By: Ben Joubert
July 6, 2018
When it comes to expensive hobbies, computers are definitely one of them. It is not as expensive as photography or cars, but if you are an enthusiast upgrading to new technology every year, it will definitely make it quite expensive. There are always budget options to go with. Starting with cases, one can always pick one up at a much lower price point, but there are always sacrifices accompanied with it. For cases, these sacrifices are not as big. You might not get RGB or tempered glass side panels, but you might have a plastic panel that will still show off all the internals instead. As for the processor and graphics card, these are usually the two components most people spend a big part of their budget on, and rightly so. The motherboard and the power supply are usually somewhere in the middle. Finding the cheapest one with the right features is about all you need in these two components. Memory is another part of the computer that can be really expensive, and with the high prices on DDR4 memory, it can really break the bank. Cooling is "just get something that is effective" and they vary in price. But one component that is not necessarily on the list to change are fans. For the most part, getting different fans may not make the biggest difference unless you spend a good sum of money on them. In each case, a manufacturer might have a light version or a more affordable version, which generally sacrifices on some features or on performance. Noctua has a similar line of products, but instead of being cheaper versions of new products, they are reissues of older models, the NF-P12 PWM and NF-P12, in a cheaper package. Today, we have the Noctua NF-P12 Redux in four different versions, the 1700 PWM, 1300 PWM, 1300, and 900. We will have to see how these bare essentials reduce price but keeps performance up to Noctua's standard.
The Noctua NF-P12 Redux fans arrived in a medium sized corrugated brown box, along with the Noctua NF-A12x25 fans I reviewed recently. The shipping box traveled all the way from Austria via UPS Saver, and for such a long distance traveled, there were few dents around the outside. The corners were barely beat up and the edges fared the same. Around the rest of the shipping box, there was barely any damage to speak of. After doing the initial inspection on the outside, I proceeded to open the box to see how everything inside fared.
Noctua sent us four different versions of the Noctua NF-P12 Redux, which are the 1700 PWM, 1300 PWM, 1300, and 900 versions. The numbers refer to their maximum RPM, while PWM is the way the speed of the fan is controlled. When it comes to the retail packaging, it is much simpler than the Noctua NF-A12x25 fans, while akin to the Noctua NF-A14 industrialPPC fans. Around the small white writing, there is glossy light gray writing, which can only be seen in the right lighting. The writing reads Redux and 120 to indicate the version and fan size. In the top left, we notice that the Noctua NF-P12 Redux has a new frame design, which I will detail later in the review. The sides of the retail box are Noctua's classic brown colour, while on the back we find some more specifications on the fan.
Before we move on, here are the specifications on all the fans as listed on the manufacturer's website:
Noctua NF-P12 1700 PWM
Size: 120x120x25 mm
Mounting hole spacing: 105x105 mm
Connector: 4-pin PWM
Bearing: SSO-Bearing
Blade Geometry: Pressure-optimized Nine Blade Design with Vortex-Control Notches
Rotational Speed: (+/- 10%) 1700 RPM
Min. Rotational Speed: (PWM, +/-20%) 450 RPM
Airflow: 120,2 m³/h
Acoustical Noise: 25,1 dB(A)
Static Pressure: 2,83 mm H₂O
Max. Input Power: 1,08 W
Max. Input Current: 0,09 A
Voltage: 12 V
MTTF: > 150.000 h
Scope of delivery:
Fan screws
Warranty: 6 years
Noctua NF-P12 1300 PWM
Size: 120x120x25 mm
Mounting hole spacing: 105x105 mm
Connector: 4-pin PWM
Bearing: SSO-Bearing
Blade Geometry: Pressure-optimized Nine Blade Design with Vortex-Control Notches
Rotational Speed: (+/- 10%) 1300 RPM
Min. Rotational Speed: (PWM, +/-20%) 300 RPM
Airflow: 92,3 m³/h
Acoustical Noise: 19,8 dB(A)
Static Pressure: 1,68 mm H₂O
Max. Input Power: 0,6 W
Max. Input Current: 0,05 A
Voltage: 12 V
MTTF: > 150.000 h
Scope of delivery:
Fan screws
Warranty: 6 years
Noctua NF-P12 1300
Size: 120x120x25 mm
Mounting hole spacing: 105x105 mm
Connector: 3-pin
Bearing: SSO-Bearing
Blade Geometry: Pressure-optimized Nine Blade Design with Vortex-Control Notches
Rotational Speed: (+/- 10%) 1300 RPM
Min. Rotational Speed: (PWM, +/-20%) 300 RPM
Airflow: 92,3 m³/h
Acoustical Noise: 19,8 dB(A)
Static Pressure: 1,68 mm H₂O
Max. Input Power: 0,6 W
Max. Input Current: 0,05 A
Voltage: 12 V
MTTF: > 150.000 h
Scope of delivery:
Fan screws
Warranty: 6 years
Noctua NF-P12 900
Size: 120x120x25 mm
Mounting hole spacing: 105x105 mm
Connector: 3-pin
Bearing: SSO-Bearing
Blade Geometry: Pressure-optimized Nine Blade Design with Vortex-Control Notches
Rotational Speed: (+/- 10%) 900 RPM
Airflow: 63,4 m³/h
Acoustical Noise: 12,6 dB(A)
Static Pressure: 1,21 mm H₂O
Max. Input Power: 0,3 W
Max. Input Current: 0,025 A
Voltage: 12 V
MTTF: > 150.000 h
Scope of delivery:
Fan screws
Warranty: 6 years
The inside of the retail packaging is quite simple. The one flap opens up to reveal the fan sitting in a plastic mold. The cable is tucked away under the mold for a clean look. Also included in the retail box are four fan screws in a little plastic package. Beyond that, there is nothing else included. The limited inclusions in the packaging is all part of the Redux line of fans. The entire point of this series of fans are to achieve Noctua's outstanding performance, but with a more affordable price.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware
3. Performance Tests
4. Conclusion
