Noctua NH-U12P CPU Heatsink Review

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taylorwilsdon

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I just finished a review of the NH-U12P and I thought I'd share it with you guys. I've got a great stable overclock at 4.25ghz going on with my E8500 so I'm a happy camper :)

You can see the whole thing and the pictures here;


Its 3 pages so I'm not going to just post it here but my closing thoughts were:

One issue that potentially stands between the NH-U12P and the consumer is price. At a street price of $64.99, its not inexpensive as far as CPU coolers go. One must consider, however, that you’re not just paying for a heatsink. You also get the NF-P12 120mm fan, which retails for $21.99 and the NT-H1 thermal compound, another $10. With the extras taken into consideration, the price of the bare heatsink is in line with the mainstream products. That’s not to say that this should be compared with the mainstream, as Noctua sets its self apart from the herd with an excellent (6 year) warranty and the fact that its a fantastic product on its own merits - its nearly impossible to find a heatsink that cools so efficiently while remaining almost entirely silent.

I give the Noctua NH-U12P a 4.5/5 rating, based on several things. As far as performance goes, it earns a 5 without a question. The NH-U12P and NF-P12 combination keeps your CPU cool without creating a lot of noise in your computer case. Its well built, comes with a great warranty and a strong suite of accessories. I had to dock the Noctua a half point for price, because while some understand the importance of an excellent heatsink, it may not be a top priority for others and the higher cost may be prohibitive. This is a heatsink with an unbelievable amount of R&D: the fan alone is the model of beautiful engineering.

For an enthusiast that’s looking for a drop in temperatures, less noise or a little more headroom for overclocking, you’ve got a perfect match in the NH-U12P. For the casual user who wants to bring a little more silence to their computer, the Noctua with a low noise adapter is a killer combo and a reasonably priced way to lower the volume. I highly recommend it.
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Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler Review
 
jsl10 said:
Ignoring cost, I wonder how this HS compares with the Xigmatek 1283?
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Most of these top end heatsinks (xigmatek, true, noctua) perform relatively close to one another. The Noctua though I feel has others beat in several areas:

1. Build quality - the QA on these are impeccable. Well polished base, very flat, and sturdy fins.

2. Accesories - comes with all mounting brackets, great, clear instructions, 4 fan clips for push-pull config, and even pretty good thermal compound.

3. Fan - the NF-P12 retails for around $20, and is a top notch fan.

Put those together, and I think the higher cost is justified.
 
I'm happy with my xigmatek 1283 with the exception of the topmost aluminum fin is "loose" and is basically useless for heat dissipation because of it. Still keeps things nice and cool though.

Nice review, but it'd be nice to see them compare it directly with maybe the TRUE120 or the 1283.
 
nsx241 said:
Most of these top end heatsinks (xigmatek, true, noctua) perform relatively close to one another. The Noctua though I feel has others beat in several areas:

1. Build quality - the QA on these are impeccable. Well polished base, very flat, and sturdy fins.

2. Accesories - comes with all mounting brackets, great, clear instructions, 4 fan clips for push-pull config, and even pretty good thermal compound.

3. Fan - the NF-P12 retails for around $20, and is a top notch fan.

Put those together, and I think the higher cost is justified.
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You basically said what I was going to. There is really not a huge difference in overall temps when it comes to the "top tier" heatsinks but what nsx241 says is true:

Its extremely well built, and they stand behind it when most companies don't (long warranty, high consumer confidence).

The little things add up, the thermal paste etc is helpful and good to have around.

And yes, the NF-P12 is a great fan. I'm running two and they're terrific.
 
yeah...I'm not knocking the quality or price at all. Those fans are definately nice too.
 
I am happy with my Noctua, keeps my overclocked Q6600 very cool. I wish I would have replaced all my case fans with Noctua fans over my Scythe S-Flex. They are very good but for basically the same price the Noctua fans are a little quieter.
 
j_coddy said:
I am happy with my Noctua, keeps my overclocked Q6600 very cool. I wish I would have replaced all my case fans with Noctua fans over my Scythe S-Flex. They are very good but for basically the same price the Noctua fans are a little quieter.
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From someone who replaced all his fans with Noctuas after seeing the performance of this one on the CPU, I say do it. Having a super quiet PC is not something you actively notice, but its really nice to have.
 
Of the 12 120mm fans I have mounted, 9 are Noc's. When I crank down the other 3 I can REALLY tell the difference. When I told my wife, the family CFO, that I wanted to spend almost $300 on fans she looked at me like I was crazy, but it's been worth it. My first quiet PC can be VERY quiet, with great temps.
 
I've ordered my NH-U12P along with a couple NF-P12 fans to replace others in my p180.

OP: Thanks for the review
 
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