What about the NOCTUA NH-U12?

[Reisender]

Hi guys,

 

what do you think about the NOCTUA NH-U12?

 

I read a review

 

http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware.../noctua_NH-U12/

 

and I m pretty impressed by it,

 

is it the best air cooler by now? If not, which would be?

 

Thank you

[dab]

It's on a par with the Tuniq Tower. I really like the noctua, it's very quiet!

[newguy]

I am using this, excellent HS.

Want to find another HS but can't find anything can replace it yet.

[rainwood]

Allow me to share my experience in using the heatsink in my system with you.

 

I used the NH-U12F on the DFI NF590 mainboard first.

Installation issue: the AM2 backplate, which came with the heatsink package, was not very good quality – the screws did not fit the AM2 backplate so the backplate could not be installed to the mainboard tightly enough to hold the heavy heat sink. Although I had it replaced with a new one, I had to use the different screws (I searched and got from Homedepot ) to screw the backplate on to the NF590 mainboard…

 

Next I used the heatsink on the EVGA 680i mainboard.

Installation issue: I had no problem regarding the backplate for the LGA 775 socket. However, the CPU cooler & LGA 775 socket on the mainboard… I think that the 775 socket is located too close to the mainboard boundary. I had hard time to install the CPU coolers on the 680i mainboard because of the design (and of my case, too);

The mainboard does not allow me to install the heatsink in the orientation that the two fans can be installed on the heatsink…

 

Though it is am old review, this review shows the pictures of the NH-U12F installation on the LGA 775 mainboard and addresses the compatibility issue.

 

Performance on the 680i mainboard: with the single fan (120mm SilenX iXtrema Pro IXP-74-14 fan: 1400 RPM, 14 dBA).

The temperature* at idle:

• The CPU temperature with the CPU multiplier: 11 & vCore: 1.29V: 40 – 42 °C
  
• The CPU temperature with the CPU multiplier: 6 & vCore: 1.13 – 1.14V: 35 – 36 °C
  

 

…I was not very satisfied with this heatsink’s performance.

Now I am using the Vigor Monsoon II on the 680i mainboard. This is the best CPU cooler that I’ve ever used;

The temperature** at idle:

• The CPU temperature with the CPU multiplier: 11 & vCore: 1.29V: 29 – 31 °C
  
• The CPU temperature with the CPU multiplier: 6 & vCore: 1.13 – 1.14V: 24 – 26 °C
  

 

If you are interested, the “DIY-Street Forums > Cases, Cooling, & Modifications Industrial Parkway > Cooling TEC Cooling - Vigor Gaming Monsoon II (754, 939, AM2, LGA775) TEC cooling!" thread can tell you what you’d need to know about this CPU cooler.

 

BTW, regarding the “noise” that the Vigor Monsoon II makes, I do not notice it at all; this is because of the fans installed in my system. The case fans used in my system are;

• 120mm right side panel exhaust fan: Panaflo FBA12G12M1A. 2100 RPM, 35.5 dBA
  
• 120mm front intake & rear exhaust fans: Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120mm 1,600rpm 28.0dBA
  

Most of the noise that I hear from my system comes from the Panaflo 35dBA fan…

 

 

*The temperature readings by Everest Ultimate Edition 2006 (version: 3.50.816 Beta).

**The temperature readings by Everest Ultimate Edition 2007 (version: v3.80.877 Beta).