Cooling

Noctua NF-P12 Redux Review

Matthew Hodgson
May 19, 2018 9 Min Read
2 0

A fan favourite for many years returns under the Redux umbrella, the NF-P12 Redux. A 120mm fan focussing on budget users demanding performance.


Product on Review: Noctua NF-P12 Redux
Manufacturer: Noctua
Street Price: GBP 12.90 / EUR 13.90 / USD 13.90

Noctua’s journey started back in 2005, in Austria, with one goal in mind; to provide the market with quality cooling products. It goes without saying, they’ve certainly taken the market by storm, especially with the distinctive brown and beige appearance.

10 years ago, we looked at the Noctua NF-P12, a fan that helped cement Noctua’s reputation as a trusted supplier of quality goods. Now, as part of Noctua’s Redux range, they’ve re-issued that fan as the NF-P12 Redux, in a grey colour scheme. The NF-P12 Redux is available as 4 different models, referring to their speed and fan header connection; There’s two models with a PWM connection, rated at 1700 RPM and 1300 RPM, and a pair with a three-pin connection, clocked at 1300 RPM and 900 RPM.



The Redux range, introduced by Noctua, is an initiative to bring their most successful products back to market in a more streamlined package, whereby the extras are foregone and only the fan and 4 mounting screws remain, along with the use of newer and cheaper materials, without compromising on quality or performance.

So, a budget option for those who still desire the best performance and dependability. Despite the £12.90 price tag, the fan still arrives with a 6-year warranty, so Noctua give their full stamp of approval on this product. Let’s see how it fares in testing.

Noctua on the NF-P12 Redux:
Specifically designed for pressure demanding applications such as CPU or radiator cooling, the classic NF-P12 is a long-standing favourite among enthusiast users around the world and helped to found Noctua’s reputation as a top-tier manufacturer of premium quality quiet cooling components. The new redux edition reissues this award-winning model in a streamlined, accessibly priced package that has been reduced to the essential core: the NF-P12 premium fan. Its industry grade SSO bearing, over 150.000 hours MTTF rating and full 6 years manufacturer’s warranty make the NF-P12 redux a proven premium choice that provides trusted Noctua quality at an attractive price point. The performance-oriented top speed of the 1700rpm PWM version is ideal for high-efficiency case, radiator and CPU cooling as well as other applications that require both extended performance headroom and PWM for automatic speed control.

Technical Specifications

1700 PWM Specification

Size: 120x120x25 mm
Mounting hole spacing: 105×105 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


1300 PWM Specification

Size: 120x120x25 mm
Mounting hole spacing: 105×105 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


1300 Specification

Size: 120x120x25 mm
Mounting hole spacing: 105×105 mm
Connector: 3-pin
Bearing: SSO-Bearing
Blade Geometry: Pressure-optimized Nine Blade Design with Vortex-Control Notches
Rotational Speed (+/- 10%): 1300 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


900 Specification

Size: 120x120x25 mm
Mounting hole spacing: 105×105 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

Packaging & Bundle

Reluctant to lose their brown, the packaging still features brown sidewalls but with a dark grey colour focus. The front is very basic, but this goes along with the streamlined approach to cost-cutting.



The rear of the packaging only differs on the nitty gritty specifications of each fan, referring to revolutions and therefore airflow and noise levels.



The fan arrives with 4 small attachment screws as the bundle, nothing more. Again, streamlining the package to cut costs as far as possible. We take a proper look at the fan on the next page.

Closer Look

If you’ve ever seen a Noctua fan, or read a review or news article on them, the brown and beige colour scheme will be immediately apparent; it’s difficult to miss. However, with the Redux range, they’ve gotten rid of those colours and gone with a much more neutral two-tone grey affair.

Noctua tend to use a 9-blade impeller which is the case here. The fins feature Vortez-Control Notches which divides the trailing edge vortices and distributes the associated noise amongst a wider range of audible frequencies, resulting in a more pleasant noise.

Due to the lack of any kind of extension cable, Noctua have used a 400mm long cable on all four of the NF-P12 Redux models.



The inner hub uses an SSO bearing, a tried and tested hydrodynamic bearing with stabilisation magnets, well known for its quiet operation and dependability. The Smooth Communication Drive also aids noise output by eliminating torque variations and switching noises created by the electrical input to the motor; this makes the motor remarkably quiet, even when very close.



The outside corners of the fan can be customised with a range of anti-vibration pads, available in yellow, white, green, black, blue and red.

Test Setup & Methodology

We have recently made changes to our cooling department and the associated testing methodology, so please note that the number of results shown will increase over time as we add additional products. We hope that these results will appear clearer to the majority of our readership and look forward to building upon the baselines that we currently have.

Processor – Intel Core i7-3930K
CPU Cooler – Corsair H100i Pro RGB
Motherboard – Gigabyte X79-UP4
Memory – 16GB Corsair Vengeance LP 1600MHz CL9
Video Card – Sapphire Radeon HD 6850 1GB
Power Supply – NZXT Hale90 650W
Storage Drive – Kingston HyperX 240GB SATA III SSD
Case – Corsair Carbide 760T


We test our fans at both 1000 RPM and maximum RPM, or if the fan only has one setting, it’s only included in the maximum RPM graphs.

Firstly, we’ll test acoustics, both as a case fan, mounted on the rear of our Corsair Graphite 760T chassis, and as a radiator fan on the Corsair H100i Pro RGB. (with the pump turned down to 1,100 RPM and all other case fans disabled). We measure the average dB(A) noise levels over 60 seconds in a quiet room with an ambient noise level of around 24dB(A). Acoustics are measured from the same point within the case (20cm from the fan), with every effort taken to ensure test parameters are as close as possible during every test.

We then test the fan’s performance both at 1000 RPM and maximum RPM by running an AIDA64 20-minute stress test while running only a single 120mm fan on the 240mm radiator of the Corsair H100i Pro RGB. This allows us to test single fans as well as multi packs by only relying on a single 120mm fan. We mount the fan under the radiator, inside the case, blowing through the radiator. We measure the average core temperature over a 60-second period and minus the ambient room temperature from this. That leaves us with a Delta °C measurement which is applied to the graphs. Our average room temperature is kept as close to 21°C as possible, roughly the room temperature of most homes and offices. Obviously, if you live in a warmer climate with warmer room temperatures, you can expect higher temperatures.

To ensure the fans RPM are measured consistently, we use the Noctua NA-FC1 fan control unit, allowing the speed of our fans to be infinitely adjusted and monitored via a nearby header on the motherboard.

Benchmarks – Thermal Results

Firstly, we test the Corsair LL120 at 1000 RPM, both at idle and load.




We then turn the fans up to maximum RPM, which is 1,630 RPM according to our Noctua NA-FC1


Benchmarks – Acoustic Results

For testing, we only connected a single LL120 fan to the Noctua NA-FC1 fan control unit to make the results relevant.

Due to different characteristics, we feel it’s important to test fans as both case fans and radiator fans, giving you, the reader, a good idea of what to expect in both scenarios. We also test at 1000 RPM and Maximum RPM to see just how loud things can get.

We begin by testing the fans on the rear of our Corsair 760T chassis




We then mount the fan to the Corsair H100i Pro RGB and re-run the tests.


Conclusion

At £12.90 in the UK, and similarly priced around the rest of the world, the Noctua NF-P12 Redux competes against a lot of budget-priced fans from several different brands, however, in our experience and testing, the NF-P12 Redux performs far better than most fans, and comes with that all-important 6 year warranty.

Appearance wise, this fan should fit in with more builds than your typical Noctua, but without that same recognisable colour.

Build quality is solid, as you’d expect, with the SSO bearing and magnetic stabilisation reducing noise as well as Vortex-Control Notches spreading out the unavoidable wind noise over more frequency ranges, producing a cleaner and more pleasurable sound.

Cutting back the NF-P12 to the core, providing only the fan and a basic mounting system, has provided us with the essential performance without the associated cost that comes with it.



Noctua have cut back all non-essential parts to reduce cost, without sacrificing on quality or performance. The NF-P12 Redux carries the torch for the ageing NF-P12.

Pros
+ More appealing colour scheme
+ Great value performance
+ Fan noise isn’t obtrusive
+ Solid build quality
+ 6-year warranty

Neutral
+- Not the quietest fan available

Cons
– None


Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.

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Matthew Hodgson