Reviews
Tests :
For the fan tests, we’re following roughly the same basis as our CPU cooling tests. So we’re testing everything on our Ryzen 9 7900X with a power consumption of just 105W on a Noctua NH-C14S fan. The aim is to be fan-dependent in order to highlight the differences in performance from one fan to another.
Fan speed :
Clearly, when you compare the speed of the 140mm fans with that of the 120mm mills, overall, it comes out that they spin slower. Here, the two Noctua NF-A14s both cap at around 1500 rpm. At 66%, the speed drops to 1000 rpm and stabilises at 500 rpm at 33% PWM signal. These are the slowest fans in our comparison, with the Arctic P14 and Corsair AF140 Elite running faster, especially at low speeds of 700 and 800 rpm respectively!
Noise :
Having looked at speed, it’s time to look at noise. We mount our fans on our ventirad and measure the noise levels with a sound level meter positioned 40 cm in the direction of the fans’ suction.
As far as noise levels are concerned, Noctua’s new generation of 140 mm fans are quieter than their predecessors. The difference is noticeable at full speed, where the G2 generates 38.5 dB compared with 41 dB for the NF-A14.
At 66% PWM signal, the NF-A14x25 G2 again has the advantage, with noise levels falling to a barely perceptible 30.5 dB. Finally, at low speed, the noise level is 30 dB. In short, if not 100%, this new model rivals Arctic’s P14 in terms of noise pollution.
Temperatures :
Let’s start with the temperature readings for our 105W profile. There’s a lot of heat escaping here, so let’s see how our fans fare! This is the most interesting test for highlighting fan performance.
As far as temperatures are concerned, we noticed that when mounted on an NH-C14S, the NF-a14x25 G2 was unable to contain the load of our Ryzen 9 7900X when running at low speed. In our opinion, this is due to an operating speed that is too slow. As we can see, the AF140 Elite and P14 manage to do this, but operate at least 200 rpm faster. As for the NF-A14, it manages to cool our processor, but only just.
However, at its highest fan speeds, Noctua’s new mill performs well. Compared to the P14, it displays between 2°C and 4°C less on our CPU. However, the gap is smaller against the NF-A14 PWM, but the new generation still dominates.
Temperature/noise ratio :
On this performance/noise ratio graph, we remind you that the best position is as far down as possible on the left of the graph. For ease of reading, the point furthest to the left symbolises ventilation at 12V, the point in the centre ventilation at 8V and the point furthest to the right ventilation at 5V.
Here, the NF-A14x25 G2’s temperature/noise ratio puts it ahead of its rivals, even if it didn’t keep our CPU cool at low revs. That’s why the curve is truncated. In the case of this fan, our advice is to run it above 500 rpm, so that it doesn’t collapse too much at low revs. We therefore think that 700 rpm should be the minimum.