Since we were repeatedly asked about 140 mm fans, we are now also starting to test the slightly larger case fans. As a future reference, the Noctua NF-A14 FLX, which costs around 21 euros, competes against the reference of our 120 mm fans in the individual test today, which enables a very nice comparison to work out the advantages and disadvantages of both sizes in a direct comparison. Since both fans from the same manufacturer also follow very similar design specifications, such a comparison works all the better.
As always, on the next page you can see how and what we test and why some things are the way they are. Understanding the details is extremely important in order to be able to classify the results objectively later. The differences between many models are more in the details and the best fan for all situations can hardly exist. There is a certain optimum in every situation and of course there are also good all-rounders. But they usually have their price. If you are planning specifically with 60 mm radiators, for example, you can perhaps save money by choosing the best model for your application, which might not do so well as a case fan. And vise versa, of course.
The beige frame, which is typical for Noctua, also has the typical red-brown accentuation and the same-colored rotor for this fan. You may find it nice or not, such a color is definitely an advantage for a smoker’s household. The rest of them suffer or rejoice, depending on the situation. The price of around 21 euros places the NF-A14 FLX in the upper class, which is certainly not an exaggeration. The processing is right and the performance is groundbreaking. We deliberately chose the voltage-regulated version in order to be able to better explore the voltage and speed range.
The fan relies on Noctua’s self-stabilizing oil pressure bearing (SSO) of the second generation. The fans of the A series rely on a rotor (impeller) with flow acceleration channels in a specially optimized framework (Advanced Acoustic Optimization, AAO). The scope of delivery of the fan package is quite extensive and more than appropriate for the price:
- Ultra-Low-Noise Adapter (U.L.N.A.)
- Low-Noise Adapter (L.N.A.)
- 3:4 Pin Adapter
- 30 cm cable extension
- 4 Vibration-Compensators
- 4 fan screws
The technical data in the tabular overview (the inclined reader can then simply take the rest from the data sheet embedded below):
| Form factor | 140 mm |
| Strength | 25 mm |
| PWM | No |
| RGB | No |
| Decoupled | And |
| Farbe Frame | Beige |
| Accent color | Braun |
| Color rotor | Braun |
| Weight in g | 210 |
| min. speed | 900 |
| max.speed | 1200 |
| Volume flow m3 / h | 115,5 |
| Volume flow CFM | 67,98 |
| static pressure mmH2O | 1.51 |
| Sound pressure dBA | 19.2 |
| Life Time hrs | 150000 |
As always, I have the data sheet ready for the very exact and curious:
noctua_nf_a14_flx_datasheet_de
Noctua NF-A14 FLX, 140mm
| WECS eShop | Delivery time 2-4 working days (Mon-Fri) |
20,93 €*Stand: 10.06.21 08:07 |
| Central warehouse: 1 piece in stock, delivery 1-3 working days Branch Wilhelmshaven: 1 piece in stockStand: 10.06.21 08:04 |
21,40 €*Stand: 10.06.21 08:09 |
|
| in stock |
22,20 €*Stand: 10.06.21 08:06 |
- 1 – Introduction, test samples and specifications
- 2 – Test setup, measuring chamber and equipment
- 3 – Starting voltage and speeds
- 4 – Volumenstrom (Airflow)
- 5 – Static pressure
- 6 – Case fan noise emission
- 7 – Noise emission on 25 mm radiator
- 8 – Noise emission on 45 mm radiator
- 9 – Noise emission on 60 mm radiator
- 10 – Summary and Conclusion