Noctua NH-U12S Black Replacement Fan?

Wing Fat · January 4, 2015

I am going with a NH-U12S for my new build and I'm thinking of getting one of Noctua's black fans to replace the beige-colored fan that comes with the U12S just for asthetic reasons. I'm not sure which to get though, the fan is supposed to be an "NF-F12" but Noctua has multiple fans under that designation. Would this be an appropriate choice? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608053&cm_re=NF-F12-_-35-608-053-_-Product

The fan that comes with the cooler spins at max 1500 RPM while the one I linked to spins at 2000. I assume the extra 500 RPM won't hurt anything, but I just want to make sure I'm getting an appropriate fan to use on a heatsink.

skullbringer · January 4, 2015

the black one spins faster and is therefor slightly louder, but it wont be a dramatic change. If you hook it up to the cpu fan header it will adjust automatically to the same level anyways. alternatively you can use the included low noise adaptors.

FoxHound · January 4, 2015

The fan that comes with the cooler spins at max 1500 RPM while the one I linked to spins at 2000. I assume the extra 500 RPM won't hurt anything, but I just want to make sure I'm getting an appropriate fan to use on a heatsink.

It should work great and provide more cooling at max RPM. Its a PWM fan so it should be compatible with your motherboard CPU fan header.

WoodenMarker · January 4, 2015

The combined cost isn't worth it. You might as well just get a different cooler to begin with.

DerBernd · January 4, 2015

The industrial ppc are very much overkill for asthetics. Get a cheaper one from another manufacturer.

Regarding the combined cost: You end up with a spare Noctua case fan so that is not too shabby. But I think there are other CPU coolers with similar heatsink asthetics with a black fan. That might be a better option unless you are a die hard Noctua fan fan.

The industrial PPC are loud in comparison to brown/beige Noctuas. I think they mean the industrial thing literal, as in: not intended for home use.

McMurderMonkey · January 4, 2015

Yeah, that particular fan would work, but I would personally just get something that meets my performance expectations and also looks good to begin with.

Phaewryn · July 3, 2015

I was thinking the same thing. Can you update on what you did, and how it worked out for loudness? I, too, am a Noctua fan fan looking for something a bit more attractive in a new build. I wish someone (hint hint) would re-do the Noctua NH-U12S cooler review with the new fan options (Industrial and Redux) in place on it for comparison. I'm more than willing to pay the cost, what I'm not that willing to do is hear a huge noise increase. I'm thinking I can re-use the stock fan that comes on the cooler in the old computer with a much cheaper heatsink that accepts any 120mm fan (trying to rationalize buying a cooler with a fan that is both expensive and that I don't need/wont use). My old computer has a stock intel cooler (775) but all brown/tan noctua fans in the case already, so all I need to do is find a cheap cheap 775 heatsink that holds any 120mm fan to rationalize this totally illogical decision. Right?

Steve N. Mavronis · July 4, 2015

Last month I wrote Noctua and asked: "Can the NF-F12 industrialPPC-2000 PWM fan be a substitute for the NF-F12 fan that comes with the NH-U12S heatsink cooler?"

Noctua's reply: "Yes, in this case the F12 iPPC fans are basically a drop-in replacement as they are based on the same F12 design, just with different details (motor, speed, color)."