Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler Review

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Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler Review

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Manufacture Product Page: Noctua
Model Number: NH-U12P
Availability: Now
Price: Click Here To Compare Prices
Warranty: 6 years



For many people a CPU cooling solution does not have only have to be effective it also has to be quiet as well. In fact, it is fairly safe to say that a huge portion of the buying public consider reducing noise levels the biggest reason for upgrading from their free Stock Intel Cooler. Over the years, Intel has spent a lot of time and money improving upon their stock cooler, but in the end there is only so much you can do when your projected revenues from said product is zero. Intel, just like the majority of users want something which is “good enough” but fortunately for us there is also a large percentage of users who take the old adage “bigger, faster, stronger, better” to heart.

Today we will be looking at a CPU cooler from Noctua which promises to not only be bigger and more efficient than even most other aftermarket coolers but believe it or not, Noctua also thinks they can this while keeping their product quieter than most. This is a tall order as low noise and high efficiency usually go together about as well as Daryl McBride speaking about the evils of Linux at an Open Source Convention!

Even though Noctua has gained a lot of recognition amongst the hardcore silent pc enthusiast community, they are still not well known amongst the general population and have a long way to go before becoming a house hold name; therefore a bit of background history is in order. First of all the name “Noctua” is from the name for the little owl (Athene Noctua) which is historically the representative / pet of Athena (AKA Athene) the Greek goddess of wisdom, strategy and science.

When you think about it, choosing an animal which represents science and wisdom is a great idea; especially when your company is a partnership between Kolink (aka Coolink the Silentator’s Taiwanese manufacturer reviewed earlier), Austrian Institute of Heat Transmission and Fan Technology and the Austrian Rascom Computer distribution Ges.m.b.H. Even just by reading the last sentence you can get a good idea the kind of intellectual, manufacturing and even marketing powerhouse behind the brand known as Noctua.

Today we will be looking at the Noctua NH-U12P higher performance tower cooler. This cooler offers users the ability to not only significantly improve their CPU core temperatures but do it at markedly reduced noise levels. This CPU cooling solution is available from many retailer and e-tailers around the country and can be purchased online for about $55 of your hard earned dollars. This cooler promises a lot and the biggest question you have to ask yourself before buying is: is this cooler really that good or that quiet and is it worth the money? Hopefully, by the end of this review we will be able to help you answer this and many other questions.

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Specifications

Specifications

 

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Packaging and Accessories

Packaging and Accessories

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Anyone who is ever purchased a Noctua product before will instantly recognize this box as a classic example of Noctua’s color scheme. The reddish brown which fades into black, melding with blue all bordered by white lines and white text screams “I’m an Official Noctua Product”. Heck Noctua loves this color scheme so much (with the exception of the white text) they even use this menagerie of colors for their website.

It may be unusual and it may be quirky but it does work well. From even across a poorly lighted room you can pick out Noctua packaging and if this is not brand recognition and a classic example of product branding then I don’t know what is!

The box itself has a plastic film window which allows you to see the genuine NF-P12 fan which is included with this Cooler but other than this small nod towards retail packaging standards this box offers decent protection against life’s bumps and bruises. As a side note, this box is not just a pretty face since it contains all the necessary information which one would need to make an informed decision when considering this cooler. It is always impressive to see a company get the delicate art of balancing form vs. function right and Noctua certainly pulls it off which panache.

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When you open the box you are greeted to an unusual packaging scheme. In fact, we have really only seen the successful implementation of this packaging scheme once before and that was with the Silentator (this does make sense as both the Silentator and the NH-U12 are made in the same factory). The scheme which we are alluding too is a cardboard-based protective enclosure for the heatsink and fan with another full length box behind it for the accessories. Cardboard may not be a high tech solution but it does absorb blunt force trauma better than a plastic clamshell container will. The only possible downside to this arrangement is the amazing fan will be the first casualty in a front-on accident; and while this is always a better outcome than having the heatsink itself damaged it would still be a crying shame.

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The accessory list which comes with the Noctua is not only complete but is of obvious high quality construction. You get all the necessary mounting equipment for both AMD and Intel 775 systems (including backplates), low noise and ultra low noise fan adapters, two instruction pamphlets (one for AMD and one for Intel 775 installations) enough wire brackets and vibration dampening material to mount two 120mm fans, a single NF-P12-1300 120mm Fan, a tube of Noctua branded TIM and even a long handled chrome screwdriver.

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While all these parts were of exceptionally good quality, the two things which really stood out were the extra brackets for mounting a second fan (something other companies charge extra for, e.g. Thermalright) and the dual instruction pamphlet. Not only were the instructions segregated based on the mounting system required but they were not loose pamphlets; rather they are glued into the two flaps of a larger fold up booklet which allows safe storage of the instructions. This is always nice because I for one loose instruction sheets like they are going out of style and this way I know it is less likely to be mistakenly thrown out!

Overall, the first impression one gets from the Noctua NH-U12 is fantastic. Everything appears to be not only well though out, but also well executed. Even just by removing the NH-U12 and its accompanying accessories from the protective embrace of its box, one gets the feeling a lot of time, effort and though went into putting this piece of kit together. Jolly good job Noctua, jolly good.

 

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Heatsink Construction & Design

Heatsink Construction & Design

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On first glance one could easily mistake this cooler for a Coolink Silentator or even Thermalright Ultra 120, and it is only upon close inspection that some of the differences become obvious. The largest and most obvious difference is the fan. Unlike the Thermalright which expects you to supply your own fan (usually either a Scythe F or Noctua NF-P12-1300 has been prefered by reader of our site) the Noctua cooler already comes with one. We will get into more detail about the fan in the next section, but for right now let’s just say there is a huge difference and is like taking twenty dollars off the price of the NH-U12P when comparing it to most other tower style coolers. The same goes for the Silentator, whose fan I was never a big fan of (pardon the pun), and when you compare the SWIF which comes with the Silentator to the Noctua it truly is like night and day.

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The second difference is not as glaringly obvious but it is actually the more important of the two. Unlike the NH-U12P which has 4 large heatpipes, the Silentator only has 3. When comparing the Nocuta to the Thermalright things are little more complicated. Both coolers come with four heatpipes (and in the case of the extreme version of the Ultra 120 it has six) yet how they are positioned on the fin array is different; for both companies have taken a slightly different approach to their layout. Noctua has their four heatpipes positioned at about a quarter of the way in from both edges but clustered tightly together into two groups; whereas Thermalright positioned theirs out on the periphery of the fin assembly but spaced them slightly further apart. Neither is right or wrong per say, it just would have been nice to have seen that Noctua positioned their heatpipes in a bit more staggered layout so more air actually hits all four heatpipes, instead of clustering them close together into groups of four. When you get down to it this really isn’t that big a deal because the NF-P12 fan which is included has great static pressure and should be able to effectively cool everything down quite well.

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As mentioned, the Noctua NH-U12P is a fairly standard “double 4” heatpipe tower design cooler with a full frame 120mm fan. Some people would call this an 8 heatpipe system but in reality it is really only 4 large “U” shaped heatpipes which start at the top right side of the heatsink, go down through the copper and aluminum base and then terminate at the top left side of the heatsink.

While this cooler is a tower style cooler and yes, this is a rather large example, it is actually shorter and narrower (but deeper) than a Thermalright Ultra 120 (or its extreme brethren the T.R.U.E.). The Ultra 120 is 2.5mm taller (160.5mm vs. 158mm), 6mm wider (132mm vs. 126mm)m yet 7.5mm shallower. All in this makes for a cooler which will fit in cases that an Ultra 120 simply won’t and while it is “only” 2.5mm in the difference this can be the difference between getting a side panel back on or having to get out the pneumatic nibbler to modify said side panel.

Almost as important is the fact the NH-U12P is three quarters of a centimeter deeper than a Ultra 120. While it shouldn’t make any difference compatibility wise, it can make a difference performance wise as each of its fins have much more surface area for air to travel over. Since this combination obviously works for Noctua, who are we to question its quirky measurements (after all its not like any of us fit the Cannon of Human Proportions vis-à-vis Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man drawings!)

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As with many similarly designed coolers, the radiator fins on this cooler are made of aluminum to help radiate heat, yet keep overall weight to a manageable level. The number of fins on the U12P is actually lower than of the previous generation U12F, but it is still has more than enough to provide a huge surface area. The reason Noctua removed some of the fins (the bottom couple to be exact) is to increase the compatibility of this cooler with higher than average motherboard heatsinks. Some of the newer p35, x38 and x48 have huge passive heatsinks which are required to keep the NB/SB and VRMs reasonably cool. I am pleased to report this refit does pay dividends as there was plenty of room between the bottom of the U12P and the copper heatsinks which surrounded it on our Gigabyte P35 DS4 motherboard.

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While the fins are tightly packed, Noctua’s engineers have taken a page from other tower heatsinks and have given the fins a textured multi-faceted “face” with an indented center. This approach has been proven to help reduce back pressure allowing the fan to keep the air moving efficiently over the fins. As a side note, Noctua has taken this idea of multi-faceted front and taken it to a whole new level as this cooler has some of the most complex and complete ridges of any cooler we have seen; and in fact makes our highly refined Ultima 90 look crude in comparison. It will be very interesting to see if all this attention to detail pays off in the testing phase!

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As you can see, the base is even and free of any major tool marks and has a fairly mirror-like finish (please note the spots on the base were dust and are not scratches) However, just like the Silentator (though not as extreme) there were some minor tool marks which can’t easily be seen but are deep enough to be felt with your fingernail. It is certainly not the best polished base we have seen but it is up there with the best. Overall, the level of quality at this price point was certainly above average.

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One thing worth mentioning before we continue is the fact Noctua did not use any sticky protection / warning label on the bottom of the heatsink. Instead they used the alternative method which we like to see; namely they used a hard plastic protective cup which snaps off the bottom when you are ready to install the unit. This is a much better way of doing things as it provides a heck of a lot more protection for the base and you don’t have to spend any time removing crud from the bottom! Noctua may not be the only company doing this but it certainly is appreciated!

 

[AkG]

Fan Design

FAN DESIGN

To get a definitive look at the Noctua NF-P12 fan one should read our http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...iews/3792-noctua-nf-p12-120mm-fan-review.html

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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

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

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

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

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-U12P cooler very easy indeed.

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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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Installation

Installation

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If there is one area which a lot of after market CPU cooling solution providers get wrong it has to be instruction manuals or to be more specific most instruction pamphlets we see (to call them "manuals" would be over inflating the already overinflated) are either poorly written in Engrish or they have been padded under false assumption that quantity can somehow make up for lack of quality. Luckily, Noctua is one of the few exceptions that get it totally and completely right. In fact, we would go so far as to say the installation instructions which come with the Noctua NH-U12P can (and should) be used as shinning examples of what a good manual looks like. The instructions are clearly worded and are backed up with loads of easy too understand pictographs. This combination makes what could be considered a slightly difficult installation process and turns it into a relatively easy one.

As with most aftermarket coolers, the first step in installing the Noctua NH-U12P is to remove your motherboard from the case. When this is completed, one simply tips the motherboard up on its side and places the backplate in position so that its four posts stick up into the four CPU mounting socket holes. Then one simply has to lay the motherboard back down. This quiet honestly is the only difficult part of the whole procedure. But once it is done you are home free.

When the backplate is in position, the next thing one must decide is what orientation one wants the cooler to be in. If you want the heatpipes running from top to bottom you install the two brackets so they are running in a top to bottom orientation. Conversely, if one wants the heatpipes running in a front to back orientation one simply installs the brackets in a front to back orientation. Fairly simple idea isn’t it? However, to make things a little bit more tricky, you have to make sure to install a small red washer between the mounting bracket screw and the motherboard. What this means is as you install each screw (there is two screws to each of the two mounting brackets) you must first thread a washer over the screw and then into the hole so that it can screw into the backplate. It may take a few times for you to get the first one because if the backplate is not lined up perfectly the screw will not “catch” on its threads.

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When this is done for the first bracket you simply repeat the now easier procedure for the second bracket. Unlike some other coolers which would have you then install the cooler, with the Noctua one first must install the two mounting “wings” to the bottom of the NH-U12P so that it can be securely fastened to the two mounting brackets. This is easily accomplished by using the four included screws.

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When the cooler is ready for installation one simply has to then apply some TIM to the CPU and gently position the two attachment brackets over the mounting brackets and secure them with the included spring retention screws.

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To install the fan, you are going to have to install the rubber vibration dampeners unto each side of the heatsink, position the fan over it and then using the two retaining wire brackets hold the fan in place. The wires themselves go into groves in the heatsink itself and while it may look like a kludge but it actually is a very secure way of mounting a fan; better still is the fact both installation and removal is very easy and in the end what more could you ask for than that combination?

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In all honesty, if you have never installed a tower style cooler which uses the double bracket mounting option this install may be time consuming and may even border on the frustrating. However, where we installed and reinstalled it eight times over the course of testing it became almost second nature to us, and if one was to time the whole installation process it would clock in at about 11 minutes.

 

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Testing Methodology

Testing Methodology

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 CoreTemps 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 NF P12 is a nonPWM fan all CPU fan speed control was not disabled and rather was set to voltage only.

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: Because the Ultima 90 does not come with its own it was paired with a single Scythe S-FLEX SFF21 "F" 1600RPM 120mm fan for the results listed in this review. CPU fan speed control was set to voltage only.

Please Note: To keep the motherboard chipsets from overheating two 120mm Scythe E models were used, but they were orientated in such a way as to not interfere with nor help the CPU cooler (i.e they were basically pointed down and angled away from the CPU socket).


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 G.Skill PC2-6400
Graphics card: XFX 7200gt 128mb
Hard Drives: 1x Western Digital Se16 320GB (single platter)
Power Supply: Seasonic S12 600W

 

[AkG]

E4600 Temperature Testing

E4600 Temperature Testing

Idle Temperatures

These numbers are certainly impressive, only the 1.1 kilogram Scythe Ninja Copper cooler is able to even come close to its performance at idle and that is with a 1600PRM fan. Of course, great Idle numbers are one thing its what a cooler does under load which is really important. So let’s take a look at those numbers.


Average Load Temperatures

Well this definitely removes any doubts about this coolers dual core cooling potential! Not only do we have a winner in shear performance, it does it at noise levels which are only rivaled by the Scythe Ninja’s 800rpm fan! If this cooler keeps it up we will not only have a new Dual core cooler champion but a QUAD one as well. Lets see if how fares under the heat of a Q6600.

 

[AkG]

Q6600 Temperature Testing

Q6600 Temperature Testing

Idle Temperatures

The Noctua easily makes it into the Top three, which is nothing to sneeze at. While these scroes are not as impressive as the Dual core results, idle temperatures don’t always tell the full story.


Average Load Temperatures

So close, yet in the end the well executed six pipe Ultima 90 + 120mm Scythe F easily beats this highly refined four pipe cooler. Of course, a Scythe F is louder than the Noctua NF-P12 so it really is up to you if you are willing to scarfice a little bit of cooling for a lot of noise reduction.


Dual Fan Setup

Since the Noctua can with enough wire brackets and its results were so good with one fan we are itching to see what it can do with two!

Oh now that is a heart breaker! While we were not expecting miracles, we were hoping it would beat the Ultima 90. One thing is for sure, the second fan is of course better than just one, but the NF-P12 is so efficient by itself that it cools like two inferior fans. Our recommendation is to leave it at one fan unless you really feel like spending twenty bucks for 3-4 degrees of extra cooling.

 

[AkG]

Value

Value

The term “Value” is such an amorphous term that it truly has different meanings for different people. For some a CPU cooler is only as good as it overclocking potential, for others it is how quiet it does its job; for others still it’s how effective it is for its cost. We here at HWC try to provide as many answers as possible for the term “Value”. Hopefully by this point in the review people looking at OC potential or loudness levels will have a fairly good idea of what its Value is. For the “best bang for the buck” crowd we have included a chart below showing how much each 1*c less costs when compared to Intel’s FREE stock cooler. No consideration has been made for noise levels, “looks” or any other extraneous factors; this is just raw performance vs. monetary cost. For any cooler which performs worse than the Intel stock cooler a rating of “FAIL” will be given. For any cooler which has a “Value” of more than $10 per 1*C a rating of “FAIL” will be used in the graph but the chart will list its actual “value”.

All prices are based on either their MSRP (if no e-tailer prices were available at review time) or the online price they sold for at the time of their review. IF a CPU cooler does not include a fan the price of a Scythe F has been included ($12).

To make it as easy as possible for you to modify this ratio we have also included the various coolers temperature difference so if you do come across one of them on sale you can easily modify its “Value” rating. We here at HWC are in no way saying this is the definitive answer to “Value”, rather it should be considered another tool to help you make your final decision. After all something is only as “valuable” as what you consider it to be.


E4600 Cooling Value

Please Note: This chart has be calculated based upon the differences between Intel stock cooler’s average load at its highest OC on a e4600 @3.2GHz versus various after market coolers average load temperatures (in their stock configuration with MX-2 TIM) also on a e4600 @ 3.2GHz.

This really is not only a great performing dual core cooler but it is also a kick ass good deal as well! If you need a good performing dual core cooler than this is certainly would be a wise investment.


Q6600 Cooling Value

Please Note: This chart has be calculated based upon the differences between Intel stock cooler’s average load at its highest OC on a Q6600 @3.0GHz versus various after market coolers average load temperatures (in their stock configuration with stock TIM) also on a Q6600 @ 3.0GHz.

From a value point of view the Nocuta is not too shabby a deal. While it can’t break the two dollar barrier which so many others find impossible, if you do come across this bad boy on sale it may just be able to do it. As it stands its value is just like its performance: very good, good enough in fact for second place.