Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler - The Sound of Silence

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Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler - The Sound of Silence

Post by Apoptosis »

Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler - The Sound of Silence

New to us here at Legit Reviews is an Austrian company by the name of Noctua. They have sent us their new CPU cooler the NH-U12P to have a look at. The CPU cooler has psycho-acoustic optimizations and premium-grade SSO-bearing, the NF-P12 achieves exceptional quietness and long-term stability. If you are looking for a premium air cooler with high performance and silence, read on to see how the NH-U12P does on the test bench.

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Noctua derived its name from the Greek mythology. The little owl, Athene Noctua, is the symbol of the Greek goddess Athene, who represents wisdom, science and strategy. She has a marked preference for the most clever among the Greek heroes, like Odysseus, who endure their adventures by the use of savvy consideration instead of mere force. It is the owl’s silent flight that Noctua keeps in mind with their fan design, more on that later, let’s look at the specs of the NH-U12P CPU Cooler.

Article Title: Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler - The Sound of Silence
Article URL: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/660/1/
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Re: Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler - The Sound of Silence

Post by DMB2000uk »

I hadn't really heard of noctura till recently, but they've got some good products to the market lately.

I think you should pull some strings and get thermalright to send out a U120x to throw into the mix 8)
Or the LR forum should all donate $1 each

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Re: Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler - The Sound of Silence

Post by Apoptosis »

DMB2000uk wrote:I hadn't really heard of noctura till recently, but they've got some good products to the market lately.

I think you should pull some strings and get thermalright to send out a U120x to throw into the mix 8)
Or the LR forum should all donate $1 each

Dan
Maybe Brian (wickedld9) will let me borrow his for a few days... he has my 780i mobo and QX9770 right now, so I think that is a fair trade for a bit.
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Re: Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler - The Sound of Silence

Post by markkleb »

Im sure the Thermalright wins, but the Noctua fans are very nice/quiet. (kind of a strange color though)
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Re: Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler - The Sound of Silence

Post by FeRaL »

Dang that is one hella CPU cooler at 19 dBa. Makes me reconsider thinking about going with water cooling.
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Re: Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler - The Sound of Silence

Post by bubba »

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."
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Re: Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler - The Sound of Silence

Post by KnightRid »

Like a Simon & Garfunkel song ;)

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now about that reaching into a case with the power on, unplugging a fan and then pluggin another one in :shock: you are teaching the kids a bad thing [-X LOL
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Re: Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler - The Sound of Silence

Post by bubba »

one reason its not in the article :)

actually the cooler does a decent job as a passive cooler, didn't hurt a thing. Well, maybe my knuckles when I replugged in the fan and got into the 140mm fan above the plug in :lol:
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Re: Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler - The Sound of Silence

Post by Cannyone »

Excellent review Shane!

I especially appreciated the following:
Most are thinking, “$70 is half way to a water cooling system - just go water.” Well, I have thought about going water, that’s a big step, both in cooling and budget. Most won’t go to water as it is can be overkill for those not pushing their system for all its worth. Then, there is the all-mighty dollar, and that is where the need for high-end air comes in. You can do mild overclocking and not break the bank in the process.
The only thing I'd add is that water-coolant lines complicate any maintenance one might want to do on their system.
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Re: Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler - The Sound of Silence

Post by bubba »

Thanks :)
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Re: Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler - The Sound of Silence

Post by DMB2000uk »

I was going to say the sound of silence is a beautiful thing, thinking I'd just coined that phrase, but obviously you or nate titled the review that already :rolleyes:

But really, it is beautiful.

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Re: Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler - The Sound of Silence

Post by Mad_Goku »

not a bad review, but rather disappointed, I was expecting to see some comparison with the front runners of air cooling...namely the thermalright u120-e and the tuniq.
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Re: Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler - The Sound of Silence

Post by Major_A »

Not to get off topic but are you guys planning to review the Swiftech H20-220 Compact? For the price (under $150 @ the egg) it seems like it could really be a good buy.
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Re: Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler - The Sound of Silence

Post by ibleet »

Nice review Shane...decent results too...the only thing that makes me nervous is the installation. As much as I hate the intel HSFan design with the pins you shove down through and lock in place, these make me even more nervous. I guess thats why I stick with the Arctic Freezer.
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Re: Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler - The Sound of Silence

Post by bubba »

The retention systems for the Intel coolers are getting a little more fancy in the design. They have to, with average tower cooler weight w/fan being at/over 800g the extra support is needed. Even the AMD backing plates are massive.

Out of all the retention setups I have messed with in the last 6 months Noctua's SecuFirm setup took the longest to install but had the best support, and was the easiest to install. The board didn't bow in any way.
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Re: Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler - The Sound of Silence

Post by ibleet »

I always worry that I have applied the right amount of pressure and applied it evenly with those types of installations.
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