When a component dissipates a small amount of heat usually only a heatsink is needed, yet you will need a fan blowing air on the heatsink for more powerful components like today’s most common CPUs and VGA cards, or for moving air in and/or out of your computer case. As every component within a system has rapidly evolved during the years so have fans. They come in many designs, colours, speeds and sizes. Today we have two fans from NorthQ, a company based in Denmark who design fans for quiet operation and visual enhancement.

NQ-3701 Silent Tornado 80mm

Specifications:

• Fan Dimension: 80 x 80 x 25 mm
• Ceramic ball bearing
• Rated Voltage: 12 V
• Starting Voltage: 6 V
• Fan Speed: 1500 RPM +- 10%
• Noise Level: 12 - 17dB (A)
• Air Flow: 17,0 CFM
• Life Time: 300,000 Hours
• Connector: 4 Pin Molex

The NQ-3701 comes in a simple plastic wrap. While the fan may appear simple at first sight, it has several features which distinguish it from the crowd. The most discernible aspect being that the fan is completely made out of ice colour clear plastic. The fan does look very nice on its own, but it will look even better if there are sources of light close to it.

The motor spins at only 1500RPM, a slow speed for an 80mm fan. This fan however is made to be as silent as possible, not to provide the maximum possible airflow regardless of associated noise. NorthQ claims that the fan only generates 12-19 dB (A) worth of noise and while we do not have an acoustics lab in order to accurately verify that, real world there is no discernable noise that can be heard from this fan unless you place your ear right above the motor. The motor is ceramic - an expensive material, the benefits of this are that it generates considerably less noise than ball bearing motors and lasts for much longer. The particular fan is rated for 300.000 hours of continuous use and after doing some maths you can work out this is something in the region of 34 years. Obviously this is overkill, but at least it gives reassurances to the reliability of their motors.

The fan is powered via a 4-pin Molex connector. While this fan may not be able to provide a RPM signal to motherboards due to its slow spinning speed, we would like it to have a common 3-pin connector as well, in case someone wants to connect it directly on his/her motherboard for any reason.

NQ-3711BL Silent Tornado 120

• Fan Dimension: 120 x 120 x 25 mm
• Ball bearing
• Rated Voltage: 12 V
• Starting Voltage: 6 V
• Fan Speed: 1000 RPM +- 10%
• Noise Level: 17 - 19dB (A)
• Air Flow: 38,0 CFM
• Connector: 3 Pin

The NQ-3711BL comes from a more complex series than the NQ-3701 from a design viewpoint. Obviously this fan is larger but it is also entirely different. The NQ-3711BL comes supplied in a nice plastic retail packaging with 4 standard screws included. The hard plastic will also protect the fan from light bumps and scratches during shipping. It has a solid aluminium frame which certainly makes it stand out of the crowd. The aluminium frame is supposed to enhance the performance of the fan and while we remain sceptical about this we do find the frame more aesthetically appealing a “standard” design. This makes the fan several times heavier than a normal plastic fan, so we do not recommend mounting on a heatsink if you move your computer regularly because of the strain.

The blades look like they are made of aluminium but they are in fact just painted plastic to give that impression. Aluminium blades would not only require a much stronger motor but would also be dangerous as they could make a serious gash to a stray finger. The NQ-3711BL also has four bright blue LED lights strategically placed on the plastic brackets holding the fan motor. The blue lighting is strongly enhanced by the solid frame, making the appearance of the fan unique. The fan is slow spinning, only 1000RPM, which makes it very quiet. The fan is rated at 17-19 dB (A) by NorthQ, and is again in real world conditions extremely quiet with only air flow noise audible with your ear very close to the spinning blades. This time the fan is powered via a 3-pin power connector and features an RPM reading as well. What we would like to see is a 3-pin to 4-pin converter for those who do not want to or cannot power the fan from their motherboard.

Final words and conclusion

What we did like:

Both the NQ-3711BL and NQ-3701 fans are unique in their own way. The feature they both share is they are both quiet, making them ideal for use in personal computers where noise is not desired, such as HTPC systems. Their looks will appeal to modders in a big way, especially the NQ-3711BL (and the other fans in that series). The NorthQ fans move a reasonable amount of air especially when you consider the speed they move.

What we did not like:

The bundle could be a little more carefully choosen. It is always good to have 3-pin fans and 4-pin adaptors included in the package. This way every user can pick whichever works best for their system.

Who we would recommend it to:

These fans are aimed at people who value silence above everything else. Due to the very appealing design, we can also say that modders will be very interested in these fans. The fans are entirely silent and are going to aid the cooling of your system, but they wont work miracles as they don’t push a vast amount of air. These fans can also be used on heatsinks, but due to their design we can only recommend them to people who have high end heatsinks and average/low powered processors. Do not expect them to perform sufficiently on the stock cooler of a 100W+ processor.

The average retail price of the NQ-3701 fan is 12€ in Europe.

The average retail price of the NQ-3711BL fan is 19€ in Europe.