Reddit mentions of Noctua NF-S12A PWM chromax.Black.swap, Premium Quiet Fan, 4-Pin (120mm, Black)

*Noctua: HMB




Noctua NF-F12 PWM chromax.black.swap premium-grade quiet 120mm fan https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07654PNFQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_WzN-AbDHK7WNT


Noctua NF-A14 PWM chromax.black.swap premium-grade quiet 140mm fan https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07655KF5C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ZAN-AbKDPJBST


Noctua NF-S12A PWM chromax.black.swap premium-grade quiet 120mm fan https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07657VBQQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_hBN-Ab4FCS0XW

Just my two cents (items listed in the same order as your PCPP list):

• CPU - Current gen, I wouldn't upgrade until DDR5-based platforms are out.
  
• CPU Cooler - Same cooler here, and solid for a mild OC. No room in this case for the larger dual-fan tower coolers, so if you decide to OC further, might need to go with an AIO. Problem is, this case only officially supports 240mm (280mm will fit, unofficially). A 240mm will be LOUD for a higher OC, so you're basically stuck with what you've got (not necessarily a bad thing).
  
• Mobo - Upgrade with CPU when the time comes.
  
• Memory - Same.
  
• Storage - Only you can decide when your storage needs increase.
  
• Video Card - I also have a GTX 1060. When the 11/20 series comes out, I'm going to upgrade. I'd advise the same for you. I would strongly advise holding out rather than getting a 1070/1080 series GPU.
  
• Case - Keep
  
• Power Supply - While the H200i supports full ATX PSUs, the fact that they clog the basement means that the front GPU fan becomes air starved. You may not have an issue given the type of cooler on your GPU (horizontal fin array, single block), see my DM for more details. If GPU temps do bother you at all though, consider an SFX PSU. The Corsair SF450/600 are the gold standard here and the only real option today. For your current setup, even the 450 is overkill. And you're never going SLI in that case. My 7700k/1060 6GB combines for < 200W while gaming. Go with the 450 if you go this route (again, only if GPU temps are a concern, otherwise, keep what you've got).
  
• Operating System - Switch to Linux...j/k :)
  
• Case Fan(s) - I'm using Noctua Chromax for my H200i. [2x NF-A14] (https://smile.amazon.com/Noctua-NF-A14-PWM-chromax-black-swap-premium-grade/dp/B07655KF5C/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8) (front intake), and [2x NF-S12A] (https://smile.amazon.com/Noctua-NF-S12A-PWM-chromax-black-swap-premium-grade/dp/B07657VBQQ/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8) (top/rear exhaust). Great airflow, deathly silent. Consider these if your current fans are louder than you'd like. And no, these aren't the poop brown ones. All black, with red corner pieces (or other colors) to match your case.
  
• Monitor - My recommendations are either the ViewSonic XG2703-GS (27", 1440p, AHVA, 144-165hz, G-Sync) if you prefer 16:9, or Alienware AW3418DW (34", 3440x1440, IPS, 100-120hz, G-Sync) if you want a higher quality LG IPS panel and a wider FOV at the expense of a lower refresh rate. And yes, the GTX 1060 can drive it, though you'll be running newer games at high @ 45-60fps or medium @ 75-100fps, as opposed to Ultra. The next GPU gen should address that concern for you, if it is one.
  
  Hope that's useful. Our builds are similar in many ways.

Alright, heres my loop plan.

for a pump and res, I will use the swifech d5 50mm pump res combo, as its the shortest pump/res I can find, and also looks sweet.
http://www.performance-pcs.com/swiftech-maelstrom-d5-reservoir-pump-combo-50mm.html

for a cpu block, I will be using the new koolance 400 block, It performs better than any other block on the market (per xtremerigs' review), and those couple extra degrees will let me run fans quieter.
http://www.performance-pcs.com/koolance-cpu-400a-water-block-amd-processor.html

obviously choose a gpu block for your card, as it is different than mine. I know that bykski makes good blocks for msi cards that are a bit cheaper, such as this one:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Bykski-N-MS1080GM-X-VGA-Water-Cooling-Block-for-MSI-GTX-1080-1070-1060/32805363062.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.9.59a7251aPnSH2C&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_4_10152_10151_10065_10344_10130_10068_10324_10547_10342_10325_10546_10343_10340_10548_10341_10545_10696_10084_10083_10618_10307_10059_308_100031_10103_10624_10623_10622_10621_10620,searchweb201603_25,ppcSwitch_5&algo_expid=a9b6172c-d8c9-42ad-9178-bbbef99963f2-1&algo_pvid=a9b6172c-d8c9-42ad-9178-bbbef99963f2&priceBeautifyAB=0

Bitspower makes a block for the card as well, but performance will be the same. It comes with a backplate, but you can use the stock one with the bykski block. I wouldn't recommend it, but here it is:
http://www.performance-pcs.com/bitspower-msi-gtx-1080-gaming-acrylic-limited-edition-clear-for-msi-gtx-1080-gaming-vga-card.html

For radiators, you will need to use something roughly 30mm or less in the front, so go for a hardwarelabs gts 240. It is far and away the best slim radiator, especially at low speeds. I am getting the black for my build, but it also comes in red or white if thats the color scheme you want. Im linking the search for it so you can choose. For the back, you can use up to a 40mm radiator, but I would go with another gts because they are literally better than anything else under 40mm, especially with lower speed fans. Just replace 240 with 120 in the search bar.
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=hardware+labs+gts+240

I will be taking this to college and I want the least maintenance headaches possible, so I will be using ek ZMT (zero maintenance tubing) so I wont need to worry about anything leaching into my loop as I would with clear tube. I cannot imagine you will need more than 5 feet, and that will leave enough extra for a drain tube. For the same reason, I will be using clear koolance 702 coolant, which can last for a solid 3 years. I will be using clear as it will last even longer, but it does come in other colors. It is rather expensive, but you should only need 700ml of it, as the loop really is not very large, and it rarely needs to be replaced. Here they are:
http://www.performance-pcs.com/ek-tube-zmt-rubber-15-9-9-5mm-5-8-x-3-8-tubing-matte-black.html
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=koolance+702

For fans, I will be using 2 noctua a12x25 fans pushing through the radiator in the front, as the gts radiators work best in push. I have 2 on my aio rn, and can tell you that they are fantastic as they cannot be seen, so it doesn't matter that they are ugly. I may spray paint the sides of the fan black if you can end up seeing the sides through the window. They are the best performing fans on the market at lower rpms and are extremely quiet. Corsair ML series fans will be slightly better because they can run at much higher rpms, but they will be much louder as well. For the back radiator, I think I may just use another a12x25, as they are simply excellent. As a top exhaust, I will use the s12a chromax because it looks better and performs better when there is nothing restricting the airflow. If 30$ a fan for the a12 or 25 for the ML series is tough to swallow, the p12 redux 1300 is an excellent option at only $14 each. Im using them as intake on my case now, but I tested them on my radiator and they were nearly silent below 65% pwm, and performed withing 2 C of the a12. The a12 is still quieter and performs better, but at half the price, the p12 are excellent. I would skip the F-12, at lower rpms, the p12 performs within a degree and the noise is about the same. You can toss the extra vibration dampeners on the p12s from the a12 chromax as well. If you want the back rad fan to match the exhaust, get a f12 chromax. They are still good, I just think that the p12 is nearly the same for less money and the a12 is easily better than both. Here are all four:
https://www.amazon.com/noctua-NF-P12-redux-1300-PWM-high-performance/dp/B07CG2PGVG
https://www.amazon.com/noctua-NF-A12x25-PWM-premium-quality-quiet/dp/B07C5VG64V/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_147_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=VX74FJE0N46NR9DEH7G2
https://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NF-S12A-PWM-chromax-black-swap-premium-grade/dp/B07657VBQQ/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1526164771&sr=1-3&keywords=noctua+s12a+chromax
https://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NF-F12-chromax-black-swap-premium-grade-quiet/dp/B07654PNFQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1526164778&sr=1-1&keywords=noctua+f12+chromax

As for how to actually fit everything in the case, mount the pump/res to the cable bar and fans pushing through the radiator in the front and back. Mount the radiator in the back so that the fittings are at the bottom, it will give you a cleaner run between it and the gpu. For loop order: t fitting out of the pump with a valve and stop fitting on the end to a 90 on the gpu, 90 out of the gpu to regular on the rad, regular on the rad to 90 into the cpu, 90 out of cpu into straight on the rad, a straight or maybe a 90 out of the rad into a 90 on the intake of the reservior (you could use the top, but I want to leave it clear as a fillport). All 90s will be rotaries to make it easier. That should end up as being 6 or 7 90 degree rotaries, depending on what you do with the front rad. the extra one is to help when filling from the top of the res. You will need two male to male g1/4 adapter to attach the t-fitting to the pump and the valve to the t fitting. You also need two stop fittings for the fill and drain ports. In terms of regular fittings, two for the pump/res, two for the graphics card, two for the back radiator, two for the cpu, two for the front radiator, one to fill and drain the loop, and one extra just for fun. In total that should be:
12 regular fitting
7 90 degree rotary fittings
1 t or multiport fitting
1 ball valve
2 male-male g1/4 adapters
2 stop fittings
I would recommend barrow, they are inexpensive (at least compared to others) and the quality is excellent. Ali-express is the way to go, you will have to look and choose colors and such yourself, but usually they end up being better quality and lower priced than others at the cost of long shipping times. If you are not comfortable with the barrow fittings or dont want to wait as long, go for alphacools compression fittings, they are excellent while being less expensive than bitspower. You could use barb fittings, but they are a bit more annoying to use and dont look as nice. You will have to look for the barrow fittings yourself on aliexpress, prices tend to fluctuate by vender and color, but here are the alphacool fittings:
http://www.performance-pcs.com/alphacool-eiszapfen-16-10mm-compression-fitting-g1-4-deep-black-sixpack.html

And I think that covers everything. I hope you enjoyed my two page essay on my watercooling build lol.

Suggestions on quiet case fans?

I just finished building a Ryzen 1800x / GTX 1070 Ti PC in a Fractal Nano S case. Things are pretty good, but the default Fractal case fans seem awfully noisy, particularly the 120mm exhaust at the back.

I tested it out, and I do need to run case fans: My CPU temp goes from 54C under prime95 with the fans on, to >68C with them off.

As per the above test with case fans unplugged, it is DEFINITELY the case fans making the noise and not something else.

That being said, I'd like some quieter fans.

Would Noctua A14 and S12 running off one 4 pin splitter for PWM control be a good choice?

Something different?

Installed 2 of these in the front as Intake and 1 in the top as exhaust.

Installed this fan in the back as exhaust.

As an FYI these fans only come with enough sound absorber pads in the color you choose to fit one side of the fan, if you want to fit both side with the same color you will need to order a box of pads in that color.

Absolutely this! The fans OP has in their case now is drawing almost no air through the drive cages. What you want when pulling air through restricted space are fans with high static pressure. These will normally have wider fins than other fans making less gaps between the fins.


Here is what you have now OP: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07657VBQQ/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_EoPxDbGGG0NVK

This is what you want OP:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07654PNFQ/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_FoPxDbRZAVEE0

If you can, buy the chromax.Black.swap kit. Two of this + this. If you like black, OFC. It will look awesome! I am planning to buy this soon, but it'll cost me around 300 USD due to living in Brazil =/

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I'll personally be buying:

1x https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B076569Y8X

2x https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07657VBQQ

1x https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07654B9MR

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And doing a 140 center + 120 on each side. It works great!

I wouldn't say they're super loud, but a bit too loud for my liking. I ended up replacing them with 4x Noctua NF-S12A fan

Just to be clear, you're talking about


This: https://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NF-A14-PWM-chromax-Black-swap-Premium-Grade/dp/B07655KF5C?ref_=w_bl_hsx_s_pa_web_2530014011 for the 140 mm

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This: https://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NF-S12A-PWM-chromax-Black-swap-Premium-Grade/dp/B07657VBQQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1541649137&sr=1-2&keywords=s12a for the 120mm, right?

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120mm air flow (s) are available in a couple non-brown lines

Redux (gray): https://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NF-S12B-redux-1200-PWM-Performance/dp/B00KF7PPY4

Chromax (black): https://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NF-S12A-PWM-chromax-Black-swap-Premium-Grade/dp/B07657VBQQ/

140mm non-brown fans seem to be available in just the "a" profile which works well for both air flow and sp applications but I'm not sure about the Redux line. I've used the 2000 & 3000 rpm IndustriaPPC versions and I believe there's a Chromax version.