Noctua NF-A Series Review (Page 4 of 4)

Page 4 - Conclusion

Moving air around the room is quite important, which I definitely experienced this summer. However, how air is moved throughout a room is also important, as just shifting air around will not help much. It is important to be able to move hot air out while bringing in cooler air. This is well-known among the computer crowd, as most computers take cool air in while exhausting hot air. However, most people like to find a balance between how loud a fan is and how well it performs. In that case, it is important to find the right balance. Noctua is well known for being quiet, but also have good performance. They have definitely stayed true to their reputation. The Noctua NF-A series have exceptional build quality through and through. All of the fans performed well during the tests. On top of that, they were also quiet, especially if run at nominal speeds instead of their maximum. The 40 mm fans offer good airflow for such a small package, especially in smaller PC cases, however, they need to be spinning fast, meaning they will be quite loud. As well, their application is limited in the consumer PC world, as most cases, it is better to have a 120 mm or 140 mm fan. The 120 mm fans have a low profile, making them ideal for smaller environments without taking away from how well they would perform in a normal mid-sized chassis. These fans are the best for most PCs on the market, as they will most easily fit into a standard computer build. The 200 mm fans are definitely effective at moving large amounts of airflow, but they are not for everyone. Few cases can accommodate their large size, but if yours do, these will be a welcome addition. As usual with Noctua, the quality also carries a price tag. For the Noctua NF-A4x20 fans, they come in at a price of $15 USD. The NF-A12x15 FLX fan comes in at $20 USD, but since the NF-A4x20 fans had the same price, I am assuming the PWM version of the NF-A12x15 would also be $20 USD. Lastly, the Noctua NF-A20 comes in at $30 USD. The prices are fairly standard for the quality of the products. Overall, the Noctua NF-A series fans have proved to be another great addition to Noctua's already impressive cooling lineup.

Noctua provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.

Noctua NF-A20 PWM
APH Review Focus Summary:
8/10 means Definitely a very good product with drawbacks that are not likely going to matter to the end user.
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks; but should be considered before purchasing.
-- Final APH Numeric Rating is 7.8/10
Please note that the APH Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other sites.

Noctua NF-A20 FLX
APH Review Focus Summary:
8/10 means Definitely a very good product with drawbacks that are not likely going to matter to the end user.
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks; but should be considered before purchasing.
-- Final APH Numeric Rating is 7.8/10
Please note that the APH Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other sites.

Noctua NF-A12x15 PWM
APH Review Focus Summary:
8/10 means Definitely a very good product with drawbacks that are not likely going to matter to the end user.
-- Final APH Numeric Rating is 8.0/10
Please note that the APH Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other sites.

Noctua NF-A12x15 FLX
APH Review Focus Summary:
8/10 means Definitely a very good product with drawbacks that are not likely going to matter to the end user.
-- Final APH Numeric Rating is 8.0/10
Please note that the APH Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other sites.

Noctua NF-A4x20 PWM
APH Review Focus Summary:
8/10 means Definitely a very good product with drawbacks that are not likely going to matter to the end user.
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks; but should be considered before purchasing.
-- Final APH Numeric Rating is 7.4/10
Please note that the APH Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other sites.

Noctua NF-A4x20 5V PWM
APH Review Focus Summary:
8/10 means Definitely a very good product with drawbacks that are not likely going to matter to the end user.
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks; but should be considered before purchasing.
-- Final APH Numeric Rating is 7.4/10
Please note that the APH Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other sites.

Noctua NF-A4x20 FLX
APH Review Focus Summary:
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks; but should be considered before purchasing.
-- Final APH Numeric Rating is 7.0/10
Please note that the APH Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other sites.

Noctua NF-A4x20 5V
APH Review Focus Summary:
8/10 means Definitely a very good product with drawbacks that are not likely going to matter to the end user.
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks; but should be considered before purchasing.
-- Final APH Numeric Rating is 7.4/10
Please note that the APH Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other sites.

The Noctua NF-A Series is a comprehensive line up of fans that will be great addition to many system environments.

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Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware
3. Performance Tests
4. Conclusion