First of all, you might be wondering why I’m writing a review about a fan. You might think that a fan is a fan and that’s all. But let me tell you, the Noctua NF-S12BFLX is a fan like no other. There is more technology in this fan than there is on the space station. The NF-S12BFLX is a simple 120mm computer case fan that is anything but simple. Just looking at the fan itself, it doesn’t seem very special at all, but after opening the Velcro flap on the box and reading all about it, you can understand why it costs $25. First of all, it has tapered blade ends for less noise. In fact, almost all the features are for increased airflow and reduced noise. It comes with 4 mounting screws as well as 4 rubber plugs, which you can use instead. They are suppose to reduce vibration and noise while increasing lifespan. It also comes with 2 power adapters, which adjust the voltage and reduce the speed.

Before installing the fan, I powered it up using an old PSU. On maximum speed, which is only 1200rpm, the fans are supposed to move 100m3/h and produce 18dBA of noise. My testing revealed that mine only made 16dB of sound, which is pretty good. I didn’t test the airflow, but compared to my other fans, it was very impressive. With the Low Noise Adapter (LNA) the fan was inaudible over the PSU fan. The same went for the Ultra LNA.

I bought the fan to replace a burned out exhaust fan on my server. With my backup server being a huge pain-in-the-ass to start up, I decided to replace the fan while the server was running. Removing the old one was pretty simple, but getting the NF-S12BFLX in was exactly the opposite. I wanted to use the rubber plugs, but the thing is that they need to be threaded through the hole from the outside and through the fan. Then they need to be stretched (which makes them thinner), and when released they expand and hold the fan in place. This worked for the first 2 holes, but it was nearly impossible to grab hold of the plugs on the holes closest to the motherboard. It took some clever maneuvering with some right angle pliers to get them in place. The plugs are designed fine, but I would not recommend hot-swapping them, as it would be so much easier if there was no motherboard in the case. The NF-S12BFLX comes with a 3 to 4 pin PSU adapter, which I used.

The fan has been running for a few weeks now, and has made a drastic improvement in the airflow of the case. It claims to have an MTBF of over 150,000 hours, which is insane for any fan. It is too early to tell how long it will last, but I will monitor it, and keep you posted on how long it lasts.

Update: It’s been 6 months 24/7, and it’s still going strong.