Noctua has been kind enough to ship us some 120mm and 140mm versions from both of the series, so as to say our thanks, here is the review article of the Noctua Redux, which we'll start off with, and Noctua IndustrialPPC that will follow through.
SRP for Noctua IndustrialPPC
- NF-A14 iPPC-2000 - RM 99
- NF-A14-iPPC-2000 IP67 - RM 119
- NF-A14 iPPC-2000 PWM - RM 99
- NF-A14 iPPC-3000 PWM - RM 99
- NF-F12-iPPC-2000 - RM 89
- NF-F12-iPPC-2000 IP67 - RM 99
- NF-F12-iPPC-2000 PWM - RM 99
- NF-F12-iPPC-3000 PWM - RM 99
SRP for Noctua Redux
- NF-B9 redux 1600 PWM - RM 55
- NF-P14r redux 1500 PWM - RM 69
- NF-P14s redux-1200 PWM - RM 69
- NF-P14s redux-1500 PWM - RM 69
- NF-R8 redux 1800 PWM - RM 50
- NF-S12B redux 1200 PWM - RM 65
Redux Line
As Noctua describes it;"The Redux line addresses price-conscious users by reissuing some of our most popular, award-winning models and presenting them in streamlined, more affordable packages. Redux line fans feature an attractive light/dark grey colour scheme that is reminiscent of the two shades of brown used in our standard line-up."
Packaging
The Redux line comes in an overall grey box with a band of brown on the sides with the etched product name and model.
At the front, Redux branding and fan size is etched in silver with the product model in white and a small Noctua logo is placed at the top-right corner.
You could find specification of all the fans at the back of the box. Not much in terms of content, you will find a fan as specified according to the box label and four standard mounting screws tucked behind the cardboard packaging, so we'll get right to introducing each of the fans.
Noctua NF-S12B Redux-1200 PWM
The NF-S12B Redux is similar in design to the original NF-S12B Flx that has been discontinued but the Redux version now has a 4-pin PWM model in addition to the 1200RPM and 700RPM models.
Noctua NF-P14s Redux-1500 PWM
Next up is the NF-P14s Redux 1500 PWM, which is a new design combination for the 140mm fan from Noctua. This is because the original 140mm NF-P14 FLX (discontinued) is only available in a round frame as opposed to the square frame. The NF-P14s Redux is also available in 1200PWM, 1200RPM and 900RPM models.
Noctua NF-P14r Redux-1500 PWM
Finally the NF-P14r Redux PWM is a black & white copy of the original NF-P14 Flx that was replaced by the NF-A1X series. Noctua upgraded the speed and lowered the price on this classic favourite, losing only the extra accessories.
Despite the lower price tag and absence of accessories, the Redux line hardly feels cheap as they retain the same quality feel albeit the slight adjustments in design.
To top it off, they come with the same 6-years warranty as any Noctua fans and no minor details, such as the cable sleevings, are left out.
IndustrialPPC Line
Why the long name? "The industrialPPC(Protected Performance Cooling) line is conceived for industrial heavy duty applications that require enhanced cooling performance and advanced ingress protection. These ruggedised high-speed versions of our standard models are ready to work in challenging environments and come in an all black design." - Noctua
The term "Ingress Protection" means that these fans are "protection provided against intrusion, dust, accidental contact, and/or water by mechanical casings and electrical enclosures" - International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The majority of the Noctua IndustrialPPC fans are rated at IP52, which means that it is dust-protected and water-drop resistant. Two other models feature a rating of IP67 which is dust-proof and would survive immersion in water up to 1-meter.
Packaging
As mentioned by the quote above, these comes in an all black design and the packaging is coloured to match.
You still have a little bit of brown trim at the side and there's little to see on the box aside from the brand and model of the fan within.
As usual, you get the specifications of each fan at the back of the packaging. Same as the Redux lines, the IndustrialPPC also lacks accessories aside from the mounting screws.
Noctua NF-F12 IndustrialPPC
The NF-F12 IndustrialPPC are based on the original NF-F12 fan, retaining the same Heptaperf™ Impeller blade, Focused Flow™ and Advanced Acoustic Optimisation (AAO) frame but these will feature a new three-phased motor design on top of the SSO2 bearing said to have improved efficiency.
Noctua sent us two, namely the 2000 PWM and the 3000 PWM models. The other two not in the picture are the 3-pin 2000 RPM and the 2000 IP67 PWM models.
Noctua NF-F14 IndustrialPPC
Based on the NF-A14, you get the same AAO frame, SSO2 bearing and Flow accelerated channels blade design on these new IndustrialPPC models with the addition of the new three-phased motor.
With the bump in speed and all-black frame & blade, these are also available in 3-pin 2000 RPM, 2000 IP67 PWM, 2000 PWM, and 3000 PWM models. Depicted here are the later two of the four available models.
Cables are also sleeved and comes with rubber dampeners on the corners, would've been better in black but I think the colour combination works well enough. Even though they are considered to be more premium to the original Noctua fans, the warranty remains the same at 6-years; I don't think it's too much to ask that Noctua increase to another year? the IndustrialPPC fans are supposed to last longer aren't they?
Testing
Test Bench Configuration | |
CPU Cooler | Deepcool Gamer Storm Lucifer / Cooler Master Nepton 240M |
CPU | Intel Core i7 4770K (Stock) |
Graphics Card | ASUS Radeon R9 280X DirectCU II |
Memory | Corsair Vengeance Pro 4GB x 2 |
Primary Hard Drive | Intel 520 Series 240GB |
Power Supply | SilverStone Strider Plus 600W |
Chassis | Corsair Carbide Series 300R |
We ran few test with the above configuration where each fan takes on a different role and the result is recorded and the final result is presented in the graphs as below.
CPU Cooler (140mm fans)
CPU Cooler (120mm fans)
120mm wise, the IndustrialPPC model again takes the lead with the 3000RPM model for chipping off the extra 3°C from the result of the stock Silencio FP 120 fans. As for the Redux model, the NF-S12B is able to maintain the temperature well but there's a rise of 3°C compared to the result of the stock Silencio FP 120 fans.
Case Fan(140mm)
With ambient room temperature of 30°C, we started off by building up the heat inside our system and 40°C is the highest achievable temperature without any intake fan to feed the system components with fresh air.
Among the fans tested, both Noctua NF-A14 3000RPM and 2000RPM model takes the leads with the lowest temperature of 30°C. Following by the other Noctua fans that is able to maintain the chassis temperature around 32°C and 33°C.
Case Fan(120mm)
120mm fans were also tested under the same environment as well with ambient room temperature of 30°C and same heat build up to 40°C without any intake fan to feed the system components with fresh air.
The Noctua NF-F12 IndustrialPPC 3000RPM model produces the highest amount of air, thus being the clear winner in its category. In 2nd place, the 2000RPM model performs on par with the Scythe Gentle Typhoon AP-15, following by the NF-S12B and Cooler Master Silencio FP120 taking the 3rd place.
Fan Noise Level (140mm fans)
When it comes to noise comparison, the Noctua fans doesn't seems to be as silent as the others with the noise level presented in numbers. It's still barely audible from a distance, so there's not much to worried about - expect for the IndustrialPPC fans, they're made for industrial purposes anyway.
Fan Noise Level (120mm fans)
Same for the 120mm category, our Noctua IndustrialPPC fans is measured as the noisiest fans around. The NF-S12B Redux is doing fairly well, but the it's still nowhere to compare with the silent experts from be quiet! with a near silent operation of 48db.
Conclusion
Performance wise, Noctua made fans has been widely known for its low noise and outstanding performance but not many favors its uncommon brown and beige color combination. The all new Redux Edition and IndustrialPPC Noctua fans performs just as good as the original series but it comes with a more builder friendly color scheme. The IndustrialPPC Noctua fans produce more noise due to its high RPM (2000RPM and 3000RPM) and will require a low noise adapter or fan controller to reduce the RPM if you find the noise unpleasant to your ears.
When it comes to price, we all know that Noctua fans doesn't comes cheap, same goes to both Redux and IndustrialPPC. But come to think of it when you're actually paying for some quality fans that will last long enough and able to deliver performance that is few times better than the mainstream cooling fans, it's total a worthy investment that will never goes wrong.
Pros:
When it comes to price, we all know that Noctua fans doesn't comes cheap, same goes to both Redux and IndustrialPPC. But come to think of it when you're actually paying for some quality fans that will last long enough and able to deliver performance that is few times better than the mainstream cooling fans, it's total a worthy investment that will never goes wrong.
Pros:
- Outstanding performance
- Solid build quality
- Better color scheme
- 6 Year Warranty
Cons:
- Costly
- IndustrialPPC models are extremely noise at full speed
- IndustrialPPC models comes with the same 6 year warranty even though it's made for industrial purposes
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