Without any doubt, Noctua’s fans always perform remarkably and reliably. But their trademark “beige and brown” colors on almost every products make matching your PC builds’ color schemes nearly impossible, especially inside a beautiful tempered glass case. That is the reason why Noctua expanded their Chromax product line. We already checked out the Chromax cables. Now, it is time for the new Chromax.black.swap edition fans.
Unboxing
These new edition fans are in fact based on previously introduced NF-F12, NF-S12A, NF-A14 and NF-A15 fans.
Similar to other Chromax products, the hard cardboard box is painted mainly in white, with little brown and black accent. You can see both the Noctua logo and the Chromax branding on the front. A little picture of the fan accompanied with the model name is located at the top left corner.
On the back of the box, the fan’s basic specifications are clearly written, as well as a QR code to the respective product webpage.
You will see your Chromax.black.swap fan sitting in the center of a black plastic tray, once you open the box. Next to the fan are the six anti-vibration rubber pads in different colors (white, yellow, blue, green, red and black).
Taking out and flipping the plastic tray, there are an accessories box and the connected black extension cable.
Apart from those six anti-vibration pads at the front, you will find the remaining eighteen pads in the accessories box, three for each color (total of 24 pads). For the NF-A15 fan, you will get eight anti-vibration pads for each color, a total of 48 pads in the whole package. Every Chromax.black.swap fan includes a 30 cm extension cable and four standard fan screws in the box.
Review
According to Noctua’s own comparison table, the Chromax.black.swap edition fans are basically identical to the standard “beige and brown” version fans in every aspect. They both feature the same SSO2 bearing and the fiber-glass reinforced PBT frame, as well as the designs and technologies, such as the stepped inlet design and inner surface microstructures. We should see very similar, if not exact cooling performance for both fans.
*Leave comments below this article, if you want us to do performance reviews for the Chromax fans.*
The only difference is the included accessories. There is no low-noise and ultra-low noise adapters for the chromax fan. Instead of the brown anti-vibration mounts and fixed 20 cm cable, you get swappable colored pads and 30 cm extension cable.
You can put your desired colored anti-vibration pads on the 4 corners of the fan and on both sides. You will need a total of eight pads for each fans. The pads work as well as the usual brown pads, absorbing most of the vibration noise coming from the cooler and the fan. If you also own the Chromax extension cables (NA-SEC1), you can replace the included black cable with different colored extension cables.
It is extremely simple to install or swap the anti-vibration pads. There are two rubber pins to hold each pad to the fan. In my experience, it is both faster and easier to install the pads by firmly pushing the pins into their respective holes first. After you feel a click that the pins are secured, you can wrap/unfold the pads’ edges around the fan.
Conclusion
In short, Noctua Chromax.black.swap fans are the standard fans painted in black with the inclusion of the colored anti-vibration pads. This means the Chromax fans are capable of providing the legendary cooling performance from the standard edition fans. The black fan frame combined with the anti-vibration pads in six colors give users a subtle but customizable computer component to match their overall PC builds’ color schemes. You no longer need to sacrifice either your PC’s performance, or its aesthetic with the new Chromax fans.
Of course, you can purchase the anti-vibration mounts (NA-SAVP1) separately, but you will have to stay with the beige fan frames or get the more expensive IndustrialPPC fan models. The Chromax.black.swap edition fans strike a perfect balance between price and color customization, by costing only a few dollars (USD) more than the standard edition. They are provided with the usual 6 years warranty from Noctua.
You can purchase the fans from your local/online resellers or the links below from Amazon US.
- NF-F12 PWM chromax.black.swap
- NF-S12A PWM chromax.black.swap
- NF-A14 PWM chromax.black.swap
- NF-A15-HS PWM chromax.black.swap
Thanks Noctua for providing us the Chromax fans for review. (Review Sample)
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