This video really changed the way I'm thinking about fan configurations, I hope this testing methodology makes it to other reviewers and becomes more standard, looking forward to more testing! :)
I'm definitely interested in seeing a follow up with more extensive testing on air coolers. Sure, AIOs are cool, but for me air cooling will always be where I end up.
I'm really excited to see 120mm and 140 mm on D15. Currently I use the P14s as case fans, at static RPM, but would be interested to see P14s on D15. I set stepped PWM to activate Arctic fans at 60 celcius and CPU A15 as linear slope.
Please do a follow up to this video. This is the kind of stuff people debate endlessly on forums and you're in a position to end all debates with actual data. This would be huge for the community.
Honestly the noise profile of the A12 is what makes it the best fan IMO. Even at max RPM the sound is tolerable which is why it's the gold standard I measure every other fan against.
@@arekseo no I've really two of them unused. And 3 p14 in my fractal s2. Two front one rear Btw it would be nice know if I can substitute my fuma 2 fans 🍻 even if I don't like noctua chocolate colour
From what I've read on reddit, Fuma 2 doesn't benefit much from hi-static pressure fans like a12x25 or P12 due to it's less dense heat sink fins. P14 is awesome, but that 1,000~1,100 resonant noise is real too...
Good content, the capacity of the fan (cfm and static pressure) defintley matters but the fin spacing and length of the fins on a heatsink really dictate how much capacity of fan you need. Heatsinks will vary in needs. I do not have them on hand and manufacturers rarely post these specs but from a glance the fuma 2 has larger spacing compared to a noctua u12a. The wider spacing is why changing from a low RPM fan like the included kaze flex does not provide that great of return on the heatsink. The dual tower allows the fins to be shorter which also requires less of the fan. To really show this you could run something like the scythe ninja 5 (long and wider fins) compared to the freezer 34 (short and tight fins) and see how the length plays a role in the fan needs. (this is based on eye view of products not actual measurements) Lots of rambling on my phone hopefully helps guide future testing. Interested in anything you produce. Thanks for the content. Edit - I would try running the ninja 5 with only one fan not dual. The long fins (Single tower) should show how Fan capacity is different. Also with towers I would advise running without a rear exhaust as this will benefit some heatsinks more than others. Top exhaust would be more agnostic.
SilentPCReview were measuring fin thickness and fin spacing, but it looks like they're not reviewing coolers anymore. There are tables in old reviews and fin spacing fluctuates between 1.5mm to 3.3mm (data from Scythe Kotetsu review, table of around 40 coolers)
I was literally considering this since I already have A15 fans installed on my Noctua D14 - but was super tempted to consider a new fan. I'm preparing to move to a 5900X (from a i5 4670K) - so was taking this opportunity to do research. Low and behold, the Guru read my mind and now I'm no longer considering the A12x25 for my Noctua D14! I run very very low speeds (550-800RPM), so I had been considering the SW3 140mm as an alternative fan. The Thermalbench review shows how much pressure it maintains at ultra low speeds, while most other competing 140mm fans drop off like a cliff (Noctua's A15 included). But sadly most outlets don't test at those noise levels. If SPCR were still active, it would probably be on their radar though.
I figured I wasn't the only one interested in how this would work out! Thanks for the tip about SW3 performance. I've tested the 120mm version here: ua-cam.com/video/W2Zis8RjcX8/v-deo.html But admittedly I wasn't testing at ultra-low RPMs. That's a pretty unique scenario, as running the fans that low would not be ideal in a stress test.
Unfortunately, it turns out it takes a lot more time and effort to make sensible tech videos, but most viewers apparently aren't looking for that. So I cut back.
Nice findings, A12x25 does hold it's ground surprisingly well for a 120mm fan against the larger A14/15, it would definitely be interesting to see how it stacks up on heatsinks against other 120mm fans.
Thanks Ari. I’m very interested to see your 120mm fan results in a single tower cooler. It would be interesting to see the difference fans make on the tower that the NH-U12A uses as well as the NH-U12S.
it's not just dBA, but the noise profile that differentiates fans. High pitch travels farther than low, and the NF-A12x25 has much less high pitch noise than any fan I've ever tested
Interesting results. I'm currently thinking of switching to the NF-A12x25 from the NF-F12 on my NH-U12S. I'm DEFINITELY interested on that follow-up video. Please do.
I use 2x A12x25 ULN on my Noctua NH-D15S and 2x A12x25 ULN on my RTX 2080 Super with the stock Asus Strix cooler. Completely noiseless because both CPU & GPU fans run on 400-900 rpm. Temperatures are 48-60 degrees Celsius
Yeah I think you should do the test on a 120 mm heatsink ... and include the A15 with those The problem with the heatsink you are currently using is that the a12x25 is smaller and will not Cool the heatsink fully While with a smaller heatsink that is tailored to 120 mm fans the A15 will be mountable and than the results might be more interesting As for the a14 and a12x25 with 140 mm adapter on a radiator the adaptor seems to improve the fans performance by preventing the air from going out of the sides of the fan and effectively Cool the whole 140 mm area
The NF-A12x25 is the best fan. Idk what you did in your testing but it's literally the best balanced fan for static pressure and airflow that you can buy, except maybe the Phanteks T30 now.
@@TheTechBuyersGuru Looking forward to the review. I had a 212 upgraded with a Noctua fan and currently have a standard 34 duo. I doubt I would upgrade the fans, I would rather get a Fuma 2 that I found on your channel. (The big Noctua is just too big for me).
I agree that upgrading the fans on the 34 Duo isn't worth it, mainly because the fans on it are so good already. The Fuma 2 is slightly better, yes, mainly because it is quieter for the same level of performance, and ultimate performance is a bit better.
That is possible, as I have a Mugen 5. But it isn't necessarily representative of most coolers due to its depth, so different fans could excel on it versus something like the Noctua NH-U12S.
Do a comparison of the Noctua NF-A12x25 vs the Arctic P12 PWM which has a similar fan blade profile, but you can get like 3 or 4 for the same price as one of the A12x25's. Those are the fans used on the Arctic Liquid Freezer II, so I would imagine they're pretty damn good since that's the best performing AIO out there at the moment.
I did not, but actually noticed it on the NF-A14. It's going to be pretty specific to the fan, the RPM, and what you have it attached to (whether a case, heatsink, or radiator). I don't doubt it's possible, but I didn't notice it on the A12x25.
Top comparison! Do you know why CPU heatsinks don't use a fin array like in radiators. I always imagined that more surface is better because more heat can be taken away at once.That's the reason why a double tower like the NH DH-15 is better than a single cooling tower. So why not using the radiator fin array to further improve?
The radiator fins are doing something quite different from the heatsink fins. The liquid in a radiator is absorbing much of the heat. The fins just transfer that heat away from the liquid and into the airflow of the fans. With a tower heatsink, the heatsink itself must absorb the heat. Therefore it's made of a relatively heavy, solid metal structure, as opposed to the ultra-light aluminum fins in a radiator. They would not hold to any abuse if used in a heatsink.
@@TheTechBuyersGuru thank you for the prompt answer. Well then maybe instead of the super thin design it would be an improvement to form the heatsink fins in a triangle wave form, which should already offer ~40% more cooling and heat storage surface according to Pythagoras.
I think you could use the FUMA 2 for testing, but without the slim fan in front. That way the fan in the middle get stressed more because it has to pull and then push the air through the heatsink.
Great video :) I think that the NF-A14/A15 fans are better suited on a CPU heatsink than as case fans. The NF-A14 makes a strange motor hum sound as a case fan, at least mine did. The A15 fans on my D15S does not. Maybe they don't use the same motor.
I did confirm with Noctua that the A14 and A15 HS use the exact same internal design, so my bet is that the noise your heard is related to what the fans were mounted to (a case and a heatsink, respectively).
whats your recommendation for case fans with LED but almost like noctua perf? and is this true that SP is for intake fan and AF for exhaust? thanks for the videos!
Actually, my recommendation is not to use Noctua at all for case fans, because they are mediocre for that application. If you want good RGB fans for a case, I'd recommend the Scythe Kaze Flex 140 RGB: amzn.to/3ujEj05 Scythe does not make that in a 120mm model, and does not sell an ARGB model. If you want that, go for the new Arctic BioniX P120 ARGB: amzn.to/3hN9BKa If you want 140mm ARGB, then go for the more expensive Noiseblocker fans: 140mm: amzn.to/3vn7Nvc
You've discovered an interesting facet of fan performance! If the noctua is THE radiator fan then what is THE heat sink fan? My bet is on the GentleTyphoon.
I actually conducted the shootout I proposed in this video. It was pretty extensive, so you might want to check it out: Part I: heatsink testing - ua-cam.com/video/ERN61VyqDGA/v-deo.html Part II: radiator testing - ua-cam.com/video/agojNJedtR8/v-deo.html
@@TheTechBuyersGuru you are so helpful. I've watched your recent shootouts many times. You gave the crown to the Wonder Snail. Given it's the "spiritual replacement" of the Gentle Typhoon, it deserves a closer look. Hardware Canuck's recent 120mm shootout showed both cooled similarly but the Gentle Typhoon was over 2db quieter at 100% speed (2150rpm vs Wonder Snail's 2400rpm). I'm not convinced the WS was an improvement upon the GT. They seemed to have fixed the ball bearing whine but that gain was lost by running the fan faster. Link to that HC shootout here: ua-cam.com/video/5_-0PnpgDg8/v-deo.html
It's great to see that HC has jumped on the bandwagon of serious fan testing. Honestly, at this point, I'm backing off, because the big guys have the budgets to make these videos more often.
@@TheTechBuyersGuru I've received more help from your videos than all others combined. But if it doesn't make financial sense then it just doesn't. Best wishes, friend.
Glad to hear it! But honestly, it's tough... that two-part series took about 30 hours to create, and in 7 months it's received 33,000 views combined and netted me about $75 in ad revenue and maybe $20 in sales commissions. HC's video has been up for a month and has just over 100K reviews. In that time my videos had about 10K views. To be honest, even at 10x the view rate of my video, it doesn't make sense for a channel the size of HC to do more of these videos. Their video took much longer to produce than most of the other videos they've posted in the past few months. I appreciate their dedication - it's clearly something they care about!
I think heatsink or radiator are similar. Both of them are obstacles. When I have to choose airflow or static pressure i will choose pressure since it can be put in the case with front radiator
what do you suggest for 3 intake 140mm fans? i have and phanteks p600s and i have istalled 3 nf-a14 right now. Do you suggest to swap them? thanks and great videos!
Those fans are decent for case cooling, but not fantastic. No need to swap them unless you feel you need better performance. These are the two fans I recommend for case cooling: (1) Scythe Kaze Flex 140: amzn.to/32Pis5n (2) Arctic P14 PWM PST: amzn.to/2QXHKeZ But consider buying 5-pack for a bit more than the price of 3: amzn.to/3dPofhF Learn more here: ua-cam.com/video/PUdsTiRmuuU/v-deo.html
The BioniX is all about style. They also have a slightly higher RPM, but I have found they make far more noise even at the same RPM due to the decorative frame design.
It would be nice to also see performance on Scythe Big Shuriken 3 since Scythe purposely provides longer screws in order for you to upgrade to normal thickness 120mm fans. I've only seen normal thickness Kaze Flex(surprisingly worse performer than stock slim Kaze Flex) & NF-A12x25(better than stock slim Kaze Flex) tested on it so far. As for tower coolers you have the usual suspects like CM Hyper 212, Scythe Mugen 5, ID Cooling SE-224-XT & NH-U12S.
The BS3 really isn't a very good heatsink. I probably wouldn't test on it, as improved fans wouldn't do much. And yes, I know that the Kaze Flex didn't do well on that cooler, as I tested it myself! - ua-cam.com/video/nx3axNgZs8U/v-deo.html The issue is that the Kaze Flex 120/25 is not a heatsink fan, despite being used on a variety of Scythe heatsinks. It's a low-RPM case fan, and it generates insufficient static pressure to even keep up with its own slim cousin. It works well on the Fuma 2 because Scythe designed the heatsink around the strengths of the Kaze Flex, namely excellent airflow at low RPM.
@@TheTechBuyersGuru There are 1800 rpm KazeFlex which are more appropriate for heatsinks. I still use Grand Kama Cross 2 on my Ryzen 3600. Just replaced the original fan with a KazeFlex 140 rgb 1800 fan (just to have a bit of bling) it also keeps the vrm and memory cool at the same time ;). Used it in the passed with an AMD FX-8350.
hey man arctic just dropped a new version of their p12 like 2 weeks aggo that is RGB and A-RGB, iv seen your previous fans roundup and i realized the p12 is an amazing fan for the budget so i wanted to know if you ll compare the 2 in a video? since iv seen some RGB versions of great fans be absolute garbage (scythe kaze flex RGB) and other be amazing (silverstone s RGB fans) i wanted to know if it would be worth the added almost double pricing to get it
hey there s this new budget cpu cooler from noctua that recently came out and it s 10 dollars cheaper than the scythe fuma 2 and comes with included nt h1 wich is one of the best thermal paste on the market, so i wanted to know if you can do a comparaison, and i am really wondering if you could do a test where you used scythe fuma 2 with it s included thermal paste, then the new nh-u12s redux with it s included nt h1 and finally a comparaison with the both of them using nt h1 or any other thermal paste, just to know if you need to buy thermal paste with the scythe fuma 2 or if the included one is good enough
That's the new NH-U12S Redux: amzn.to/2Qm2zk8 I'm not planning on reviewing it. NT-H1 is probably a bit better than Scythe's paste, but the Scythe Fuma 2 is a much better heatsink, with much better fans, than the U12S Redux. The fan on that cooler is among the worst fans I've ever tested.
This will give you enough info: ua-cam.com/video/ERN61VyqDGA/v-deo.html The P12 is good, but would not be as good as either of the Noctua fans for a D15.
I would consider swapping out my Be Quiet! Silent Wings 3 High Speed on my 120mm aio for an NF-A12x25 but not before Noctua offers it in black. I also have two 140mm Be Quiet! Silent Wings 3 case fans for my fairly dense Phanteks Evolv Shift 2 Air, but I have a hard time imagining a better case fan to be worth the money. I know in your tests Be Quiet! Seems to perform pretty averagely, but they look so nice, are well made, and are pretty quiet. The Arctic fans perform very well, but I don't trust their reliability.
Just did a super-basic test on my system. 3700x, nh-u12s heatsink, nf-a12x25 fan, medium to high ventilated case. looped cinebench r20 multicore 3 times. 59-62Celcius at 1410-1490rpm. used HWiNFO64. Sadly i can't compare it to the original fan. Since I can't provide ambient temp or noise this may have limited usefulness.
Those two fans have a very similar design. Their performance deltas on heatsinks and radiators would probably be quiet similar. Also, it's impossible to test the P14 on a heatsink, as it doesn't have the correct mounts.
🤔All fans have a Difference residence at different speed's and for different obstructions , in a lab test it will be totally different in a PC case . eg . my Waifu card without being on increases the noise and heat of the PC fans .
Absolutely do the 120mm fan comparison on a heatsink. I'm fascinated and really appreciate your in depth look into fans and pc cooling.
Thanks for your feedback!
This video really changed the way I'm thinking about fan configurations, I hope this testing methodology makes it to other reviewers and becomes more standard, looking forward to more testing! :)
Glad to hear you appreciated this new take on fan testing!
I'm definitely interested in seeing a follow up with more extensive testing on air coolers. Sure, AIOs are cool, but for me air cooling will always be where I end up.
Thank you for your findings..:) Very interested with comparison of 120mm fans on heatsinks..:)
I'm really excited to see 120mm and 140 mm on D15. Currently I use the P14s as case fans, at static RPM, but would be interested to see P14s on D15. I set stepped PWM to activate Arctic fans at 60 celcius and CPU A15 as linear slope.
Please do a follow up to this video. This is the kind of stuff people debate endlessly on forums and you're in a position to end all debates with actual data. This would be huge for the community.
You really deserve more attention on UA-cam.
Glad you liked the video!
Honestly the noise profile of the A12 is what makes it the best fan IMO. Even at max RPM the sound is tolerable which is why it's the gold standard I measure every other fan against.
No doubt it's very impressive at high RPMs, although its sweet spot is probably 1200-1500RPM.
True if there is only one, but three of them on 2000rpm do make some noise.
To conclude: Release NF-A14x25 and take my money Noctua!
And Yes, 120mm fans shootout on a heatsink! But on Fuma 2 just cause I'm using it ;"P
Ha, ha, maybe in a special "Fuma 2 fan optimization" video. You can always dream. ;)
I've fuma 2 into my PC and x2 a12x25 in a box on the shelf. Please please please test it 😁.
Hahaha especially the chromax edition, i will absolutely buy it 😁 btw so far, till now, artic p14 is the best in 140mm context vs other 140mm fans
@@arekseo no I've really two of them unused. And 3 p14 in my fractal s2. Two front one rear
Btw it would be nice know if I can substitute my fuma 2 fans 🍻 even if I don't like noctua chocolate colour
From what I've read on reddit, Fuma 2 doesn't benefit much from hi-static pressure fans like a12x25 or P12 due to it's less dense heat sink fins.
P14 is awesome, but that 1,000~1,100 resonant noise is real too...
This video made me understand more of static pressure and air flow, thanks 👍
Glad it helped!
Good content, the capacity of the fan (cfm and static pressure) defintley matters but the fin spacing and length of the fins on a heatsink really dictate how much capacity of fan you need. Heatsinks will vary in needs. I do not have them on hand and manufacturers rarely post these specs but from a glance the fuma 2 has larger spacing compared to a noctua u12a. The wider spacing is why changing from a low RPM fan like the included kaze flex does not provide that great of return on the heatsink. The dual tower allows the fins to be shorter which also requires less of the fan. To really show this you could run something like the scythe ninja 5 (long and wider fins) compared to the freezer 34 (short and tight fins) and see how the length plays a role in the fan needs. (this is based on eye view of products not actual measurements)
Lots of rambling on my phone hopefully helps guide future testing. Interested in anything you produce. Thanks for the content.
Edit - I would try running the ninja 5 with only one fan not dual. The long fins (Single tower) should show how Fan capacity is different. Also with towers I would advise running without a rear exhaust as this will benefit some heatsinks more than others. Top exhaust would be more agnostic.
Thanks for this great input. Lots of ideas to ponder!
SilentPCReview were measuring fin thickness and fin spacing, but it looks like they're not reviewing coolers anymore. There are tables in old reviews and fin spacing fluctuates between 1.5mm to 3.3mm (data from Scythe Kotetsu review, table of around 40 coolers)
I was literally considering this since I already have A15 fans installed on my Noctua D14 - but was super tempted to consider a new fan.
I'm preparing to move to a 5900X (from a i5 4670K) - so was taking this opportunity to do research. Low and behold, the Guru read my mind and now I'm no longer considering the A12x25 for my Noctua D14!
I run very very low speeds (550-800RPM), so I had been considering the SW3 140mm as an alternative fan. The Thermalbench review shows how much pressure it maintains at ultra low speeds, while most other competing 140mm fans drop off like a cliff (Noctua's A15 included). But sadly most outlets don't test at those noise levels. If SPCR were still active, it would probably be on their radar though.
I figured I wasn't the only one interested in how this would work out! Thanks for the tip about SW3 performance. I've tested the 120mm version here: ua-cam.com/video/W2Zis8RjcX8/v-deo.html
But admittedly I wasn't testing at ultra-low RPMs. That's a pretty unique scenario, as running the fans that low would not be ideal in a stress test.
Excellent video, more videos on this topic would be great!
3 weeks waiting for the next video...
I got used my weekly dose of sensible tech reviews
Unfortunately, it turns out it takes a lot more time and effort to make sensible tech videos, but most viewers apparently aren't looking for that. So I cut back.
But the good news is that the follow-up to this video is coming on Monday!
Great video and idea of heatsink fan shootout is awesome - totally worth doing it :]
Excellent quality video as always!
Nice findings, A12x25 does hold it's ground surprisingly well for a 120mm fan against the larger A14/15, it would definitely be interesting to see how it stacks up on heatsinks against other 120mm fans.
On heatsink probably will win the artic p12 on 1-2% difference.
Please do add a follow up video with different fans on a single tower. Thank you.
Stay tuned, it's coming!
Thanks Ari. I’m very interested to see your 120mm fan results in a single tower cooler. It would be interesting to see the difference fans make on the tower that the NH-U12A uses as well as the NH-U12S.
it's not just dBA, but the noise profile that differentiates fans. High pitch travels farther than low, and the NF-A12x25 has much less high pitch noise than any fan I've ever tested
Interesting results. I'm currently thinking of switching to the NF-A12x25 from the NF-F12 on my NH-U12S. I'm DEFINITELY interested on that follow-up video. Please do.
That video is in the works, and it will specifically be testing the A12x25 on the U12S!
Very nice findings, thanks for your hard work
Thanks as always for stopping by!
The white rails in front of the radiator is what is making that noise with the larger 140mm fan.
I'd love to see a comparison video on 120mm fans on an air cooler
I would like to see 120mm fan comparison for heatsinks
I use 2x A12x25 ULN on my Noctua NH-D15S and 2x A12x25 ULN on my RTX 2080 Super with the stock Asus Strix cooler. Completely noiseless because both CPU & GPU fans run on 400-900 rpm. Temperatures are 48-60 degrees Celsius
I'm an air cooler person, not an AIO fan. Would love to see a fan shootout on a single tower air cooler.
This was honestly really interesting to see...
Testing other fans on the single tower cooler sounds great, it should help a lot
Yeah I think you should do the test on a 120 mm heatsink ... and include the A15 with those
The problem with the heatsink you are currently using is that the a12x25 is smaller and will not Cool the heatsink fully
While with a smaller heatsink that is tailored to 120 mm fans the A15 will be mountable and than the results might be more interesting
As for the a14 and a12x25 with 140 mm adapter on a radiator the adaptor seems to improve the fans performance by preventing the air from going out of the sides of the fan and effectively Cool the whole 140 mm area
The NF-A12x25 is the best fan. Idk what you did in your testing but it's literally the best balanced fan for static pressure and airflow that you can buy, except maybe the Phanteks T30 now.
Keep up the good work. I always look forward to your videos
Glad you like them!
Would be nice to see if on a dual tower cooler going from two 120mm fans to one single 140mm do keep up with the temps while lowering the decibels ?!
I dont understand most of this or what a heat sink is but it’s a great video. I bought a d15s for my cpu. Thanks
Welcome to the channel! And if you have a D15, you know more than you say you do!
@@TheTechBuyersGuru only from watching honest and quality reviews.
i was looking to see if the "Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM" would do better then the NF-A14/15 when one needs to raise one of the fans to clear mem hight.
Suggestions for single tower test
1. Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo - most popular
2. Arctic 34 - also popular
I have the 34, not the 212, so I'd go with the 34 between the two. It's very representative of standard tower design.
@@TheTechBuyersGuru Looking forward to the review. I had a 212 upgraded with a Noctua fan and currently have a standard 34 duo. I doubt I would upgrade the fans, I would rather get a Fuma 2 that I found on your channel. (The big Noctua is just too big for me).
I agree that upgrading the fans on the 34 Duo isn't worth it, mainly because the fans on it are so good already. The Fuma 2 is slightly better, yes, mainly because it is quieter for the same level of performance, and ultimate performance is a bit better.
im interested on the 120mm fan on heatsinks, although i would like to see something like Mugen5 being the benchmarking cooler (if possible).
That is possible, as I have a Mugen 5. But it isn't necessarily representative of most coolers due to its depth, so different fans could excel on it versus something like the Noctua NH-U12S.
Do a comparison of the Noctua NF-A12x25 vs the Arctic P12 PWM which has a similar fan blade profile, but you can get like 3 or 4 for the same price as one of the A12x25's.
Those are the fans used on the Arctic Liquid Freezer II, so I would imagine they're pretty damn good since that's the best performing AIO out there at the moment.
Already done: ua-cam.com/video/agojNJedtR8/v-deo.html
I'm definitely interested in a cpu cooler fan comparison
Curious to know in your heatsink testing with the a12x25's if you encountered beating frequencies anywhere along the RPM spectrum
I did not, but actually noticed it on the NF-A14. It's going to be pretty specific to the fan, the RPM, and what you have it attached to (whether a case, heatsink, or radiator). I don't doubt it's possible, but I didn't notice it on the A12x25.
Top comparison! Do you know why CPU heatsinks don't use a fin array like in radiators. I always imagined that more surface is better because more heat can be taken away at once.That's the reason why a double tower like the NH DH-15 is better than a single cooling tower. So why not using the radiator fin array to further improve?
The radiator fins are doing something quite different from the heatsink fins. The liquid in a radiator is absorbing much of the heat. The fins just transfer that heat away from the liquid and into the airflow of the fans. With a tower heatsink, the heatsink itself must absorb the heat. Therefore it's made of a relatively heavy, solid metal structure, as opposed to the ultra-light aluminum fins in a radiator. They would not hold to any abuse if used in a heatsink.
@@TheTechBuyersGuru thank you for the prompt answer. Well then maybe instead of the super thin design it would be an improvement to form the heatsink fins in a triangle wave form, which should already offer ~40% more cooling and heat storage surface according to Pythagoras.
Interesting suggestion, but I think the problem would be forming solid metal into those shapes in a cost-effective way.
120mm fan comparison on a heatsink, please! :D
I think you could use the FUMA 2 for testing, but without the slim fan in front. That way the fan in the middle get stressed more because it has to pull and then push the air through the heatsink.
Great video :)
I think that the NF-A14/A15 fans are better suited on a CPU heatsink than as case fans. The NF-A14 makes a strange motor hum sound as a case fan, at least mine did. The A15 fans on my D15S does not. Maybe they don't use the same motor.
I did confirm with Noctua that the A14 and A15 HS use the exact same internal design, so my bet is that the noise your heard is related to what the fans were mounted to (a case and a heatsink, respectively).
Great Work, Congratulations !
whats your recommendation for case fans with LED but almost like noctua perf?
and is this true that SP is for intake fan and AF for exhaust?
thanks for the videos!
Actually, my recommendation is not to use Noctua at all for case fans, because they are mediocre for that application. If you want good RGB fans for a case, I'd recommend the Scythe Kaze Flex 140 RGB: amzn.to/3ujEj05
Scythe does not make that in a 120mm model, and does not sell an ARGB model.
If you want that, go for the new Arctic BioniX P120 ARGB: amzn.to/3hN9BKa
If you want 140mm ARGB, then go for the more expensive Noiseblocker fans: 140mm: amzn.to/3vn7Nvc
@@TheTechBuyersGuru thanks so much!
hey, will you make any mx-5 review i'm thinking about it or nt-h2 what you think?
You've discovered an interesting facet of fan performance! If the noctua is THE radiator fan then what is THE heat sink fan? My bet is on the GentleTyphoon.
I actually conducted the shootout I proposed in this video. It was pretty extensive, so you might want to check it out:
Part I: heatsink testing - ua-cam.com/video/ERN61VyqDGA/v-deo.html
Part II: radiator testing - ua-cam.com/video/agojNJedtR8/v-deo.html
@@TheTechBuyersGuru you are so helpful. I've watched your recent shootouts many times. You gave the crown to the Wonder Snail. Given it's the "spiritual replacement" of the Gentle Typhoon, it deserves a closer look. Hardware Canuck's recent 120mm shootout showed both cooled similarly but the Gentle Typhoon was over 2db quieter at 100% speed (2150rpm vs Wonder Snail's 2400rpm).
I'm not convinced the WS was an improvement upon the GT. They seemed to have fixed the ball bearing whine but that gain was lost by running the fan faster.
Link to that HC shootout here: ua-cam.com/video/5_-0PnpgDg8/v-deo.html
It's great to see that HC has jumped on the bandwagon of serious fan testing. Honestly, at this point, I'm backing off, because the big guys have the budgets to make these videos more often.
@@TheTechBuyersGuru I've received more help from your videos than all others combined. But if it doesn't make financial sense then it just doesn't. Best wishes, friend.
Glad to hear it! But honestly, it's tough... that two-part series took about 30 hours to create, and in 7 months it's received 33,000 views combined and netted me about $75 in ad revenue and maybe $20 in sales commissions. HC's video has been up for a month and has just over 100K reviews. In that time my videos had about 10K views. To be honest, even at 10x the view rate of my video, it doesn't make sense for a channel the size of HC to do more of these videos. Their video took much longer to produce than most of the other videos they've posted in the past few months. I appreciate their dedication - it's clearly something they care about!
I think heatsink or radiator are similar. Both of them are obstacles. When I have to choose airflow or static pressure i will choose pressure since it can be put in the case with front radiator
what do you suggest for 3 intake 140mm fans? i have and phanteks p600s and i have istalled 3 nf-a14 right now. Do you suggest to swap them? thanks and great videos!
Those fans are decent for case cooling, but not fantastic. No need to swap them unless you feel you need better performance. These are the two fans I recommend for case cooling:
(1) Scythe Kaze Flex 140: amzn.to/32Pis5n
(2) Arctic P14 PWM PST: amzn.to/2QXHKeZ
But consider buying 5-pack for a bit more than the price of 3: amzn.to/3dPofhF
Learn more here: ua-cam.com/video/PUdsTiRmuuU/v-deo.html
@@TheTechBuyersGuru thanks man glad to discovered your channel
Edit : what do you think about the bionix series of arctic?
The BioniX is all about style. They also have a slightly higher RPM, but I have found they make far more noise even at the same RPM due to the decorative frame design.
It would be nice to also see performance on Scythe Big Shuriken 3 since Scythe purposely provides longer screws in order for you to upgrade to normal thickness 120mm fans. I've only seen normal thickness Kaze Flex(surprisingly worse performer than stock slim Kaze Flex) & NF-A12x25(better than stock slim Kaze Flex) tested on it so far.
As for tower coolers you have the usual suspects like CM Hyper 212, Scythe Mugen 5, ID Cooling SE-224-XT & NH-U12S.
The BS3 really isn't a very good heatsink. I probably wouldn't test on it, as improved fans wouldn't do much. And yes, I know that the Kaze Flex didn't do well on that cooler, as I tested it myself! - ua-cam.com/video/nx3axNgZs8U/v-deo.html
The issue is that the Kaze Flex 120/25 is not a heatsink fan, despite being used on a variety of Scythe heatsinks. It's a low-RPM case fan, and it generates insufficient static pressure to even keep up with its own slim cousin. It works well on the Fuma 2 because Scythe designed the heatsink around the strengths of the Kaze Flex, namely excellent airflow at low RPM.
@@TheTechBuyersGuru Speaking of Scythe, I hope you can include Wonder Snail if you push through with your heatsink fan shootout.
@@TheTechBuyersGuru There are 1800 rpm KazeFlex which are more appropriate for heatsinks. I still use Grand Kama Cross 2 on my Ryzen 3600. Just replaced the original fan with a KazeFlex 140 rgb 1800 fan (just to have a bit of bling) it also keeps the vrm and memory cool at the same time ;). Used it in the passed with an AMD FX-8350.
How would the 2 fans fare against each other behind an air filter?
hey man arctic just dropped a new version of their p12 like 2 weeks aggo that is RGB and A-RGB, iv seen your previous fans roundup and i realized the p12 is an amazing fan for the budget so i wanted to know if you ll compare the 2 in a video? since iv seen some RGB versions of great fans be absolute garbage (scythe kaze flex RGB) and other be amazing (silverstone s RGB fans) i wanted to know if it would be worth the added almost double pricing to get it
Upcoming video will compare P12 to P12 A-RGB.
@@TheTechBuyersGuru great, thanks dude
What about both fans as case fans which one would win ?
Interesting results!
Yes do it!
hey there s this new budget cpu cooler from noctua that recently came out and it s 10 dollars cheaper than the scythe fuma 2 and comes with included nt h1 wich is one of the best thermal paste on the market, so i wanted to know if you can do a comparaison, and i am really wondering if you could do a test where you used scythe fuma 2 with it s included thermal paste, then the new nh-u12s redux with it s included nt h1 and finally a comparaison with the both of them using nt h1 or any other thermal paste, just to know if you need to buy thermal paste with the scythe fuma 2 or if the included one is good enough
That's the new NH-U12S Redux: amzn.to/2Qm2zk8
I'm not planning on reviewing it. NT-H1 is probably a bit better than Scythe's paste, but the Scythe Fuma 2 is a much better heatsink, with much better fans, than the U12S Redux. The fan on that cooler is among the worst fans I've ever tested.
I wonder how Arctic P12 fan performs on the D15.
This will give you enough info: ua-cam.com/video/ERN61VyqDGA/v-deo.html
The P12 is good, but would not be as good as either of the Noctua fans for a D15.
@@TheTechBuyersGuru Thanks!
Off the topic will the noctua nh d15 be enough for a i7 10700k and what will my temps be?
Yes, it's enough. Temps will be about as high as in this video: ua-cam.com/video/tw5qR7BeTXA/v-deo.html
@@TheTechBuyersGuru thx i learned allot
Very professional video
You should have used some 120mm to 140mm adapters no?
I would consider swapping out my Be Quiet! Silent Wings 3 High Speed on my 120mm aio for an NF-A12x25 but not before Noctua offers it in black. I also have two 140mm Be Quiet! Silent Wings 3 case fans for my fairly dense Phanteks Evolv Shift 2 Air, but I have a hard time imagining a better case fan to be worth the money. I know in your tests Be Quiet! Seems to perform pretty averagely, but they look so nice, are well made, and are pretty quiet. The Arctic fans perform very well, but I don't trust their reliability.
The NF-A12x25 black will be coming in Q3'21, but there is another option: the brand-new Scythe Wonder Snail! - amzn.to/2RYqCWW
@@TheTechBuyersGuru Oh heck yeah, hopefully they'll stay on track with that timeline!
Do it on the arctic freezer 34 duo, please!
Yes I want nf a12*25 on nh u12s , freezer 34 duo .. waiting sir 👍
Just did a super-basic test on my system. 3700x, nh-u12s heatsink, nf-a12x25 fan, medium to high ventilated case. looped cinebench r20 multicore 3 times. 59-62Celcius at 1410-1490rpm. used HWiNFO64. Sadly i can't compare it to the original fan. Since I can't provide ambient temp or noise this may have limited usefulness.
@@tthbeige3332 that's a great temp ❤️ for a single tower cooler . Thanks btw..
Simply superbbb ❤️
Between the two I hesitate otherwise great video
Do the same thing but with the arctic p12 and p14
Those two fans have a very similar design. Their performance deltas on heatsinks and radiators would probably be quiet similar. Also, it's impossible to test the P14 on a heatsink, as it doesn't have the correct mounts.
Noctua is using these on u12a and they perform amazing so dunno
🤔All fans have a Difference residence at different speed's and for different obstructions , in a lab test it will be totally different in a PC case .
eg . my Waifu card without being on increases the noise and heat of the PC fans .
engagement
Comment for algo, you need more exposure
Thank you!
:)