Noctua NF-A12x15 PWM, Premium Quiet Slim Fan, 4-Pin

Best fans out there. Price is not cheap. These slim fans move a lot of air compared to the competition. Nothing negative about the build quality. Bought these for my first ever sff build and I'm really happy with the performance. Different cable lengths available. Doesn't vibrate or make noise when installed. Acceptable noise until you run it at max speed.

My Onkyo TX-NR7100 was constantly hitting triple digits (Fahrenheit), so a cooling solution was definitely needed. I’m equally not fond of the aesthetics of just placing fans over the receiver’s exhaust vents (I needed front exhaust anyway) or the prices of the much more visually appealing Infinity AIRCOM products, so it was DIY time. There are plenty of less expensive fans that I could have used, but I feel like Noctua brings a little more to the table than the others and I was still able to make this for half the cost of a front exhaust AIRCOM S10. Any other fan would have required a PWM control or adjustable voltage power adapter to reduce RPMs for quieter operation, but Noctua had me covered with the included LNA (low noise adapter) cables that drop the noise level down to a whisper quiet 34 dBA (combined) while providing solid airflow at 83 CFM (combined). I can faintly hear the fans from my main listening position that is 12’ from the receiver if the room is perfectly quiet, but that noise completely disappears at even the lowest volumes I listen to. The cooling is excellent with the highest temp I’ve seen with my laser thermometer being about 89F with the receiver’s volume up to 65 (which is the loudest I ever go), but most often the temp stays around 83F-84F, which is pretty much ideal. Exceptional materials and build quality, excellent airflow to noise ratio, a 6-year warranty, and the insane 150,000 hours MTBF made these fans an easy choice for my project.

Haven't tested the radiator fan-temp, but on full speed, it is a bit noisy than 1350rpm Arctic F12, which I give 5 stars without hesitation.The air flow is concentrated comparing with Arctic F12, which feels like a ring air flow. I did feel the air pressure is a tad stronger at full speed.To be honest, if Arctic makes 15mm fans, I will not buy this one, because Arctic fan gave me good experience, and also provides 6 years warranty.Only reason to buy this was because I need to put 360 radiator into Define C TG, but there is not much space for regular 25mm fans.All things putting aside, this fan is excellent, only con would be the high price. However,You will get some spitter/extender cables, so considering those prices, it is fine. It is more like a fan combined with some accessaries sold for a relatively high price.Very quiet, very quality build, soft pads are big pluses.One more thing I noticed was when it is running at full speed, fan blades are invisible, which is interesting. I like it. Maybe that's the reason it used such color.I didn't plan on this review, so it is completely write as I think.Finally, I decided to change 4 stars to 5 stars.It is expensive, but everything else related to a fan is satisfying.I only have one fan, so I cannot test the radiator performance, so I will skip that.Final thoughts:For my current build, a relatively large case, I tend to use Arctic fans for 800-900rpm which return a really good temp result with almost no noise at all.If I need to build a tight small form case, I will definitely go with this one.Quietness is the only important thing for me. Otherwise, there are tons of cheap fans provide similar performance with jet engine noise.

I replaced the stock fan in a Scythe Big Shuriken 3 cooler. The old fan had dried out the bearings and was starting to fail. This is a gradual process and I just hadn't noticed until my temps crept up to 95c. This fan is faster, quieter, and moves much more air. This is mounted in a SG11B-USA case. I was able to turn the fan upside down so it blows air upwards, away from the CPU and directly into the power supply, which is less than 1" away. The CPU is much cooler than it ever was with the stock fan and the noise level is so low I can't hear it. I'm seein 46c idle and 55c when compressing video now. I'm not using the low noise cable.