Noctua NF-S12 & NF-R8 Fans

Nocuta is a newcomer to Phoronix, so when they had first asked us to look at a couple fans we were a bit hesitant. In the past year, the only cooling fans we had reviewed were the Sytrin KuFormula SFFD120 and the Enermax Marathon Enlobal Fan, which were both unique products compared to a traditional computer case fan. Ultimately, we decided to accept Noctua's invitation to try out the NF-S12 and NF-R8 fans, and in this review you will find out why.

Features:

NF-S12-800
· 120mm, 800RPM
· Sound-optimized blade geometry and profile
· Noctua Straight-Blade-Design
· Self-stabilizing oil-pressure bearing (SSO bearing)
· <5dB(A) with U.L.N.A.

NF-S12-1200
· 120mm, 1200RPM
· Sound-optimized blade geometry and profile
· Noctua Straight-Blade-Design
· Self-stabilizing oil-pressure bearing (SSO bearing)
· <6dB(A) with U.L.N.A.

NF-R8
· 80mm, 800-1800RPM
· Sound-optimized blade geometry and profile
· Noctua Raised-Blade-Design
· Self-stabilizing oil-pressure bearing (SSO bearing)
· 7dB(A) with U.L.N.A.

Contents:

For those that have never heard of Noctua, they are a manufacturer based out of Austria that aims to establish a new level of quality and performance. The three Noctua case fans we had received arrived in their retail packages, with some English while most of the packaging was in German. Two of the fans were 120mm size while the other was 80mm, and all of the fans had similar contents. Included with the fans was an Ultra-Low Noise Adapter (and Low-Noise adapter for the NF-R8), four vibration compensators, 3 to 4 pin adapter, and four fan screws.