Review on 🔈 Noctua NF-A12x15 PWM chromax Black.swap Premium Fan, 4-Pin (120x15mm, Black) - Quiet and Slim by Adam Roman

These are really awesome (pun intended) little fans. Their tone, volume and performance are perfectly acceptable. At full speed they are slightly higher in tone, right next to the mesh air panel, but at most operating speeds they make almost no discernible noise. They provide plenty of air movement and certainly have enough static pressure for use on radiators. All the black aesthetic is great, Noctua took quite a bit of time! The only flaws I have are very small and do not deserve a star in my opinion. First, while I like the blackout look of the fan, the brass colored fan hub reinforcement at the front of the fan clashes a bit. Second, I'm not sure what's wrong with Noctua's approach of IMMEDIATELY having the outlet on the end of the fan and then using an extension cord to actually plug it in, but I'm not a huge fan of that approach. In my opinion this adds an unnecessary point of failure or just bulk to the fan frame. Considering they will likely be installed in VERY tight spaces, this is not what you want. Otherwise they are perfect. I would like to buy more. I will introduce a small scenario here that may help some people. Let's say you have about 50mm of clearance for the heatsink and fan. Initially, you considered a 25mm heatsink and a traditional 25mm fan. Or you can get a 35mm thick radiator and one of those 120 x 15mm fans. I would suggest a setup with a thicker heatsink and this fan. The additional surface area of the heatsink allows for better heat dissipation, and the fan still has enough power and ability to dissipate the heat generated by the heatsink. Ditto if you find yourself in a similar situation with heatsinks, although this is a little less common.