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Noctua NH-C12P CPU Cooler Review

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AkG

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<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Air_Cooling/NOCTUA/noctua_logo_b500px.jpg" border="0" alt="" />


Noctua NH-C12P CPU Cooler Review




Manufacturer Product Page: Noctua.at
Model Number: NH-C12P
Availability: Now
Price: Click Here To Compare Prices
Warranty: 6 years



In the past we took a look at Noctua’s flagship tower style CPU cooling solution with our http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...ws/6961-noctua-nh-u12p-cpu-cooler-review.html and we walked away very impressed, but bemoaned the fact that it “only” had 4 heatpipes and wondered how it would perform if it had 6. Well Noctua listened to a certain extent and they sent us a 6 heatpipe CPU cooling solution. It is called the NH-C12P and once again comes with Noctua's legendary NF-P12 fan but unlike the last one this product is not a tower style cooler; rather it is Noctua’s take on how to do a down draft cooler. As with all Noctua products it is available from many retailer and e-tailers around the country and can be purchased online for about $65 of your hard earned dollars.

Before we get started we have to admit that we here at HWC have a certain fondness for down draft coolers. Intellectually, we know that most are not as good as their tower style brethren but they have an edge that makes them very attractive to overclockers such as ourselves. In a nut shell this edge all boils down to the fact that the fan blows air down and over the motherboard, which in turn helps cool the area around the CPU socket. Heck, we all have seen MOSFETS that have literally melted because they got too hot.

Well today is a new day because Noctua hasn’t gone the normal route in building their down draft cooler; rather they have gone in a different direction construction wise that looks awfully promising. As we will see later in the review this is not a modified tower cooler or a hybrid anything, this bad boy has been designed from the ground up as down draft cooler and shouldn’t suffer from many of the design flaws other heatsinks of this type are afflicted with.

Now this is a lofty goal to say the least and while many have claimed to have done it, the end result is usually different than the marketing spin. However, if there is one company that we would trust to design from the ground up the perfect downdraft cooler it would Noctua. So with expectations running high, it will certainly be interesting to see if they have pulled off the “impossible”; so without further ado lets pull the trigger and get this review started!

<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Air_Cooling/NH-C12/nhc12_sm.jpg" border="0" alt="" />
 
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AkG

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Specifications

Specifications


<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Air_Cooling/NH-C12/specs1.jpg" border="0" alt="" />
<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Air_Cooling/NH-C12/specs2.jpg" border="0" alt="" />​
 
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AkG

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Packaging and Accessories

Packaging and Accessories


Just like the tower Noctua cooler we recently reviewed this downdraft cooler came in a classic Noctua box. Heck, it is so similar to the last box that we actually mixed them up for moment when it was time to install it! This striking similarity can be considered both a good thing and a bad. Its good because the box has all the characteristics we look for in a well designed packing scheme yet it can be confusing for the inexperienced. It seems that Noctua has taken a page for Thermalright and made ALL their boxes the same. OK that maybe a bad example as Thermalright is known for the almost aggressively drab packaging but when two completely different coolers come for all intents and purposes in the same box it does make things complicated.

box_front_sm.jpg
box_front2_sm.jpg

The only way you can tell this downdraft cooler from its tower brethren is by either decoding the naming scheme (and knowing that Noctua call their downdraft coolers “C” types and towers cooler “U” types) or by taking a darn close look at the specs. We will get into how these specs differ from the NH-U12P but needless to say they are different enough that a when you take the time to look closely the differences will become obvious. Of course, should one have to spend this much time figuring out which cooler is which? We don’t think so, but then again you can’t really blame Noctua for not wanting to miss with darn near perfection.

inside_sm.jpg

The similarities in packaging continues on to the inside protective characteristics, in that the cooler is engulfed in a thick trauma reducing cardboard and only the fan is left peeking out from the exposed side. Its hard to argue with this arrangement as the fan will take any deep cut before allowing damage to the cooler itself; its just these fans are literally precious works of art in their own right so using them as a last line of defense so to speak is a little upsetting.

acess_sm.jpg

The apparently reoccurring theme of similarities between the two coolers even continues to the accessories. You get that wonderful booklet-style instruction manual / pamphlets holder, a single NF-P12-1300 120mm Fan, a tube of Noctua branded TIM, both low and ultra low noise adapters for the wonderful fan and the exact same mounting brackets and backplates (for both AM2 and Intel 775 systems) as comes in the NH-U12P kit, rubber washers (though this time they stick to the bottom of the two brackets, which is a nice improvement over the older method) and enough wire brackets and vibration dampening material to mount the included 120mm fan.

Overall, the Noctua NH-C12P does not fail to impress and it certainly leaves one with a great first impression. Hopefully, a close look at the heatsink will reinforce this initial impression just likes it upright brother did.
 
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AkG

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Heatsink Construction & Design

Heatsink Construction & Design



install3_sm.jpg

In the past we have seen some big coolers that have weighed way more than this one (take the Scythe Copper Ninja for instance at 1.1KG!) and we have even seen some taller downdraft coolers like the Thermaltake Big Typhoon, and wider ones as well (the Thermaltake DuOrb); but when you add its dimensions all up and then throw in its weight this cooler truly becomes a giant among CPU cooling solutions, downdraft and tower style alike.

back_sm.jpg
back2_sm.jpg

All in all the NH-C12P is a 6 heatpipe cooler that is 91mm high (without the fan on it) by 126mm wide by a jaw dropping 152mm deep and weighs in at about 550g (without fan, with the fan its 730grams), so its safe to say this is not some 98lb weakling that gets sand thrown in its face at the beach!

front_sm.jpg
bottom_sm.jpg

As we said in the beginning of this review this may truly be the first “perfect” downdraft cooler, and the simple reason for this is how it has been designed. Most downdraft coolers are shaped like a giant “C” (this is why Noctua refers to this as their C-series) but this looks like a giant D or F. In a standard downdraft cooler, the heatpipes themselves are expected to take the full weight of the fin assembly as well as their own, this separates the base of the unit from the rest and is the reason we here at HWC usually refer to them as Hybrids (in that they look like a tower cooler that has been bent 90°). Some companies mount small secondary heatsinks on the top of the base to allow the heatpipes and fin cooling assembly to rest on top, but this does little to address the inherent weakness of the design and stop all that metal fatiguing flexing from happening.

What Noctua has done is to incorporate the usually separate base back into the overall design of the cooler. This cooler truly is designed from the ground up to be a downdraft cooler. Now it may sound simple and you may be saying “big deal” but what this has done is to make the NF-C12P one big homogenous unit. This in a nutshell means that there should be no flexing of the assembly and more important any heat that is not sucked away from the base of the unit by the heatpipes can be moved away from it via the approximately 40mm wide section of fins that have been soldered to the base!
 
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AkG

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Heatsink Construction & Design pg.2

Heatsink Construction & Design con't


fins_sm.jpg
fins2_sm.jpg

Another thing that separates this cooler (and actually ALL Noctua coolers) from most of the competition is the fact that Noctua doesn’t just use friction to hold any of their fin assemblies together; rather they use friction and full length rods (in this instance 4 of them, two high and two low) that make sure that the fins can’t pop off. In the above picture you can see them as the two little bumps near the heatpipes. In testing, this makes for a very secure feeling heatsink that exhibits very little flex and in fact feels like a big solid chunk of metal rather than a bunch of small pieces that have been put together.

top3_sm.jpg

When you look down on this cooler two large openings become very apparent. These two gaps are there to allow you easy access to the two “SecuFirm” mounting screws. As we will see later in this review that this makes installation of the C12P very easy and as an added bonus allows a good chunk of cool air (i.e. air that has not gone through any fins and thus picked up any heat from them or the heatpipes) to flow directly down and over the motherboard. If your motherboard is anything like ours and has huge solid heatsinks and heatpipes covering the Northbridge and other parts of the motherboard then you will know that this extra cool air flow is a god send.

top_sm.jpg
top2_sm.jpg

After noticing the two gaping sides that almost make this look like a giant H from above, the next thing one notices that Noctua went for a multifaceted face just like the NH-U12P; and in fact except for those missing sides this cooler face looks exactly like it’s more upright brother. To us this is a good thing as this heatsink face design is easily the best we have ever seen and when you mate this great static pressure reducing face with a kick ass fan like the included NF-P12 you end up with another potentially amazing CPU cooling solution. Will this cooler be able to live up to our expectation and take its place along side is sibling as an HWC award winning CPU cooler?

base_sm.jpg

Before we get to the installation phase I would also like to point out the base of this unit is just as well polished and blemish free as the U12P was. However, that comment is a double edged sword as those micro-ridges that we felt on the NH-U12P are also present on the NH-C12P. Overall this level of finishing and attention to detail is above average and was nice to see; now if only Noctua would do something about those ridges!
 
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AkG

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Fan Design

Fan Design


To get a definitive look at the Noctua NF-P12 fan one should read our Noctua NF-P12 120mm Fan Review


(Click on images for a larger view)​

Here we have the Noctua NF-P12 which can operate at three speeds with the included attachments; 1300 RPM (which we will use for all the tests), 1100 RPM and 900 RPM. These are the assoicated speeds with CFM ratings:

1300 RPM = 54.3 CFM
1100 RPM = 46.2 CFM
900 RPM = 37.3 CFM

Other than that, this fan has a number of advantages versus the competition.

Nine Blade Design

NOCTUA-24.jpg


Many of the most popular fans on the market have seven blades which are great for moving air in an open environment but start choking when part of their incoming or outgoing airflow is blocked. Noctua has decided to use a 9-bladed fan design which is made especially for high impedance applications where its static pressure benefits of more blade surface area can come into play. In principle, this type of design can move more air through restrictive spaces than its seven-finned counterparts.

For more information about this Nine Blade Design, please go here: Noctua.at - sound-optimised premium components "Designed in Austria"!


Vortex Control Notches

NOCTUA-27.jpg


Another feature that distinguishes the NF-P12 from all of the other fans on the market is the distinct notches on each fan blade. Noctua dubs these indents “vortex control notches” and they are slightly offset from one blade to the next. They are supposed to cut down on the vortices generated by the leading edge of each blade so it doesn’t interfere with the movement of the next blade. This in turn should cut down on the amount of noise generated by this product.

For more information about these notches, please go here: Noctua.at - sound-optimised premium components "Designed in Austria"!


SC Drive

NOCTUA-25.jpg


This part is a bit more technical than I can accurately describe but “SC Drive” stands for a Smooth Commutation Drive. This technology basically cuts down on the amount of motor noise emanating from the NF-P12.

For more information about the SC Drive, please go here:
Noctua.at - sound-optimised premium components "Designed in Austria"!


SSO Bearing

NOCTUA-26.jpg


By now all of us should know that bearings play a huge roll in both the noise output and the life expectancy of fans. Some fans use fluid dynamic bearings while others use sleeve or ball bearings but Noctua has gone a different route with their SSO bearing. With an MTBF of over 150,000 hours and more technical jargon than you can shake a stick at, it is best if you read Noctua’s technical page to learn more about this marvel of engineering: Noctua.at - sound-optimised premium components "Designed in Austria"!

If there is one area which causes the most controversy when it comes to Noctua fans it has to be their colour scheme. This fan is made from beige coloured plastic with brown fan blades and rotor housing. This color scheme is certainly not for everyone; however, its amazing performance should make up for any real or imagined color faux pas it may cause. If one absolutely hates this color scheme and could not possibly imagine using such an interestingly colored fan, the fact that the mounting system is only wire brackets will make mounting any (most likely inferior yet more esthetically pleasing) fan you wish to the NH-C12P cooler very easy indeed.


(Click on image for a larger view)

On the positive side, the fan cable is nice and long and is completely sleeved. It is always nice when the manufacturers take the time to do this as it does make for a both a cleaner/neater install while also helping to keep air flow restrictions to a minimum.
 
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AkG

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Installation

Installation


install_manual_pic.jpg

This is actually one area where it is obvious that Noctua took the time to improve upon the NH-U12P’s process. Noctua did not start over from scratch so to speak but rather they took a long hard look at it and figured out how to improve it.

Actually, “improvement” may not be the right word as the definition for “refinement” seems to fit this streamlined process better. Now please don’t get us wrong, a lot has been left the same; its just a bunch of little things that have been tweaked to make the installation process easier and more user-friendly; of course you still have to remove the motherboard from the case, but that should be considered a given on any good aftermarket cooler these days (with just a few exceptions that is).

install_manual_pic2.jpg

In point of fact nearly all the hardware is the same and can be interchanged, with only the rubber washers being different. In the older installation process you had to balance the backplate and motherboard in one hand as you screwed in one of the two SecuFirm mounting brackets while at the same time keeping a rubber washer in between the mounting bracket and each of the four holes. This was tricky to say the least and the new way is much easier. In the new method you start off by peeling off on of the included rubber washers from their glue saving backing and stick it on the bottom corner of one of those SecuFirm brackets. When this is done you simply repeat the process for the other 3 washers. This may seem like a small thing but it makes thing so much easier when it comes to screwing in those mounting brackets through the motherboard and to the backplate.

When those washers are all stuck firmly in place you literally just tilt the previously removed motherboard up on its side position the backplate into place and then screw in one of the SecuFirm brackets. This is a good time to mention that while you can technically position this in a horizontal or vertical position (front to back or top to bottom) we would recommend the more standard front to back position as the shear length of the this CPU cooling solution may require you to repostion your video card, and you would also lose all that RAM cooling potential. To us this makes it a less than viable alternative but your setup maybe different. In either case the orientation of the two SecuFirm brackets is important!

hardware_install_sm.jpg

When you have both SecuFirm brackets in place you should then mount the two mounting brackets to the base of the NH-C12P (with screws just as you would its tower brethren). When this is accomplished all one has to do is place some TIM on your CPU (which should have been properly cleaned before starting this installation procedure!) and then gently place the heatsink into position. We like to give the cooler a good wiggle back and forth to help properly seat the TIM before then screwing in the two long spring tensioned screws that hold the NH-U12P in place. When they are fully tightened down one simply has to place a vibration dampening strip on each end the heatsink face (the long way not across it!) so that you can mount the fan.

install_sm.jpg

Just as with the last Noctua cooler you mount the fan by using the two included fan tensioning wires. This is where it gets a little tricky as the fan wires are 120mm long both this cooler is longer than that, so do not be alarmed when it has to go up through a gap between two fins before the end! When this all accomplished all that is left to the installation is to plug in the fan & voila you are good to go.

install4_sm.jpg
install6_sm.jpg

Overall it is still a little bit tricky to install this CPU cooling solution as it does take a bit of dexterity to properly place the backplate and screw in the mounting brackets while balancing the motherboard on its side. However, making those washers self sticking is a down right brilliant move that easily halves the hassle factor associated with this cooler. With a little bit of practice this installation process should take you about 9 minutes, or a full two minutes less than the NH-U12P; which I think is safe to say makes this a vast improvement over said cooler.

install5_sm.jpg

Now in some instances this size may be a problem, but for most computer enthusiasts you should have no troubles installing this bad boy into any standard mid tower (or greater) case. However, we have a few caveats to add to that statement. The first one is HTPC owners should probably look for a smaller cooler and the same goes if your own overly tall ram coolers (such as OCZ’s Reapers or Corsair Domintaors w/ those fans). This has to do with the fact that this cooler has been designed to overhand your RAM slots and help cool said RAM with the waste air from the cooler. In normal circumstances this can be considered a great thing as it should drop your OC’ed ram temps with all that added air flow. Of course, since it does overhang the RAM slots this means the RAM can’t be over a certain height, nor can your DVD/CD burner be located here as it is in many HTPC cases. As we said this shouldn’t pose a problem for most but be aware of this issue when thinking about purchasing it.
 
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Testing Methodology

Testing Methodology


To ensure that the results from one review to another are not only reproducible but actually pertinent to this review, the Testing Methodology will be the same throughout all reviews used. If something does change we will be sure to make a special note of it and explain why this change was done and more importantly why it had to be changed or altered.

Except where noted all comparison testing was done on an open bench with an ambient temperature of 20c. Recorded temps were as reported via CoreTemp's "Temp Log". Average load temps were taken after 15 minutes of running Prime95 v25.4 “small fft” and are taken directly from CoreTemp’s temperature text file. Excel was used to average the results of all cores. Idle temps were taken 15 minutes after Load testing ceased. Motherboard temperatures were recorded using SpeedFan. All CPU throttling technology was disabled in the BIOS but due to the fact that the Noctua fan is a PWM complaint fan all CPU fan speed control was not disabled, rather it was set to Auto.

Arctic Cooling MX-2 thermal paste was used for all coolers during these tests unless otherwise noted. Application of all thermal paste was according to the manufacturer’s instructions and while not necessary it was allowed to cure for 48 hours under moderate to high loads (with periods of low loads) prior to testing.

All tests were run a minimum of 4 times and only best results are represented.

Please Note: When viewing the results of the Q6600 and the e4600 please understand that in this instance the quad @ 1.45 volts actually is a cooler running chip than the relatively bad overclocker chip e4600 used. This is usually not the way it works but due to the variable nature of overclocking we happened to get a "good" quad and a bad "dual"; in that the quad is a good cool running chip when extra voltage is applied where as the dual heats up very quickly as extra voltage is applied. It would not surprise us if 1.4 volts is significantly shortening the life of the dual e4600 and that it will die a lot earlier than the quad q6600.

Please Note: To keep the motherboard chipsets from overheating a single 40mm Scythe Ultra Kaze was used, but it was orientated in such a way as to not interfere with nor help the CPU cooler (i.e. it was basically on top of the South Bridge and pointed down). The 120mm Scythe E on the side of the open test bench was unplugged during temperature testing.

Notes about Overclocking:

For q6600’s I consider 1.45 volts to be the most that I would seriously consider for a moderate-to-long term overclock.

For e4600’s I consider 1.4 volts to be the most that I would seriously consider for a moderate-to-long term overclock.

Yes you can go much higher but the longevity of the CPU is then called into question. Just as importantly the CPU should average out at LESS than 65c as this is also what I consider the safest, maximum long term overclocking temp. For the purposes of these tests I was willing to overlook temperatures as long as they averaged below 70c and did not peak over 75c. If 75c was displayed for more than 10seconds in CoreTemp all testing was stopped and that test run was considered a fail.

With these two general guidelines I overclocked both systems until either one (or both) of these "rules" was needed to be broken to continue.

Overclocking was accomplished by increasing FSB speed and then Vcore (only if necessary).

Before testing for idle and max temperatures Orthos was run for 1 hour to make sure that it was stable at a given overclock and voltage. If both finished with no errors SuperPi set to 32m was run twice. After the stability testing was accomplished the given system was allowed to sit idle for 30minutes before starting the official tests. IF both of the above stated guidelines were not broken then testing continued with an increased overclock. These steps were then repeated until 1 or both of the general guidelines were broken.

As they have no bearing on these tests the RAM’s voltage and timings are not recorded, the RAM was set to run at or as close to as possible PC-6400 speeds by running various cpu : memory dividers. Please do not consider this a full “how to” review on overclocking or “safe guidelines” for overclocking nor even an indicator on how well a given CPU will overclock. IF you are interested in OC’ing your system, and use these guidelines we at HWC take no responsibility for the results. Bad Things can happen if you are not careful.

Complete Test System:
Processor: Q6600 & E4600
Motherboard: Gigabyte p35 DS4
Memory: 4GB Mushkin HP2 PC2-6400
Graphics card: XFX 7200gt 128mb
Hard Drives: 1x Western Digital Se16 320GB (single platter)
Power Supply: Seasonic S12 600W
 
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AkG

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E4600 Performance Results

E4600 Performance Results


Idle Temperatures

e4600_idle24.jpg


e4600_idle32.jpg


e4600_idle35.jpg

When it comes to dual core idle temperatures that great fan combined with 6 heatpipes makes for an amazingly effiecent combination. Some could even say that this combination is “overkill”, but to us there is no such animal when it comes to keep our CPUs cool!


Average Load Temperatures

e4600_load24.jpg


e4600_load32.jpg


e4600_load35.jpg

Wow, just wow. This downdraft cooler smokes even its big brother the Noctua U12 when it comes to cooling Dual cores and that says a lot about how good this cooler really is. The NH-C12P may not have the most efficient base design but its 6 heatpipes combined with the best fan does make it formidable.
 
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AkG

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Q6600 Performance Results

Q6600 Performance Results


Idle Temperatures

<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Air_Cooling/NH-C12/q6600_idle24.jpg" border="0" alt="" />

<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Air_Cooling/NH-C12/q6600_idle30.jpg" border="0" alt="" />

<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Air_Cooling/NH-C12/q6600_idle34.jpg" border="0" alt="" />​

It is unfortunate that the great results that we saw with the dual core does not translate to great Quad core results. Now, these number are certainly good and are the best we have seen from a downdraft cooler but the more efficient tower style does start to make a difference.


Average Load Temperatures

<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Air_Cooling/NH-C12/q6600_load24.jpg" border="0" alt="" />

<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Air_Cooling/NH-C12/q6600_load30.jpg" border="0" alt="" />

<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Air_Cooling/NH-C12/q6600_load34.jpg" border="0" alt="" />​

When it is all said and done this cooler definitely kicks all other downdraft coolers arse and certainly deserves the title of “King of the Downdraft Coolers” but even being the best of the downdrafts only makes it an above average cooler in general and the newer and more efficient exposed base heatpipe coolers (e.g OCZ Vendetta 2, Xigmatek, etc.) have nothing to fear from the NH-C12P.
 
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