As you can clearly see the Noctua keeps very close to the Gelid 120mm fan, this is no mean feat as the Gelid is running at a nearly 400RPM higher than the Noctua NF-S12B. This is a testament to the Noctua design that it can provide performance close to a much faster and louder fan. Although it trails the Zalman it is significantly quieter in so much that I wouldn’t be able to live with the Zalman at 12v.
Noise Ratings
Unfortunately I do not have the professional noise monitoring equipment nor do I work in an environment where sub 25 dBA readings would be possible so it would be unfair to try and rate these fans using the dBA scale. So instead the below ratings are based my opinion of the noise volume and tone (which I know is subjective) but should give you a good guide on what to expect. I was sat 1.3 metres (51 inches) away from a closed case with the fans running at 12V in the same test setup used for the above results. Lower numbers are better.
Volume (10 = Loud / 1 = Silent)
Tone (10 = Corse / 1 = Smooth)
Zalman ZM-F3 ZF1225ASH 120mm 1800RPM Fan
- Volume: 8
- Tone: 7
Gelid WING 12 120mm Fan
- Volume: 5
- Tone: 6
Noctua NF-S12B FLX 120mm Fan
- Volume: 3
- Tone: 2
