Question Noctua 14cm Fan Replacement - Needs moar RGB

blckgrffn

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May 1, 2003
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I know I might take some grief for this, but I have a large Noctua cooler that has been gifted to me. I bought the AM4 kit for peanuts from Newegg and am preparing to install it. It's one where the fan is mounted parallel to the motherboard.

The giant, brown and surely amazing three pin fan is not doing it for me aesthetically.

Please suggest a 14cm fan to replace it with that has some form of RGB. I'd like a below $30 option and then just whatever would likely be best.

For now, it's going to be cooling a 3600 so I don't know that it even has to be that amazing, but I don't want to invest in trash, either.

Your guidance is much appreciated! Thank you in advance.
 

AnandThenMan

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Nov 11, 2004
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Antec Prizm is a good fan for the price, the single fan comes with no hub 3 pin ARGB connector for Asus, MSI etc. 4 pin PWM. I have some Deepcool ARGB fans I like them a lot but one of the fans has started to rattle.
 
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UsandThem

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What model did you get?

Several Noctua models ship with a fan that may be larger or the same size as a 140mm fan, but instead the fans have 120mm mounting holes.

For example, the NH-U14S and NH-D15S.
 

ao_ika_red

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UsandThem

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Please suggest a 14cm fan to replace it with that has some form of RGB. I'd like a below $30 option and then just whatever would likely be best.
$28

$15

It's not brown and very quiet with 500 rpm idle speed.
Those options don't have all that pretty RGB the OP is looking for.
 

blckgrffn

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noctua2.jpgnoctua1.jpg

This is the bad boy in question. It lived it's previous life with a delidded 3770k that died and in his rush, my buddy also left the mounting plate on the board when he discarded it (he also gave me the 3770k, I am pretty sure the board was fine. Sigh.) and so it was in his frustration with it being now useless he mailed it to me.

It took some looking, but here it is:


I think the bracket could hold a 14CM fan? You're right, the frame on this fan is super minimalist to fit the application. Just testing the brackets, they appear to be both really tight but flexible enough to move out a bit. I don't have another 14cm fan in the house to test with, unfortunately. Just a pile of 12 CM fans. Hmmm....

Thanks for all the other inputs, I am checking it out.

I've not purchased anything RBG outside the newer AMD coolers, so I am leery of paying for bling/brand name and getting a fan that is pretty but is bad at moving air.
 

UsandThem

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May 4, 2000
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View attachment 18352View attachment 18353

This is the bad boy in question. It lived it's previous life with a delidded 3770k that died and in his rush, my buddy also left the mounting plate on the board when he discarded it (he also gave me the 3770k, I am pretty sure the board was fine. Sigh.) and so it was in his frustration with it being now useless he mailed it to me.

It took some looking, but here it is:


I think the bracket could hold a 14CM fan? You're right, the frame on this fan is super minimalist to fit the application. Just testing the brackets, they appear to be both really tight but flexible enough to move out a bit. I don't have another 14cm fan in the house to test with, unfortunately. Just a pile of 12 CM fans. Hmmm....

Thanks for all the other inputs, I am checking it out.

I've not purchased anything RBG outside the newer AMD coolers, so I am leery of paying for bling/brand name and getting a fan that is pretty but is bad at moving air.
The specs of that included fan say it uses 120mm spacing: https://noctua.at/en/nf-p14-flx

9.jpg
 

blckgrffn

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Yes, you are certainly correct there. It looks like I need to focus my search on 12CM fans and only those that have open sides, not ones where the screw hole is protected all the way down.

I am guessing so long as I am using this cool a measly 3600 a single 12CM fan is going to be fine...

Thank you.
 

blckgrffn

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You have to take the fan off to access the mounts would be my bet.

Correct. Thoughts on heatsink alignment? I can leave it this way and there appears to be quite a bit of overlap with the voltage regulation bits and caps on the board, or I could turn it 45 degrees and cool the ram more effectively.

My NT-H1 is ready to go later today and I have a box of no-name (to me) addressable RGB 12cm fans from Microcenter. They were on sale, they were PWM, they advertised they worked with Gigabyte software and I impulsed purchased them. The new H500 is the ARGB version, which was not advertised, so that was a sweet surprise and I am looking forward to how bling tastic I can make this thing. It' really not my normal style, but I figured that learning how all the controllers work and stuff might be interesting for when I help other people build, and maybe I can finally impress my eight year old :D My normal understated and silent build style gets very little reaction ;)

My thought is that cooling the VRM stuff is more important these days, especially as I "cheaped out" and with a B450 board that once claimed to be a 8+3 setup but has really be revealed to be a 4+3 setup. I am sure I could discover what this means if I tried, but in most things computers I accept the higher numbers are better ;)

I plan on just having the 3600 do it's own thing with regards to frequency (hopeful the extra large cooler lets it turbo longer and higher) and the memory is some Ballistix 3200 - I plan on just enabling the XMP profile and letting it rock out.

Thank you for all the input so far. It is appreciated!
 
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blckgrffn

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$14 (before shipping)

12 cm, and NOT BROWN.

Thank you for this link, I overlooked it before.


That's the direct replacement for what I have, 14cm in a 12cm frame size. $18 shipped? Seems like a bargain, really. If the ARGB stuff doesn't pan out, that's a no-brainer. I found it thanks to your link :)

One of it's best rated attributes? "New Color" - "Not poop brown" :D
 
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JEDIYoda

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Let me tell you I have been building my own computers for a long time and you really cannot beat anything that Noctua comes out with!
I have a collection of all the Zalman copper fans which to me are the ultimate bling!
If noctua did the copper thing I would probably have a collection of Noctua fans!!
Keep on truckin -- my 2 cents worth!!
 
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JEDIYoda

Lifer
Jul 13, 2005
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Pretty sure this is what I have on my 3930k at the moment. :D

I've discarded a couple over the years, and it always made me sad. They are so freaking heavy!
I have never had an issue with weight! Never!
The Zalman fan you liste weights in a approx 750 grams or 1.6 lbs apporx!
The top of the line Noctua coolers weigh in at a considerbly heavier weight .....
For example --
Noctua NH-D15 SSO2 D-Type Premium CPU Cooler, NF-A15 x 2 PWM Fans weighst in a 2.91 lbs!!
 
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ao_ika_red

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That's the direct replacement for what I have, 14cm in a 12cm frame size. $18 shipped? Seems like a bargain, really. If the ARGB stuff doesn't pan out, that's a no-brainer. I found it thanks to your link :)
Yeah, you actually just change your fan's colour because they're almost the same in both form and size. I hope you enjoy the not-so-brown ecosystem.
 
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