Noctua NF-S12B redux-1200 PWM, High Performance Cooling Fan, 4-Pin, 1200 RPM (120mm, Grey)

Before I begin let me just say that I LIKE NOCTUA as a company, the problem is that the redux line is just not what I expected. Now don’t get me wrong, the Redux line is still filled with good fans for the price. You still get an amazing build quality with a decent unboxing experience and a 6-year warranty. However, you don’t get all of the accessories and internal parts that the normal Brown and Beige fans come with. I have 1 or more of every Noctua fan in every product line that they have introduced. That being said I went into this review with an open mind because their normal fans and industrial fans are absolutely amazing, there quiet and move a lot of air. Now when it comes to the redux line I can ignore the fact that they don’t come with any accessories or anti vibration mounts, and that they come in a different color (even though I prefer the gray color over the ugly brown color). That being said I cannot ignore the fact that these fans are particularly loud for what they cost. Obviously, you can change the speed of the fans in windows or use a hardware fan controller effectively making them extremely quiet, but if youre a person that doesn’t like or just all around can’t tinker with settings like that, these are not the fans for you. I know I just said that the fans are loud, however, I will admit that the fans are a lot quieter than most fans, for example, Corsair fans or most case fans. But at the end of the day, it’s up to the buyer to decide if the fans are good enough for them. For the price, I personally think that they are worth it and would recommend buying these if you need some high-quality fans on a budget.

pretty good. Its quiet. SUPER LONG CABLE. feels like a solid fan.

Like every Noctua fan, this one is excellent.

So quiet, yet they move air. Very happy I replaced my default case fans with these.

Super quite. Nothing to complain about yet

Thank you noctua for making non-brown fans. Its been literally the only thing stopping me from using your fans for years. Love these fans in my new build. SO quiet and they move a lot of air!

This is the quietest fan Ive ever installed. I have since replaced every fan with this brand.

Noctua recommends the 12B for case cooling on their website while it recommends the P-12 for radiator cooling, despite the P-12 having 12 more CFM at max RPMs. So I got my hands on an equal number of P-12 and S12Bs (this model) and outfitted a Mesify C (a very typical mid-range case) with them to see how it would cool. The testing methodology was simple: ambient, miduse, and aida64 full throttle. In all circumstances, the P-12 performed better by at least 3 degrees. The Aida64 screen shots are attached, and it shows that an overclocked processors cores are cooled at almost four degrees better by P-12s.

I bought two of these to round out my PC case and make sure it has airflow coming in and going out. My case is an older NZXT Source 210 and if you are familiar with that case you might know the front panel has somewhat limited air inlets. So much so that when I first installed these fans (set to full speed because I do not yet have a 4 pin extension splitter cable long enough to add PWM functionality from the motherboard) the noise level was not too bad with the front panel off. When I put the front panel back on, however, there was a pretty significant jump in noise due to the design of the front panel on this case.

I originally mixed these in with my stock case fans. That was stupid. Once I removed all of the crappy stock fans, the noise level dropped to near zero. Quiet fans make such a difference!