Case Cooling Upgrade with Noctua Fans

With nothing else left in the lab my only other option was to go smaller and try the 140 mm mounts.  My initial disappointment was quickly replaced by excitement when I realized there were several Noctua fans that might fit.  The Noctua fans have a similar shape and are designed with quiet in mind from the ground up.

Enter the Noctua NF-A15 PWM premium fan.  I have been a big fan of Noctua fans since the award winning NF-S12 and recommend then for any silent PC builds.  Lately I have gotten into the mode of thinking these fans are for HTPC builds but their performance is pretty solid.  The NF-A15 offers a 150 mm fan in a typical 140 mm mounting which helps make up for the step down in size as well.

Not only does the NF-A15 have a list of features that will make your standard case fan hide in shame, it also features a 19.2 dB/A rating at its max load.  With airflow rated to 115.5 m3/h (or about 68 CFM) the Noctua is not quite the same as a good aftermarket 200 mm in terms of performance but it sounds like a good trade.  Sounds…get it!

OK so it’s not a 200 mm fan and there’s no substitute for size but they do fit.  And we can bring two to the build to help make up for the loss of that massive 200 mm with a net drop in our acoustic signature.  That’s a win.

Here you can see just how well the NF-A15s fit.  Based on the “X” shaped mounting bracket we do miss the built in Anti-Vibration pads on one side but we do get a solid fit in both the front and back locations.  I never thought I would be bummed about the shape of fan mounts on anything but the Noctua AAO (Advanced Acoustic Optimization) frames are a big part of what I love about these fans.  That’s not a win but not Noctua’s fault.

Intrigued by the color and shape of these fans?  That’s Noctua’s signature color and it does draw a lot of attention.  I am also losing a blue LED in the transition but the Noctua design more than makes up for it in performance.

Where’s a good tool when you need one?  I had to do a lot of mount and removal during this process and this was the best we had handy…  Someone let Dennis know that some of that LN2 money might have a home in the tool box!  Mounting the Seidon inside the case is a great option but it does require mounting it before the fans.  Something I should have noticed before mounting the top fans…for the third time.

This angle shows the overall fit of the Noctua fan in the top of the Overseer RX-1 case.  I should come clean at this point and state; I never would have guessed replacing a factory fan would have required so much attention to the fit.  See those big round holes?  That’s where the top cover mounts and the reason why the Factory fans have that tight screw pattern instead of a traditional square frame.  Buying a traditional 200 mm fan would have netted me the same disappointment and a painful RMA.  Or a serious Dremel/drill session