Would changing fan really make a difference?

[Fatih19]

The case has a mesh front panel. Should I use an airflow-optimized fan or a pressure-optimized fan as the intake?

 

[Chris Pratt]

Airflow. Pressure optimized is for when there's obstructions, such as pushing or pulling air through a radiator.

[Fatih19]

I'm currently using the CoolerMaster Q300L which has an obstructed intake due to perforated steel and dust filter it has. So I bought the Noctua NF-P14S Redux 1500, because of the constricted intake. My case currently has 2 of them. After some years after building that PC, I'm thinking of moving to a Thermaltake Versa H18, which has a mesh front panel. Because of that, it doesn't really need the static pressure of a pressure-optimized fans that I had used. So I'm also thinking of replacing the the 2 NF-P14S Redux I had with a Noctua NF-A12x25 (which I already use as outtake in my current system).
https://noctua.at/en/products/fan/nf-a14-pwm/specification
https://noctua.at/en/nf-p14s-redux-1500-pwm/specification
https://noctua.at/en/products/fan/nf-a12x25-pwm/specification
I then looked at their products page to see if it's really worth it. To my surprise, the ariflow of the P14S Redux seems to be more than the NF-A12x25. I thought maybe it's because the NF-P14S Redux is slightly bigger, so I checked the NF-A14. Its airflow seems to be higher but not much higher.
If my assessment is correct, replacing the NF-P14S Redux with NF-A12x25 clearly is a downgrade performance-wise. Would it be worth it replacing the NF-P14S Redux with the NF-A14? Or is there something I'm not getting here?
Another thing that strikes me as odd is the fact that the NF-A12x25 has slightly higher static pressure than the NF-P14S Redux. Which leads me to think that my assessment is just wrong, but I don't know.

[Chris Pratt]

Redux is the cheaper line of fans. They're decent, but the A12s are optimized for both static pressure and airflow, so it's not surprising that they'd trade blows. The higher airflow of the P14, is down to it being a bigger fan. Bigger fans push more air, at the cost of RPM.

[Fatih19]

10 minutes ago, Chris Pratt said:

Redux is the cheaper line of fans. They're decent, but the A12s are optimized for both static pressure and airflow, so it's not surprising that they'd trade blows. The higher airflow of the P14, is down to it being a bigger fan. Bigger fans push more air, at the cost of RPM.

Aight, so if I'm satisfied with my current temp and acoustics it wouldn't really change anything if I were to replace my P14 with A12S?
Also, I didnt know the A12 was optimized for airflow and pressure, I thought the A in the name meant it's airflow-optimized.

[Chris Pratt]

45 minutes ago, Fatih19 said:

Aight, so if I'm satisfied with my current temp and acoustics it wouldn't really change anything if I were to replace my P14 with A12S?
Also, I didnt know the A12 was optimized for airflow and pressure, I thought the A in the name meant it's airflow-optimized.

For Noctua, F is airflow, P is pressure, and A is essentially balanced.

 

[Fatih19]

2 minutes ago, Chris Pratt said:

For Noctua, F is airflow, P is pressure, and A is essentially balanced.

 

Thank you, I didn't know that.

[WoodenMarker]

2 hours ago, Chris Pratt said:

For Noctua, F is airflow, P is pressure, and A is essentially balanced.

F is for Focused Flow / static pressure with the NF-F12. https://noctua.at/en/products/fan/nf-f12-pwm

I think the only context where F may mean airflow / flow may be the NH-U12F which was just the bare NH-U12 heatsink with the airflow-oriented NF-S12-1200 fan. https://noctua.at/en/nh-u12f/specification

The NF-A12x25 may have the A-series name but that doesn't mean that it's lacking in pressure. It's a newer and better fan overall compared to the P-series.

3 hours ago, Fatih19 said:

Aight, so if I'm satisfied with my current temp and acoustics

What are you trying to improve?

Cooling can usually be better but there are often diminishing returns beyond satisfactory cooling. 

[Fatih19]

8 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

 

What are you trying to improve?

Cooling can usually be better but there are often diminishing returns beyond satisfactory cooling. 

I was thinking that the P14 isn't optimal for the mesh of Versa H18,but I guess it doesn't really matter if the temperature and acoustic of my system right now is fine for me.

[WoodenMarker]

3 minutes ago, Fatih19 said:

I was thinking that the P14 isn't optimal for the mesh of Versa H18,but I guess it doesn't really matter if the temperature and acoustic of my system right now is fine for me.

What's considered static pressure or airflow-oriented is relative to the market. From the original release of the NF-P14, the market has had an increased focus on static pressure. Even if the name and original marketing may indicate otherwise, the NF-P14 is similar to the NF-A14 and a fairly balanced fan design that is well suited for the front of the Versa H18.