Our favorite Noctua PC fan just got even better, if you can afford it

Noctua has revealed the NF-A12x25 G2, an updated version of its popular 120mm fan. The new 120mm PC fan has a number of refinements that promise to surpass the original NF-A12x25's performance. It's not cheap, but if it's as good as its predecessor, it could happily justify its cost.

Whenever we've got our hands on them, Noctua cooling products have tested positively, with the Noctua NH-D15 ranking as the best CPU cooler money can buy, for example. CPU fans such as the Noctua H-L9 and Noctua NH-D15, as well as the original Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM, delivered excellent cooling performance, as well as low-noise operation and top build quality. Unfortunately, they're not cheap, and it seems the 120mm NF-A12x25 G2 PC fan will be no different, even if it is cheaper than its larger CPU fan siblings in the Noctua range.

The newly revealed NF-A12x25 G2 boasts numerous improvements over the original model, featuring winglets and "Flow Acceleration Channels," which essentially boil down to additional notches, raised edges, and contoured curves on the rotor blades to improve the fan's overall aerodynamic profile.

Noctua has also added more coil windings on the motor stator and the NE-FD6 integrated circuit, which should allow the fan to use additional torque headroom when airflow resistance fluctuates. There's a lot going on under the hood of this fan, all of which points towards a premium quality 120mm spinner, though it's a shame it only comes in Noctua's divisive brown and beige color scheme for now.

The NF-A12x25 G2 is currently available in a standard PWM version offering speeds of up to 1,800rpm, a quieter LS-PWM version with speeds of up to 1,100rpm, and an Sx2-PP set, containing a pair of fans for push-pull setups. The Sx2-PP set also has a +/- 50rpm offset between the fans to prevent intermittent vibrations, as fans running at the same speed side-by-side or in a push-pull configuration can create additional background noise.

Of course, you probably won't be buying a singular fan on its own, so the cost of each fan matters. The cheapest options, the PWM and LS-PWM, retail for $34.90 a piece.

Compared to some of the best PC fans like the Arctic P12 PWM, which is a cheap if not particularly quiet option, the NF-A12x25 G2 is certainly on the more expensive side. How well the fan performs remains to be seen in a full NF-A12x25 G2 review, but it will more than likely be among our top contenders for the best cooling fans of 2025.

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