FRONTPAGE Noctua NH-U12S Heatsink Review

Overclockers.com · Aug 15, 2013

Noctua is known for quiet fans and some would say an unorthodox color scheme. They’ve managed to power past their color choices though and have built a reputation as one of the premier cooling manufacturers on the market today. The heatsink we’re looking at today is in their silent series, the Noctua NH-U12S.

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dostov · Aug 15, 2013

Nice review, Hokie! :cheers:

Decent heatsink for lovers of things brown and beigy-pink.

Boulard83 · Aug 15, 2013

Great review !

hokiealumnus · Aug 16, 2013

I have to (sheepishly) add a note to this review and will test whenever my 1155 board comes back from RMA. According to Noctua, in the instructions that I failed to read about adding a second fan (see the manual here), you have to use thicker anti-vibration spacers on the pull fan. Obviously, I did not do this or I would have told you. So, there will now be an author's note to see this comment and further testing on the noise issue will come when I get the board back.

Thanks to Noctua for pointing this out so promptly, I look forward to testing to see what improvement it makes!

rpjkw11 · Aug 17, 2013

Excellent review, Hokie. I've read other reviews of this cooler plus the NH-U14S. I've been seriously impressed with the -U12S as well as the -U14S and I would be hard pressed to choose between the two. Both seem to be so good that the final decision boils down to RAM clearance.

Thanks for the review, Hokie.

ivanlabrie · Aug 17, 2013

Nice review hokie!

The pull issue with the nf-f12 pwm fan is quite well documented already (as shown by the testing from ocn's Tator Tot and others).
It's a great push fan, the best in noise/pressure/airflow for heatsinks or rads but when setup in pull it introduces that noticeable hum you speak of.

I'd love a few nf-f12's in black and white personally

doyll · Aug 17, 2013

Nice review! Thanks!

hokiealumnus · Aug 21, 2013

hokiealumnus said:
I have to (sheepishly) add a note to this review and will test whenever my 1155 board comes back from RMA. According to Noctua, in the instructions that I failed to read about adding a second fan (see the manual here), you have to use thicker anti-vibration spacers on the pull fan. Obviously, I did not do this or I would have told you. So, there will now be an author's note to see this comment and further testing on the noise issue will come when I get the board back.

Thanks to Noctua for pointing this out so promptly, I look forward to testing to see what improvement it makes!

BUMP!

Added to the performance section re: Noise

Author's Note 2, 8/21/2013: I received a board back to test this on and indeed, the thicker anti-vibration spacers do a great job of eliminating the annoying buzzing sound. The fans aren't silent, but together they are a whole lot quieter than the single Delta fan used on the VenomousX. Thus, you can completely disregard the three paragraphs below, as they no longer apply. I'm leaving them in (indented so they are differentiated from my properly updated opinion) so we can all see the result of not reading your instruction manual!

Added a link to this comment and the following to the conclusion:

Considering the improved temperatures and now quiet operation, I believe I am comfortable rescinding the push-pull avoidance comment. Purchase a second fan to get the gains shown in the temperature graphs if you feel they are worth the $25 extra for the second NF-F12.

Thanks to Noctua for pointing that out and their patience while I addressed the issue.

FRONTPAGE Noctua NH-U12S Heatsink Review

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