Noctua is a company from Austria that's been around for almost ten years now, they're mainly known for their computer cooling solutions, particularly very silent and efficient fans.
Noctua is also synonym of quality and cutting-edge technology as their products are constantly being revised and updated to provide the user with the best experience possible.
The product we will be reviewing today, the NH-U12S is the latest version of the popular and award-winning NH-U12 CPU coolers, they first appeared back in 2005 and since then, revision after revision, have been improved and updated with all the new technologies Noctua has been introducing over the years.
Like with most other products from this Austrian company, the packaging is perfectly executed and shows an amazing attention to detail, in the incredibly competitive CPU cooler market every little thing counts to get the upper hand over the competition and Noctua certainly seems to be aware of that.
For starters the actual box is very sturdy and guarantees that your cooler will arrive in perfect condition. Secondly, the amount of accessories Noctua includes with the NH-U12S is astonishing, besides the actual heat-sink and 120mm fan here's what you can expect to find tucked inside the elegant brown and beige box:
- 1x Syringe of NT-H1 thermal compound/paste;
- 1x Low-Noise adapter;
- 1x Screwdriver;
- 1x Installation kit for another 120mm fan (Push Pull config)
- 1x Noctua logo (metal sticker)
- 6 year warranty
As you can see it's an extremely complete package.
Even though the overall contents of the package are great they only mean something if the actual product delivers when it comes to cooling performance, fortunately once again Noctua does not disappoint and delivers one of the best air CPU cooling solutions that you can find on the market today.
Like previous iterations of the NH-U12, Noctua does not rest on the fact that the cooling performance of the NH-U12S is top-notch, they also introduce a few other features that will guarantee that the end-customer will be satisfied.
Probably the most important "extra" is how silent the included PWM fan is, running at super low RPMs even when under heavy load.
Another great and important feature, especially for high-end machines, is the 100% RAM compatibility, what this means is that even when using RAM modules with tall heatspreaders, the Noctua heat-sink will never obstruct the RAM in any way, I'm using the Kingston HyperX Beast which are pretty tall and there were no issues during the installation.
The final feature I want to mention is the compatibility with past or future CPU sockets, if you have for example an older LGA775 socket you can ask Noctua to send you (free of charge) the NM-I3 mounting kit, Noctua also promises to provide upgrade kits for future sockets if technically possible.
Final Thoughts
Noctua is quickly becoming one of my favorite manufacturers when it comes to cooling off your computer, they combine great performance with tons of extras and cutting-edge technology at an affordable price ($66 on Amazon.com). Their products are not only some of the best but also some of the most consistent as well, with each new version they improve on almost every single aspect of their products, always keeping the end-consumer in mind.
Noctua wants to show and prove to everyone that they are among the best when it comes to air cooling solutions, so far I would say they have succeeded as the NH-U12S is highly recommended.
The Good
-Amazing cooling performance
-Very silent
-Packaging
-6 year warranty
-Versatile
The Bad
-Visual design is not for everyone
Thanks to Noctua for providing the review sample
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