Reviewed by Barry Little - May 28, 2008

Manufacturer: Noctua

Model: NH-U12P

Available at: Amazon.com

One of the most hotly contested (no pun intended) markets for PC accessories these days, is the one for CPU Coolers. Choosing the right CPU cooler, particularly a high-end model for enthusiasts, can be a daunting task. Fortunately, Noctua, a leader in quiet and efficient cooling, has a product to make your job of selecting a top-notch, hi-performance CPU cooler a lot easier: The Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler.

About Noctua

What Does Noctua Mean?

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. Until today, the owl symbolises intelligence and prudence, its manlike face emblematises attentiveness and communication. We from Noctua follow the suit of its calm and accurate observation in the dark, its soundless flight as well as the effective, economical use of its powers and precise attack.

Noctua aims at establishing a new level of quality and performance "Designed in Austria" through paying attention to the users' needs in a market burdened with all kinds of frills and furbelows and providing sound-optimised premium components, which serve their purpose in a smart, precise and reliable manner.

Noctua arises from a cooperation between the Austrian Rascom Computerdistribution Ges.m.b.H and the Taiwanese Kolink International Corporation and entertains a development partnership with the Austrian Institute of Heat Transmission and Fan Technology (Österreichisches Institut für Wärmeübertragung und Ventilatorentechnik, ÖIWV). These connections form the key to the achievement of our goal: The partnership with the ÖIWV permits the application of scientific measurement instrumentation, methods of calculation and simulation technology in the R&D process. Rascom's long, customer-oriented experience in developing and distributing sound-optimised high-end products ensures a clear focus on the users' needs. The use of Kolink's advanced manufacturing technology and ultra-modern production plants allows us to efficiently implement our technical edge and provide solutions of the highest standard in quality and performance.

The Box

The NH-U12P ships in a cube-shaped box decked out in Noctua’s signature brown and blue color scheme. A window on the front give a hint of what’s inside, showing part of Noctua’s award-winning NF-P12 fan which is optimized for cooling CPU heatsinks. The NH-U12P’s main features are outlined, and Noctua’s NT-H1 Premium Thermal Compound is included.

On the left-hand side of the box, you’ll find marketing blurbs on the NH-U12P in six different languages, and awards that the NH-U-series CPU Coolers have won from leading websites and publications around the world. On the right, are diagrams of Noctua’s patented SecuFirm™ Mounting System the NH-U12P for Intel Socket LGA775 and AMD’s AMD2(+) motherboards. Most importantly are the heatsink’s dimensions, showing the depth and height of the unit and the distance between lower cooling fins and motherboard. This is something that you should particularly pay close attention to, when considering an oversized CPU cooler for your PC. A list of compatible motherboards for the NH-U12P can be found here. In addition to the contents of the box being listed, you might be surprised to see the Six-Year Warranty that sweetens the deal.  Some companies only offer three years for their products—if that.

You’ll get more details on the NH-U12P’s key features on the back of the box. A graph of the NF-P12 Fan’s unique qualifications for providing maximum cooling power with minimum noise, thanks to its Nine-Blade Design with Vortex-Control Notches, is directly below. If you’re looking for a blow-by-blow description of the heatsink and fan specs, they’re right on top of the box. Overall, there’s plenty of information on the box that allows you to make an informed decision about purchasing the Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler and feel confident, thanks to Noctua’s no-nonsense marketing approach, that you’re making the right choice and have picked the right cooler for the job.

Noctua’s well-known commitment to quality and attention to detail becomes even more apparent once you open the box. Usually inner boxes that store the cooler and its accessories are made of thinner cardboard. Not the NH-U12P. Noctua uses the same heavy cardboard for its inner boxes as the outside box to provide extra protection for the contents—not an unreasonable precaution when you take into account the potential hazards of national and international shipping, and how little it takes to bend a cooler’s fins.  

The accessory box has a set of finger holes making it easy for you to pull it out. Open it, and you’ll find three separate bags that are labeled. One contains the mounting hardware for Socket LGA775 Intel motherboards. Another for AMD Socket AM2+/AM2 and K8 (Socket 754/940/939) boards. And one tagged  Common Parts which contains Mounting Screws, Fan Clips, a tube of NT-H1 Compound, Anti-Vibration Strips, and an pair of  U. L. N.A.s (Ultra-Low-Noise Adaptors) for controlling fan speeds.  Noctua has even included a Screwdriver designed to make installing the NH-U12P easier.  The Installation Manual is made like a small book. Open it, and on one side, you’ll find the LGA775 instruction sheet attached, with the AMD on the other. Each sheet folds out the size of a small poster, are well written and illustrated, and easy enough for both novice and pro system builders to follow. Both are written in English. Multilingual versions are available on Noctua’s website.

When you open the box containing the NH-U12P, which is compartmentalized to protect the fan and cooler, you get a true sense of the precision engineering that Noctua has put into the unit. Upon examining how snugly the NF-P12 fan fits against the heatsink and how the fins hold it in place, you might be fooled into thinking that the included wire clips really aren’t needed.  Once you discover that the fan is merely pressed against the heatsink, you realize that’s not so. Even though it has no pre-applied thermal compound, a  see-through, snap-on plastic cover provides shipping protection for the base of the NH-U12P’s  heatsink.

First-class all the way. But then, you’d expect nothing less from Noctua.

The Noctua NH-U12P

The Noctua NH-U12P is an updated and improved version of the NH-U12 and NH-U12F, which have both been discontinued. Let’s take a look at its features.

Measuring 158 x 126 x 171mm and weighing 600g without a fan, Noctua updated the NH-U12P by removing two of the lower fins on the heatsink—the NH-U12P has 36 fins compared to the 38 fins of the NH-U12 and NH-U12F. This allows the NH-U12P’s fin-stack to clear tall motherboard components  (mostly chipset coolers) around the CPU socket. While the removal of several cooling fins would normally reduce the heatsink’s cooling power, keep in mind that the improved cooling ability of the NF-P12 fan compared to the NF-S12 fan typically used with the earlier Noctua NH-U coolers more than make up for any residual loss of cooling from removing the two bottom fins.

The “U” in NH-U12P stands for the U-shaped configuration of Noctua’s 4-Dual Heatpipe system—four heatpipes that are staggered at the base before fanning out evenly as they pass through the unit’s 36 widely spaced aluminum fins. This design insures optimal airflow and heat transfer, particularly where low-noise, triple-digit fan speeds are involved. The heatpipes, like the base of the NH-U12P, are nickel-plated copper. Noctua has given the NH-U12P's base a semi-polished machined finish minus the nicks and burrs found on lesser coolers, which should provide an excellent seal between itself and the CPU heat spread when used with a high-quality thermal compound, maximizing heat transfer. You won’t find unfinished, sloppy soldering anywhere on the NH-U12P, either. The tips of the heatpipes are neatly finished without a sharp edge anywhere. And for an additional touch of class, Noctua has engraved their logo on the top fin.

While some “premium” CPU coolers are sold without a fan for around the same price, Noctua has included one of their best—the NF-P12—with the NH-U12P. They also provide an extra set of fan clips to install a second optional fan on the back of the heatsink for a push-pull airflow configuration for extra cooling power. The “other guys” make you pay extra—for the second fan clip.

How’s that for getting your money’s worth?

Installation

As with most high-end CPU coolers, you’ll need to remove the motherboard in order to install the Noctua NH-U12P. The motherboard I’ll be using for the review is the Intel Socket LGA775-based EVGA nForce 680i SLI. The only difference installing the NH-U12P on an AMD board, is using an additional pair of fastening brackets and some extra washers. The cooler and fan mounts the same.

First, we’ll need the part that makes removing the motherboard necessary—in this instance, the LGA backplate, which needs to be bolted underneath the motherboard’s CPU socket. The backplate is padded on one side. That’s the side that goes against the bottom of the motherboard. Don’t remove the backing or the pad from the backplate. Secure the backplate to the motherboard using the supplied screws , washers and mounting bars as illustrated in the instructions—make sure that you use the red washers between the mounting bars and motherboard—otherwise you risk shorting-out and damaging motherboard when you power it up.

Next, you attach the fastening brackets that make up Noctua’s SecuFirm mounting system, to the base of the NH-U12P with the supplied screws. The brackets go on the top of the base—not underneath it. Apply thermal compound to the heat spreader of the CPU per the instructions that are provided with the compound, keeping in mind that applying too much is just as bad as not applying enough. Set the NH-U12P on top of the CPU, and twisting it slightly to help distribute the thermal paste. Now take the supplied pressure springs and screws and tighten the NH-U12P to the fastening brackets. Here’s where that angled screwdriver Noctua was so gracious to provide come in handy if you don’t have one that’s suitable for the job. Alternate between each screw as you tighten them to insure even pressure. As soon as the screws stop—you stop. They are now tightened properly. Any more effort on your part will only result in a damaged motherboard. Attach two self-stick anti-vibration strips to the NH-U12P as shown in the instructions, and trim off the excess. Clip the fan to the front of the heatsink with the airflow arrows oriented to push air through the fins towards the back, using the supplied wire clips. Unlike some coolers, the clips supplied with the NH-U12P don’t feel like a set of glorified paper clips that can break just by looking at them, or those overkill ones that require the biceps of The Incredible Hulk to install.

Connect the fan cable to the CPU Fan header on your motherboard. Boot the system. Go into the BIOS and check the speed of the NF-P12 fan and the CPU temperature. Depending on your processor, the temperature should be in the neighborhood of 30 - 40°C at idle—possibly less than 30°C if you’re using one of the newer processors with a die shrink. If the processor’s temperature starts to climb to under-load temperatures with the processor idling at the BIOS, shut everything down and make sure that you have the heatsink seated properly and you’ve used the proper amount of thermal compound as instructed by the manufacturer.

Note that there are two ways you can orient the mounting bars and the NH-U12P. The first is the more conventional (and recommended) horizontal mounting position, where the fan on the NH-U12P faces the front of the case and pushes the air towards the back of the case and exhaust fan. The other is the vertical mounting position where the fan on the NH-U12P faces the top of the case. In this instance, if your power supply has a bottom-mounted fan—or, you have exhaust fans at the top of the case, you might want to reverse the position of the NF-P12 fan to pull air upward towards those fans. This particular orientation is usually necessary when a large CPU cooler like the NH-U12P is used in a smaller case. Or, to clear components clustered around the CPU socket (not an uncommon occurrence with some motherboards), that may interfere with the installation of the cooler. Another benefit is pulling heat away from hot-running video cards—particularly if those cards don’t have cooling shrouds or heatsinks attached to hot-running chips on the back of the card.

However, as you can see from the photos, mounting the NH-U12P vertically is not without drawbacks. On the EVGA 680i SLI, the fastening bracket hits the heatsink covering the bank of VRMs along the edge of the board. You would either have to trim the fastening bracket, which could compromise its strength (definitely not a good thing), or the heatsink fins, which could reduce its cooling effectiveness for cooling chips that already run very hot—more so when overclocked. Neither option sounds much like a picnic. But this illustrates why—as with any oversized CPU cooler—you need to do a little homework and take into consideration its dimensions. As you can also see from the photos, mounting the NH-U12P horizontally poses no problems on the EVGA 680i SLI motherboard.

If there’s a “tricky” part of the installation, it’s attaching the backplate. I found it easier to set the backplate on a flat surface, then lower the motherboard on top of it to line up the screw holes. Next were the washers. If you work carefully with a steady hand, you can get the screws started for the fastening brackets without the washers underneath shifting around too much. Once you get the screws started for the fastening brackets, you’re home free and you can breeze through the rest. It took a little under 20 minutes for me to install the entire assembly.

Once the NF-P12 fan is installed, the weight of the NH-U12P goes from 600g to 770g—not light by any stretch of the imagination, but not as heavy as some oversized coolers (Thermaltake’s Big Typhoon for example, weighs 813g). Although Noctua’s SecuFirm Mounting will keep the NH-U12P firmly planted without bending or warping your motherboard, or popping loose, you should still observe the usual precautions when moving a system around equipped with an oversized CPU cooler.

I rate the quality and completeness of the kit and clarity of the instructions for the installation of the Noctua NH-U12P as excellent.

Testing

It goes without saying that almost any aftermarket cooler can out-perform Intel’s retail cooler. Just about the same can be said for the standard Socket LGA775 heatsink plastic pushpin mounting mechanism (which can vary from mildly irritating to downright annoying). I thought that since the Noctua NH-U12P is a top-of-the-line cooler, it deserved an equally worthy opponent  for our tests—namely the Zalman CNPS9700 NT. Before installing the NH-U12P, the CNPS9700 was installed to gain some baseline numbers for comparison. Some notable similarities and differences between the two coolers:

That’s where the similarities end, though. The cooling and design philosophies between the two are obviously the biggest difference. Zalman uses a “three-in-six” heatpipe design that effectively gives three heatpipes the cooling power of six due to its their radial design and that of the radial cooling fins that are as much a unique and highly recognizable trademark of Zalman coolers, as Noctua’s unique tan and brown cooling fans. And of course, there’s the 4 Dual Heatpipe and U-Type Design of Noctua’s cooler with a more conventional stacked fin configuration.

Noctua’s design gives you a bit more breathing room—literally—for taller motherboard components. The Zalman might run into trouble with said components a lot quicker and easier than the Noctua due to its large diameter radial design—though that depends solely on the motherboard used.

Zalman’s  uses a “see-saw” style spring arm mounting mechanism for the CNPS9700 NT. Care must be taken in tightening the clip down if it’s mounted on the base vertically (a common scenario and necessity on some motherboards), as the fan could be damaged if you press up against it with the screwdriver while tightening down the clip. No such issue with the Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler's SecuFirm™ mounting. The NH-U12P can’t be loosed for removal or tightened down regardless of how it’s mounted on the motherboard, unless the fans are removed—which is also a much easier task than the Zalman thanks to Noctua’s wire clip mounting system. It is also possible to continue to twist the Zalman back and forth once it is fully tightened down. By comparison, Noctua’s SecuFirm Mounting System isn’t called that for nothing. Once you lock the NH-U12P down, that’s where it stays until you unbolt it again. Granted, few people would try to twist or move an oversized CPU cooler once it’s installed. Given what can happen if the bond between the cooler’s heatsink base, thermal compound and CPU spreader is broken due to any unintentional movement, you have to ask yourself: which would you feel more comfortable with?

The NH-U12P’s fan can be easily removed, and a second fan can be added. Virtually any 120mm fan on the market can be used with the NH-U12P. No such luck with the CNPS9700 NT, which uses a special proprietary fan whose non-standard 110mm diameter would makes your choices for swapping or replacement from difficult to impossible—unless the fan was a warranty replacement directly from Zalman). The Zalman fan has the advantage of being PWM (Pulse Width Modulation)-compliant, which allows it to automatically set the fan speed based on CPU temperature. This is only useful on a motherboard that supports it. The BIOS and hardware monitoring programs of most motherboards have fan RPM presets that can be used in place of a PWM-enabled CPU cooler fan.

In contrast to the machined but polished base of the NH-U12P, the CNPS9700 NT has a highly polished, mirror-reflective base. There’s been more debate on the Internet over the years over which approach to which heatsink surfaces is the “best” for proper heat transfer than I’d care to recount or comment on. I suspect that both Noctua and Zalman use the methods that are best for their particular products. So long as the heatsink’s base is making proper contact at the correct pressure  with the CPU’s heat spreader, and the thermal interface between the two is applied as it should be, the CPU cooler will do its job as intended—which is good enough for me…

The Zalman CNPS9700 NT tops the scales at 764g, with the Noctua NH-U12P 6 grams heavier at 770g. Add a second fan and you’re looking at a 940g cooler! Consider though, that Noctua’s mounting mechanism is more than up to the task of keeping that much weight in place without any unhealthy side effects to your motherboard, and the potential cooling power of two Noctua NF-P12 120mm fans to the Zalman’s single 110mm fan.

Looks are subjective. The CNPS9700 NT with its “Black Pearl” nickel plating and green LED fan certainly looks better than the Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler, particularly if you’re building an NVIDIA-themed rig. If not, or your tastes are a bit more conservative, you’ll probably favor the NH-U12P.