Noctua NF-A14x25/NF-A14x25/r G2 PWM chromax.black Fans Review

Noctua has recently released chromax.black edition of its 140mm fans, namely NF-A14x25 G2 PWM and NF-A14x25r G2 PWM. The ‘r’ fans have a round shape, and the NH-D15 G2 cooler comes equipped with them. The NH-D15 G2 chromax.black cooler comes with the black edition of NF-A14x25r G2 PWM fans. The NF-A14x25 G2 PWM are built on the NF-A14 footprint yet incorporating the technology of NF-A12x25 PWM fans. These fans are available in 4 options:

• NF-A14x25 G2 PWM chromax.black Single Fan Pack costing USD 39.90
• NF-A14x25r G2 PWM chromax.black Single Fan Pack costing USD 39.90
• NF-A14x25 G2 PWM Sx2-PP chromax.black Two Fans Pack costing USD 76.90
• NF-A14x25r G2 PWM Sx2-PP chromax.black Two Fans Pack costing USD 76.90

The S-2xPP fan pack comes with two fans operating in offset speed ±25 RPM to reduce harmonic phenomena like intermittent vibration or humming coming from interference. I have got my hands on both types of fans, and I will be taking a look at both with testing of NF-A14x25 G2 PWM chromax.black. I have already tested NH-D15 G2 chromax.black showing the performance NF-A14x25r G2 PWM chromax.black fans.

NF-A14x25 G2 PWM chromax. Black Specifications

NF-A14x25r G2 PWM chromax. Black Specifications

Packaging and Contents

The fans are shipped inside cardboard-based packing boxes.

A single fan pack has a fan and an accessory box, whereas the Sx2-PP box has two fans and an accessory box. All editions have standard accessories, where quantity is subject to the number of fans.

A single fan pack has:

• NA-RC16 Low-Noise Adaptor (L.N.A.)
• NA-YC1 chromax.black 4-pin PWM splitter cable
• NA-EC1 chromax.black 30cm extension cable
• 4x NA-AV2 chromax.black anti-vibration mounts
• NA-AVG2-LR chromax.black anti-vibration gasket
• 4x NA-AVP1-LR chromax.black load-relief anti-vibration pads
• 4x Black fan screws

• NF-A14x25r G2 PWM chromax.black
• NA-RC16 Low-Noise Adaptor (L.N.A.)
• NA-YC1 chromax.black 4-pin PWM splitter cable
• NA-EC1 chromax.black 30cm extension cable
• 4x NA-AV2 chromax.black anti-vibration mounts
• 4x Black Fan screws

Sx2-PP Pack has:

• NF-A14x25 G2 PWM PPA chromax.black
• NF-A14x25 G2 PWM PPB chromax.black
• 2x NA-RC16 Low-Noise Adaptor (L.N.A.)
• NA-YC1 chromax.black 4-pin PWM splitter cable
• 2x NA-EC1 chromax.black 30cm extension cable
• 8x NA-AV2 chromax.black anti-vibration mounts
• 2x NA-AVG2-LR chromax.black anti-vibration gasket for water cooling radiators
• 8x NA-AVP1-LR chromax.black load-relief anti-vibration pads
• 8x Black fan screws

• NF-A14x25r G2 PWM PPA chromax.black
• NF-A14x25r G2 PWM PPB chromax.black
• 2x NA-RC16 Low-Noise Adaptor (L.N.A.)
• NA-YC1 chromax.black 4-pin PWM splitter cable
• 2x NA-EC1 chromax.black 30cm extension cable
• 8x NA-AV2 chromax.black anti-vibration mounts
• 8x Black fan screws

Closer Look

The chromax.black edition of state-of-the-art fans from Noctua is simply an extension of regular fans. In this case, the chromax.black edition of NF-A14x25 G2 PWM and NF-A14x25r G2 PWM fans have been released by Noctua.

The NF-A14x25 G2 PWM fans are designed on the building block of NF-A14 PWM and NF-A12x25 PWM fans, hence they carry the same technologies and design as the NF-A12x25 while retaining the basic footprint of the frame from NF-A14 PWM fans. The same goes for the NF-A14x25r G2 PWM fans, which are based on NF-A15 and NF-A12x25 PWM fans.

This is why Noctua did not opt for a new name; instead uses G2, showing the second generation of the ever-popular fans. This would also help in the easy identification of the desired fans.

I am showing the front view of both fans. Each fan has 9 blades in the same design. The only difference between both is the shape. The NF-A14x25 G2 PWM chromax.black fan has a square design, whereas the r version has a round shape. The r version has a 105x105mm mounting hole pattern. However, these fans can’t be used on a radiator given their round shape. I have already tried that.

There are plenty of key notes when it comes to the design of these fans. The blades are a progressive bend impeller featuring flow acceleration channels and winglets. These blades are swept backwards close to the hub and progressively bent forward further out. These work in tandem with the centrifugal Turbulator hub to improve the lift and uniform loading across the blade surface.

The winglets are introduced in an attempt to reduce the tip vortices. The winglets are fine-tuned to work with other features of the frame for consistent efficiency. Noctua has used LCP (Liquid Polymer Crystal) material for the impellers.

Noctua uses the same AAO (Advanced Acoustic Optimization) frames from the last generation. These frames use integrated anti-vibration pads, Noctua’s proprietary Stepped Inlet Design and Inner Surface Microstructures. All these work together to provide the best possible performance and reduce noise output.

The NF-A14x25 G2 PWM chromax.black fan comes with 4x NA-AVP1-LR load-relief anti-vibration pads pre-installed on the front side of the fan. The NF-A14x25r G2 PWM chromax.black fan comes with NA-AV2 anti-vibration pads that increase the overall height of the fans as well.

Both types of fans have Noctua branding on one side of the frame. The r version has stripes on the frame, which you don’t see on the non-R version.

The arrow markers provide a direction guide to the user. These show the direction of airflow through the fan and the direction in which the blades spin.

The backside of the NF-A14x25 G2 PWM chromax.black fan has an inward slope on the four sides. There is a 4-arm assembly connecting the motor hub with the frame. Both type of fans has the same arm design. The power rating of both types is the same as well. The fan draws 0.19A at 12VDC using 2.28W of power.

The NF-A14x25 G2 has an NA-AVG2 silicone gasket installed on the rear of the fan out of the box. This gasket is useful for radiator and surface mounting, providing a tight seal with the fan. Since the gasket covers the entire border of the fan’s frame, it helps to dampen vibrations and to reduce air loss between the fan and the radiator for optimal cooling performance.

Both type of fans uses optimized SSO2 bearings in which the rear magnet is placed closer to the axis for stabilization. Noctua has employed CNC-milled bearing shell made of brass material, providing long-term stability with minimum tolerance.

Noctua has used the NE-FD6 motor drive system in these fans, which is combined with the SupraTorque technology. This motor provides better energy efficiency. This motor has a Hall Effect sensor for precise commutation performance. Speaking of commutation, these fans have Noctua’s Smooth Commutation Drive 2 technology. The aim here is to reduce the motor noise to the extent possible.

The SuporaTorque technology allows these fans to maintain the same RPM even when employed on the surface with high back pressure.

Noctua has managed 0.7mm tip clearance between the blades and the frame. This design helps in reducing leak flows through the gap between the blades and frame. This would improve the performance efficiency even with a highly resistant surface.

Safety Data

These fans come with safety features/protections that include:

• Reverse Polarity Protection
• Over Voltage Protection
• Over Current Protection

These protections make these fans suitable even in challenging electrical environments. You can have peace of mind.

Both types of fans use a 4-pin PWM cable. I prefer a flat cable instead of a sleeved one, but Noctua knows better.

Testing

The following configuration is used for thermal testing:

• AMD Ryzen 9 9900X [243W]
• ASRock X870E NOVA WiFi
• Be quiet! Silent Loop 3 420 AIO
• GSkill TridentZ NEO RGB 32GB 6400MHz CL30 DDR5 kit
• ASRock Phantom Gaming RX 7600 Graphics Card for Display
• Biwin X570 Pro 4TB PCIe Gen5 NVMe SSD
• Fractal Design ION+2 860W Platinum PSU
• Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow Edition in an open frame layout

Here is the settings table for testing:

Settings	PBO Enabled [243W]
Clock (MHz)	Auto
Voltage (V)	Auto
Thermal Paste	Noctua NT-H2
Thermal Paste Application	Dots Method
Test Run Time	30 minutes
Idling Time	10 minutes
All Fans Speed	100% PWM Duty Cycle
Pump Speed
Stress Software	CINEBENCH R23.2
Monitoring Software	HWINFO64

I am reporting the delta temperature in the graph because the room temperature varies from 18°C to 20°C. The testing is done on an open-air bench system. Once inside the chassis, the temperatures are expected to rise and would largely depend upon the optimal airflow inside the chassis.

Result

Above is a speed analysis of all three fans using a PWM range of 5% to 100%. Both Noctua fans are in a similar range given the same bearing, impeller and electrical properties.

The Noctua NF-A14x25 G2 PWM chromax.black fans were pitched against the be quiet! Silent Wings 4 140mm PWM High Speed variant that comes with the be quiet! liquid cooler. Noctua fans did 0.9°C better than the be quiet! fans. This is marginal, but Noctua fans are spinning at 1500 RPM to get this result against the 2000 RPM on be quiet! fans.

Noise

The sound level was measured using a Uni-T sound meter placed 3 feet away from the PC. The Noctua fans did 40.9 dB(A) against the 41.6 dB(A) on be quiet! fans. Again, this is a marginal lead, but the overall picture favors Noctua fans, though marginally.

Conclusion

I have tested the new chromax.black edition fans from Noctua. They are NF-A14x25 G2 PWM chromax.black and NF-A14x25r G2 PWM chromax.black. Both type of fans are available in a single fan pack, and two two-fan pack (Sx2-PP). The concept of two two-fan pack is the offset of ±25 RPM, so both fans operate at different speeds. This is done to reduce harmonic phenomena like intermittent vibration or humming coming from interference.

Both type of fans is simply an extension of regular editions but in black color without compromising the performance and mechanical properties. The r edition fans have a round shape are best suited for Noctua 140mm sized coolers. Noctua has also released NH-D15 G2 chromax.black edition cooler that features two NF-A14x25r G2 PWM chromax.black fans.

Click here to find our take on regular NF-A14x25 G2 PWM fans. These fans have foot footprint of NF-A14 PWM and NF-A12x25 PWM fans. These are Noctua’s first 140mm size fans to use Liquid Polymer Crystal (LPC) material for blades and 0.7mm tip clearance.

I am not going into the details of the technology and design of these new fans. I am going to list them below. You can read the content for more details, and can even find more details on Nthe octua website:

• AAO (Advanced Acoustic Optimization) Frame
• Stepped Inlet Frame
• Inner Micro Structure
• Sterrox material derived from LCP (Liquid-Crystal Polymer) used on the impeller
• Gap of only 0.7mm between the impeller and the frame
• Additional brass structure to reinforce the axle mount
• CNC milled bearing shell
• Flow Acceleration Channels and Winglets on the blades
• Further Improved SSO2 bearing
• etaPERF Motor with NE-FD6 Motor IC
• Commutation Drive 2 System
• SupraTorque
• PWM Regulation with auto stop function on 0% PWM
• Safety Protections for challenging electrical environments
• 6-Year Warranty
• Low Noise Adapter and Extensive Cabling Options
• Integrated anti-vibration pads and gasket
• Progressive-Bend Impeller
• Centrifugal Turbulator Hub

The NF-A14x25 G2 PWM chromax.black are rated for 1500 RPM, generating 91.58 CFM air pressure at a pressure level of 2.56 mmH₂O. Their size is 140x140x25mm without anti-vibration pads and 140x140x27mm with pads. Using LNA cable, the speed is reduced to 1250 RP,M resulting in less air flow and air pressure but giving even more silent operation.

The NF-A14x25r G2 PWM chromax.black fans have a size of 138x138x25mm without anti-vibration pads. It is 138x138x27mm with the pads. It has the same speed, airflow, and air pressure rating as the non-r variant.

I have tested NF-A14x25 G2 PWM fans against the be quiet! Silent Wings 4 PWM HS fans that come with be quiet! Silent Loop 3 420mm AIO. The same AIO is used for testing. Speaking of that, I am excited to test Noctua’s planned liquid coolers whenever they get released.

In terms of performance, the Noctua fans have a marginal lead of 0.9°C over be quiet! fans but win here comes from the fact that Noctua fans spin at around 1500 RPM to deliver this result, compared to 2000 RPM on be quiet! fans for the result. Obviously, background technology also matters. The noise output is measured as 40.9 dB(A) on Noctua fans and 41.6 dB(A) on be quiet! fans, which again shows marginal improvement.

The Noctua NF-A14x25 G2 PWM chromax.black and NF-A14x25r G2 PWM chromax.black fans are black version of regular NF-A14x25 G2 PWM and NF-A14x25r G2 PWM fans. They make the best use of black/stealth builds while providing the same performance as on the regular edition. They come recommended by us.

Pros

• Black Edition
• LCP Impeller
• 0.7mm Tip Clearance
• Plethora of Accessories
• Low Noise Adapter
• Thermal Performance
• Noise
• No RGB Bling
• SSO2 Bearings
• High Airflow
• Additional brass structure to reinforce the axle mount
• CNC milled bearing shell
• 6-Year Warranty
• Integrated anti-vibration pads and gasket
• r version of 140mm sized coolers
• PWM Regulation with auto stop function on 0% PWM

Cons

• Price