Conclusion
Performance
THe Noctua NH-U12S performed well across all configurations, proving again Noctua's design prowess when it comes to high performance and low noise coolers. While the cooler is usable is any of the tested configurations, the LNA adapter should only be needed for the most noise sensitive individuals – the cooler is that quiet.
Pricing
As of May 31, the Noctua NH-U12S CPU cooler was available at Newegg.com for $69.99, as well as Amazon.com for $69.99 with Prime shipping and Performance-PCs.com for $69.95.
Conclusion
The Noctua NH-U12S CPU cooler is another design masterpiece for Noctua. The unit has a very modern aesthetic with all surfaces either shiny aluminum or nickel-plated for that shiny chromed look. The construction of the unit was top notch with all solder joints between the heat pipes and both the radiator and the CPU base plate clean and without residue. Further, the surface of the copper base plate was flawless, ensuring an optimal mating surface for the CPU. In addition to its appearance, the NH-U12S was designed to maintain size compatibility with most motherboards (a common trait among all member of the Noctua U-series of coolers). Even with the MSI Z87 MPower board, notorious for its three-sided large VRM cooler surrounding the CPU socket, the NH-U12S had no fit related issues. You could even use all four memory slots on the board without concern for the height of the memory cooler. Noctua paired the cooler with its tried and true Secure Firm2™ mounting system, ensuring firm contact between the cooler and the CPU surface.
The largest challenge with the NH-U12S is its price to performance ratio. Don't get me wrong, it performs well, but not quite at the same level of its big brother, the NH-U14S. And its price is not much less than the NH-U14S either. However, the cooler is well built and will fit just about any board you choose to use it with.
Strengths
- Performance under all operating CPU and fan conditions
- Build and machining quality of the cooler
- Size compatibility with most motherboard configurations
- Fan noise in all tested configurations
- Manual quality
Weaknesses
- Price to performance ratio
- Cooler heat pipe width – should fit, but may be tight
why not spend $10-15 dollars
why not spend $10-15 dollars more and buy a nice closed loop water cooler and get better performance, better looking and save space. Not to mention this monstrosity is butt ugly.
Huh? It’s quieter, cheaper
Huh? It’s quieter, cheaper and performs nearly as well. I would actually buy this over a H100i.
then your a straight up tart.
then your a straight up tart. nothing is quite about the Noct. and any closed loop if you actually own or have used one is silent.
AIOs are loud, overpriced,
AIOs are loud, overpriced, poorly built, and risk leaks. If you want the ultimate performance shy of custom water cooling, the D15 is really the only choice.
Ugly? It’s a classic tower
Ugly? It’s a classic tower design as stated early in the review. Not everyone is ready to try liquid cooling. For several years now Noctua has pushed the development of quiet fans for PCs, doing original research and design in Austria. Look, I don’t like the colours either, but there’s no mistaking a Noctua fan for any other brand. Plus, they just announced two new lines that are more muted in colour.
Is this much better than 35€
Is this much better than 35€ Raijintek Ereboss? In Serbia this Noctua is 60€.
I have not tested that unit,
I have not tested that unit, but based on the specs and build of the Ereboss, I would expect similar or better performance. The only odd thing with teh Ereboss that *may* work against it is the included fan. With the thickness of the Ereboss' radiator tower, a thin fan may not cut it well if you plan to o/c because the fan does not have the power to push air with enough force though the radiator to effectively cool it.
Again though, the above is only based on looking over the specs of the Erebus in combination with my knowledge of how both air and water coolers function…
I would check out the
I would check out the Raijintek Themis. From what I hear it actually does a better job at cooler due to the larger fan and is a bit cheaper.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Raijintek/Themis/9.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Raijintek/Ereboss/9.html
Why Haswell has lower/better
Why Haswell has lower/better temps when being cooled by an watercooler?
I assume you referring to the
I assume you referring to the differences between the Silver Arrow air cooler and the XSPC DIY water cooler and the Corsair H100i all in one water cooler. Haswell CPUs tend to produce quite a bit of heat and a water-based cooling system will tend to be able to keep up better with dispensing the heat because of the liquid medium's heat carrying capacity. While the heat is dispersed via radiator in both water and air coolers, the water cooler radiator has a lot more surface areas within the radiator to transfer the heat out to so the the fans can dissipate the heat from the radiator.
oh this must be where all the
oh this must be where all the nay saying air cooled people rally. Afraid people of water cooling.
Custom water cooling is
Custom water cooling is great, no premade solution (air or water) can match the performance, but closed loop coolers only really offer less obstruction compared to air coolers, which are better in almost every other way.
Closed loop coolers combine all the disadvantages of custom water cooling (price, noise, risk of leaks) without actually performing better than a good air cooler.