Noctua NF-A4x20 5V PWM, High-Quality Silent Fan, 4-Pin, 5V Version (40x20mm, Brown) Review

I looked at the schematic on Noctua to make sure I got it right, found a simple little PWM can script and ran it. Just had to connect it to 5V, ground and the PWM pin set in the script. Works great and at the same price as a non-PWM fan. It's almost silent if you're right. If you're more than a few feet away, you won't hear it at altitude. What's not to like?

When I'm not running something intense, the PWM fan is usually off. Then, as the Jetson Nano heats up, the fan turns on just long enough to cool it down. I never notice this fan - I have to look at the blades to see if it's spinning because it's so quiet. The stock fan I replaced came with a third party acrylic Jetson Nano case, it wasn't PWM, it always ran at full speed and was a noisy little fan. I've seen other comments on the standard fan saying it's not very loud. My guess is that the low…

Noctua sets the standard for small, quiet and functional fans. My only wish is that Noctua eventually embraces a much slimmer package. The current packaging, which is clearly designed to showcase the premium experience of the product, completely ignores its environmental impact.

This fan was installed on an nVidia Jetson Nano and it fits perfectly. I received a case for the Jetson Nano that had the appropriate screws to properly install the fan. This fan kit does not come with them as the parts that come with the fan are more likely to be used for mounting to something like a computer case. Anyway, I'm very impressed how quiet the fan runs at full power and doesn't make any annoying noises. the sound of a small high-frequency vacuum cleaner, like most small fans.