Noctua NF-S12A PWM chromax.black.swap 12V 1200RPM 120mm Fan
Like all Noctua fans, these are designed with one thing in mind, high performance as well as all the other innovative features one has come to expect from Noctua and this version is supplied with six different coloured anti-vibration pads.
Features
- Supplied with anti-vibration pads in six different colours
- Advanced Acoustic Optimisation Frame Technology
- S-Series Blade Geometry with Anti-Stall Knobs
- Improved SS02 bearings
- Six year warranty
Having received more than 100 awards and recommendations from international hardware websites and magazines, the NF-S12A is one of Noctua’s most renowned and popular 120mm fans. Its outstanding airflow efficiency and superb acoustics make it ideal for case cooling and other low-impedance applications. The chromax.black.swap edition combines the NF-S12A’s signature quiet cooling performance with an attractive all-black design and a bundle of swappable red, white, blue, green, yellow and black anti-vibration pads that allow the colour-customisation of the fan to match individual build colour schemes.
For further customisation, a wide range of accessories such as coloured cables, additional anti-vibration pads and anti-vibration mounts are available separately. Topped off with Noctua’s trusted premium-grade SSO2 bearing, more than 150,000 hours MTTF and 6-year manufacturer’s warranty, the NF-S12A PWM chromax.black.swap is the perfect choice for all users who value individual, focused build aesthetics just as much as class-leading quality and performance.
Award-winning NF-S12A design
Having received more than 100 awards and recommendations from the international press, Noctua’s NF-S12A has become a proven premium choice for 120mm cooling needs. Its renowned efficiency has convinced tens of thousands of customers all over the world.
chromax.black.swap edition
Maximising colour choices, Noctua’s chromax.black.swap edition fans can be colour-customised using the included swappable anti-vibration pads as well as optional anti-vibration mounts and cables. This makes them ideal for enthusiasts looking for true premium-grade fans that can be colour-coordinated with popular build themes such as all black, black & white or black & red.
Swappable anti-vibration pads in 6 colours
The NF-S12A PWM chromax.black.swap comes with 4 black, white, red, blue, green and yellow NA-AVP1 anti-vibration pads respectively. By combining the various colours with black or leaving off the pads on one side, the fan can be coordinated with most popular build colour schemes out of the box. Additional NA-SAVP1 sets for outfitting both sides in one colour can be purchased separately.
Optional coloured cables
Noctua’s chromax line fans use a modular cabling system and come pre-fitted with a fully sleeved black NA-EC1 30cm cable. For refined colour coordination, white, red, blue, green and yellow 30cm NA-EC1 cables plus corresponding NA-YC1 y-cables are available separately.
Optional coloured anti-vibration mounts
To complement the coloured anti-vibration pads included with the fans, users can purchase chromax line NA-SAV2 anti-vibration mounts that enable the convenient, quick and vibration-free installation of fans in standard mounting holes for case fans.
Anti-Stall Knobs
The NF-S12A’s Anti-Stall Knobs reduce flow separation phenomena in medium to high impedance situations and thereby increase the fan’s stall margin. This means that the NF-S12A is even more versatile than its renowned predecessor and can achieve better performance on heatsinks and radiators.
AAO frame
Noctua’s AAO (Advanced Acoustic Optimisation) frames feature integrated anti-vibration pads as well as Noctua’s proprietary Stepped Inlet Design and Inner Surface Microstructures, both of which further refine the fan’s performance/noise efficiency.
Stepped Inlet Design
Noctua’s Stepped Inlet Design adds turbulence to the influx in order to facilitate the transition from laminar flow to turbulent flow, which reduces tonal intake noise, improves flow attachment and increases suction capacity, especially in space-restricted environments.
Inner Surface Microstructures
With the tips of the fan blades ploughing through the boundary layer created by the Inner Surface Microstructures, flow separation from the suction side of the blades is significantly suppressed, which results in reduced blade passing noise and improved airflow and pressure efficiency.
SSO2 bearing
The chromax line fans feature the further optimised second generation of Noctua’s renowned, time-tested SSO bearing. With SSO2, the rear magnet is placed closer to the axis to provide even better stabilisation, precision and durability.
Metal bearing shell
In order to guarantee the highest possible degree of manufacturing precision, minimum tolerance and excellent long-term stability, the chromax edition fans sport a CNC milled bearing shell made entirely from brass.
Custom-designed PWM IC with SCD
Supporting fully automatic PWM speed control, the chromax edition fans use Noctua’s custom-designed NE-FD1 PWM IC that integrates Smooth Commutation Drive (SCD) technology. By providing smoother torque impulses, SCD suppresses PWM switching noises and thus makes the fan quieter at low speeds.
6-year manufacturer’s warranty
Noctua fans are renowned for their impeccable quality and outstanding longevity. Like all Noctua fans, the chromax edition models feature an MTBF of more than 150,000 hours rating and come with a full 6-year manufacturer’s warranty.
Specifications | NF-S12A PWM CHROMAX |
---|---|
Model Number | NF-S12A PWM chromax.black.swap |
Size | 120x120x25 mm |
Connector | 4-pin PWM |
Bearing | SSO2 |
Blade Geometry | S-Series with Anti-Stall Knobs |
Frame Technology | AAO (Advanced Acoustic Optimisation) |
Rotational Speed (+/- 10%) | 1200 RPM |
Min. Rotational Speed (PWM) | 300 RPM |
Airflow | 63.2 CFM |
Acoustical Noise | 17.8 dB(A) |
Static Pressure | 1.19 mm H2O |
Max. Input Power | 1.44 W |
Max. Input Current | 0.12 A |
MTBF | 150,000 h |
Voltage | 12 V |
Warranty | 72 months |
EAN barcode | 9010018100419 |
Specifications | NF-S12A PWM CHROMAX |
---|---|
Model Number | NF-S12A PWM chromax.black.swap |
Size | 120x120x25 mm |
Connector | 4-pin PWM |
Bearing | SSO2 |
Blade Geometry | S-Series with Anti-Stall Knobs |
Frame Technology | AAO (Advanced Acoustic Optimisation) |
Rotational Speed (+/- 10%) | 1200 RPM |
Min. Rotational Speed (PWM) | 300 RPM |
Airflow | 63.2 CFM |
Acoustical Noise | 17.8 dB(A) |
Static Pressure | 1.19 mm H2O |
Max. Input Power | 1.44 W |
Max. Input Current | 0.12 A |
MTBF | 150,000 h |
Voltage | 12 V |
Warranty | 72 months |
EAN barcode | 9010018100419 |
Customer Reviews
Quiet and Colourful Fan
Refurbishing an old Z170 I7 7700 PC with a glass panel I was looking for quiet fans that fitted in with the rest of the components.
I chose two of these NF-S12A PWM fans, one for the CPU Cooler which is an old Silverstone NT06 with an horizontal fan and the other for the 120mm mounting on the rear of the case. The CPU fan is mounted to blow air down through the cooler, the M2 SSD is also under the fan so it cools that at the same time!
I set the case mounted fan to ‘Silent’ in the Bios and the CPU fan to ‘Normal’.
They are very quiet in operation, the case mounted fan runs at approximately 750 RPM rising to 800 RPM under full load (Cinebench R23) and the CPU fan 710 RPM rising to 1350 RPM under full load.
At idle or normal non gaming conditions they are very quiet, they are a little louder under full load but it is not intrusive just a quiet hum.
To summarise, great fans and the added bonus of colourful anti vibration mounts!
Amazing!
Superb fan, whisper quiet. Perfect upgrade and great customer service
Product Resources
FAQ
How do I measure fan size?
The size of fan you need will generally be determined by the size of the fan fitting position in your PC case. The sizes of all the fans on our website are shown as measured along any one of the fan’s four sides, NOT the distance between the fan’s screw holes! Our most popular fan size is 120mm, followed by 80mm. This isn’t really dictated by customer preference, but more by recent designs of PC cases.
As for the thickness (depth) of the fan, generally 25mm (1 inch) is by far the most common depth, although smaller fans can have shallower depths such as 15mm or even 10mm. All our fans are 25mm thick unless otherwise stated. If you have any questions about which fan you should order, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
If you know the distance between the fan mounting screw holes but don’t know what fan size to order, please see the following table. Note that the mounting hole measurements shown below are taken horizontally or vertically between the holes and not diagonally.
Screw hole spacings and fan sizes
Space Between Screw Holes Fan Size 32mm 40mm 40mm 50mm 50mm 60mm 60mm 70mm 72mm 80mm 83mm 92mm 105mm 120mm I received a small cable (resistor) with my fan; what is it for?
The resistor cable (also called Ultra Low Noise or ULN cable) is designed to allow the fan to run slightly slower for even quieter operation. The benefit in lower running noise is significant. Although the airflow will be reduced slightly, this usually has minimal effect on PC temperature. We would generally recommend using the ULN resistor cable for best results in almost all circumstances.
How can I tell which way the air blows through the fan?
Hold the fan so that the round fan sticker is facing you. You are looking at the rear of the fan. When you plug the fan in, the air will be blowing towards you. If you want a fan to act as an air intake, then the fan sticker will be facing the inside of the case. Some fans also have two small arrows moulded into their plastic housing - one arrow shows the direction of airflow, and the other (at 90°) shows the direction of blade rotation.
Is it possible to use a 4-pin PWM fan or CPU cooler with a motherboard which has only 3-pin fan headers on it?
Electrically, there is no problem doing this - the fourth pin on the fan cable is used purely for PWM control and is not needed in order for the fan to run. So you can plug the 4-pin fan connector onto the 3-pin motherboard fan header, leaving the fourth pin not connected to anything. The fan will potentially run at full speed, so if you would like to reduce the speed of the fan you will need to adjust the fan speed setting in your BIOS or use fan control software such as SpeedFan in Windows.
The only other problem to consider is that occasionally, components immediately adjacent to the motherboard fan header can get in the way of the larger 4-pin fan connector, physically preventing connection. This problem also occurs if you try to use an in-line fan speed controller such as the one made by Gelid.
Another avenue to explore is the possibility of using a bay-mounted fan controller. Several models are available now which provide 4-pin fan headers, so this is an easy way to use 4-pin PWM fans in a PC system which has only 3-pin fan headers on its motherboards. When using this method, you may find it necessary to disable any fan warning settings in your motherboard BIOS, since the motherboard may incorrectly believe that its CPU fan has failed when the fan is connected to a fan controller rather than directly to the motherboard itself.
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