Are Noctua NF-F12's cost justifiable?

[AustinTheIntern]

Not sure if that's the model name, but,

 

Discuss...

 

 

[XiaoPigs]

As long as you don't mind the looks Noctua fans are worth the money.

 

They are the best mainstream brand out there.

[AustinTheIntern]

As long as you don't mind the looks Noctua fans are worth the money.

 

They are the best mainstream brand out there.

And...so what if you have a windowed panel...

[XiaoPigs]

And...so what if you have a windowed panel...

You go with a military themed build lol. That's where noctua fans fit in. Other then that try to hide them :p Use them as front intakes only since you can't see your front intake most of the time.

[CaptRex635]

For a fan, they are quiet and don't sacrifice performance

[AustinTheIntern]

You go with a military themed build lol. That's where noctua fans fit in. Other then that try to hide them :P Use them as front intakes only since you can't see your front intake most of the time.

So...C70? Or what else?

[XiaoPigs]

So...C70? Or what else?

Any case with a Sabertooth board will be fine.

[nishank93]

I'd rather get Silverstone Air Penetrators or Corsair SP120s instead as my setup just wouldn't match with the Noctuas, plus I don't think the extra money is worth a couple of degrees difference.

[tabuburn]

I'd be willing to pay an additional $5 for each of Noctua's fans if they had more color choices.

[Vaoh]

At $25 a fan with better performing fans for less, it's pretty hard to recommend them unless you want beige fans or some really quiet exhaust fans (At which point Noiseblockers are right there with Noctua with a more pleasant color scheme.)

[Duver]

Yes because:

 

+ 6 years warranty

+ performance/noise ratio

+ cable extension and Yspliter

+ LNA

+ you dont need to lube the bearing

[KyonCoraeL]

No, if you have a suitable alternative already. Yes if you don't have any fans and you don't mind the colour. I am a really shallow person so I have been buying scythes cause the name sounds coo!

[AustinTheIntern]

No, if you have a suitable alternative already. Yes if you don't have any fans and you don't mind the colour. I am a really shallow person so I have been buying scythes cause the name sounds coo!

Hey bitfenix sounds cool too.

[BeyondNight]

Not really, Most think of the Noctuas as good all around fans, which they are, but for most applications there are fans that will best them in DBA to SP or CFM ratio, and cost less, and look better.

Actually come to think of it i know of a few fans that beat NF-F12's and pretty much every area, thats not to say the NF-F12's are bad fans, but definitely not the best or worth every penny.

[AustinTheIntern]

Not really, Most think of the Noctuas as good all around fans, which they are, but for most applications there are fans that will best them in DBA to SP or CFM ratio, and cost less, and look better.

Actually come to think of it i know of a few fans that beat NF-F12's and pretty much every area, thats not to say the NF-F12's are bad fans, but definitely not the best or worth every penny.

Please do tell me which fans.

[BeyondNight]

Please do tell me which fans.

Well it depends on the application, if your just Exhausting or intaking air with out much restriction, there are tons of fans i could list, but in the areas the NF-F12's are designed for, which would be rads and the like, Noiseblocker eLoop B12-3 and B12-4's have a better DBA to CFM ration through a rad (the actual sound itself is also less harsh on the ear), cost around the same,  and look better,  and if you want to talk about price to performance and DBA to CFM through a rad, nothing beats the Scythe Gentle Typhoon AP-15 and AP-45 fans.

 

Although if your willing to sacrifice a bit of DBA to CFM to pay less, AP 121's and SP120 Quiet editions are just trailing the noctuas, as well as a bunch of other fans but those were mentioned so ill use them as an example. 

 

Edit: just check and at the same CFM through a rad the Corsair SP's were actually as good if not better than the Noctuas. (this was at 9v)

 

It all comes down to what your doing with the fan though, most people dont get that fans should be bought for application specific reasons, people who think Company X's fans are good at everything and are the ultimate when it comes to fans, and are the best for every application really need to realize that they've been duped by said Company'smarketing or the other people buying into said marketing.

[AustinTheIntern]

Well it depends on the application, if your just Exhausting or intaking air with out much restriction, there are tons of fans i could list, but in the areas the NF-F12's are designed for, which would be rads and the like, Noiseblocker eLoop B12-3 and B12-4's have a better DBA to CFM ration through a rad (the actual sound itself is also less harsh on the ear), cost around the same, and look better, and if you want to talk about price to performance and DBA to CFM through a rad, nothing beats the Scythe Gentle Typhoon AP-15 and AP-45 fans.

Although your willing to sacrifice a bit of DBA to CFM to pay less, AP 121's and SP120 Quiet editions are just trailing the noctuas, as well as a bunch of other fans but those were mentioned so ill use them as an example.

Edit: just check and at the same CFM through a rad the Corsair SP's were actually as good if not better than the Noctuas. (this was at 9v)

It all comes down to what your doing with the fan though, most people dont get that fans should be bought for application specific reasons, people who think Company X's fans are good at everything and are the ultimate when it comes to fans, and are the best for every application really need to realize that they've been duped by said Company'smarketing or the other people buying into said marketing.

I like you.

[Vaoh]

Well it depends on the application, if your just Exhausting or intaking air with out much restriction, there are tons of fans i could list, but in the areas the NF-F12's are designed for, which would be rads and the like, Noiseblocker eLoop B12-3 and B12-4's have a better DBA to CFM ration through a rad (the actual sound itself is also less harsh on the ear), cost around the same,  and look better,  and if you want to talk about price to performance and DBA to CFM through a rad, nothing beats the Scythe Gentle Typhoon AP-15 and AP-45 fans.

 

Although if your willing to sacrifice a bit of DBA to CFM to pay less, AP 121's and SP120 Quiet editions are just trailing the noctuas, as well as a bunch of other fans but those were mentioned so ill use them as an example. 

 

Edit: just check and at the same CFM through a rad the Corsair SP's were actually as good if not better than the Noctuas. (this was at 9v)

 

It all comes down to what your doing with the fan though, most people dont get that fans should be bought for application specific reasons, people who think Company X's fans are good at everything and are the ultimate when it comes to fans, and are the best for every application really need to realize that they've been duped by said Company'smarketing or the other people buying into said marketing.

Straight from Martin's latest fan testing I take it? Though I agree on every point, being quiet is cool and all, but when other fans move more air while being just as quiet for the same or even less. Then there's a problem.

[BeyondNight]

Straight from Martin's latest fan testing I take it? Though I agree on every point, being quiet is cool and all, but when other fans move more air while being just as quiet for the same or even less. Then there's a problem.

Aha!, you caught me, yea thats what i was using as backing for all this info, although there's also a bunch of other fan test out there that show noctuas are definitely up there but not at all the best, especially when taked with specific applications that a lot of people would use them for.

[KaareKanin]

Who is this Martin you speak of?

Anyways, I'm quite interested in this performance to noise ratio and how it's calculated (mostly because decibels aren't linear)

[BeyondNight]

Who is this Martin you speak of?

Anyways, I'm quite interested in this performance to noise ratio and how it's calculated (mostly because decibels aren't linear)

hes one of if not the most reputable name in the WaterCooling Community, You can check his latest fan roundup here http://martinsliquidlab.org/2013/05/07/fan-testing-round-12/

[Art Vandelay]

They have a 6 year warranty, so I would say their cost is justifyable. Their performance may only be on par or a little better than Yates (they are quieter than Yates, in my experience), but you aren't going to get that durability with other fans.

[unidentical]

They are quiet and they are very good fans. The only reason I'm not using them now is my fortress came with APs and they're just as good.

[Duver]

hes one of if not the most reputable name in the WaterCooling Community, You can check his latest fan roundup here http://martinsliquidlab.org/2013/05/07/fan-testing-round-12/

 

Quote:

"I would also caution that this “Air Flow” comparison is also just approximate.  Comparing thermally would be more accurate..."

 

Just saying.

[Col]

They are worth it just for the fantastic Colour