# Is this Noctua NF-F12 iPPC 3000 PWM worth it? (Static pressure 7.63 mmH2O)



## Rob94hawk (Oct 15, 2020)

Doing a refresh on one of my rigs with a True 120 and a basic 120mm fan. Was thinking of replacing it with this:






						Amazon.com: Noctua NF-F12 iPPC 3000 PWM, Heavy Duty Cooling Fan, 4-Pin, 3000 RPM (120mm, Black): Computers & Accessories
					

Buy Noctua NF-F12 iPPC 3000 PWM, Heavy Duty Cooling Fan, 4-Pin, 3000 RPM (120mm, Black): Case Fans - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases



					www.amazon.com
				




I'll take any other recommendations.


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## dirtyferret (Oct 15, 2020)

NF12 is a nice fan and will cool well as long as you enjoy the sound of a dust buster coming out of your PC.  Otherwise I would suggest the Noctua A12





						Amazon.com: Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM, Premium Quiet Fan, 4-Pin (120mm, Brown): Electronics
					

Buy Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM, Premium Quiet Fan, 4-Pin (120mm, Brown): Case Fans - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases



					www.amazon.com


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## Rob94hawk (Oct 15, 2020)

dirtyferret said:


> NF12 is a nice fan and will cool well as long as you enjoy the sound of a dust buster coming out of your PC.  Otherwise I would suggest the Noctua A12
> 
> 
> 
> ...



LMAO! Thanks. Just read reviews and they said pretty much the same thing.

Are we talking as loud as the old 90mm Tornado?


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## delshay (Oct 15, 2020)

No. You will always be limited how much heat you can remove from the heatsink. Go over a certain RPM & there's nothing to gain other than more noise, which sounds awful. You will lose concentration with all that racket.


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## kapone32 (Oct 15, 2020)

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or







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## Rob94hawk (Oct 15, 2020)

delshay said:


> No. You will always be limited how much heat you can remove from the heatsink. Go over a certain RPM & there's nothing to gain other than more noise, which sounds awful. You will lose concentration with all that racket.



I was going for static pressure (7.63 mm H2O) not rpm. But here's where I got the review from:









						Best Static Pressure Fan for Radiator, Heatsink in 2022 [120mm & 140mm]
					

Best 120mm / 140mm Static Pressure Fans for Radiators, Heatsinks, and Restricted Spaces in PC Case. These high static pressure fans can deliver air at great force to the heat source and cools them down at a faster pace compared to standard fans. The fan blades of high static pressure fans are...




					graphicscardhub.com


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## Sandbo (Oct 15, 2020)

I have had a couple of this (and A14 3000rpm) on my desktop and server for a couple years;
Now I have moved back to the "normal" version as the noise was simply too much for me. 

If your heatsink requires that high static pressure to push, I think it is probably not designed for use in normal desktop environment.
That being said, the usual version of F12/A12x25 are sufficient to drive most CPU heatsinks/radiator.


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## Rob94hawk (Oct 15, 2020)

Sandbo said:


> I have had a couple of this (and A14 3000rpm) on my desktop and server for a couple years;
> Now I have moved back to the "normal" version as the noise was simply too much for me.
> 
> If your heatsink requires that high static pressure to push, I think it is probably not designed for use in normal desktop environment.
> That being said, the usual version of F12/A12x25 are sufficient to drive most CPU heatsinks/radiator.



This one?


			Amazon.com


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## xrror (Oct 15, 2020)

Yea I bought a "pack" of these fans with the intent of replacing some phantek HS fans (the phanteks are nice except they don't last - and are too expensive for how quickly they fail).
I ended up not doing that because while these iPPC fans are really nice, they "buzz" - they're not exceptionally loud but the noise they do make was really annoying.

That said again - they ARE really nice fans. You just really need to have them on some sort of speed control if they're going to be anywhere audible.

Also I seem to remember there were 2 versions of these in the 120mm size, and i'm not sure which ones I did get. I seem to remember there is the 3000rpm version and maybe a 2000rpm version? Now i really need to go find the boxes cause honestly if the ones I had were the higher, the lower speed one might avoid the buzzing.


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## Rob94hawk (Oct 15, 2020)

It's an old Q9650 so between the True extreme 120, Kryonaut, and decent fan I should be able to overclock and keep it cool nicely. It's not my Haswell 4770k where temps get to 100.


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## maxfly (Oct 15, 2020)

If you run them at lower rpms 800 to 1200 they are fine but once you start cranking them up they get laf but push a ton of air. Your better off going with lower rpm fans unless you like to bench or really need to push that much air. For what one of the ippc fans cost you can buy a 5 pack of arctics. Or used to at least, i havent priced them out in a long time.


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## Rob94hawk (Oct 15, 2020)

Rob94hawk said:


> This one?
> 
> 
> Amazon.com



Seems like this is the winner with a static pressure of 4.18 mm H2O


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## mtcn77 (Oct 16, 2020)

Rob94hawk said:


> Seems like this is the winner with a static pressure of 4.18 mm H2O


It surprised me that they were less noisy than Nidec Gentle Typhoons. You can reach a decent volume with the AP-29 at 1200rpm on 7v, but the stator ring acts like a vane axial siren.


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## John Naylor (Oct 16, 2020)

Only if you trying to levitate your case off your desk ?   ...

Im think you are gonna use these on a cooler but I'm not quite sure as yu references a rad fan article, so will try and cover all the bases

1.   While higher SP fans were useful in the 90s for water cooling in the days of 30 fpi radiators, they simply not required with today's radiators which are typically 8 - 12 fpi and air coolers.   Up thru 2010, we sometimes used 1500 and 1800 rpm fans but since then, we haven't used anyting other than 1200 rpm fans in all of our builds.  You will rarely see an air cooler with greater than 1500 rpm fans.  AIOs with aluminum rads  will go as high as 2400 rpm to offset the poor heat transfer of the aluminum ... but frankly I'd want 30 foot KB, mouse and monitor cables as I'd have to put the box in the next room.

2.  Lets look here:
https://  www.youtube.com/watch?v=TivNOgQqW-M&t=1023s @ 17:20 mark

The NH-D15 manages to keep the CPU @ 70C @ 33 dbA with its 1500 rpm fans
The Cordair H100i only manages to keep the CPU @ 73C @ 68dbA with its 2700 rpm fans

The AIO w/ High SP fans leaves you with a system that is *11.3 times as loud* all for the benefit of a CPU that runs 2C hotter.

3.  Be aware that published fan specs are "phoney baloney"








						Why Static Pressure & Max Flow Specs Are Poor Measures of Fan Performance
					

This is just a quick graphing demonstration of why fan box specs using static pressure and max air flow are generally poor tools in comparing fan performance.  Very much like pumps, fans have a pre…




					martinsliquidlab.wordpress.com
				




Here we see that the specs are:

Cougar Vortex PWM
Max Airflow = 70.5CFM
Static Pressure = 2.2 mm H20 (0.087 H2O)
And the reality is .... the fan delivered 33 cfm @ 0.04 in H2O
IOW, 47% of its claimed flow and 46% of its claimed SP

Gentle Typhoon AP-15
Max Airflow = 58CFM
Static Pressure = .08inwg = 2.03mm H20
And the reality is .... the fan delivered 38 cfm @ 0.047 in H2O
IOW, 66% of its claimed flow and 59% of its claimed SP

4.  What are these fans for ?  Are we talking heat sinks or case fans ?

5.  Here's some "let's see what happens when we swap fans articles"

https://  www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/phenteks_f140/3.htm
Take the 1500 rpm NF-A15  fans off a Noctua cooler and replace with 1200 rpm Phanteks and , at the same rpm, temps drop 6.3 C.  Even with an extra 300 cfm, at 1500 rpm, the Noctuas leave the CPU 3C hotter

https://  silentpcreview.com/first-140-mm-fan-roundup-noctua-phanteks-xigmatek/
Scroll all the way, way, way down to see the temperature / noise rankings ... and read the conclusion.   At this point in time (2013) fan design had reached a point where one no longer has to sacrifice performance for low noise.   Today's coolers, rads and even case designs are optimized for lower (1200 rpm) to medium (1500 rpm) speed fans.  We last used medium speed fans on SLI / CF builds, mounted on the back of HD cages to blow air between GFX cards  ... haven't done any of those tho in last 5 years.

_"In our last 120 mm fan roundup we lamented the fact that many of the best sounding fans faltered in our thermal test, posing our readership with a vexing question: Which is more important, acoustics or cooling performance? For this first batch of 140 mm fans, there is no such dilemma.  The Phanteks PH-F140HP/TS is the clear winner in every respect. It edged out the new Noctuas every step of the way, delivering the best overall results of any fan we’ve tested thus far. To top it off, it had cleanest, smoothest sound of all the new fans in this roundup. If we had to start from scratch, this might be our new reference model."_

I'm not saying higher rpm, which brings both more cfm and more SP won't make things cooler.... I'm saying that reducing temperatures beyond a certain point doesn't bring anything to the table.  In the comparison referenced in Item 2, going from 1500 rpm to 2400 rpm not only lost 2C but delivered more than 11 times the noise.  And lets say id dropped ya 2 or 3C ... what does 68 or 67 do for ya that 70C wasn't ?  We have an ancient SLI build here.... and if I run the fans at max speed, my GPU temps are 39C under Furmark and the system is quiet but audible, If I let the fan curve control fan speeds (50% speed at 75C on CPU), GPU temps rise to 44C  under Furmark.   So it's 39C and the noise is not annoying or 44C and you can't rtell that the system is on as fan speeds only get up to around 625 rpm (Furmark)  ... in gaming, hey significantly slower.

All that being said, you may have no other option if say using a small ITX case with inadequate air flow or a poor case design that doesn't allow for adequate cooling ... A $50 air cooler like the Scyther Fume 2 with 1200 rpm fans outperforms almost every 2 x 120mm AIO.  The $150 Corsair 115i Platinum w/ 2000 rpm fans edges the $50 cooler by 2C but at the cost of being twice as loud.   I just don't see that kinda trade off being worth it.

I looked at the review linked above and I would agree with some of the the autor said .... if this was say 1995 or 2002 even ... If you have a radiator with a high FPI then you will want high SP fans... but since those are pretty much extinct, I don't see how it applies today.

On a cooler... there's a reason Noctua uses 1500 rpm fans.... they chose NOT to use the 2000 rpm ones.    

Now we get to the nitty gritty.....The 2000 rpm fans you looked at cost $60. For the same $60, you could buy a new Scythe Fuma 2 cooler which will outperform most 2 x 120mm AIOs, beat the Noctua NH-D15 in AIDA 64 temps and by 3 dbA in sound (for just 2/3 the NH-D156's price) ... and it's not too tall either... about 154mm IIRC.. your current cooler is about 141 mm ... and it can mount a 3rd fan ....better cooler, better fans, better temps, better sound at no extra cost.



			https://tpucdn.com/review/scythe-fuma-2-dual-tower-cpu-cooler/images/temp_oc_aida64.png
		







						Amazon.com: Scythe Fuma 2 CPU Air Cooler, Intel LGA1151, AMD AM4/Ryzen, 120mm Dual Towers, Black Top Cover : Electronics
					

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					www.amazon.com
				




I don't like covering the page with the link windows ... so when copying links, delete the 2 spaces after https;//  when using the posted links


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## delshay (Oct 16, 2020)

I have the PH-F140TS here, brand new, never used. I'm going to swap them & compare them to the Noctua 1500 RPM fans.
I did notice PH-F140TS is three pin compared to Noctua 4 pin.

Phantek seems to have a smaller centre hub & has 9 blades compared to the Noctua 7 & a peak RPM speed of 1360..

EDIT UPDATE: PH-F140TS is a discontinued product.


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## Rob94hawk (Oct 16, 2020)

John Naylor said:


> Only if you trying to levitate your case off your desk ?   ...
> 
> Im think you are gonna use these on a cooler but I'm not quite sure as yu references a rad fan article, so will try and cover all the bases
> 
> ...



Using an old Antec 900. Nothing bigger will fit hence why I’m looking for better fans. Or just one fan if that will suffice.


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## claes (Oct 16, 2020)

The Fuma 2 that was recommended will fit and provide measurable gains in cooling over your True. If you’re set on Noctua you could get the NH-U12A, which has excellent fans bundled and fits.

That said, go for it with the iPPC fans if you’d like! They will be jet engines at full speed, and will perform on par with other fans mentioned here at similar speeds/noise levels. But if you want to shave the couple of degrees 60dB will get you, it’s a safe bet.

Traditional A14 vs iPPC on D15:





						Noctua NF-A14 industrialPPC Review
					

We review the Noctua NF-A14 industrialPPC line which features 2000 and 3000RPM versions of the popular NF-A14 fans. The design on these fans makes for an excellent aerodynamic efficiency and the use of a novel three-phase motor makes for a superior airflow and pressure capacity.




					www.relaxedtech.com
				




@VSG’s review:


			Contact Support


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## freeagent (Oct 17, 2020)

I think people forget just how dense the fin pack is  on an Ultra 120 Extreme. You want a high pressure fan, not one of those wussy 500 rpm ones 

Its an excellent cooler to this day as good as a D14 if you can move the air.

I am talking about the original Ultra 120 Extreme from 2007. Not the Ultra 120, or later revisions of the extreme.


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## tabascosauz (Oct 17, 2020)

It's really hard to recommend these iPPC fans if you care even remotely about noise and you've never ever heard them in person before. Noctua's not lying; they are loud, and in more than one way - the motor is louder than regular Noctuas as well, even at low speeds. Add to that the fact that the F12 is already a rather noisy (but powerful) fan by design.

But not all Noctuas are created equal. The new A12x25 is lauded as being one of the quietest fans of all time, but that's not how it sounds to my ears - I've always found them annoyingly whiny when faced with any restriction whatsoever. The regular F12s and iPPC-2000 F12 that I have, by contrast, do sound like jet engines at full speed, but the sound isn't quite as high pitched, and subjectively more tolerable for me. Same goes for my regular A14s vs iPPC-2000 A14; the iPPC obviously gets louder and has a slightly buzzy motor, but at a nearly flat 1000rpm curve all the time, the iPPC just had a lot of airflow noise (whoosh) while I can certainly hear the regular A14 whining. This, however, you'll only be able to decide after comparing them for yourself.

Now if you don't care about noise at all, there's nothing better than an iPPC at a good discounted price. I think you'll be fine with a iPPC-2000; both the F12 and A14 I think are rated at about 4mm H2O.


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## mtcn77 (Oct 17, 2020)

Just gonna drop this here.








						Corsair iCUE H150i Elite Capellix AiO-Wakü im Test: Messergebnisse und Fazit
					

iCUE H150i Elite Capellix im Test: Messergebnisse und Fazit / Testsystem und Methodik / Messergebnisse / Hinweise zur Darstellung der Daten




					www.computerbase.de
				



Scythe Fuma 2 is good, but it is not the best when quiet and that is its achilles heel.
In respective order of silent performance, Arctic Freezer 34 eSports Duo to Scythe Mugen 5, Noctua U12A, be quiet! Dark Rock 4, Thermalright Silver Arrow T8, Thermalright TA 140, SilentiumPC Grandis 3, be quiet! Dark Rock 4 Pro, Zalman CNPS20x, Deepcool Assassin III, Noctua NH-D15: Scythe Fuma 2 starts as Noctua U12A and ends with Thermalright TA 140. The others' fan curves are linear past a certain noise volume, it could either mean Scythe Fuma 2 is intended at high rpm, or that its fans cannot carry the huge radiator at low rpm.


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## freeagent (Oct 17, 2020)

When I ran my ultra 120 extreme I just used 120x38s in push/pull held together with zipties. You could run it quietly while still moving a ton of air.


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## Rob94hawk (Oct 19, 2020)

dirtyferret said:


> NF12 is a nice fan and will cool well as long as you enjoy the sound of a dust buster coming out of your PC.  Otherwise I would suggest the Noctua A12
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Ok so I listened to reason and will be ordering this fan. The only question I have is should I order 2 for a push/pull setup?


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## dirtyferret (Oct 19, 2020)

Rob94hawk said:


> Ok so I listened to reason and will be ordering this fan. The only question I have is should I order 2 for a push/pull setup?


I have them in push/pull on my U12A and honestly it probably makes a 2c difference during gaming.  The TRUE 120 is even thinner then the U12A with less heat pipes so the difference would be the same if not less.  I would just get one.


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## Arctucas (Oct 19, 2020)

I have eight of the NF-A14-iPPC-2000 (non-PWM) on my radiator. I run them directly off the PSU, so, full speed constantly.

I have heard many people say they are loud, but, I really do not think they are. Actually, to me, they have a sort of 'white noise' effect. But, that is just me.


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## mtcn77 (Oct 19, 2020)

Arctucas said:


> Actually, to me, they have a sort of 'white noise' effect. But, that is just me.


This is very true. In fact, your brain develops that filter upon hearing it too often.


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## dgianstefani (Oct 19, 2020)

A12x25.


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## mtcn77 (Oct 19, 2020)

I would actually buy a 3D printed acceleron just in case it was on purchase.


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## Arctucas (Oct 19, 2020)

mtcn77 said:


> This is very true. In fact, your brain develops that filter upon hearing it too often.



Must be.

However, after reading so many saying how they were 'jet turbines' or 'leaf blowers', I was pleasantly surprised when I first used them. Now, I barely noticed them at all.

Anyway, I have always been strictly about performance, noise is the least important factor. 

I think we might have a SPL meter at work. If so, I will borrow it and do some testing.


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## Arctucas (Nov 2, 2020)

Borrowed the Sound Level Meter.

Eight NF-A14-iPPC-2000 (non-PWM) on my radiator at 3 feet:




Chart from https://www.protoolreviews.com/news/understanding-sound-pressure-level-and-the-decibel-scale/50431/


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## X71200 (Nov 2, 2020)

Just get some P12 and run it at full blast since it's not really LOUD even at its peak yet pushes a good amount of pressure. Cheap too. The gains you'll achieve from the 3k Noctua simply won't translate to real life performance given the age of the setup. As I recall from the days of the T.R.U.E and Megahalems, 2000 RPM fans were what people rocked on them and they fared just fine. By that, I mean older fans with worse curves of pressure / airflow too.

You can get used to crazy fans, but from time to time you'll realize how loud it is and it will impact both your hearing and mental health if you're literally going all balls out with them.


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## mtcn77 (Nov 2, 2020)

Why don't we still have fan bracket radiator spacers that lower the noise volume yet, I wonder sometimes... it should be self-explanatory, you overcome some of the air impedance by clearing the deadspace behind the motor hub.


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## Xzibit (Nov 2, 2020)

If it gets above 30dba I don't want to hear it


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## Rob94hawk (Nov 11, 2020)

I actually ended up getting the F12 only cause the A12 was out of stock. It's not that loud at full speed, 2000 rpm, but currently it's outside the case. When overclocking the fan never went past 1200 rpm and it is nice and quiet at that speed and totally unnoticeable at stock speeds.





						Amazon.com: Noctua NF-F12 iPPC-2000 PWM, Heavy Duty Cooling Fan, 4-Pin, 2000 RPM (120mm, Black): Computers & Accessories
					

Buy Noctua NF-F12 iPPC-2000 PWM, Heavy Duty Cooling Fan, 4-Pin, 2000 RPM (120mm, Black): Case Fans - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases



					www.amazon.com


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## maxfly (Nov 12, 2020)

Solid choice. Ive got 7 of them in a TT x71, 4 120s and 3 140s and have no complaints. My loop is super overkill so they never run higher than 800rpm ;D its a big bonus having the extra horsepower if you ever need it.


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