Noctua NH-U12S Query

[USER_604]

Hello,

Just wanted to ask if a non-Noctua fan with the same dimensions (120x120x25) would be compatible with this heatsink, specifically the Cooler Master Jetflo 120.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

[Maximilian]

Looks like it should be fine. The fan mounting mechanism seems like it should fit any 120mm fan.

 

[Agent11]

I hate those little clips. Good luck op.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I hate those little clips. Good luck op.

Nobody invented a better way to do it. Without the clips, what would you use? Wire ties may distort the cooler-fins, and need to be cut every time you remove the fan.

Truth is, I should've got rid of the Noctua fans on my D14 when I first installed it. With a decent case exhaust fan and something like an AKasa 140R, I found the cooler doesn't need two fans hanging on it.

This isn't the identical problem of the U14S, but there are a lot of decent fans available that still offer acceptable noise levels at their top-end, can be controlled thermally via PWM, and provide more airflow than the Noctua capability.

 

[Essence_of_War]

This isn't the identical problem of the U14S, but there are a lot of decent fans available that still offer acceptable noise levels at their top-end, can be controlled thermally via PWM, and provide more airflow than the Noctua capability.

The fans on the NH-U12S are not the same as the fans on the D14.

The U12S has an NF-F12, which is in the top tier of performance/dB that you can find.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

The fans on the NH-U12S are not the same as the fans on the D14.

The U12S has an NF-F12, which is in the top tier of performance/dB that you can find.

Well . . . 93.4 cu-m/hr -- the NF-F12's top-end airflow rating -- is about 55.1 CFM. If you ask me, that's limp for airflow.

We can dicker endlessly about fan-makers and their CFM/cu-m/hr ratings or specs, but if any of them are reliable, I'll swear by the Akasa Viper specs. The Viper 140R ("R-ound") fan puts out 103 CFM and the Viper square 140mm fan puts out about 110.

They may not be absolutely as quiet as Noctua fans at their top end, but they are definitely quiet.

The problem for the pc-builder: balancing noise versus performance. If no attention is paid to thermal control of fans (either PWM or 3-pin), then the fans won't run at lower, more quiet speeds at CPU idle and some range of mild loading. So fan noise becomes a problem there. But with high-airflow fans under thermal control with decent noise specs, what you'd mostly hear occurs when the CPU is loaded -- when you need the airflow. And what you hear with the Viper fans is fairly subtle, or mostly air turbulence.

AFTERTHOUGHT: I mentioned 140mm fans here because I've been working with them, but the question is about the Noctua NH-U12S -- not the U14S. You may still be able to get a 140mm fan on the U12S, but that's not a major concern. You'll get more noise with the higher RPM of a 120mm fan offering better output. I'm currently experimenting with a Nidec-Servo Gentle Typhoon fan of 144CFM and 4,250RPM top-end with dBA in the mid-40's for the top-end.

Folks can choose their poison -- or their fans -- and deal with the noise potential. But there are as many fans and as many ways of doing that . . . too. . . .

 

[Essence_of_War]

Are those your personal results from testing the viper?

Here's a round-up from some Tom's users:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/331629-28-cooling-roundup-2012

The 140mm Viper narrowly outperforms Noctua's NF-P14:
28/46 vs. 28/47 (idle/load)

But weighs in at 44 dB (rated for ~26) vs. Noctua's 36 (rated for ~20). I don't consider 44 dB to be particularly quiet, heck I don't even know if I'd describe 36 as "quiet", more like "not particularly loud".

There are some interesting numbers on restricted vs. unrestricted airflow, and the Viper performs VERY well on unrestricted airflow tests, and hits higher total airflow than the Noctua even in restricted tests, but I'm less interested in "total # of CFM" than I am in "delta T / dB".

Aside: The big winner of that round-up, in my book at least, is the Silverstone Air Penetrator. 28/47 idle/load and at <30 dB...Impressive!

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Are those your personal results from testing the viper?

Here's a round-up from some Tom's users:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/331629-28-cooling-roundup-2012

The 140mm Viper narrowly outperforms Noctua's NF-P14:
28/46 vs. 28/47 (idle/load)

But weighs in at 44 dB (rated for ~26) vs. Noctua's 36 (rated for ~20). I don't consider 44 dB to be particularly quiet, heck I don't even know if I'd describe 36 as "quiet", more like "not particularly loud".

There are some interesting numbers on restricted vs. unrestricted airflow, and the Viper performs VERY well on unrestricted airflow tests, and hits higher total airflow than the Noctua even in restricted tests, but I'm less interested in "total # of CFM" than I am in "delta T / dB".

Aside: The big winner of that round-up, in my book at least, is the Silverstone Air Penetrator. 28/47 idle/load and at <30 dB...Impressive!

I suppose one might question the manufacturer spec or question the test. I only know that my load temperatures dropped about 5C just for replacing the Noctua fans with the single 140R Viper. And I'd already blown a lot of kruft from the fins before removing those fans for the Viper installation.

I also find it hard to believe the noise results on the Viper . . . lemme see here . . . I've got one in an unopened box . . . Their own spec for peak values is 26 dBA and 110 CFM @ 1,600 RPM with the square 140mm model. The 1,600 RPM spec is accurate within its promised +/- 10%, and I simply cannot hear the fan at all from where I sit, and I really couldn't hear much of it from anywhere else around the system.

Maybe your review -- and I looked at that review, too, so this is a good guess -- was based on 120mm models. Maybe not -- maybe I saw a mix of 120's and 140s. But the airflow would definitely be less for the 120. Point is, though, the Noctuas have an amp rating of around 0.1A, while the Vipers I have here are closer to 0.28A. To some extent, power consumption, size and RPM determine the CFM. Improvements in fin design and other factors make a difference, but only so far.

Ah. . Correction: 0.32A.

 

[Essence_of_War]

That review did include results from both the 120 and 140mm Vipers, but they were kept separate, and the results I quoted were exclusively from the 140mm ones vs. the 140mm NF-P14.

It's certainly possible that the reviewers switched them, but taking a quick look at the respective results of the 120/140mm vipers, 90 CFM vs. 110 CFM in unrestricted airflow, that doesn't seem likely to me.

 

[coffeejunkee]

Pretty sure it will fit. But Coolermaster fans are definitely not on the same level as Noctua's so I'm not sure why you would change it. I'm guessing for esthetic reasons, but in that case I would look around for a second hand Thermalright Ultra-Extreme 120 or Prolimatech Megahalems. Those coolers come without a fan so you don't waste money on one you won't use.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

That review did include results from both the 120 and 140mm Vipers, but they were kept separate, and the results I quoted were exclusively from the 140mm ones vs. the 140mm NF-P14.

It's certainly possible that the reviewers switched them, but taking a quick look at the respective results of the 120/140mm vipers, 90 CFM vs. 110 CFM in unrestricted airflow, that doesn't seem likely to me.

There are certain things I'd find easy to measure, and other things for which the trouble would be prohibitive. I can measure the temperature difference under LinX load for replacing the two Noctua fans with the one Akasa. I can pretty much guess the relative airflow between fans of one amperage and another with constant size, although this would still vary with blade-design. Another way of looking at it: additional amperage, same voltage, means proportionally more RPM. It's also possible that some motors are more efficient than others.

Just checking again the "Tom's Hardware Fan Roundup." This was a 2012 comparison, and the Akasa in the list was the 120mm model -- around 80+ CFM. XbitLabs has some reviews, and I found one that concludes "average fan" for an Akasa Viper 120 (square model), but there's no comparison there with the 140R or the square 140: The Viper 120 has an amperage draw that's just a bit more than the Noctua. There are other reviews, forums and sites that tout them for low noise and the rated output.

I'd tried several 140x25mm fans over the last five years. Sharkoon, AeroCool, and maybe another that I don't remember. Still limp compared to the two Akasa 140's, and their amperage draw and RPM pretty much showed it.

The likely drawback for any 120x25mm fan is static pressure compared to a 120x38mm, or it has to make up for it with more power and higher rpm -- and therefore -- noise. Generally, the 140's of any kind seem to have lower static pressure than you'd find with a decent 120x38 like Panaflo, but higher than some of the "more limp" varieties I'd seen people swoon for.

Now, I'm trying a 120x25mm Gentle Typhoon (Nidec Servo) 4,250 RPM, rated at 117CFM, and noise at around 45 dBA. Where does the noise come from? Air turbulence. The maker promotes them as nevertheless engineered to make any "hum" related to the motor more palatable, and they make a lot of low-output fans (GT's) people are constantly searching for. Somebody recently thought they'd gone out of production.

Turns out the test-lab results for this high-power GT shows the throughput at closer to 144CFM!! But having the range the fan offers with much of it showing little noise has value: you can thermally control the fan and still have the output when needed. This -- only with "air turbulence."

 

[Essence_of_War]

Just checking again the "Tom's Hardware Fan Roundup." This was a 2012 comparison, and the Akasa in the list was the 120mm model -- around 80+ CFM.

I think you overlooked something.

There are both 120mm and 140mm sections for every heading. The Akasa Viper shows up in both 120mm and 140mm variants on each list respectively.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I think you overlooked something.

There are both 120mm and 140mm sections for every heading. The Akasa Viper shows up in both 120mm and 140mm variants on each list respectively.

Essence, maybe we could search for more reviews. I certainly try to find them, and I'd like to have two substantive comparison reviews so that I feel 95% confident of accurate information. Otherwise, I have to go by the spec provided by the reseller and manufacturer. And I can only cite my own experience in such cases, as to whether the spec is accurate, understated (like the Typhoon) or overstated.

I picked up a BitFenix 200mm 3-pin fan rated at 144CFM and an Apevia 200mm 3-pin rated at something like 140. Turns out the amperage -- which is sometimes unspecified when you want it -- was the best indicator. The Apevia sucks for throughput. At most, it gives about 600 RPM like a CoolerMaster 200mm case fan, and the throughput would be comparable. But the BitFenix was true to its spec.

I also had the misfortune to see a reseller declare a fan to have X "CFM," went to another reseller to buy it for convenience, failed to check the spec there, then ordered the fan to discover 20 minutes later that the spec had been stated by the manufacturer in cu-m/hr. So I thought I was buying a fan rated at well over 100 CFM, when in fact it was rated at 70. The first reseller wasn't paying attention to units of measure.

It may even be the case that the Apevia's units of measure were also misstated. I think the conversion factor is something like 0.58.

 

[USER_604]

Thanks for all the replies. Just posting to confirm that it does fit.

 

[Essence_of_War]

Sweet. Temps improved?

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I took a look at the Coolermaster Jetflo 120 fan, and it looks rather promising. What is a "POM" bearing? I sometimes wish that they would always post MTBF specs for all fans. sometimes they fail to post the amperage; other times the reseller doesn't know the difference between English and Metric. I would think this "POM" bearing is a positive feature that reduces noise and extends lifespan. Does anyone know?