Noctua Nf-a14-flx 140mm Flx 1200RPM Fan

I bought two of these fans to add to my Fractal Design Define R4 Case. I ended up using the included two Fractal Design Silent Series R2 140mm fans for rear and top exhaust, and these two Noctua fans on the front intake. Very easy to install, for my case front intake there is a plastic tray where 140mm fans can be snapped into place. I had to remove the rubber noise dampeners on the corners of these fans. Even without the rubber pads the fans are almost completely silent, even at full speed. I thought the Fractal fans were pretty quiet, but these are even quieter. At full speed the Fractal fans make more audible noise than the Noctuas which are truly silent no matter what speed. Totally worth the money if you're looking for an excellent case fan that is always quiet.

Some may scoff at the price, "All for a fan," but I've had Noctua fans in my previous computers and they are still running. I built a HTPC in 2005 that still has the same Noctua fans in it that are still running. With other brand's fans, I find myself replacing them every 2-3 years because they start vibrating and making a ton of noise. Save yourself some headache and money in the long run and get Noctua Fans. You can use them in future builds.

The performance and the warranty justify the bad color scheme and the high price, in my opinion. I've been avoiding these fans for years on the basis of those two things, and after trying pretty much every other high end option out there, I can say definitively that no other performance-oriented fan will last 6 years reliably, and it will not have as good an airflow:noise ratio as these. So the question is - do you want an amazing fan that will save you money in the long run and perform great, but look lousy? Or do you want a better looking fan that won't perform quite as well and will need to be replaced in a matter of months-2 years because it dies? It's really up to you. I'm using 3 of these in my windowed storm trooper case - two of them as top exhaust and one ... MoreThe performance and the warranty justify the bad color scheme and the high price, in my opinion. I've been avoiding these fans for years on the basis of those two things, and after trying pretty much every other high end option out there, I can say definitively that no other performance-oriented fan will last 6 years reliably, and it will not have as good an airflow:noise ratio as these. So the question is - do you want an amazing fan that will save you money in the long run and perform great, but look lousy? Or do you want a better looking fan that won't perform quite as well and will need to be replaced in a matter of months-2 years because it dies? It's really up to you. I'm using 3 of these in my windowed storm trooper case - two of them as top exhaust and one as rear exhaust.