougar Vortex HDB CFV14H 140mm Case FanSilenx IXP7618 iXtrema Pro Fan - 120mmSilenX EFX-12-15 120mm Effizio Quiet Case FanCougar Vortex PWM CFV12HP 120mmCorsair SP120 Quiet Edition CO-9050005-WWEnermax T.B.SILENCE 120mm UCTB12PCooler Master R4-L2R-20AC-GP Case Fan - 120mmAerocool Silver UV Frame 120mm Case FanThe Cougar CFV12HP moves a lot of air but it isn't as quiet as the Noctua and when using PWM to slow it down, it emits a high pitched noise. The Corsair Quiet Edition fans were not that quiet at full RPM and when they were slowed down, didn't move a lot of air. I am running my Noctua case fans at full RPM and they are pretty quiet.My computer has an Intel Core i5 3570K overclocked to 4.5GHz on an ASRock Z77 Extreme6 motherboard. The highest temp my cpu reaches is 109 F under load with an Enermax ETD-T60 T.B.SILENCE CPU Cooler (Down Flow)with the stock Enermax fan replaced (due to noise) with a Noctua NF-F12 PWM premium fan running at 1200 RPM. Sitting right next to the computer all you can hear is the slight sound of air - VERY QUIET!

I purchased 4 Noctua fans in Jan 2017 for my server. 3 are working fine now 27 months later. 1 broke in February. I still give them 5 stars as:1) they do feel of good quality and i'm generally very happy with them, low noise, air movement etc. all good2) problems occur but when they do, does the mfg stand behind the product 6 year warranty? Yes they do.I'm happy.My only, and i mean only constructive criticism - the process for the warranty replacement is a bit reactive, reflexive vs a proactive focus of getting a customer back up and running immediately. Specifically, I sent a warranty request, they responded and asked for more info (serial number), then they wrote back wanting a photo of the fan disabled and the letter in the photo (all fine). Then they placed the order for the replacement which came a week later. So If my server was down due to the fan breaking, it would be off-line for 1 to two weeks. I get the reason for the process but it would help if they just told you up front what to provide to accelerate a ligit replacement.Again, i'm happy and I would and have bought more of their products.

The Noctua website shows a NF-P12 PWM fan, and a NF-P12 fan. When I ordered a pair of these fans, one that I got was the NF-P12 PWM. The other one was actually a NF-P12 that does not support PWM (fan speed control) from the motherboard. The PWM model does. The non-PWM fan I got had a sticker on it that said PWM IC (whatever that means). But it has a 3-pin connector. The 4-pin connector it refers to is just a power plug.The actual NF-P12 PWM only has a 4-pin connector for the motherboard that will transmit the speed control from the motherboard.So if you want the actual NF-P12 PWM, you might get that if you order this product, you might not.So this review is not really a review on the quality or suitability of the fan, it is a review of the way it is labeled, and what is or isn't shipped by the supplier.The supplier for my order was "Cool Tech PC". This fan now appears to be supplied by Tyler Direct, so Tyler may be a different supplier.Update 1/24/2013I changed my rating from two stars to 5 stars because the previous supplier (Cool Tech) sent me a wrong fan with unclear labeling, but the current supplier (Tyler) has sent me the correct fans (PWM), no problems. So the rating applies to Tyler now.Also, the fans themselves are wonderful. They run at a whisper at full speed, and really quiet at lower speed. Easy to install.

I bought 3 of these to put in my H440 as front intakes to improve airflow past the hard drive cages as well as the full PWM control they offer, and they have certainly delivered and then some. Simply put, these fans push a lot of air and until they really ramp up (which is rare), they are pretty quiet. I can hear them if I really try to, but that's if I lean towards the case and shut off all other sources of noise. I like these fans so much that when I moved the build into the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX TG case, I moved the fans into the intake spot in the front again.Sure, they're ugly, but from where I'm sitting, I can't see them and the cooling they provide is great, particularly since neither case is the best for airflow. I definitely recommend them if you want to increase airflow but keep the noise down. If my X62 Kraken wasn't so finicky about anything but stock fans, I'd consider putting Noctuas on my AIO.

This is one fan that makes me glad my HAF 912 case does not have a window. It is ugly, but also very quiet. The packaging is very classy and reminiscent of a high end headphone box. It comes with a y-cable and two extensions, one short and one long, to help with wire management. The actual fan seems solidly built with no play that I can find anywhere.The box claims that the fan blades are a special design which reduce noise and change the tone of the fan. That's right folks, these fans even sound classy. And they had better for $20. That's the only reason I must give this fan a 4 star review. The solid build quality, expertly sheathed wires, and silent operation are all enthusiast features and this is an enthusiast price. I spend a lot of time around my computer, so the upgrade made sense for me.