Tuesday, November 8th 2022
Noctua Introduces NA-IS1 Inlet Spacers for Suction Applications and NA-SAVG2 Gasket Set
Noctua today introduced its new NA-IS1 intake side spacer frames for suction or "pull" type applications where fans draw air through obstacles such as grills, perforated plates, mesh panels, filters or radiators. By offsetting the fan from the obstacle, the NA-IS1 can significantly reduce influx turbulences and thereby help to improve both acoustics and performance. In addition, Noctua also introduced the NA-SAVG2 anti-vibration gasket set for using 140 mm fans on water cooling radiators or other applications that benefit from a tighter seal with the fan.
"Intake applications where fans draw air through obstacles such as grills or perforated panels are notoriously challenging both from an aerodynamic and from an acoustic point of view due to the massive turbulences that are caused by these objects", explains Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO). "These influx turbulences can have a significant impact on fan acoustics and performance, so we have created the NA-IS1 spacer frames that give customers a simple yet highly effective solution to reduce these turbulences and thereby make fans more efficient in suction type applications."
Introducing a 5 mm offset between the fan and the obstacle, the NA-IS1 spacers can reduce influx turbulences significantly, which not only improves acoustics but also helps fans to operate more efficiently from an airflow performance point of view because the fan blades are less hampered by turbulence. In many suction type applications, using inlet spacers can therefore enable fans to achieve higher flow rates and lower noise emissions at the same time.
For example, in controlled testing on a perforated panel with a typical circular hole pattern, the tested 140 and 120mm fans showed an average reduction in noise levels of around 2dB(A) and an average increase in flow rate of around 4.4m³/h. While the results will vary between different fans models and applications depending on factors such as the exact shape and structure of the obstacle, fan speed and flow resistance, the improvements are significant in most cases.
Available in 14 cm (NA-IS1-14 Sx2) and 12 cm (NA-IS1-12 Sx2) sizes, the NA-IS1 are compatible with all current square-frame Noctua 120x25mm and 140x25mm models. Designed to replace the fans' stock NA-AVP1 anti-vibration pads, the spacer frames are extremely straightforward to install: For case fan applications, either the supplied self-tapping screws or the included NA-AV3 anti-vibration mounts can be used to sandwich the spacer between the fan and the case panel. For radiator mounting, both M3 and UNC 6-32 screws are supplied. Each set includes two spacer frames plus the matching anti-vibration mounts, fan screws and radiator screws.
In sum, the NA-IS1 inlet spacers are a simple yet highly effective fine-tuning measure for suction type applications where a reduction of influx turbulence can lead to improved airflow and acoustics. The chromax.black variants are a perfect match for black chromax or industrialPPC line fans.
In addition to the NA-IS1 inlet spacers, Noctua also introduced the new NA-AVG2 anti-vibration gasket for using 140 mm fans on water cooling radiators or other applications that benefit from a tighter seal with the fan. Like the NA-AVG1 for 120 mm fans, the NA-AVG2 is made from extra soft yet highly tear-proof silicone rubber and helps to dampen minute vibrations as well as to reduce air loss between the fan and the radiator. As such, it is an ideal accessory for performance enthusiasts who want to squeeze out those extra few percent of cooling efficiency. The NA-SAVG2 set contains three NA-AVG2 gaskets.
For more information, visit the following pages:
The manufacturer's suggested retail prices are as follows:
"Intake applications where fans draw air through obstacles such as grills or perforated panels are notoriously challenging both from an aerodynamic and from an acoustic point of view due to the massive turbulences that are caused by these objects", explains Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO). "These influx turbulences can have a significant impact on fan acoustics and performance, so we have created the NA-IS1 spacer frames that give customers a simple yet highly effective solution to reduce these turbulences and thereby make fans more efficient in suction type applications."
For example, in controlled testing on a perforated panel with a typical circular hole pattern, the tested 140 and 120mm fans showed an average reduction in noise levels of around 2dB(A) and an average increase in flow rate of around 4.4m³/h. While the results will vary between different fans models and applications depending on factors such as the exact shape and structure of the obstacle, fan speed and flow resistance, the improvements are significant in most cases.
Available in 14 cm (NA-IS1-14 Sx2) and 12 cm (NA-IS1-12 Sx2) sizes, the NA-IS1 are compatible with all current square-frame Noctua 120x25mm and 140x25mm models. Designed to replace the fans' stock NA-AVP1 anti-vibration pads, the spacer frames are extremely straightforward to install: For case fan applications, either the supplied self-tapping screws or the included NA-AV3 anti-vibration mounts can be used to sandwich the spacer between the fan and the case panel. For radiator mounting, both M3 and UNC 6-32 screws are supplied. Each set includes two spacer frames plus the matching anti-vibration mounts, fan screws and radiator screws.
In sum, the NA-IS1 inlet spacers are a simple yet highly effective fine-tuning measure for suction type applications where a reduction of influx turbulence can lead to improved airflow and acoustics. The chromax.black variants are a perfect match for black chromax or industrialPPC line fans.
In addition to the NA-IS1 inlet spacers, Noctua also introduced the new NA-AVG2 anti-vibration gasket for using 140 mm fans on water cooling radiators or other applications that benefit from a tighter seal with the fan. Like the NA-AVG1 for 120 mm fans, the NA-AVG2 is made from extra soft yet highly tear-proof silicone rubber and helps to dampen minute vibrations as well as to reduce air loss between the fan and the radiator. As such, it is an ideal accessory for performance enthusiasts who want to squeeze out those extra few percent of cooling efficiency. The NA-SAVG2 set contains three NA-AVG2 gaskets.
For more information, visit the following pages:
- Performance data & guidelines
- NA-IS1-12 Sx2
- NA-IS1-14 Sx2
- NA-IS1-12 chromax.black Sx2
- NA-IS1-14 chromax.black Sx2
- NA-SAVG2
- NA-SAVG2 chromax.black
The manufacturer's suggested retail prices are as follows:
- NA-IS1 (all versions): EUR/USD 14.90
- NA-SAVG2 (all versions): EUR/USD 9.90
28 Comments on Noctua Introduces NA-IS1 Inlet Spacers for Suction Applications and NA-SAVG2 Gasket Set
Well done :cool:
Overall, another set of useful (if a tad pricy) products from Noctua. Good to see - but now get to launching that updated 140mm fan, please?
I`m also waiting, hope they will do a 3 pack this time.
These thin gaskets are nearly useless. What you want is a 25mm sealed spacer, and the easiest way to get those is to do what I've been doing for 25+ years:
Take an old, worn-out fan of the same size, and snip the four thin plasic supports for the hub away. Voila instant spacer with pre-drilled holes on both sides in exactly the right positions for screw holes, fan clips etc.
I'm not sure 5mm will make a difference then, feels like they need to be atleast 15-20mm to reduce that noise.
Those Noctua spacers also cost 3x more than cheap fans that you can cut the blades out of. You don't need old fans lying around, that's just the least wasteful way of doing it.
IMO the only reason to buy them is because you are unsettlingly in love with the traditional turd and weak-piss colour scheme Noctua uses.
To me the extra silence and 100% computability might worth extra 10-20$ for the long run.
No, it's just regular old silicone rubber with their brown & beige dye thrown in. The rest of the spacer is just regular fan-frame plastic and they've thrown a couple of silly pins into each corner to make the "proprietary" but to use them with other brands of fan, just snap them off - or buy literally anything else a vastly lower prices because these commodity parts have been available from numerous brands in regular black abs plastic over the last couple of decades for next to nothing. You could spray them with brown paint if you really wanted to...
Wotth 10x the cost? Not if you care about value, obviously. But that isn't Noctua's market.Exactly. IMO it's well worth paying a bit more for less waste, especially if you're also pressed for space, which many will be when comparing this to a 25mm fan frame.If your piss looks anything like the light beige on Noctua's fans you need to go see a doctor.
Acoustics depended on the materials used for the spacers; some hardcore "ghetto" mods just used 10mm tall closed-seal foam strips with the fan just pressed down over them with long threaded rods and nuts, while others used cardboard or even foam glued to the interior of spacers to reduce noise. The main weakness was vibration-dampening the fans themselves; a number of hardcore enthusiasts used hard foam or rubber washers to press the fan down the long rods used to hold the whole assembly together.
The cheaper alternative was just to buy a fat radiator and let there be more fin stack and more air exposure for cooling than buying a slimmer radiator but optimizing airflow. As well, American-designed radiators favored high fin density, making static pressure fans a must, vs the European radiators which favored lower fin density but could run with less-optimal fan options (but also resulted in worse average performance in old radiator testing depending on the fans used).
A lot of what we do today in wcing is owed to his work.
martinsliquidlab.wordpress.com/