Reddit mentions of Noctua NF-A4x20 PWM, Premium Quiet Fan, 4-Pin (40x20mm, Brown)

Ok!

So it's a late 2018 (December) Ender 3 Pro. I got it from Mech Solutions. They have been super helpful with some warranty stuff. (Magnetic bed delaminated and heat break/throat tube was broken.) https://www.mechestore.com/collections/ender-3-pro

Galactic Empire gears here:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3422334 (I remixed this one!)
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3005278

The braided cable stuff is from Amazon, here: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B071WF5NTN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I bought three sizes, 1/4", 1/2", and 3/4". I hated the Pi camera cable, luckily it fits perfectly in the 1/2" stuff. I found uses for all three sizes in different locations. The 1/4" looks cool on the bowden tube. I used heat shrink (or electrical tape) at the ends.

Hotend cooler is Hero Me with a velocity stack (stack purely for my own entertainment)
Hero Me: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3182917 - I used the stock 4010 blower version in the end. I was going to do the dual 5015 mod but the two Amazon fans I got were both defective.
Fan is a Noctua 4020 - from here: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B071W93333/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07__o00_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
** tech note - I added a 12v system running in parallel with the OEM 24v Ender system - more below
Velocity stack:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2211780

Someone spotted it, on the left I have a Raspberry Pi 3B+ running OctoPi (Octoprint):
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07BD3WHCK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and a 3.5" touchscreen TFT LCD:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07KLDKM5D/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and a Pi compatible camera:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0759GYR51/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
with longer cables:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07DNYM8KC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02__o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The camera needed a mount:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2886101
and an off-brand sleeve:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2994762

The Pi needed a mount too, and I found one I love that just happened to fit the screen I bought:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2530258
** user note - this thing is massive, and tricky to print. Worth it, though.

OH. THIS IS A MUST:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2943218 xD

All metal extruder, conveniently in red, from here: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07JVJWC5B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
** tech note: if nothing else, do this upgrade. This, and the one just above it. Mine was under extruding, and I poured hours into trying to calibrate/test/bla bla bla... it ended up being a broken heat break and crappy plastic extruder.

Filament guide (top rail)
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3003807
At extruder:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3303562

Z-Axis bar cable management:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2761965
** user note: this is one of my favorites!!!!! I covered it in LEDs, white for the bed, and red for the wall/bowden tube!

Ok, so, something that made getting good fans difficult is the Ender 3 uses 24v fans (except the power suppy, it uses a 12v fan. Bonus.)
To get some 12v power, I used a buck converter to step 24v down to 12v from here:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01FQH4M82/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07__o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and basically I run all the fun stuff off it.
JST and XT60 connectors are all from www.hobbyking.com. Same with 22AWG three wire servo wire, super handy. I already had this stuff kicking around, but hobbyking is good if you need this stuff.
The PSU has some open ports, I added another XT60 cable with 24v service. I made it the same as the OEM, and they are backwards compatible and nothing will fry. One of them goes to my buck converter, the other to the Ender main board.
** tech note: I used a 3.5A BEC from hobbyking to power the Pi, off the 12v side of the buck converter. I ended up cutting the power supply cable that came with the Pi (and added JST connectors to the whole thing so I could reuse it one day.) The BEC steps the voltage down to 5.1v from 12v. 3.5A has been plenty. I think it might use .8A with my giant RGB keyboard plugged into it.

This is super worth it, a must do. https://photos.app.goo.gl/AEXNqvTXE5ZZhnhi8

Oh, the nice little platform the buck converter and Pi cooling fan is sitting on is this thing:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2539545

more below: (above?)

Not OP, but I think the model is NF A4x20 (Amazon). They are very quiet, at 12.2-14.9 dBA.

I use these Noctua units in my E300-9A. They are 12V PWM and work perfectly in my system. They might not provide the pressure you need to cool a Xeon, I mostly get away with it because my unit is Atom derived.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071W93333

+100 for the Noctua. :-) Whisper quiet & better airflow. 6 YEAR Warranty. Quality stuff.

For the Hotend, use a 40x10mm:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B009NQLT0M

For the Parts fan, I upgraded to a Fang and used this 40x20mm:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B071W93333

Here's a pic of my setup:

https://imgur.com/dl26HJZ

This is the Fang cooler:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2473423

And here's the front Cooling Duct - protects from sticking items in the fan blades, and speeds the airflow. Plus it looks cool! ;-)


https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2514413

PuterPro

Depends on the case but Noctua 40mm:
https://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NF-A4x20-PWM-premium-quality-quiet/dp/B071W93333/

Sure thing. It ended up being cheaper for me on Amazon with Free shipping, but Newegg also has it.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAADY5U14594

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071W93333/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I randomly bumped my finger into the heatsink on a HP H220 during a burn in process and discovered that it was extremely hot... I did some researching and saw some people encountered corrupted files and they traced it back to their card overheating. I attached a Noctua (40mm?) or any fan to my network and expander cards. I used 2 mini zip ties daisy chained to one another on each side of the fan (4 total). I read that the 9201/9211 runs considerably cooler than the HP H220, so normal Norco airflow might be enough to cool it. I didn't check how hot the expander card got since it wasn't installed yet, but I wanted to cover all corners and have peace of mind. A Noctua is probably overkill vs other fans, but I didn't mind paying extra.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071W93333/

I believe these are the ones I put in mine. Easy to do. Unit is very quiet now.

https://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NF-A4x20-PWM-Premium-Quality-Quiet/dp/B071W93333

Noctua NF-A4x20 PWM premium-quality quiet 40mm fan https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071W93333/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_dNOUAbSMZ146A

Noctua NF-A4x20 PWM Premium-Quality Quiet 40mm Fan https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071W93333/
HVAZI 260pcs M3 Male Female Nylon Hex Spacer Standoff Screw Nut Assorted Kit (Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HDR72Q2/

I also cleaned off the petrified thermal paste and applied new under the heatsink. Just be careful of the tiny capacitors on the PCB of the card when handling it.

There are other posts on either this sub or /r/homelab about the same thing, but here's my results (cleaner than using zip ties): https://imgur.com/a/Jd2mefU

Another update in my quest to learn how/why the Noctua fans work with the Monoprice. I started the upgrade process for printer and cut off the stock fan. Before I soldered the new one on, I thought I'd check out if the new fan "just worked." I turned my extruder heat to 100C since I know the stock fan kicks on at 75C, and when I bared back the wires and hooked black to black and red to red... nothing happened. Now I'm confused, because it's a PWM fan like I thought would workl.

I got out my voltmeter and I read 10V coming out of the line. Now, I'm pretty sure the power coming out of the printer is pulsed 12V DC, and I know my voltmeter doesn't have a setting for pulsed DC, so I'm not sure if 10V is the average power or if 10V is the peak or what my meter is reading. But if I touch the leads of my stock fans back to the printer, the stock fan turns out. I touch the Noctua fan leads, it doesn't turn on. Bummer.

So now I'm back in the boat with everyone else and have no idea what's going on. I don't have a capacitor to try out like u/cpr420 just yet (back to Amazon I go). I don't want to just tell it to kick off a print as I'd rather not run the hot end without cooling working properly, so the next plan is to get a bit of gcode written up and force full power at 12V to see if my fan turns on. Alternatively, I think I can hook it up to Pronterface and just tell my printer to turn the fan on. I'm not that familiar with Pronterface just yet.

Anyway, wanted to check in again with new info. I'll post again as I learn more.

I printed as one piece, there were a few artifacts but nothing too bad that I couldn't get with sanding, on a CR10 with some upgraded fans and ducts
With those I was able to do some really long bridging that made the round bottom turn out pretty well
fang
gantry attachment
40mm fan
radial fan

Here is my Hotend setup

• I decided to run with the V6 Heavy Duty Mount. Had to use the "alt" version for the EZABL wing and flip it in my slicer to get it on the left side. The "alt" version makes it so it won't hit the gantry. The offsets are in the Thingiverse description that you will update with the "CUSTOM_PROBE" setting in the TH3D firmware you will have to update.
  
  
• For my parts fans, I wanted something highly reviewed, well priced and rated high. These 5015 fans come in a 2-pack for really good price and seem to be the best reviewed on Amazon. I went with them and noticed no whining or issues. No matter what, you will have a louder sound with blower fans (but not horrible, even with 2).
  
  
• For the hotend fan, I went with the Noctua 40mm x 20mm version (12v but Ender runs on 24v. Need a buck converter as described below). Sure, it's a bit pricier but it's quiet and pushes air enough to cool. Noctua has a great 6 year warranty on it and I'm sure the crappy chinese fans will have to be purchased multiple times within the same period, making it the same cost. Just make sure to get the PWM version instead of the FLX. No worries about cutting the cable because it comes with adaptors you can cut.
  
  If you decide to go with a regular 24v fan, you won't need the buck converter I talk about below.
  
  Unless you have a multimeter and want to mess around with getting the voltage right (which isn't hard), grab a buck converter like this with a display and hook up the 40mm fan to it. The little gold screw is for adjusting the voltage. If you run with the Noctua I mentioned above, you will have to set that to roughly 12v.
  
  Sooooooooo
  
  With all that being said, just splice all the wires and solder them or attach connectors that run from the fans to the wires. You are essentially replacing the fans with the same wires from the new fans. It's a pretty easy process. I want to say you definitely should plan out how you want to organize everything beforehand. Zipties are great. If you use the buck converter because you need 12v, the input side and output side are labeled on the converter so pay attention to that.
  

Follow-up question, regarding the A4x20s. I found three different variations of them, and I can't quite understand the difference between them...

NF-A4x20 PWM, has "4-pin PWM" fan headers.

NF-A4x20 5V PWM, has "5V 4-pin PWM" fan-headers. I am not able to find what that means versus the non-5V version.

NF-A4x20 FLX, has "3-pin" FLX fan headers.

I THINK my DGS-1224T has 3-pin fan headers, but all three of the above say this on the Amazon description:
>ideal for 1U servers or replacing fans in network and storage equipment (routers, switches, NAS etc.) or other devices such as DVRs

Any thoughts?

This is the fan model I used https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B071W93333?psc=1&ref=yo_pop_mb_pd_title

I haven’t tested impact on temps yet.

https://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NF-A4x20-PWM-premium-quality-quiet/dp/B071W93333

Unfortunately I've got a v2 of the case so a fan below the MoBo is not an option. That and the drive bay will be occupied by hard drives so that's out. I was thinking of going with a few Noctua A4x20's to provide extracooling around the motherboard, bringing in fresh air and passively exhausting it through the top of the case. With the ducting around the CPU cooler I'm pretty sure that will be the only way to cool the Motherboard's other components.

Example of the NH-L9I ducting: https://pcpartpicker.com/b/WThypg

Noctua Fans: https://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NF-A4x20-PWM-Premium-Quality-Quiet/dp/B071W93333

How has that worked out? I just setup my CR-10 S4 and for such small fans they sure are loud.

I've looked at those and these Noctua

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071W93333/?coliid=I10HITEQYKLBSP&colid=16G8HEKDQS4N9&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it