Noctua listens to their customers and decided to introduce a new fan series which will focus on more affordable prices without sacrificing their renowned quality. Thus the Redux line is geared towards budget oriented users but still come with the full 6 years of warranty and all the bells and whistles from the other series. So let’s jump right in and see how they perform.
Noctua :
Established in 2005, Noctua took international silent enthusiasts’ hearts by storm and quickly developed into one of the most acclaimed suppliers of premium quality quiet cooling products. Today, Noctua is present in more than 30 countries across the globe and working with several hundred sales partners. Chosen by noise-conscious PC users, system integrators and industry clients alike, Noctua has become synonymous with impeccable quality, excellent customer service and class-leading quiet cooling performance.
Designed in Austria, Noctua’s premium cooling components are internationally renowned for their superb quietness, exceptional performance and thoroughgoing quality. Having received more than 6000 awards and recommendations from leading hardware websites and magazines, Noctua’s fans and heatsinks are serving hundreds of thousands of satisfied customers around the globe.
Pricing and availability at the time of the review:
– For the Noctua NF-P14r 1500 PWM
£ 23.49 – via Amazon.co.uk
Noctua NF-P14r redux-1500 PWM – computer cooling components (Computer case, Fan, Black, Grey, 4-pin)
$ 14.95 – via Amazon.com
Noctua SSO Bearing Fan Retail Cooling NF-P14r redux-1500 PWM
– For the Noctua NF-P14s 1500 PWM
£ 13.99 – via Amazon.co.uk
Noctua NF-P14s redux-1500 PWM – computer cooling components (Computer case, Fan, Black, Grey, 4-pin)
$ 14.95 – via Amazon.com
Noctua SSO Bearing Fan Retail Cooling NF-P14s redux-1500 PWM
– For the Noctua NF-S12B 1200 PWM
£ 11.99 – via Amazon.co.uk
Noctua NF-S12B Redux 1200 PWM PC (Cooler, Computer Case Fan, 12 cm, 0.9 W, 12 V, 12 cm)
$ 17.49 – via Amazon.com
Noctua SSO Bearing Fan Retail Cooling NF-S12B redux-1200 PWM
– For the Noctua NF-B9 1600 PWM
£ 9.99 – via Amazon.co.uk
$ 16.95 – via Amazon.com
Noctua SSO Bearing Fan Retail Cooling NF-B9 redux-1600 PWM
– For the Noctua NF-R8 1800 PWM
£ 9.39 – via Amazon.co.uk
$ 9.95 – via Amazon.com
Noctua SSO Bearing Fan Retail Cooling NF-R8 redux-1800 PWM
Presentation & specification
*Courtesy of their website:
The redux product line reissues some of Noctua’s most popular, award-winning models by presenting them in streamlined packages that have been reduced to the essential core: premium quality quiet cooling solutions. All redux edition products are industry proven, time-tested models that have convinced thousands of customers and helped to found Noctua’s reputation as a first-tier supplier of premium grade low noise cooling equipment. Backed up with full 6 years manufacturer’s warranty, the redux product line provides trusted Noctua quality at an accessible price point.
The Redux series consists of 13 fans from 80 mm to 140 mm 3 or 4 pins and variable speeds. Today, we are reviewing all the PWM variants.
As promised, here are some of the incorporated technologies from the higher priced series:
And now for the specs of the tested samples:
*Fan pictures not to scale.
We notice that he 140 mm fans are the same in specs and rated performance and they only differences are the frame shape and mounting screw wholes. The 140r being round, (hence the “r” in the name) has the advantage that is has 120 mm mounting points.
Packaging & Visual Examination
As we saw in the Industrial PPC series, they redesigned the boxes as well and implemented the same minimalist approach. The dark red is still present on the side of the boxes but now the main background is composed of grey, for easy correlation between the Redux series.
On the back we have all the relevant specs you would ever need from a fan.
Inside, the fans are centered with some protection from all sides and only 4x mounting screws are supplied – the same as we saw for the Industrial series. Necessary to keep the cost down.
Now, let’s zoom in. These are all the frame size available and we have one representative from each frame.
The 80,92 and 120 mm have 7 blades while the 140 have 9 more aggressively curved blades. All employ the same color scheme, light grey on for the frame and dark grey for the blades.
All of them are fully sleeved and feature 4 pin PWM. There are also in 3 pins variants as well.
(pancake flip’em) And we see tags.
And these are the SSO-Bearing, present on all the Redux series, which combines the proven concept of hydrodynamic bearings with an additional magnet to support the self-stabilization of the rotor axis. The SSO-Bearing technology is designed to provide very quiet operation and exceptionally stable long life span of up to 150 000 hours.
We need to point out that the fans are designed to be 4-pin PWM IC with SCD powered and regulated. This method integrates Smooth Commutation Drive (SCD) technology, by providing smoother torque impulses, SCD suppresses PWM switching noises and thus the product operates more quietly at lower speeds.
In the upcoming video review you will see that the fans are alive even without electricity. 😉
Testing methodology & Installation
To maintain scalability, we will use the same testing scenario as in the Noctua PPC Industrial series review
- We will test all the fans on our Reeven Justice 120 mm heatsink and regarding the Redux, we will employ only the 120 & 140 mm fans variants so we have an idea about their cooling power despite the fact that they are primary built to be case fans. As for the the 80 & 92 mm Redux we will test them as standalone, as we did in the past.
- To make things even more interesting we will use an Intel Extreme series CPU – something that it is capable of dumping a lot of heat – the QX9650, a 130w TDP coal miner even in stock form. The CPU will be overclocked, of course.
As the main torture test, we will employ the Intel Burn Test run set at “High stress” settings and then some 3D benchmarks as well - Room temperature is set at ~ 20°C
- For the noise testing, we used our Pyle PSPL01 placed 30 cm away from the setup – all other fans will be off an the fans of the GPU(s) will be off as well or set minimum
- Thermal paste used – Noctua NH-H1
- We will compare the results to other high performance fans from Noiseblocker, Noctua’s IndustrialPPC series and the included stock fan from the Reeven Justice cooler.
- All fans will be left on the auto % rpm curve for idle and the benchmarks; then only for the absolute performance index we will ramp them up to 100 %
- Any results over 90° C in any condition are considered a fail
Let’s proceed.
Hardware used:
Processor: Intel Extreme QX9650 @ 3.6 Ghz – 1.375v
Cooler: Reeven Justice RC-1204 120 mm single tower CPU cooler
Case: GameMAX Titan MidTower ATX
Motherboard: XFX 750i NVIDIA SLI ATX
RAM: 4 GB (2×2) OCZ Reaper X DDR2 800 Mhz CL4
GPUs:Quad-SLI NVIDIA GTX 295 (EVGA + DELL)
HDD: WD Black SE 160 GB
PSU: Corsair TX 750w V2
Competition fans:
– Noiseblocker 140 mm Eloop B14-PS – 1200 RPM | 4 Pin (PWM) | 12.0 V | 24 dBA | 142.6 m³
– Noiseblocker 120 mm Eloop B12-PS – 1500 RPM | 4 Pin (PWM) | 12.0 V | 21 dBA | 98.7 m³
– Reeven 120 mm RY1225S15BP – 1500 RPM | 4 Pin (PWM) | 12.0 V | 30 dBA | 139.4 m³
Noctua fans:
– Noctua Industrial PPC NF-F12 120 mm – 3000 RPM | 4 Pin (PWM) | 12/24 V | 43.5 dBA | 186.7 m³
– Noctua Industrial PPC NF-A14 140 mm – 2000 RPM | 4 Pin (PWM) | 12/24 V | 31.5 dBA | 182.5 m³
* Since the NF-P14r & P14s are the same fans, we will count them as one in the graphs.
Software:
– Windows 10 Pro x64 Build 1607
– NVIDIA GeForce WHQL 342.01
– Core Temp v1.7 R6 – To see the temperatures in real time
– CPU-Z v1.71 – To verify the CPU’s statistics
– Intel Burn Test v2.54 – Main torture and stability test
– MSI Afterburner v4.11 – To record the FPS and load/temperatures
– Valley Benchmark v1.0 – A popular testing suite
– SpeedFan v4.52 – To manually control the RPM curve
And for the Tomb Raider game we run the included benchmark suite for a more real life scenario.
Resolution set at FHD / 1920 x 1080 with everything set to maximum quality settings and no V-sync.
Results
Analysis
So, as expected, being built for case fans, we didn’t expect a lot of punch when compered to high performance models in a very intensive test where you require a lot of static pressure.
Although, given the price bracket, they handled things admirably and came out the most silent of the bunch.
Conclusion
Noctua likes to surprise us every time. Their top tier series is world famous for striking the best combination of quality, cooling and noise performance while providing epic accessories. But as expected, all of these come with a cost.
So, this Redux series is addressed to those on a budget, Noctua focusing on exactly what you need – a really good fan. So you will still get the SS0 bearing, very good performance and 6 years warranty with over 150k hours of MTBF.
The attention to details is present everywhere and even though Noctua had to cut corners, they didn’t go overboard and kept what you would like to see like the fully braided cables and top-notch packaging that defiantly makes you feel like you are getting a high quality product at a good price.
The good:
+ Good Overall Performance – despite the fact that we tested them outside their main purpose
+ Good price performance ratio
+ Unique Color Scheme – easier to differentiate
+ Excellent Packaging
+ Decent 40cm Cable Length
+ They incorporate a lot of of patented proprietary technologies from the other premium Noctua series
+ 6 years warranty & Over 150.000 MTTF
The bad:
– Stock bundle and accessories, but this is understandable given the price bracket
– No RGB ? 🙂
Glob3trotters “Best Buy” Award – 4.5 out of 5
Many thanks to Noctua for supplying us with these test samples !
