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Noctua NF-R8 & NF-S12 Fans PDF Print E-mail
Written by Mikhail Ivanenkov   
Tuesday, 24 July 2007

Typical view from the top. Here are the specs for each model:

NF-R8
  • Size: 80x80x25 mm
  • Bearing: SSO-Bearing
  • Blade Geometry: Raised-Blade-Design
  • Rotational Speed (+/- 10%): 1800 RPM
  • Rotational Speed with L.N.A. (+/- 10%): 1300 RPM
  • Rotational Speed with U.L.N.A. (+/- 10%): 800 RPM
  • Airflow: 53 m³/h (~31.2CFM)
  • Airflow with L.N.A: 39 m³/h (~23CFM)
  • Airflow with U.L.N.A: 26 m³/h (~15.3CFM)
  • Acoustical Noise: 17 dB(A)
  • Acoustical Noise with L.N.A: 10 dB(A)
  • Acoustical Noise with U.L.N.A: 7 dB(A)
  • Input Power: 1.32 W
  • Input Current: 0.11 A
  • Voltage Range: 4-13 V
  • MTBF: > 150,000 hours
  • Warranty: 6 years
As you can see this is a very low noise fan while still providing decent airflow. The rated 7dBA using the ULNA is almost impossible to hear (most of the noise would be the actual air moving). We'll see if this holds up. Here's the 120mm model:

NF-S12-1200
  • Size:120x120x25 mm
  • Bearing: SSO-Bearing
  • Blade Geometry: Straight-Blade-Design
  • Rotational Speed (+/- 10%): 1200 RPM
  • Rotational Speed with U.L.N.A. (+/- 10%): 600 RPM
  • Airflow: 81 m³/h (~47.7CFM)
  • Airflow with U.L.N.A: 41 m³/h (~24.1CFM)
  • Acoustical Noise: 17 dB(A)
  • Acoustical Noise with U.L.N.A: 6 dB(A)
  • Input Power: 1.44 W
  • Input Current: 0.12 A
  • Voltage Range: 4-13 V
  • MTBF: > 150,000 hours
  • Warranty: 6 years
Even better ratings for the 120mm fan. While 24CFM is way on the low side for a 120mm model, at 6dBA it's inaudible. Finally, there's also an NF-S12-800 model which we didn't receive. It's basically a slower version of the NF-S12-1200. For kicks, here are its specs:

NF-S12-800
  • Size:120x120x25 mm
  • Bearing: SSO-Bearing
  • Blade Geometry: Straight-Blade-Design
  • Rotational Speed (+/- 10%): 800 RPM
  • Rotational Speed with U.L.N.A. (+/- 10%): 500 RPM
  • Airflow: 59 m³/h (~34.7CFM)
  • Airflow with U.L.N.A: 34 m³/h (~20CFM)
  • Acoustical Noise: 8 dB(A)
  • Acoustical Noise with U.L.N.A: 5 dB(A)
  • Input Power: 0.6 W
  • Input Current: 0.05 A
  • Voltage Range: 6-13 V
  • MTBF: > 150,000 hours
  • Warranty: 6 years
Much lower airflow but again inaudible. It also has a higher startup voltage to ensure that the blades have enough power to actually spin up - 0.6W is generally unheard of in 120mm fans.

Here they are from the back. Notice the different blade designs. The 80mm version uses a Raised Blade while the 120mm uses a Straight Blade. The wires on both fans are very well sleeved - a nice touch to a premium fan. As for the color scheme, that's up to you to decide.

In a side-by-side comparison with a regular case fan, the difference becomes evident. Here's a good explanation by Noctua regarding the blade design of the NF-R8 (80mm):

Current silent fans frequently employ conventional blade geometries, which were developed for higher speed ranges and significantly lose efficiency at lower rotation speeds. The Noctua Raised-Blade-Design of the NF-R8 series was developed by the Austrian Institute for Heat-Transmission and Fan Technology and specifically tailored to 80mm fans with extremely low rotation speeds. The result is a performance improvement of up to 10% compared to conventional blade geometries.

Both the angle of attack and the design of the blade area of the NF-R8 rotor are optimized for maximum airflow and minimum noise emission at speed ranges below 1800RPM. Raising the leading edge above the rotor hub and lowering the trailing edge below the bottom of the rotor hub results in an extended profile chord length, which compensates for the reduction in blade surface caused by the steeper angle of attack and hence increases the overall blade force. The continuous radial increase of the blade curvature towards the blade tips ensures sufficient static pressure despite of the slow rotation speeds. A significant reduction in noise emission is achieved through the rounding of the fan blades towards the rotor hub as well as the rounding of the rotor hub itself. This way, the NF-R8 is significantly quieter than other high end silent fans at the same performance thanks to its specific optimizations for ultra low noise application.

Mag. Manfred Stadler MBA of the Austrian Institute for Heat-Transmission and Fan Technology about the development of the Noctua Raised-Blade and Straight-Blade-Designs:

"In the area of PC cooling, the last years saw a growing demand for axial fans with the lowest possible noise emission, which manufacturers mostly met by simply reducing the RPM of existing models without sufficiently adapting the blade geometry and profile to the modified fluid dynamic parameters. The comparison of measured data and simulation outputs showed that the result was an average deficit of efficiency of 10-15%. The complete redevelopment of the blade geometry and profile was carried out with exact fluid mechanical adjustment to minimal noise emission in a speed range of 400-1800RPM at a height of 25mm and a radius of 40 and 60mm. Both fan blades possess 8-12% more flow rate than comparable products at the same total noise emission and static pressure." (Mag. Manfred Stadler MBA, Austrian Institute for Heat-Transmission and Fan Technology)

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 24 July 2007 )
 

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