Noctua NH-U12S AMD and Intel CPU Air Cooler @ [H]

FrgMstr

Just Plain Mean
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Noctua NH-U12S AMD and Intel CPU Air Cooler - The Noctua NH-U12S is well known in enthusiast circles for a few reasons. Noctua states it is because, "the NH-U12S is a complete premium quality solution that combines outstanding performance, quiet operation and excellent compatibility." And quite frankly Noctua would be very correct. Where does the value stand today?
 
Thank you for the review.

This is the cooler of choice for the rig in my sig for the past month now and I'm very pleased with the results.

Applied Arctic Cooling MX-4 on the CPU during the installation process.


Regards,
 
be interesting to see how it does in a push-pull config........given how quiet the fans are it might be a winner
 
The performance was about equal to other single tower 120mm HS in your list (Arctic cooler freezer i30, Thermaright true sprit 120mm) only few deg even between water coolers .

Noctua are not cheap but made well and are quiet in general . The Noctua NH-U14S IMO is worth the little etra as long as your MB doesn't use top slot for vid .
Would of like to see that reviewed with this one .
Oh, its 72$ at Amazon
 
$64.62 at Amazon is what the links shows as of right now for me.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C9EYVGY/

Noctua%20NH-U12S.png
 
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Kyle, just out of curiosity, how do you think it stacks up to an AIO like the H60i, which is roughly in the same price range?
 
Kyle, just out of curiosity, how do you think it stacks up to an AIO like the H60i, which is roughly in the same price range?


I have been sold on AIO coolers just from the simple fact of being able to "properly" set up the rad to exhaust the case.
 
I like the idea of many AIO setups, performance has gone up over time (so many versions out there nowadays ).
The thing that always stops me from buying, is thinking if the pump craps out or plastic degrades to a point it leaks . You get big problems with both, with HS most can happen is fan stops but you get some cooling still .

I guess you could have app that shuts system down if it hits X deg , that would help ease fears .

Kyle have you ever had any issues with pumps or anything on popular AIO systems, like Corrsairs H60/80/100i ?
 
Kyle have you ever had any issues with pumps or anything on main AIO systems, like Corrsairs H60/80/100i ?

I have never had an issue with AIO cooling. Currently running a Antec Kulher for over a couple a years now, so on a personal level I am out of the loop (pun intended). I went with it at the time because of the software interface and control options simply blew Corsair out of the water at the time.
 
I like the idea of many AIO setups, performance has gone up over time (so many versions out there nowadays ).
The thing that always stops me from buying, is thinking if the pump craps out or plastic degrades to a point it leaks . You get big problems with both, with HS most can happen is fan stops but you get some cooling still .

I guess you could have app that shuts system down if it hits X deg , that would help ease fears .

Kyle have you ever had any issues with pumps or anything on popular AIO systems, like Corrsairs H60/80/100i ?

Most processors made in the last 8-10 years have on-die temperature monitoring diodes and will automatically shut down if they get too hot. Last chips I remember just smoking themselves were Socket A Athlons...
 
First sentence of the conclusion:

The NH-U12S is a worth successor in the NH-U12
Should be "worthy"

That said, great review, and interesting cooler. It's awfully expensive for a cooler that does REALLY well at cooling a stock CPU. Sure it's quiet, and it's clearly a premium product, I'm just not sure the value's there.
 
I use this cooler in my 4770k rig, and it works great. Quiet and cool. I didn't get the NH-U14S because I wasn't sure it was going to fit, and was concerned about it blocking the first PCIe slot. Now that I've built my rig, it would have fit just fine. Were I to do it again, I would have gotten the larger one. Oh well, the U12S is great, so no real complaints.
 
you can also request extra fan clips to mount another fan. it helps offset the higher price, to be able to add a secondary fan.
 
Antec has a new AIO unit coming very soon. I am excited to see how it tests out.
 
Recently bought a Noctua push-pull CPU fan and I'm convinced it's the best I've used so far. Only minor drawbacks are high price and potential component clearance issue but definitely worth for top notch air cooling.
 
CM has been aggressive with AIO kits . I think now they have 3 versions and the swifttech one . there newest one Nepton 140XL / 280L seems to improve but with 140m width you need to make sure you have room , but good thing it supports 140 and 120mm fan mounting patterns . Only bad thing is some of them are high priced (one with big pumps,Eisberg ) .

Antec has new kits with pump in the fans (H2O 650/1250 ).
 
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