Noctua NH-U12F: Quiet Air Cooling from Austria

Final Words

It should be clear to anyone that the Noctua NH-U12F is first and foremost a heatpipe tower and fan designed for very low-noise cooling. The included fan, the elastomeric fan mounts, and the solid vibration-free attachment to the motherboard all point to a cooler designed to take up residence in a silent computer.

The Noctua delivers on the silent promise very well as far as we can ascertain. Noise levels in every configuration were well below the test system's noise floor. However, confirming Noctua specifications requires highly specialized test environments for accurate measurements of claimed noise levels of 8 dB-A with the U.L.N.A. and 17 dB-A with a full speed S12 fan. We did confirm that the Noctua was quieter than our power supply in every configuration we tested, but that noise level is quite a bit higher than the virtual silence claimed in the Noctua specifications. Subjectively, we could hear no noise at all from the mounted Noctua cooler. For those whose first consideration is ultra-low system noise, the Noctua should certainly be on the short list of heatpipe towers worth considering.

As we have learned the hard way, however, coolers that are terrific at keeping quiet are often not the best cooling solutions for performance. We asked in the beginning if the Noctua could also acquit itself well as a performance cooler for the overclocking enthusiast. The answer is it does very well as an overclocking cooler - particularly if you equip it with a pair of fans in push-pull configuration. This is particularly easy with the Noctua, since it is grooved for front/back fans and Noctua even includes two pairs of fan-mount wires in the retail kit. The included fan is also available as a standard retail fan from Noctua.

Having said that, we should also be clear that the Noctua did not top our overclocking performance charts. Most top air coolers tested so far have reached 3.90GHz in our standard test bed, with the top Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme reaching a record 3.94GHz with stability. The Noctua manages 3.88GHz, just a tiny amount less, but cooling temperatures are not really in the same league at this overclock as the best-performing coolers we have tested. This is with dual push-pull fans, and other configurations did not improve on this performance.

In the end the Noctua NH-U12F is a carefully balanced system of heatpipe tower and fan, which performs the designed task of cooling with silence extremely well. It is also a decent performance cooler, reaching overclock levels near the best tested. If your goal is the best overclocking cooler you can get, however, the Thermalright Ultra 120/Ultra 120 Extreme, and Tuniq Tower 120 are still your best choices.

This certainly is not a failing of the Noctua because it is a much better overclocking cooler than other coolers we have evaluated that emphasized silence first. It is also a more silent cooler than most others that advertise that feature. The fact that a higher output fan did not really improve the overclocking of the Noctua, as it did the Thermalright, Ninja and most other tested coolers, says quite a lot about the kit supplied by Noctua. If you want more cooling, add a second fan in push-pull as it works better than replacing the excellent low-noise fan provided by Noctua.

There are times when a product being evaluated doesn't top your performance charts, but it still grabs your attention. The Noctua NH-U12F is just such a product. It is a very elegant product, well conceived, logically presented, and with installation instructions that are completely on target. We like the product and would have no hesitation recommending the Noctua to most users. It will not take you to the top of the air cooler overclocking charts, but it may take you to silence if that is your goal. Unless extreme overclocking is your primary goal you will find the Noctua very satisfying. The top Thermalrights and the Tuniq 120 are better coolers at almost every frequency. So are some configurations of the Scythe Infinity and Ninja, and the Thermalrights are just as jewel-like as the Noctua. However, the careful balance of components in the Noctua is easy to admire and very satisfying.