Noctua NF-A4x10 FLX, Premium Quiet Fan, 3-Pin (40x10mm, Brown)

Wow! I had to write this review! Based on the other reviews, I purchased this product (thanks to all reviewers!). I saw that another reviewer commented on the accessories this came with...that the accessories allowed a person to tackle any project. I thought "Well, that's nice. But I'm sure I'll just be able to hook this up without the need." In part, I thought this because I saw the fans in my Lorex DVR connected with a TWO pin end, and the Amazon picture displays a TWO pin end. Well, I was wrong...the unit ships with a THREE pin connector as the "default". So, I too was super happy with the additional accessories or else I would have been stuck! Here's more... My Lorex DVR has two fans. The fans in the Lorex DVR are "Fonsoning fsy40s12m." This company is in China. An email to them went unresponded to. An online research revealed only ONE seller that would sell these in lots of 50 each at a minimum...I only needed two! The fans in my Lorex DVR were LOUD already, but, when one started to go (after only about a year and four months), it became unbearably loud! Lorex support is horrible, as is their warranty (one year). I was told to either send in the DVR for a charged repair or replace the entire DVR. After conducting a ton of research, I discovered that the Lorex fans are 40mm (each side length) and 10mm deep...I received quite the education as someone who started out with zero know-how on this. So, I opened up the fan packaging...the cable had THREE pins for the connector...not TWO like what I needed and what the Amazon picture displayed. Okay, well this came with a 3 to 2 pin connector adapter...I thought "no problem." By the way, there is also an extension cable, in the event your fan is placed far from the power supply...very nice. Back to the 3 to 2 pin adapter...I put it in and assembled the entire DVR...a LOT of work (at least for plain old me). After all that work, the fan didn't even budge! Ouch! Then, I saw these other adapters included by Noctua. The instructions stated that, where the polarity is OPPOSITE what the connectors are set up as, then these special adapters can be used (you may be wondering what the heck I'm talking about, but to explain that would be tough here. Perhaps an easy way to explain it is if the wires on the Noctua are opposite what the power supply is in your unit...meaning, the red wire needs to connect to the black wire instead of red, etc.). I thought..."Oh no. Do I need to do this???!!! I can't just use an adapter?" Yes...I did. But, better this than not having a working fan. Unfortunately, you don't know if you have a reversed polarity problem until the fan is plugged in, so I recommend NOT reassembling the entire unit until you've tested the fan first, if possible and if it's safe. So, I went back to the drawing board and took the old fans out and cut their wires close to where the fans are located....because, with this setup, you need to use the pins of the ORIGINAL fans. You then need to insert the ends of the ORIGINAL fans (i.e., the cords with the pins connected to them...not the cord with the original FAN connected to it) into these special adapters with the ends of the NOCTUA fans...no wire stripping is necessary. You just push the buttons down on these special adapters with a pair of pliers and...voila...you have a makeshift fan connection using the NOCTUA fans with the ORIGINAL fans pins. I plugged them in and I had motion!! Now, one of the accessories comes with a special cable that will reduce the RPM's of the fans to make them quieter. I thought, "Hmmmm...the 'normal' RPM's on these things must be a bit loud for Noctua to include such a cable." NO!! They are super quiet! They are quieter than the original fans when I first received the Lorex DVR brand new!!! In fact, had I known about these Noctuas back then, I might have just installed them at that time!!! I need to stand next to the DVR to hear the fans (maybe five to ten feet or so). Oh, I almost forgot...the connections of the fans themselves. So, the old Lorex fans were screwed into the case of the DVR. There was a special nut in the back of the Lorex fans to accept the screw used. The nut wouldn't fit the Noctua since the nut was hexagonal, and the back of the Noctua is round. "Now what am I going to do?" I thought! Well, Noctua included an answer for this too!!!! There are four included rubbery inserts that you put through the case holes for your unit. In this case, I only needed two per fan. I couldn't use four because there were only two holes in the DVR at the bottom. So, I inserted these rubber pieces through the two bottom holes and used only the two bottom holes on the fan. I found that my needle-nosed pliers were very handy here because I didn't have much space and I really wanted a snug fit, so I used the pliers to pull the rubber pieces through. In fact, these rubber pieces are supposed to decrease sound even more, in addition to the rubber bumpers on them. The fans are super secure, super quiet, super efficient, they have accessories that REALLY helped my scenario. I couldn't be happier! And, I didn't have to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a repair or replacement of my DVR and lose any more time without it. And, they are quieter than the original fans...without the RPM reduction cable! When I looked, these fans are about twice the price of another fan I saw on Amazon, but, in my opinion, WELL worth it. If you have a DVR with fans that are going bad or just plain noisy, these Noctuas just my be your ticket.

Amazing fan. This thing is super quiet. I bought it to replace a 40mm fan in my 3D printer, and I couldn't even tell this thing was spinning when I powered it up the first time. I thought something was wrong, but it was working just fine. That's how quiet this is. With my old fan, the fan noise was the primary sound you heard when the 3D printer was running. This fan makes my stepper motors seem extra loud, but in reality I'm just taking the constant fan drone out of the picture. This fan does a lot with the aerodynamics of the blades and housing to maintain airflow, but also reduce noise. There are integrated noise isolation pads on the corners of the fan to avoid transmitting vibrations into whatever it's mounted to, further reducing the sound from this fan. I didn't use them for my application, but they even include silicone mounts to completely avoid any screws or hard contact with the frame when mounting the fan. This man has been engineered to be extremely quiet and still meet the performance expectations for air flow. The packaging reflects the premium level of quality of the fan. The accessories and connectors included pretty much make this compatible for any use out of the box. It's all pros for this fan. I don't have any cons other than in not a fan of the Noctua color scheme. This fan is worth it if you are looking for something silent with premium quality. This fan is worth the cost. In reality, yes they cost more than generic fans of this same size, but the cost difference is made up for in the silence and quality that this fan gives you. I would recommend this to anyone.

This fan is amazing. I put it in my Reolink RLN8-410 NVR, and it's extremely quiet and efficient. If you need a quality 40mm fan, this is the one to get, totally worth the price.

For some time these fans have been firmly known in the universe of custom water cooled PCs with glowing lights and fancy cable wrap for gaming and so forth. Now, I’m not that kinda guy but over the years I’ve purchased dozens of these these either as 3-pin or 4-pin PWM as well as the a4x20 model and so on and absolutely love them. Here’s why: I work from home and also have a home lab with a lot of enterprise equipment that would be traditionally found in a Server farm. If you’ve ever been in a Server room, you know how loud we are talking here. These manufacturers simply cram in the cheapest, biggest, loudest fan they can find. ‘Better to protect the hardware’ is their line of thinking. But, why can’t we have it all? A lot of people with Server gear at home mitigate this issue by buying an incredibly expensive and large soundproof Server Cabinet. Me, I’d like to handle the issue at the source if I can manage close to the same airflow using more quiet fan technology. Keep in mind I said close to. You won’t be able to get the same CFM as a 28mm San Ace running at 7,200 rpms but then again you may not need it. However a Noctua at 4,700rpm could be more than adequate. In a home environment there’s much more control over various active / passive cooling methods and you won’t see necessarily the same kind of workload. Also, ive found that even 2x a4x10 at 4,700rpm is quieter (and the noise is of a less irritating pitch) than some of the 7,200rpm and up fans I’ve encountered. Anyhow, while the benefits are great you also must be responsible for fine tuning for your application and paying close attention to system / internal temperatures to ensure the quiet fans are adequate. This could mean a better layout in the chassis, getting better airflow in your rack, heatsinks, and so on... not just fans. So, consider that my disclaimer. Use your head and get the data you need to make an informed decision. If you know what your doing the Noctua makes retrofitting a breeze and comes with just about everything you could concievably need to shoe it in to any kind of build / scenario you can think of. The extras every Noctua comes with may seem excessive to some, but even if you don’t use them immediately they’ll save you in a pinch if you keep them in a spares drawer. In almost every scenario I’ve experienced excellent airflow, huge noise reduction and not a single meltdown thus far. Whenever I’ve done a before and after and clocked temperatures I’ve seen this particular 4,700rpm fan outperform generic faster spinning fans that supposedly have superior CFM. Instead of using the low noise adapters I frequently utilize a separate manual fan controller so I can dial in just the right mix of noise / speed / airflow for a given application. See the photos I’ve provided for where I’ve done exactly this with Supermicro M28SACB cages, disabling the on board fan control. However, you can also get a PWM fan (I’d use the a4x20 in that case) and use Supermicro’s fan and temperature control features. So, even though it’s a home environment the use cases aren’t mild. I’m talking 48 disk raid arrays that I’ve gotten cool as a cucumber AND quiet as a church mouse. In the other photo I posted it’s my latest application retrofitting 4x A4x10 into a Sonnet Tech xMac mini rack mount Server. I’ve also successfully used these fans or similar models in all kinds of other gear. Again, doing a before and after of internal and drive temps is the only way you can determine if this solution can work for you. Don’t be careless- heat is a noble foe. Noctua, I don’t know what I’d do without you. My world would be unbearably loud. However, one small complaint Noctua if you’re listening: you’ve moved from the standard silicone vibration mounts to what you call the NA-AV3. This is the first time I’ve received these so I’m assuming it’s a fairly new change. I find them a bit fiddly and less easy to use compared to their predecessor. It also makes it more difficult to shoe-in with various retrofits because it has no flat side.... although I can work around it. I’m guessing they help with some use case I’m unaware of because I don’t see the utility at all in the change. Also, the stock at amazon seems to be a variety of the older and newer models as it’s been a toss up which kind I wound up with on my last order.

I originally stumbled upon this brand and size of fan while looking for a small fan to cool my Raspberry Pi kits. These fans are fantastic, whisper quiet and provide very good airflow to my custom Raspberry Pi case. Another application I've had for these fans is a little off the wall but they fit the purpose perfectly as well. In my spare time I like to do charity events with a Lucasfilm sanctioned Star Wars costuming club. During my times at these charity events I can be in either sweltering heat or just dealing with the heat coming from my body in full costume with fully enclosed helmet. With all this being said it's extremely easy to overheat. My solution to the problem was to place 4 of these little guys in my helmet and I can still hear what's going on around me and they provide enough airflow to keep me cooler. Now, down to the nitty gritty! To my knowledge all of these come as a kit with everything you'll need to install the fan plus some other goodies. The kit itself includes a really handy extension cable if you need to place a fan that's a bit too far out of reach from a power source. It also comes with a "Low Noise Adapter" or LNA for short that drops down the RPMs a bit which is kind of funny considering how quiet these fans already are. Noctua spend A LOT of time designing their fans and this one is no exception. The frame of the fan features a rubberized edge to help reduce noise, a smaller fan hub size which allows for more room for bigger blades on the fan which in turn provides more airflow, and the blades themselves have special grooves and bumps to help reduce noise and increase airflow as well. I can't recommend this fan and the brand enough. Every fan has met or surpassed my expectations in every application I've placed them into. Whether you're a computer enthusiast, hobbyist, costumer, or anything else. These fans should be your first consideration. A fan like this in my opinion should cost considerably more than what is charged for it, and I'd still get them! I hope these fans will serve you as well as they have me! Regards, RR5692

I installed this fan into HikVision DS-7608NI-Q2 NVR to replace the stock very noisy fan, unit is now silent. Swapping the fan takes 5 minutes it is a direct replacement. The fan comes with an included silencer which just plugs inline with the wire, likely lowering the RPMs a little bit, the fan is nearly silent, cant hear it unless your ear is next to it, so much better than the stock case fan.

I purchased the Noctua NF-A4x10 FLX, Premium Quiet Fan, 3-Pin (40x10mm, Brown) This was used for a replacement in my security systems DVR was too loud. Overview. The cooling fan is made with sturdy material and good craftsmanship, the bearings are tight and the fan moves freely. It comes with several adapters including one for three to two pin. It also has a adapter to allow you to wire it up you need to. It comes with screws to adapt the fan, and also some rubber adapters which I will cover later. Instructions and the box it comes in a pretty interesting and look like something high-tech. You would think there'd be something else greater in the box, but it's just a cooling fan. Or is it? It is three times the average fan cost. Meaning there are many on the Internet that are the third of this price. So you could technically by three of those over one of these so is it worth it? Pros: the fan comes with directions that are easy-to-read and installation is simple the screws supplied allow you to replace an existing fan and still have a proper fit. There are extensions as well as adapters to allow you to easily reach the power supply for your fan. It should be noted that this was put in a DVR, a longer extension may be needed depending on the case size. Cons: The screws that are included to mount the fan are poorly constructed and jagged, which concerned me that metal fragments could be dislodged from that screw if you were using this to go through a metal fan holder. All four screws included were all poorly constructed, and they threats themselves were not very smooth. The rubber adapters are made out of very poor material. They advise you not to overstretch them but meanwhile they are too thick to pass through the holes without tearing. And you cannot remove them without damaging them. Luckily I only needed to put away my mount for the cooling fan is. This material needs to be looked at and a better solution given. The rubber is a good idea, but the construction can be easily damaged. This Was a hard item to review, most cooling fans do not come with near the materials, or instructions that this comes with. On that alone I could give it five stars. But was unable to at this time because the included materials were not as of the same high quality the fan is. As noted the mounting hardware and rubber are not up to the standards of the fan itself and are poorly constructed. Being very included with the kit I have to include their quality and it doesn't affect the review. Had they not been included I would have given the fan itself five stars but the material included in the overall product I give four stars. The fan is quiet, my DVR fan was 10 dB higher in no ways than this fan. That may not seem like a lot when you have something sitting on your desk or near a place often accessed such as a desk having a noisy fan is not something people find acceptable. This fan is still not completely quiet, I expected something to be a little bit quieter than it was. 10 DB difference does make it to work does not interfere with a microphone that I have nearby. The previous fan made a background noise which affected the recording of my microphone. This new fan is quiet enough not to be picked up and I can appreciate that even though it's not completely quiet. So should you buy this fan? If you are buying this because you want a high-quality fan that is built extremely well and should last for years and yes. If you're buying it as a kid and you need all the other things included I still would say by but it is not exactly worth $15

You get what you pay for with this brand. I used this to replace a cheap 40mm 12V fan in another piece of electronics I had just bought. The original fan sounded like like a herd of bumblebees being sucked into a tornado, and would get louder randomly over time (cheap POS bearings I'm guessing). This kit comes with a bunch of connection options which proved helpful as the fan I was replacing had a weird connector. This kit comes with a 2 lead pigtail, which I soldered to the stock connector after I liberated it from the 12V air-cooled noisemaker, promptly yeeting said bladed-garbage into the trash . So much quieter now, and moves enough air to keep things cool. Some Noctua fans I have are more then ten years old at this point and are still running silent so I'm absolutely sure I'll get my money's worth, even if this cost a little more than other (noisy) options!