Noctua NF-P12 120mm Fan Review

A Closer Look at the Noctua NF-P12


One thing is written in stone when it comes to Noctua fans: they have a unique color scheme of brown(ish) and beige which people either hate or couldn’t care less about as long as it performs well. Personally, I like my cases without side windows so the color of my components really doesn’t matter to me at all.

Another thing that is immediately apparent is that the NF-P12 has a very unique 9-bladed fan design. Unlike many other fans on the market, this design makes it look like there is next to no space between the blades but this placement is supposed to benefit it in certain applications.


One of the things I like the most about the NF-P12’s design is that Noctua decided to fully sleeve the 3-pin cable. Personally, I hate the look of unsleeved connectors in my case and I go through the process of sleeving all of my fans if and when I have the time. The sleeving used in for this fan is tightly braided black nylon which is a refreshing departure from the rainbow of colors seen on other fans.


The center hub contains the owl-headed Noctua logo as well as information regarding the power draw of the NP-P12.

Here we also have a closer look at one of the Vortex Control Notches which are built into each fan blade. These notches are staggered from one blade to the next and contribute to give this Noctua fan a very aggressive profile. Whether they work or not will be looked at a little closer at little later in our testing section.