The Noctua NH-U12A CPU Cooler Review: Big Performance in a Small Space
by E. Fylladitakis on July 11, 2019 12:30 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Noctua
- CPU cooler
Testing Results, Maximum Fan Speed (12 Volts)
Starting things off, let's take a look at the NH-U12A performance with the fans at their full speed (12 V).
| Core Temperature, Constant Thermal Load (Max Fan Speed) |
Noctua claims that the NH-U12A can compete directly against 140 mm coolers. Although it is not really quite as good as advanced 140 mm coolers – at least when compared to the likes of the NH-U14S and the Phanteks PH-TC14PE – the thermal performance of the NH-U12A definitely is excellent for a 120 mm cooler. Which, in turn, is good enough to just touch the performance of simpler or silence-oriented 140 mm cooler designs, such as the Thermalright True Spirit.
The Noctua NH-U12A performs exceptionally well at the lower end of the load spectrum, outperforming even several 140 mm coolers at loads lower than 80 Watts. The gap widens as the load increases but the thermal performance of the NH-U12A always remains respectable. It is noteworthy to mention that the high thermal performance is complemented by respectable acoustics performance; even with the cooler's fans spinning at their maximum speed, the NH-U12A is audible but not too loud.
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Qasar - Friday, July 12, 2019 - link
" At $100 its hitting the AIO water cooler heatsinks." maybe.. but how well would those AIO's cool compared to this one ? here. AIOs start at $65 cdn, but i doubt they would cool as well as this would.. i bought an NH-D15 for my 5930k, and at full speed.. my case fans are louder, and it keeps the cpu pretty cool even overclocked.. i liked the NH-D15 so much.. i grabbed one each for all of my comps, Phenom 2, an AMD FX, and my 2 X58 based cpus.Skeptical123 - Friday, July 12, 2019 - link
I think you're misunderstanding the target consumer here. Noctua has made such a solid product for so long now they have established themselves not only as a market leader but as a premium brand. Just look at the NH-U12A for example. While a very good product they raised the price higher giving it likely some of the highest profit margins of any cooler on the market because they can command that price. As their core market segment does not want water coolers no matter the price. Due to too many moving parts, etc. Or simply not have the room in the case and or not want ing to mess around with mounting a radatormobutu - Friday, July 12, 2019 - link
Way way way too expensive so totally out of the realm of even considering this product.For Ryzen is even totally unnecessary unless your into heavy overclocking. You can get mild overclocking with the free included wraith cooler.
Spending that 100 usdollars into a better cpu/gpu is a no brainer.
sonny73n - Friday, July 12, 2019 - link
+1Only idiots overclock the CPU and spend more money for the cooler.
azrael- - Friday, July 12, 2019 - link
There's some very important info missing from the review: the weight!The first thing I look at with a cooler is its weight, considering how most of them hang off the motherboard. There's a reason AMD and Intel have cooler weight recommendations.
And yes, I know I can simply look up the cooler on Noctua's web site, but that doesn't change the fact that this information should be part of the review.
jabber - Friday, July 12, 2019 - link
People always go on about the Coolermaster 212 but it has the suckiest mounting system in HSF history. I detest the things. My heart sinks if a customer brings in a system with one of those.DanNeely - Friday, July 12, 2019 - link
"Overall, the NH-U12A is designed to fit top-tier cooling performance into a more compact 120 mm cooler, as opposed to larger and more traditional 140 mm coolers."This seems like a bit of an odd turn of phrase. AFAIK dual 120mm fan tower coolers have been around almost as long as single 120mm models; which has been a lot longer than 140mm models of any sort started to show up.
vailr - Friday, July 12, 2019 - link
For half the price, the Scythe Mugen 5B (~$45 on Amazon) seems to offer equivalent CPU cooling.D@ Br@b($)! - Saturday, July 13, 2019 - link
+1 and it's more quiet too.djayjp - Friday, July 12, 2019 - link
Yeah sure 250W load at 7v and only like 55C lol. Bs