Noctua NH-U12P Processor Cooler @ [H]

FrgMstr

FrgMstr

Just Plain Mean
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Noctua NH-U12P Processor Cooler - Four heatpipes, thirty-six fins, SSO bearings, Vortex Control notches, and psycho-acoustic optimizations...wait just a damn minute. Let's find out if Noctua spent more money on marketing or engineering. It's just a CPU heatsink, right?

The Noctua NH-U12P is a solid cooler that performs with the very best out there. Combine this with a strong fan that can be classified as “silent,” and you have a complete package. For anyone in the market for a new processor cooler or if you are just looking to quiet your system down, this is one heat sink and fan combination that should be on your short list.
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UPDATE - 04/03/08 9:50am CDT: Editor’s Note: Due to reader outcry, we have added the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme to our A2A results. Please keep in mind that this particular cooling solution does NOT come prepackaged with a specific fan. Therefore we have not added it to our other comparisons. Obviously the performance you would see as an end user will be greatly impacted by the fan you choose. In this comparison graphing, all coolers are using the same fan solution.
 
Looks good. No TR ultra 120 extreme? thats like the gold standard of air heatsinks now adays.
 
Looks like a good solid cooler. Though it looks almost EXACTLY like an OCZ Vindicator.

(Then again the van/heatpipe design seems to be the new 'cool thing').
 
Simpson5774 said:
Looks good. No TR ultra 120 extreme? thats like the gold standard of air heatsinks now adays.
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I was wondering the same thing. If Kyle saw that great of a variance in his numbers between using the thermal probe inserted into the IHS vs the software monitoring (CoreTemp of all programs) then I guess my temps aren't too far off with my TRUE 120 and push-pull Noctua 12P 1300s. I saw 61c load on the three hottest cores in Everest while running Prime 95 last night. The ambient temperature in my room was about 75F.
 
Simpson5774 said:
Looks good. No TR ultra 120 extreme? thats like the gold standard of air heatsinks now adays.
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a1212 said:
nice review, but why not include TR e120/90(ultima)?.
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tesfaye said:
I was wondering the same thing. If Kyle saw that great of a variance in his numbers between using the thermal probe inserted into the IHS vs the software monitoring (CoreTemp of all programs) then I guess my temps aren't too far off with my TRUE 120 and push-pull Noctua 12P 1300s.
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+1
This thread is useless without TRU120E

Edit, or at least the Tuniq 120? The TT BT has been usurped long ago by these heatsinks.
 
hey hey, no need to take offense. Everyone just wants to see how it stacks up to the best of the best.

Good review as always and thanks for the link.

~ Kuromizu
 
They didn't include the TRUE because they haven't tested it, yet. That's not to say they will, but you get the idea.
 
Nice review, personally I think the TRUE is overrated, a great cooler, but overrated. But just outta curiosity, what was the speed of the CPU when you had the extra voltage going through it? Also, did you notice any other componets getting a little too warm from the Noctua at the overclocked speeds?
 
Making accusations of bribery and questioning our integrity on a whim will get you banned here. I have tolerance for a lot of criticism, but that is over the line. Kyle
 
Making accusations of bribery and questioning our integrity on a whim will get you banned here. I have tolerance for a lot of criticism, but that is over the line. Kyle
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hmmm
 
skadebo said:
They didn't include the TRUE because they haven't tested it, yet. That's not to say they will, but you get the idea.
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I don't know why not, other than someone hasn't sent then one. Even then, The TR-u120e has been tested again and again to be the best. multiple different setups, platforms, it always comes out on top, and its been out for awhile now. Heatsinks can be one of two things, best value for money, or just the best. You can also buy a heatsink based on noise output, sometimes its a case of a new fan, sometimes some solutions are just better for that, not saying the the TRu120E the quietest, but its one of those wildcard heatsinks, BYOF (bring your own fan).

The Noctua NH-U12P is competing in the very space, and the very price of the U120 (u120 being cheaper ATM), with the same principle design. The heatsink market is chock full of competition, I understand you can't review them all, (madshrims.be has to be given alot of credit for this. But here we have the ultra 120, it has proven itself even before [H] shifted its testing methology in other reviews. I guess what I am saying is, sometimes you have to compare everything to the best their is.

Maybe the NH-U12P provides the same level of cooling while being more silent than the the U120 to its recommended fan, maybe its even a better value price wise, But can [H] give this heatsink the golden seal despite not knowing all of the major variables?

I honestly don't believe [H] would do anything to skew these results or leave anything out intentionally, with that being said I think [H] should do everything they can in order to get a review of the U120, due to its popularity.
 
Simpson5774 said:
Looks good. No TR ultra 120 extreme? thats like the gold standard of air heatsinks now adays.
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Yeah you noticed the lack of TRUE too? I have a feeling it would have put them all in their place. That puppy just works so well with two high flow fans attached... OC'n a Quad to 3.6Ghz is a breeze, temps never get over 55c even under Prime 95!

Kinda disappointed in the lack of the TRUE!

 
Nice review. I wanted to get a Noctua HSF for my AM2 build, but the Tuniq Tower was cheaper.
 
In your Review, which I found quite interesting, and relevant, I couldn't help but wonder why you used the Term "Viscous" as it pertains to a liquids ability to flow, and should have been less viscous. If I'm wrong I'll stand corrected, but all in all a really good article.

"Lastly, because we have a special CPU on our hands it requires a compound that is more viscous so not to seep into the channel and run off."
 
Did you ever notice how most heatsinks are tested and apparently designed
to be used in the horizontal position? But most of us use our heatsinks in the vertical
position. The exception here may be home theatre boxes.

I would think someone could invent a heatsink that takes into account that
heat rises and heatsinks are most often used vertically. Maybe some sort
of design that curves upward vertically.
 
jebo_4jc said:
+1
This thread is useless without TRU120E

Edit, or at least the Tuniq 120? The TT BT has been usurped long ago by these heatsinks.
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Look I have a TRUE 120 w/Dual 120"s Crammed into a Midtower, and I also have a Zalman CNPS 9700 LED, and while I like the Styiling on the Zalman, and the TRUE's Cooling ability, they're not for everyone. There's always some design issue when Testing a CPU Heatsink, and compared to most sinks, I found value in this review as it pertains to their methodology, and how they present their findings.
 
Kyle, et al, thanks for this review of the Noctua NH-U12P Processor Cooler with multiple other HSFs as reference points.

Lately, I have been shopping for a HSF replacement for my current setup (ASUS P4P800-E, P4 3.2GHz), as I move it to an Antec SOLO case and my Zalman CNPS7700-AICu won't fit. The new HSFs often don't work for my socket 478 situation, but the article caught my attention.

My comment would be that there are lots of reviews out there to read to make relative performance comparisons that will allow the reader to understand how the NH-U12P will perform.

Would it have been ideal to have the [H] test the exact units that each of us uniquely might have on a particular machine right now (or be considering for a purchase)? Sure, but I have enough information to understand the value point (quiet, with good heat dissipation - at a certain expense) when compared to other HSF options.

Thanks for providing this review. I liked it...
 
Awesome review.

I'm personally using the Noctua NF-P12 fan (the same one used on this HSF) and pairing it with a TRUE120 in my next rig. It pushes a healthy amount of air (enough to reach the point of diminishing returns on any heatsink) while making very little sound.
 
I'm working on a new system quote for a client and I believe this HSF will do the trick. Thanks [H]! :)
 
hi,

Kyle thanks for another review. Good to see this company get some press. I am impressed with what I saw from them. Unfortunately, my item did not work with my system. However, the quality of the built would make me a repeat customer if I needed a good CPU cooler.

shaggy
 
Dual said:
Did you ever notice how most heatsinks are tested and apparently designed
to be used in the horizontal position? But most of us use our heatsinks in the vertical
position. The exception here may be home theatre boxes.

I would think someone could invent a heatsink that takes into account that
heat rises and heatsinks are most often used vertically. Maybe some sort
of design that curves upward vertically.
Click to expand...

Ditto, I'd like to see the performance changes seen when this unit, or any heatpipe unit is mounted on its side.
 
skadebo said:
They didn't include the TRUE because they haven't tested it, yet. That's not to say they will, but you get the idea.
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Yes they did, see the link Kyle provided above your post.

Maybe the TR 120 was not availiable for this test/ has already been covered?

Good review Marc. Kyle, Please do not despair, some of us read most of the articles and enjoy them, even if we do not need that particular item.
:cool:
 
Good review. Especially interesting with the hardware temp reader. What was the processor clocked at? And also, is that fan with the blue LEDs on the heat sink the same red fan it comes with?

in this picture i mean
1205349905Tnh0aSPxAt_3_12.jpg
 
looks like an interesting cooling possibility.
thanks Kyle.

just fyi, the noctua paste isn't included correcT?
 
Drakul said:
looks like an interesting cooling possibility.
thanks Kyle.

just fyi, the noctua paste isn't included correcT?
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Actually, they do include a bit of the Noctua thermal compound in the package. I used MX-2 instead but I think the included thermal is suppose to be pretty decent too.

I have this HSF in my current build and am overall very happy with it. Here are some temps under full load on a modestly overclocked Q9450. The Noctua NH-U12P keeps my three of my cores in the low 30s and one in the low 20s when idle. This is in a 27C/81F ambient. (My room is kind of warm :-P)

http://lnshen.googlepages.com/overclockcpu2.jpg

Edit: I actually think I put a bit too much thermal paste on when I installed it. I wonder if I scrape it off and reinstalled the heatsink again, I can get all 4 cores down to the temp of core 4. Is it worth redoing? What do you guys think?

Edit 2: Hmm... big hindrance to cooling = me. lol I guess my sitting at my desk blocks overall airflow. Running Prime95 with me not there = core temps of 46C, 41C, 48C, and 32C.
 
kaname said:
Nice review, personally I think the TRUE is overrated, a great cooler, but overrated. But just outta curiosity, what was the speed of the CPU when you had the extra voltage going through it? Also, did you notice any other componets getting a little too warm from the Noctua at the overclocked speeds?
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Overrated? Please STFU and come back with facts so you don't sound like such a dumbass next time.

A TRUE + These Noctua fans can't hold a candle to anything other than water cooling.

/fact
 
Rob94hawk said:
Overrated? Please STFU and come back with facts so you don't sound like such a dumbass next time.

A TRUE + These Noctua fans can't hold a candle to anything other than water cooling.

/fact
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Hell the TRUE is within a few degrees C on some Water cooling setups... its crazy efficient! I've used probably a dozen coolers over 20 years of building and overclocking computers and this is by far the best.

Now if you put crap fans on the TRUE yes... you get so so performance. Good HIGH CFM 33 DB fans like Scythe and Yate Loons = unbelievable cooling!

I will be able to push one of my Q6600s to over 4Gig with it.. that's no slouch!

 
jebo_4jc said:
Was this comment sarcastic? I think it's reasonable to expect a review of a $60 heatsink to include the widely-considered best heatsink available (which falls directly in the same price bracket). Giving this a gold award doesn't make any sense to me considering it gets beat by the TT Big Typhoon, which in turn is beat by the TRU120E (by 6 degrees according to the [H] review). Which again, can be purchased for roughly the same price as the Noctuna.


Agreed that when it comes to heatsinks, it's different strokes for different folks, but due to the design similarities and price equality, comparing this HS to the U120e makes complete sense to me.
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I am sorry you do not like our opinions on this product. Feel free to fully disregard them.
 
Dual said:
Did you ever notice how most heatsinks are tested and apparently designed
to be used in the horizontal position? But most of us use our heatsinks in the vertical
position. The exception here may be home theatre boxes.

I would think someone could invent a heatsink that takes into account that
heat rises and heatsinks are most often used vertically. Maybe some sort
of design that curves upward vertically.
Click to expand...


Sideways has little or no effect on the heatpipes while standing up, you would want the heapipes ends to face upward.

HPipe.jpg
 
I just got this Noctua heatsink. My temps for my quad have a big varience ~11C between each other. Pulled My Noctua off to see how flat it was by using a blade as a strait edge. The center had a nice hump to it. Should I try lapping this thing?
 
If you don't like your temps, yes, but if they're tolerable, you may not want to go through the trouble.
 
Copyright said:
I just got this Noctua heatsink. My temps for my quad have a big varience ~11C between each other. Pulled My Noctua off to see how flat it was by using a blade as a strait edge. The center had a nice hump to it. Should I try lapping this thing?
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The heatsink is not flat or the CPU heatspreader is not?

If the heatsink is not, I would return it.
 
GJSNeptune said:
If you don't like your temps, yes, but if they're tolerable, you may not want to go through the trouble.
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Q6600 @ 3.4ghz (66C) after 4 hours of OCCT on my peak core. It failed @ 4 hours 26 min so I know I need to add a hair more voltage that will raise the temp a bit more. Id hate to mess this sink up. Im using two P12 fans in push/pull with the L.N.A adapters ~1100rpm. My main reason for using this sink is better clearence then the TRUE.
 
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