The Noctua NH-U12S Review Final Verdict
The Noctua NH-U12S did rather well on our socket FM2 A10-6800K. I was really impressed with the cooling capacity and just how quiet the NH-U12S was running at full capacity. I’m currently using the Thermaltake water 2.0 extreme closed loop on my main rig, and I can’t hear a single difference. Actually, when I crank up my closed loop to “extreme” it gets quiet loud. The Noctua NH-U12S doesn’t have this issue, and remains to be high performing cooler while staying quietly hidden inside it’s fortress.
Pros:
- Kit includes everything you’ll ever need to get your new CPU cooler installed.
- 24 degree max temperature drop over the stock cooler.
- Incredibly quiet with full fan speed.
- Future proof, and well thought out design.
Cons:
- I wish Noctua could figure out an easier way to attach the fans to their coolers. It’s sometimes difficult.
- Screwing the cooler onto the back plate took some effort when installing the cooler inside the case. (This could have been easily avoided if I had removed the motherboard)
So why a 10 out of 10? Well honestly, it’s rare that I ever feel something deserves a perfect 10, but Noctua really thought this out. They provided every tool and optional item they could get you in order to make your installation easy. Performance of this 120MM CPU cooler actually out performed performance of the 140MM Noctua U14S Cooler Clixxer did. The future proof policy coupled with the 6 year full warranty, just makes this thing a great deal.
Don’t believe me? Check around and you’ll find equally as impressive reviews from other tech sites. The Noctua NH-12S delivers cooling as impressive as a closed loop system and does it even quieter. That part just flat-out amazes me. Perhaps the day of air coolers isn’t dead after all.
Noctua NH-U12S was provided by Noctua, the AMD Test system was provided by AMD through the AMD Test Drive Program.