By: Aaron Lai and Qian Chen
June 19, 2026
Out of the five senses, I think the one I would least want to lose is my vision. As much as I like to bake and eat, I would rather lose my sense of smell or taste first. Ever since entering grade school, I have always worn glasses, so I do not really remember a time in my life when I did not have two pieces of refractive material in front of my face. Without the correction, everything just looks blurrier than usual, like a photo taken without proper focus. However, a couple of friends told me of times when they were seeing double and had to go to a doctor or ophthalmologist for tests. I think diplopia, the medical term for this condition, is a scary thing to encounter. To me, the only enjoyable time to see multiples is if you have multiple in front of you. Today, we have another series of fans from Noctua in the form of their NF-A12x25 G2 chromax.black. You might think we are suffering from diplopia, because we recently reviewed the closely named 140mm NF-A14x25 G2 chromax.black and the original NF-A12x25 G2 half a year back. Noctua has now completed the second-generation family with the 120mm offering in chromax.black. Better yet, they have sent us multiple models for us to judge and test, so I really am seeing much more than just two. Will we have double the fun or double trouble? Let us read on to find out!
Our review units of the Noctua NF-A12x25 G2 chromax.black fans arrived from Noctua's headquarters in Vienna, Austria. Traveling with UPS and their Saver service, this Noctua marked box arrived at our APH Networks location in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in good condition with only a few bumps or bruises on the edges. Inside, there were multiple layers of cardboard boxes to protect everything inside. This time, Noctua sent us two NF-A12x25 G2 PWM chromax.black and two sets of NF-A12x25 G2 PWM Sx2-PP chromax.black fans for a total of six fans. We will explore the model differences in our review.
As we saw with the NF-A14x25 G2 chromax.black series, the chromax.black edition of the Noctua NF-A12x25 G2 fans are similarly packaged with a mostly black retail box. The single PWM fan is in a smaller box with a picture of the fan on full display, while the Sx2-PP fans are shown in a pair. Both have the product name on the top-right corner. The tagline for the PWM fan is "Next-Gen 120mm Premium Fan", while the tagline for the Sx2-PP fans is "Dual Set of Next-Gen 120mm Premium Fans". Both boxes emphasize the features of the Sterrox liquid-crystal polymer compound construction of their impellers, a highly optimized P/Q curve, and further optimizations that come with their second generation of fans. In the bottom corner is the "Chromax by Noctua" label, which further reinforces the difference from their vanilla beige-tan options.
Before we continue, I have grabbed the specifications from the manufacturer's website for your reading pleasure:
Noctua NF-A12x25 G2 PWM chromax.black
Size (Form factor): 120 x 120 x 25 mm (square)
Speed range: 0 – 1800 rpm
Airflow (max.): 107.3 m³/h (63.15 CFM)
Acoustical noise (max.): 22.5 dB(A)
Static pressure (max.): 3.14 mm H₂O
Rated voltage: 12 V
Connector: 4-pin
Colour: Black
Warranty: 6 years
Scope of delivery:
- NA-RC7 Low-Noise Adaptor (L.N.A.)
- NA-YC1 chromax.black 4-pin PWM splitter cable
- NA-EC1 chromax.black 30cm extension cable
- 4x NA-AV2 chromax.black anti-vibration mounts
- NA-AVG1 chromax.black anti-vibration gasket
- Fan screws
Noctua NF-A14x25 G2 PWM Sx2-PP chromax.black
Size (Form factor): 120 x 120 x 25 mm (square)
Speed range: 0 – 1800 rpm
Airflow (max.): 107.3 m³/h (63.15 CFM)
Acoustical noise (max.): 22.5 dB(A)
Static pressure (max.): 3.14 mm H₂O
Rated voltage: 12 V
Connector: 4-pin
Colour: Black
Warranty: 6 years
Scope of delivery:
- NF-A12x25 G2 PWM PPA chromax.black premium fan
- NF-A12x25 G2 PWM PPB chromax.black premium fan
- 2x NA-RC7 Low-Noise Adaptor (L.N.A.)
- NA-YC1 chromax.black 4-pin PWM splitter cable
- 2x NA-EC1 chromax.black 30cm extension cable
- 8x NA-AV2 chromax.black anti-vibration mounts
- 2x NA-AVG1 chromax.black anti-vibration gasket for water cooling radiators
- Fan screws
After opening the two boxes, you will notice Noctua has organized everything in a very neat and organized way. One side shows the fan with a paper protector around the blades. All the accessories and cables can be found in their own bags within the single box marked "Accessories". Each fan comes with an NA-AVG1 chromax.black anti-vibration gasket for water cooling, NA-AV2 chromax.black rubber anti-vibration mounts, mounting screws, NA-RC7 low noise adapter, and 30cm NA-EC1 chromax.black extension cable. Each package comes with an NA-YC1 chromax.black 4-pin PWM splitter cable too.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware
3. Performance Tests
4. Conclusion
