Noctua NH-U12S CPU Cooler

I've had people tell me that this is the best aircooler around and they're not wrong. There are parts in the box for many different sockets and it's really incredibly easy to install. The instructions are super clear to understand even for someone like me who has only ever built one PC before. Everything just clicked and screwed together the way that it should.I was a little bit worried about how much thermal paste to use, but the amounts suggested by the instructions worked perfectly for my CPU. The fan comes with a low noise adaptor that will limit the rpm and make it even quieter - but honestly at the moment it's not needed. It's so quiet under normal operations that I don't notice it at all. The thermals on my new PC are brilliant and even under heavy load it ... MoreI've had people tell me that this is the best aircooler around and they're not wrong. There are parts in the box for many different sockets and it's really incredibly easy to install. The instructions are super clear to understand even for someone like me who has only ever built one PC before. Everything just clicked and screwed together the way that it should.I was a little bit worried about how much thermal paste to use, but the amounts suggested by the instructions worked perfectly for my CPU. The fan comes with a low noise adaptor that will limit the rpm and make it even quieter - but honestly at the moment it's not needed. It's so quiet under normal operations that I don't notice it at all. The thermals on my new PC are brilliant and even under heavy load it doesn't get very hot at all.A friend is going to build a PC soon and I've told him to get a NH-U12 for his rig - honestly can't praise it enough.

A thing of beauty

I purchased the Noctua NH-U12S to replace the standard Intel CPU fan that had been in place and running for quite a few years (10?), since the processor was first installed. This was used on a MSI P55-GD80 main board with an Intel Core i7 Lynnfield (socket 1156) CPU. System monitoring software told me that the CPU core temperatures were occasionally reaching 200 degrees F, so something was obviously needing attention. Since I was going to open the case and disassemble stuff for a thorough cleaning anyway, I decided to upgrade the CPU fan, and the Noctua seemed like a good choice. Noctua's web site is excellent, and there I was able to confirm that this fan would work with my main board, CPU and case. Newegg had it at my door in 3 days with standard shipping. I was ... MoreI purchased the Noctua NH-U12S to replace the standard Intel CPU fan that had been in place and running for quite a few years (10?), since the processor was first installed. This was used on a MSI P55-GD80 main board with an Intel Core i7 Lynnfield (socket 1156) CPU. System monitoring software told me that the CPU core temperatures were occasionally reaching 200 degrees F, so something was obviously needing attention. Since I was going to open the case and disassemble stuff for a thorough cleaning anyway, I decided to upgrade the CPU fan, and the Noctua seemed like a good choice. Noctua's web site is excellent, and there I was able to confirm that this fan would work with my main board, CPU and case. Newegg had it at my door in 3 days with standard shipping. I was not disappointed in the quality of this fan. It is so over-engineered, it's a little crazy, but also very impressive. This is just a CPU fan and heat sink, after all. But Noctua had thought of everything, it seems, from the packaging to the instructions to the product itself. There is a plethora of extra parts which I probably paid dearly for but will never use -- but I prefer that to needing some little part and not having it. There were no problems or issues with the installation, and everything went together just like it was supposed to. The fan itself is pretty ugly, but I wasn't willing to pay the extra $5 just to get the fan in black color. I don't spend any time looking into my computer case anyway. Over the 3 weeks since installing, my CPU temperatures have never exceeded 120 degrees F, and most of the time they hover around 88 degrees F. Although I'm sure I could have improved things greatly by just thoroughly cleaning the original Intel fan and heat sink (which were really badly clogged with dust), I have no regrets about installing the Noctua fan and heat sink. It is slightly noisy compared to the original fan, but it's just air noise, nothing obnoxious. I did not use the included cable link that is designed to reduce the fan speed (Noctua calls this their "Low-Noise Adaptor"), but it's nice that it was included. When it's time for the next interior cleaning, the Noctua disassembles very easily for cleaning outside of the case. All in all, a great purchase, and I'm happy with it and with its performance. It solved my issues very effectively.

Cool and quiet

It has been a long going debate for me to decide whether to go liquid or air.I opted for air in the end, as I had no idea what happens with a liquid cooler if the pump goes; with air cooling you still have a giant heat sink on top of your cpu so this feels safer after all (also don't like the thought of liquid inside the case).I've checked out a lot of these coolers, Noctua became the winning one for two very important reasons:- RAM clearance: it is true as it says in the ad, with this cooler you will have access to all your RAM slots.- ease of installation: many great coolers seemed to have the problem of complicated installation that gave hard work even to professional builders (eg the black rock), and I am not one of those.I couldn't believe how easy it ... MoreIt has been a long going debate for me to decide whether to go liquid or air.I opted for air in the end, as I had no idea what happens with a liquid cooler if the pump goes; with air cooling you still have a giant heat sink on top of your cpu so this feels safer after all (also don't like the thought of liquid inside the case).I've checked out a lot of these coolers, Noctua became the winning one for two very important reasons:- RAM clearance: it is true as it says in the ad, with this cooler you will have access to all your RAM slots.- ease of installation: many great coolers seemed to have the problem of complicated installation that gave hard work even to professional builders (eg the black rock), and I am not one of those.I couldn't believe how easy it was to install, everything fit perfectly and was simply a joy to put it all together.Take care when you install your motherboard though: I have a cut out on my case (NZXT Phantom) to install a cooler, however the hole was in the wrong position and didn't let me install the backplate of the cooler, so had to remove the motherboard.Once the sink is on, the fans clip on easily.I went for a dual fan layout; although I have to admit it is not really necessary, according to tests adding the 2nd fan will only make 2-3C difference in cpu temperature.It operates quietly, you will hear it when it's running at high speeds, but not disturbing at all.Have to mention the outstanding quality of the whole package. The heat sink looks great and of high quality - the surface going on the cpu is the smoothest piece of metal I've ever seen.The mounting kit is sturdy and of proper materials.Everything was boxed professionally, and you get all the little bits you will ever need - this includes larger spacers if you wanna install a 2nd fan, mounting kit for both intel and amd motherboards, thermal paste, wires etc.Considering the top quality of the kit, I think the price is very reasonable, I can only recommend it!.

Cooling OC'd i5-4690K system at 4.2GHz with ease, w/out scraped knuckles!

Yes, I would purchase the Noctua NH-U12S again (will upgrade a couple more PC's in the upcoming months) & I recommend this cooler to anyone where it fits inside of the case. Be sure to measure from the bare CPU to the case door to determine compatibility. Finally, for now, the Noctua NH-U12S has kept me from having to delid the i5-4690K, hopefully until it's time to clean & repaste the unit. Had I known of the power of the NH-U12S, probably would be in my i7-4790K system, although being overclocked, with the extra NF-12 PWM case fan. I believe it would do just as well of a job for less cash & will be using this cooler with most any system from here on out, provided it fits the case. Better yet, will make sure any case purchased will work with this outstanding CPU ... MoreYes, I would purchase the Noctua NH-U12S again (will upgrade a couple more PC's in the upcoming months) & I recommend this cooler to anyone where it fits inside of the case. Be sure to measure from the bare CPU to the case door to determine compatibility. Finally, for now, the Noctua NH-U12S has kept me from having to delid the i5-4690K, hopefully until it's time to clean & repaste the unit. Had I known of the power of the NH-U12S, probably would be in my i7-4790K system, although being overclocked, with the extra NF-12 PWM case fan. I believe it would do just as well of a job for less cash & will be using this cooler with most any system from here on out, provided it fits the case. Better yet, will make sure any case purchased will work with this outstanding CPU cooler! Purchase & enjoy your Noctua NH-U12S CPU cooler, just as I am. As long as case is well ventilated & paste properly applied (not too much), make hot running CPU's a thing of the past!

Decent cooling, but installation was a pain

So i was building my first PC from scratch, with a Ryzen 3600x on a x570 motherboard. Because of height restrictions in a mid case i couldn't go with the more flagship noctua cooler, so i went with the U12 model (which barely fits, but as long as it fits it's fine). Switching the fan to be ready for an AMD board was pretty simple. But once it came time to put it on, the retention springs were so rigid that getting the screw to thread in was difficult. I managed to eventually get one side on, and when i went to try the other side it wouldn't thread until i started putting massive pressure on it. I seriously thought it was going to break my motherboard trying to get it on. And because it would slip on the paste, then not want to slide back, i would have to lift and ... MoreSo i was building my first PC from scratch, with a Ryzen 3600x on a x570 motherboard. Because of height restrictions in a mid case i couldn't go with the more flagship noctua cooler, so i went with the U12 model (which barely fits, but as long as it fits it's fine). Switching the fan to be ready for an AMD board was pretty simple. But once it came time to put it on, the retention springs were so rigid that getting the screw to thread in was difficult. I managed to eventually get one side on, and when i went to try the other side it wouldn't thread until i started putting massive pressure on it. I seriously thought it was going to break my motherboard trying to get it on. And because it would slip on the paste, then not want to slide back, i would have to lift and realign it, which may have caused bubbles. (my thermals show one core gets pretty hot, in the mid 70s (C) while the rest usually stay in the high 50s even under load). Eventually i finally got it lined up well enough and had enough pressure to sink it onto the screw to thread it, and thankfully the board did not break. But i'm not sure if i just had a bad batch of product that had the springs too tense, or if they all are like this. Even with it not mounted at all, trying to move the screw receptacle 2mm took all my force because those springs did not want to give at all. I'm looking at getting another fan so that it can hopefully improve the cooling on that final core that stays hot, since this is only the single fan model. But the added cost of a single extra noctua fan makes the cost overall of the cooler go up substantially. I should have just gone for a dual fan model to begin with

First time Noctua user. Very Impressed.

I have this cooling a Core i7-7700K. Noctua states that this is a compatible cooler with "medium overclocking potential" for LGA 1151 CPUs up to 95W. I'm sure this is probably correct in most cases. However, the i7-7700K seems to run exceptionally hot, sometimes for no obvious reason. Personally I don't overclock, and the NH-U12S keeps me well within Intel's operating specs. I've observed temps in the low to mid 70s (Celsius) under a heavy gaming load with all four cores at 100% for a sustained period. With Prime 95 Small FFTs temps hit 80 to 84 degrees sustained. The i7-7700K is designed to surrender in self-defense at 100 degrees so the NH-U12S is perfectly fine in my application (per OEM specs), but it might not offer the overclocking headroom that some users ... MoreI have this cooling a Core i7-7700K. Noctua states that this is a compatible cooler with "medium overclocking potential" for LGA 1151 CPUs up to 95W. I'm sure this is probably correct in most cases. However, the i7-7700K seems to run exceptionally hot, sometimes for no obvious reason. Personally I don't overclock, and the NH-U12S keeps me well within Intel's operating specs. I've observed temps in the low to mid 70s (Celsius) under a heavy gaming load with all four cores at 100% for a sustained period. With Prime 95 Small FFTs temps hit 80 to 84 degrees sustained. The i7-7700K is designed to surrender in self-defense at 100 degrees so the NH-U12S is perfectly fine in my application (per OEM specs), but it might not offer the overclocking headroom that some users desire. BOTTOM LINE: If you're mild or non-overclocker who needs a great air cooler and you don't want to worry about RAM or PCIe clearance issues then buy this cooler (Assuming your case will cooperate. This fits with room to spare in my Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout.) If you're an aggressive overclocker or if good enough is just not good enough then you probably want to consider the NH-D15.

Noctua delivers once more

I was about to buy a second one of these units so I figured I may as well write a review in case anyone is still on the fence. I won't spend time comparing this against other specific models from non-Noctua companies. There are more serious reviews for that. Here's what you get by spending a tiny bit more on a premier unit from Noctua: Reliability, comfort (noise), performance, high quality vendor support (motherboard compatibility sheets, customer support, free parts (brackets!) sent to your home in certain situations). In particular the NH-U12S has high compatibility with tall memory heat spreaders, VRM heat spreaders that are close to the CPU, etc. It uses a modest sized fan so that it can fit in smaller cases. It's quiet and you can tune that by using different ... MoreI was about to buy a second one of these units so I figured I may as well write a review in case anyone is still on the fence. I won't spend time comparing this against other specific models from non-Noctua companies. There are more serious reviews for that. Here's what you get by spending a tiny bit more on a premier unit from Noctua: Reliability, comfort (noise), performance, high quality vendor support (motherboard compatibility sheets, customer support, free parts (brackets!) sent to your home in certain situations). In particular the NH-U12S has high compatibility with tall memory heat spreaders, VRM heat spreaders that are close to the CPU, etc. It uses a modest sized fan so that it can fit in smaller cases. It's quiet and you can tune that by using different fan speed. The install is well documented and does not require any awkward movements to be made.

Noctua does it again.

Wow. I admit I am a Noctua fanboy but this little cooler really took me by surprise.Running Ryzen 5 5600x with a Meshify 2 case with 6 Noctua intake fans and 1 Noctua exhaust fan. WIth the stock wraith cooler I was hitting 75 to 80+c in games like Assassins Creed Origins and Destiny 2 although safe operating temps I still didn't like it then there was banshee noise in right ear for hours.This little cooler with one push fan on the cooler (plus all the case fans) took idle temps from 42c down to 31c but the biggest gain was in games. Assassins Creed Origins and Destiny 2 both went from 80c to 53c and fans running at 55% not 100%. I'm finally getting my hearing back in my right ear.Highly recommend.

The cooling king for socket 1150

Noctua - the word means owl, a bird known for silent flight and flawless predation. Noctua lives up to its name with this fine CPU cooler. Although it is large, most modern cases with at least 160mm of clearance can accommodate this excellent product. Performance is second to none with only one fan installed. With two fans in push pull, this performs as well as most 240mm radiators with AIO solutions. Installation is a no brainer. The instructions and mounting hardware are second to none. Once installed, the cooler sits firmly on the CPU. The ample tube of thermal grease provides enough for many instalations, and works as well as the overpriced third party products. If you are building a mission critical socket 1150 system and need to cool with air rather than ... MoreNoctua - the word means owl, a bird known for silent flight and flawless predation. Noctua lives up to its name with this fine CPU cooler. Although it is large, most modern cases with at least 160mm of clearance can accommodate this excellent product. Performance is second to none with only one fan installed. With two fans in push pull, this performs as well as most 240mm radiators with AIO solutions. Installation is a no brainer. The instructions and mounting hardware are second to none. Once installed, the cooler sits firmly on the CPU. The ample tube of thermal grease provides enough for many instalations, and works as well as the overpriced third party products. If you are building a mission critical socket 1150 system and need to cool with air rather than water, this cooler is without peer. The poop brown and vomit tan fans might not go with all color schemes, but when folks see them in your machine, they will immediately know you installed the best. Base System spec in brief: Raijintek Aeneas micro ATX cube chassis Gigabyte B85M-D3H system board Intel Xeon E31246V3 at 3.5GHz Noctua NHU12S CPU cooler with two NF-F12 fans 32GB (4X8GB) Kingston Value RAM Icy Dock Armor 2 3.5inch hot swap for 2 SSDs Intel 730 240GB SSD for Windows 7 Pro Two WD Blue 1TB HHDs for file storage LG 16X MDisc ODD for Bray, DVD and CD

i7 7700k 31 C idle and 65 C running handbrake batches in a 23.5 C ambient room.

The RAM slots on my micro-ATX motherboard (MSI B150M Pro VD) are very close to the cpu socket and I run memory modules with fairly tall heat spreaders. Not every CPU cooler of this style offers enough clearance for my situation. The NH-U12S is perfect and even leaves a couple mm clearance to spare.. plus the way the fan mounts to the cooler, I could raise the fan a bit if I had to so even bigger heat spreaders than I have could be accommodated if necessary. I won't go in to my reasons, but I just upgraded the CPU in this machine from a i5 6600 (non-k) with a stock intel cooler to an i7 7700k which of course ships with no cooler. Certain reviews and comments regarding the 7700k were giving me heartburn thinking it was going to be impossible to keep it cool in my ... MoreThe RAM slots on my micro-ATX motherboard (MSI B150M Pro VD) are very close to the cpu socket and I run memory modules with fairly tall heat spreaders. Not every CPU cooler of this style offers enough clearance for my situation. The NH-U12S is perfect and even leaves a couple mm clearance to spare.. plus the way the fan mounts to the cooler, I could raise the fan a bit if I had to so even bigger heat spreaders than I have could be accommodated if necessary. I won't go in to my reasons, but I just upgraded the CPU in this machine from a i5 6600 (non-k) with a stock intel cooler to an i7 7700k which of course ships with no cooler. Certain reviews and comments regarding the 7700k were giving me heartburn thinking it was going to be impossible to keep it cool in my relatively warm ambient temperature computing environment. The NH-U12S is performing admirably and temperatures under full load are absolutely acceptable. Running handbrake to archive a big batch of video today, the highest spike coretemp registered before the fan increased speed was 68/68/71/69. That decreased to 63/64/65/64 as the fan spun up and no core exceeded 65 during a 5 + hour batch run. I am perfectly pleased with this cooler.