Case Cooling Upgrade with Noctua Fans

With the top two replaced it just didn’t look right to leave the exhaust fan in place.  I pulled the Thermaltake TT-1225 and replaced it with a matching NF-S12A PWM.  The TT-1225 is a pretty good fan with a 9 blade pattern rated at 16 dB/A (1000 RPM)  but the NF-S12A is an old favorite with a better 17.8 dB/A at 1200 RPM.  The NF-S12A also pushes a solid 107.5 m3/h (~63 CFM).  That makes up for more of that second top fan and completes the look.

All three of the Noctua fans also come with a Low Noise Adapter LNA.  The LNA can be used either to run the fan at a fixed speed of 900rpm or to cap the maximum speed when using automatic PWM control.  This will further reduce your sound signature but also reduces the air flow significantly.  The NF-A15 is reduced to 13.8 dB/A and about 52 CFM.  The NF-S12A is reduced to just 10.7 dB/A and about 49 CFM.  That’s a nice reduction but may require some tough decisions about your total heat dissipation.

Here is the final build.  As you can see here the Seidon simply disappears into the top of the case at this angle making the top of the build seem incredibly open.  Thanks to the blue light on the top of the Seidon water block and the large window on the Overseer RX-1, this effect looks just as good with the side panel on.  The look of the Noctua fans may take some getting used to but with the fans running all the dark brown seems to vanish.  With things matched up in all the visible fans the update is a welcome change.

What about performance?  The Seidon works pretty well as a fan-less radiator when paired with the Noctua NF-A15 and does a great job at keeping with my Ivy Bridge 3770K.  Temps are a cool 48-49C as I write this up.  I confess adding a fan to the radiator during OC sessions is probably in the cards but for gaming/work sessions I run cool and quiet.

Some of you may be asking why I didn't just mount the Seidon in the back exhaust fan location where it belongs.  The truth is it just doesn't fit there thanks to the case design and moving to an outside mounting would require disassembling the all-in-one kit.  That is never a good idea and tanks the warranty.

If anything this experience has taught me to be sure I know what will fit when replacing a case fan or heatsink solution before ordering.  And that sometimes bigger isn’t always better or even necessary to get the desired result from a fan solution.

On a related note, someone please tell Noctua to build a 200mm fan.  I’d buy two…