Chromax Fans
Of everything announced, I don’t think anything has the same anticipation as the Chromax fan lineup. As I mentioned before Noctua did introduce their Industrial PPC fans a few years ago now and they are black. But honestly those were overkill for what most PC users need and they were expensive. So with the new fans, I was really hoping they would help fill in that gap. So Noctua sent us one of each fan and all of them match current fans in the lineup so the fans themselves aren’t new, just the black color and the inclusion of a full array of Chromax accessories with each fan. So here are the model names for the new fans.
NF-A15 HS-PWM Chromax Black Swap
NF-A14 PWM Chromax Black Swap
NF-F12 PWM Chromax Black Swap
NF-S12A PWM Chromax Black Swap
Honestly, when I opened up the fans I was just expecting the same setup as normal so Noctua including all of the Chromax colored rubber pads with each fan was a nice addition. In the past you had to buy the fan and then your specific color, this lets you decide on a color later on.
The other big change with each of the fans is the replaceable cords. You get a sleeved black cable with the fan, but this is where the Chromax fan extension cables come into play. There is just a short nub of a cord built on to the fan and then you can plug whatever color you need into it.
Of course, you get all of the same colors as other Chromax products. There are vibration pads in red, blue, green, yellow, black, and white. The downside however and this is a big one, in my opinion, is you only get four of each color. This seems like a huge oversight to me, with four you can only put them on one side of the fan. So you can put them in between the fan and your heatsink or case to cut down vibrations or on the outside for looks.
With some these fans having similar Industrial models also in black the price is important. But remember with the industrial models you do have to go out and buy a set of Chromax vibration pads as well in the color you want so that will add to the cost. I was curious how these compare to regular Noctua fans though so I put together the pricing. The pricing on the 120mm fans is really good, especially considering the other pads are included. The NF-A15 HS-PWM is a little high but this is also a fan that normally is picked up with your heatsink. Most people won't be picking this one up to also do all of their case fans. You do still have to pay Noctua prices, so outfitting your whole setup with these is going to hurt the pocketbook a little, but there is a reason I run Noctuas in almost all of our builds. They have a solid construction, are quiet, and perform well.
NF-A15 HS-PWM Chromax Black Swap $26.90
NF-A15 HS-PWM $21.50
NF-A14 PWM Chromax Black Swap $24.90
NF-A14 PWM $21.95
NF-F12 PWM Chromax Black Swap $22.90
NF-F12 PWM $19.95
NF-S12A PWM Chromax Black Swap $22.90
Noctua NF-S12A PWM $19.95
