Noctua-News: When the NF-A12x25 was shown at the Noctua booth at Computex 2017, some visitors had the impression that, at first sight, it looks quite similar to some competitors’ products such as the Nidec Gentle Typhoon. Can you comment on that?
Lars Strömbäck (Noctua CTO): There are similarities to other fans as far as the basic approach of using a strongly curved and swept nine-blade design is concerned and this indeed makes them look somewhat similar at first sight. That’s quite natural because this basic approach is one of the most promising, proven starting points if you want to develop a high-performance 120x25mm form factor fan that is meant to achieve a strong, stable P/Q curve. If you look at it in more detail though, the similarities quickly come to an end and it becomes clear that the NF-A12x25 is significantly different from any other fan on the market as far as key factors such as the specific blade geometry and profile, chord length and changes in curvature are concerned. Once you map 3D CAD files of the NF-A12x25 over those of e.g. the Nidec Gentle Typhoon, this becomes immediately obvious. In detail, the blade design is completely different and these details are precisely the points that require so much R&D work to get right and to fine-tune for maximum efficiency. You can think of aeroplanes for reference: an Airbus 380 might look quite similar to a Boeing 747 to laymen at first sight and they are indeed similar in many ways (low wing design, swept blades, 4 jet engines, fuselage-mounted tailplane, etc.) for the natural reason that they have been designed for a similar purpose, but as soon as you start comparing in more detail, you will see how different the particular engineering choices have been. It’s similar with the NF-A12x25: it may look similar to other fans at first sight, but it’s a completely new design from the ground up.
Noctua-News: Have you analysed how the NF-A12x25 performs in comparison to other fans that look similar at first sight?
Lars Strömbäck (Noctua CTO): Whenever we develop a new fan, our goal is to provide the best performance-to-noise efficiency on the market, so we inevitably have to take a close look at what the market has to offer. The results actually reinforce the point I have just made: there are several models from different manufacturers that look quite similar at first sight, but there are vast differences in performance. This is because it’s the details and the fine-tuning of these details that make a good fan, not just the basic design approach.
Of all the fans that could be considered looking similar to the NF-A12x25, the Nidec Gentle Typhoon proved to be the hardest competition, but we’re confident that our design is slightly superior. In our tests on a typical 2 inch all-in-one water cooler at 200W heatload with both fans adjusted to the same noise level, the NF-A12x25 with the supplied radiator gasket provided about 0.3 to 0.6°C lower temperatures than the Nidec depending on the speed settings. At the same time, our premium grade SSO2 bearing runs virtually inaudibly whereas the Nidec’s ball bearing produces an unpleasant tone that becomes clearly audible at lower fan speeds. Last but not least, unlike the NF-A12x25 with its integrated silicone pads and gasket, the Nidec doesn’t have an anti-vibration mounting and thus transmits vibrations and resonances to the radiator and case. All things considered, we’re confident that the NF-A12x25 is the best 120mm fan currently available.