Noctua NF-P14 FLX Fan

The Noctua NF-P14FLX is the latest 140mm fan from Noctua that uses a 120mm mount to allow it to fit in standard 120mm fan space. Priced at around $30 USD online, it promises best-in-class performance for its premium price.

Noctua is an Austrian company in cooperation with a Taiwanese for a true mix in design and experience in computer cooling solutions. The company specializes in cooling products with an emphasis on quiet performance and innovative design along with a light and dark brown color scheme.

Let’s give this new 140mm fan a spin to see how well it delivers on its cooling promises.

Design

The NF-P14FLX is a vortex control notched 9 bladed 140 mm fan using the more common 120mm mount spacing for a flexible and quiet case fan. It uses a 140mm fan with 9 blades that are notched to create a vortex effect for quiet performance. The vortex design allows more air to be pulled through the fan with less noise because the vortices that are created from the fan blades shape are broken up.

Vortices are created when the fan blade moves through air and a small circular effect from the fan blade makes some noise. To lessen the noise a fan blade makes from these vortices the blades are notched so the vortices are interrupted and broken down into smaller ones.

Creating these smaller vortices means less noise from them so the blades are notched to correspond with each other and break up these noisier vortices. It may seem farfetched but the fan is most definitely quieter than other fans. In my tests, I replaced the fan that came in my Thermaltake case and it is quieter.

Other features of the Noctua fan include an all brass bearing and magnetically controlled stability for the rotor of the fan to increase stability and life. The fan also includes the 120mm mounting holes with the 140mm fan size and mounting bars to be able to mount the fan in a 140mm space.

Specifications

• Size 140x140x25 mm
• Bearing SSO-Bearing
• Blade Geometry NF-P14 Blade Design with VCN
• Rotational Speed (+/- 10%) 1200 RPM
• Rotational Speed with L.N.A. (+/- 10%) 900 RPM
• Rotational Speed with U.L.N.A. (+/- 10%) 750 RPM
• Airflow 110,3 m³/h
• Airflow with L.N.A. 83,7 m³/h
• Airflow with U.L.N.A. 71,2 m³/h
• Acoustical Noise 19,6 dB(A)
• Acoustical Noise with L.N.A. 13,2 dB(A)
• Acoustical Noise with U.L.N.A. 10,1 dB(A)
• Static Pressure 1,29 mm H2O
• Static Pressure with L.N.A. 0,77 mm H2O
• Static Pressure with U.L.N.A. 0,53 mm H2O
• Input Power 1,2 W
• nput Current 0,1 A Voltage
• Range 12 V MTBF > 150.000 h
• Ultra-Low-Noise Adaptor (U.L.N.A.)
• Low-Noise Adaptor (L.N.A.)
• Adaptors for 140mm mounting
• 4 Vibration Compensators
• 3:4-Pin Adaptor
• 4 Fan Screws
• Warranty 6 years

Testing and Performance

Test Setup

• Motherboard: Gigabyte GAM57SLI-S4
• CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+
• Memory: 4GB RAM
• CPU Heatsinks: Thermaltake Spin Q
• Power Supply: NZXT Performance Power 800 Watt
• Hard drive: Seagate 500GB SATA
• Case: Azza Fantom 900

The Noctua fan is quiet, pushes plenty of air and has the option to use lower speeds with the two additional adapters as well as the multiple mounting options. Not much more could be needed in a fan and the options included in the Noctua are great. As far as performance for a quiet fan I could not get any readings other than background noise from my system that drowns out the Noctua.

With the Noctua off or on it does not register on a Scosche C weighted noise level indicator and even outside the case on a table with the fan powered by a separate power adapter I could not get much of a reading. Only with the level meter held an inch or closer to the fan was I able to get any reading and then it was very low, actually the lowest I have seen for any fan.

Noctua NF-P14 FLX 140mm Fan

All in all, the Noctua NF-P14FLX fan is just about the best fan you could want for a nearly silent 140mm fan that comes with plenty of options for both installing and running. It does demand a higher price that most other fans, but it delivers the goods.

Pros: Extremely quiet operation, Multiple mounting options, Fan speed adjustable using cable adapters, Long lasting brass bearings.

Cons: Priced higher than other 140mm fans.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

www.noctua.at