Noctua’s 3D-printed mod singlehandedly makes the Framework Desktop run quieter

Many Framework Desktop mods are cosmetic, but this is a functional improvement.

Noctua has a 3D-printable custom-designed side panel for the Framework Desktop that can reduce noise levels by improving airflow, no other modifications required. Credit: Noctua

Despite its lack of upgradeable system memory, Framework has tried to make its Framework Desktop a welcoming platform for upgraders and modders, releasing 3D-printable versions of a few case parts and generally sticking to standard-sized parts and standard connectors.

Often, it’s independent creators who are making the weirdest and most interesting mods for Framework’s devices, but PC cooling company Noctua has just announced what amounts to a fairly major cooling upgrade for the Framework Desktop, at least for anyone with access to a 3D printer. By printing a new fan duct and a custom side panel, Noctua managed to lower the noise levels of the Framework Desktop’s default cooling fan by between five and seven decibels, without replacing or modifying any other components.

The key is apparently the design of the fan grill, which Noctua also used to reduce noise levels in the Noctua edition of this 1,600 W Seasonic power supply. The grill has a distinctive spiral pattern that allows the fan to move similar amounts of air at lower rotation speeds, which is where the noise reduction comes from.

According to Noctua’s post about the Seasonic power supply, the grill was designed with the specific geometry of the NF-A12x25 fan’s blades in mind: “the grill’s radial struts are angled and swept against the sense of rotation of the fan and the sweep of its blades, which helps to avoid situations where the leading edges of the fan blades are parallel or almost parallel to the grill struts, which would cause a high pressure pulse followed by a sudden drop in pressure when the blade moves out of the overlapping position.”

The grill for the Framework Desktop’s fan is slightly smaller to conform with safety standards, but the idea is the same. Noctua also paired the side panel grill with a redesigned funnel-shaped fan duct to improve airflow further.

Some cooling mods make more sense than others

A tweaked fan duct (replacing the default, also-Noctua-designed version) is also required to see the improvements. Credit: Noctua

Noctua had a couple of other interesting notes on the Framework Desktop’s cooling system for people looking to make the system run cooler or quieter. First, Noctua noticed some temperature improvements when adding an 80 mm exhaust fan to the front of the system—this is supported, but it isn’t the default cooling configuration—but found that the extra noise it added was disproportionate to the cooling benefit it provided. Adding a newer NF-A12x25 G2 fan to the system instead of the default NF-A12x25 made the desktop run a bit quieter, but because the G2 fan maxes out at 1,800 RPM rather than 2,400 RPM, it had trouble keeping the system cool under load.

“In summary, after a lot of simulation, experimenting and testing, we can conclude that not all tweaks to the Framework Desktop’s cooling setup make sense,” reads Noctua’s blog post. “However, if you have access to a 3D printer, swapping the stock side panel and fan duct for the custom designed ones can help to make your unit run significantly quieter.”

Noctua doesn’t have plans to mass-produce the new duct or side panel, but models for both the side panel and duct are free to download and use. Framework also endorsed the new designs on its social media feeds.

Noctua already had a hand in designing the Framework Desktop’s stock cooling system. The NF-A12x25 fan is the default one that ships with the system, and the small fan duct that comes with the system is of Noctua’s design. The default duct “plays a key role in efficiently channelling fresh ambient air from the surroundings into the PC case,” and Noctua says it reduces system temperatures by 7° Celsius compared to the same components without the duct. The new 3D printable duct and side panel further improve on that baseline.

The Framework Desktop combines 8- and 16-core Ryzen CPUs, powerful Radeon integrated graphics, and between 32GB and 128GB of soldered-on RAM. It’s a decent midrange gaming system, but it may be of particular interest to those who want a huge pool of graphics RAM they can use for AI or other professional workloads. It’s available for preorder starting at $1,099; anything ordered today should arrive at some point in Q4 of 2025.