Noctua NH-U12A

[GreiverBlade]

i don't care about their warranty or their support (needing support for a Air cooler? ... seriously? ah, for extra mounting piece that could come after? well the other brand do it too sometime) Notcua is overpriced that's a given.

there is many alternative that are priced between a little (in the 60-80$ price range) and a lot (in the 45-55$ price range) less, that perform close enough, unless brand loyalty (or liking the color scheme) ... i see no advantage of taking that one

although the review is excellent.

The Thermalright Macho 120 SBM costs half the price, has 150mm height, looks better and probably cools as well.

actually yep ... i had a "normal" Macho HR-02 Rev.B that did cost me 45$ at some time ... and given how that new one from notcua is in fact middle to bottom barrel in temp testing (surprises ... i though it would be top notch ... i guess i overestimated them because of the price tag ) i am almost 100% sure that the 120 SBM would match it without issues (and even maybe quieter, but not sure that the 120 fans would be quieter than a TY-147 @ 1300rpm )

 

[Crackong]

It is a 120mm cooler with 100% ram and PCI-E compatibility.
Yet you guys are comparing it to 140mm and twin towers, it is exactly what Noctua wanted.
They have created a 120mm cooler beating the 140s matching with giant twin towers and retain ram and PCI-E compatibility.

Hope they could drop the price to $80 by shipping with ONE fan, and basically rule the 120mm cooler market.

 

[aerial]

Honestly looking at these results, it doesn't look all that impressive, considering price and all that hype around this cooler. It is very expensive for what it offers. It is pretty.. loud. Fans are good in terms of efficiency at given rpm, but at full speed of 2000RPM you can't defy the laws of physics, it is going to be loud no matter what fan it is. If you match it against big cooler that it supposed to beat, difference in noise between 1300rpm fan and these two 2krpm is gonna be very noticeable.
Ram clearance is not good argument because there are good heatsinks, such as Tr Macho that don't interfere with ram at all. They are larger overall, so that is an argument if you want small cooler that reveals more of your motherboard, is easier to install, better access to mounting screws.

Especially comparison to U12S looks bad, it is barely worse performance (1-2 deg), cheaper and quieter, roughly same size.

 

[efikkan]

Benchmarking coolers at fixed PWM speeds is not really useful, we should rather have a fixed thermal load and see what noise levels and temperatures are achieved.

I hope that Noctua's bigger fans and coolers will soon get the same treatment as the NF-A12x25 fans, it will certainly be an appreciated improvement.

Still, for 120mm size coolers, the NH-U12A is certainly impressive.

 

[msamelis]

Top notch review, thank you. I take it it's the fans that made the difference and the NH-U12A is so close to the NH-D15?

Speaking of, there is tad spelling mistake here, on the first table - there's an extra "5" on "NH-D15". Just letting you know

 

[mastershake575]

Decibel levels aren't the best measure of noise. Different frequencies are perceived as louder than others. NF-F12s @ 1500rpm are way more irritating to listen to than these NF-A12x25s @ 2000rpm.

Plus a lot of fans bundled with cheap coolers will not last. Half of the maingear machines where I work with their stock nzxt fans have failed bearings after 1.5 years, and the 20+ hp machines they got last year have a nearly 100% failure rate on their psu fans after 1 year. My noctua industrial ippcs on my server builds have been running @ 3k rpm uninterrupted for 2 years straight without problems so far and all noctua fans have insanely long mtbf ratings.

I would rather gamble the longevity of an MSI fan than spend over 2x what I paid for it for basically the same performance (MSI isn't exactly a cheap penny pincher brand).

I do agree that there are "cheap" brands out there but that doesn't mean there aren't solid brands that can do the same jobs for a fraction of the price (Mugen 5 is another sub $50 single 120mm design that offers basically the same performance)

 

[P4-630]

I take it it's the fans that made the difference and the NH-U12A is so close to the NH-D15?

Not only that, the cooler comes with a thicker heat sink (58mm on the U12A vs 45mm on the U12S), which is supposed to offer 37 percent more surface area.

 

[efikkan]

I do agree that there are "cheap" brands out there but that doesn't mean there aren't solid brands that can do the same jobs for a fraction of the price (Mugen 5 is another sub $50 single 120mm design that offers basically the same performance)

There are cheaper coolers out there that can achieve similar levels of cooling, but they are usually much noisier. And there certainly are more powerful air cooler than Noctua's, but they usually spin their fans at very high speeds. Noctua isn't necessary best at everything, but they do strike a nice balance between very good cooling and very low noise levels, something that those who use their computers a lot will appreciate.

 

[notb]

I had a privilege of using this cooler for a few days. The heatsink is really solid, but the fans are very likely the best we had in the consumer market. That's about it.

Of course most comments are true. There are coolers just as quiet, there are ones that dissipate just as well, there are a few that sound similarly well and there are many just as small (RAM compatibility etc).
There is no cooler that matches U12A in all these aspects. And not many that even get close.

As @efikkan said: this cooler is made to attract people who use their computers a lot.

If someone likes to brag about his specs or admire the looks, there are better options. IMO this could be why they keep making these fans in brown - to repel a consumer group that may not understand the product and as a result: be unhappy about it.

That's the thing about Noctua products. They're criticized by people who don't own them and praised by those who do. I don't think there could be a better recommendation.

Especially comparison to U12S looks bad, it is barely worse performance (1-2 deg), cheaper and quieter, roughly same size.

U12S uses the worst fan Noctua ever made (apart for the high rpm "industrial" line), the notorious NF-F12.
If you're the kind of person impressed by numbers, U12S is fantastic. Great cooling and quiet. But not much more and people expect more from Noctua.

U12A uses the newest Noctua fan: NF-A12 (improved design compared to - already great - NF-A15 or NF-A9).
Low noise is granted, but it has excellent tonality as well. And pressure isn't bad either.

It's really difficult to describe the sound quality. Try youtube.
Remember that a constant frequency profile (white noise) is relaxing for humans - even when relatively loud.

U12A at 100% sounds like if someone was taking a shower in the flat above you.
U12S at 100% isn't much louder, but it's more like a distant driller.

I sometimes wish cooler manufacturers would just sell us the tower without fans at a lower price. If the two fans are $30, I'd gladly pay $39 for the chunk of metal and stick two fans I already own to that instead.

I'm afraid that's not possible. Heatsinks aren't very attractive as a separate product: they are very expensive to make (materials), but with little R&D potential (they're all quite similar). Hence, it's difficult to differentiate and make a profit.
Fans have profit potential. That's why companies generally sell separate fans, not separate heatsinks.

 

[mastershake575]

but they do strike a nice balance between very good cooling and very low noise levels, something that those who use their computers a lot will appreciate.

That's actually what i'm arguing. For the price it doesn't offer the best/nice balance (there's other brands that will give basically 90% as good as the performance cooling/noise wise for a fraction of the price). My $45 MSI Core Frozr is a single 120mm, good ram clearance, barely hear the fan, and offers near identical thermals for $55 cheaper.......

Don't get me wrong it's a great product but $100 is laughable. Hell even Noctua's own U12S is near identical in size, noise, and cooling and it's under $60.......... (that's my point, what nice balance is this product offering ? i'm no seeing it )

 

[efikkan]

That's actually what i'm arguing. For the price it doesn't offer the best/nice balance (there's other brands that will give basically 90% as good as the performance cooling/noise wise for a fraction of the price). My $45 MSI Core Frozr is a single 120mm, good ram clearance, barely hear the fan, and offers near identical thermals for $55 cheaper.......

Don't get me wrong it's a great product but $100 is laughable. Hell even Noctua's own U12S is near identical in size, noise, and cooling and it's under $60.......... (that's my point, what nice balance is this product offering ? i'm no seeing it )

Compared to U12S, U12A have two more heatpipes and two fans which are better. Even if you don't need the second fan, you can use it as a case fan instead. This new fan(NF-A12x25) manages the same noise levels as NF-F12 at higher RPM.

There are of course others that do a good job as well, such as Be Quiet, but I don't think they beat Noctua in "cooling per noise level".

Your cooler is probably not bad at all, but it can't keep up with the performance levels of this cooler while being as silent. 2 year warranty might be a deal-breaker for many. Noctua coolers tend to last longer than the computers that use them.

Please note, I'm not saying Noctua is the right option for everyone.

 

[HTC]

Noctua coolers tend to last longer than the computers that use them.

The cooler in my sister's PC (NH-C12P) is around 10 years old and mine (NH-C14) is a bit more then 8 years old already.

 

[notb]

That's actually what i'm arguing. For the price it doesn't offer the best/nice balance

It offers the best balance. Stop.
It's hard to say what it offers "for the price", since there aren't many air coolers at this price point, are they?

(there's other brands that will give basically 90% as good as the performance cooling/noise wise for a fraction of the price).

I don't know your fractions / percentages work. How exactly "90% as good" would work?

My $45 MSI Core Frozr is a single 120mm,

Which is actually surprisingly expensive. Noctua's single 120mm costs $55 (with better performance and RAM clearance).
There are quite a few cheaper coolers as well (e.g. be quiet! Shadow Rock Slim). MSI Frozr L is a competitor to CM 212X ($35).

good ram clearance,

It's a slim 120mm cooler and it blocks the first memory slot. How exactly is that "good"?

barely hear the fan, and offers near identical thermals for $55 cheaper.......

Volume is OK, but you can't be serious about performance.
U12A is significantly better.

Don't get me wrong it's a great product but $100 is laughable.

D15S costs $80 and U12A beats both performance and noise. In fact it's more like a D15...
Many say $80-90 is a lot for D15(S), but the simple fact is: they're selling like hot cakes. Or at least they had until now...

U12A delivers that performance in a really compact form factor. You can't ignore that.

 

[John Naylor]

1. I would love to see:

"Dimensions: 158 mm H x 125 mm W x 112 mm D"

Instead of "Dimensions: 158 mm x 125 mm x 112 mm"

2. Noc makes great stuff but I think we have to have all the revelant competition on the mix, especially the air cooler value / performance leader. Apologize if I missed something but, as the dimensions that matter most are height and width, I don't see the attraction here outside rare circumstances. It's a quality cooler, but ... to my eyes ... ridiculously priced considering the competition:

All data from TPU site reviews, using AIDA 64 OC test for temps ...
-The NH-U12A is 2C worse than thew Noctua NH-D15
-The Fuma is 1C better than thew Noctua NH-D15
Advantage Fuma by 3C lower temps.

-The NH-U12A is 45 dbA @ 100%
-The Fuma is 42 dbA @ 100%
-The NH-U12A is 36 dbA @ 50%
-The Fuma is35 dbA @ 50%
Advantage Fuma by 3 dbA at iull speed and 1 dbA at half speed.

-The NH-U12A is $100
-The Fuma is $46
Advantage Fuma at 46% of the price

-The NH-U12A is 158 mm H x 125 mm W x 112 mm D
-The Fuma is 149 mm H x 130 mm W x 137 mm D
I think I'd trade the 9mm height advantage for the 5 mm width advantage ... depth not a factor unless perhaps doing a Mini build.

I haven't had any cooler hit a GFX card tho was within 2 mm on a MoBo capable of supporting 4 GFX cards once

 

[aerial]

U12S uses the worst fan Noctua ever made (apart for the high rpm "industrial" line), the notorious NF-F12.
If you're the kind of person impressed by numbers, U12S is fantastic. Great cooling and quiet. But not much more and people expect more from Noctua.

U12A uses the newest Noctua fan: NF-A12 (improved design compared to - already great - NF-A15 or NF-A9).
Low noise is granted, but it has excellent tonality as well. And pressure isn't bad either.

But if only the fan is a problem here, why go through all that trouble, development cost, if all they really need is to re-release U12S with one of those new fans. Price would go up only slightly, even if performance remained the same (or go up because new fans are more efficient), it would be still much better deal than new cooler in terms of price/performance ratio.

 

[notb]

But if only the fan is a problem here, why go through all that trouble, development cost, if all they really need is to re-release U12S with one of those new fans.

I don't understand you.
Noctua wanted to make a compact cooler that outperforms much bigger models, so they did.

Updating U12S with a better cooler would result in... and updated U12S. It's a different league.

Price would go up only slightly, even if performance remained the same (or go up because new fans are more efficient), it would be still much better deal than new cooler in terms of price/performance ratio.

But why do you think U12A is a bad deal?
Comparing to other air coolers just based on performance, noise and price will make this cooler look very expensive. And it should.
Because you're not paying for raw numbers. You're paying for possibilities it gives.

The whole point of this cooler is that it lets you put more powerful CPUs in smaller cases.
It either lets you build something that wasn't possible earlier or it competes with dual fan AiOs (e.g. Corsair H100i).

-The NH-U12A is 158 mm H x 125 mm W x 112 mm D
-The Fuma is 149 mm H x 130 mm W x 137 mm D
I think I'd trade the 9mm height advantage for the 5 mm width advantage ... depth not a factor unless perhaps doing a Mini build.

This must be the first time I see an argument that cooler depth doesn't matter.
U12A doesn't overhang RAM on consumer platforms. In case of Fuma the whole second fan is over the RAM slots (3 of them).
Apart from the RAM issue, this means probable collisions with other parts. It may even block the power connector on some mITX motherboards.

Fuma is far from bad, but it's big, the mounting is harder than Noctua's, the fans doesn't sound that well and the warranty is 2 years - not 6.

Based on all the numbers you've provided (I don't think TPU is a good source for fan tests, but whatever), Fuma should be way more popular than D15 - it's similar in both performance and noise for half the price. But it isn't.
U12A takes the big advantage D15 already has and adds the compact form factor for just $10. It's a bargain.

 

[aerial]

I don't understand you.
Noctua wanted to make a compact cooler that outperforms much bigger models, so they did.

Updating U12S with a better cooler would result in... and updated U12S. It's a different league.

But why do you think U12A is a bad deal?
Comparing to other air coolers just based on performance, noise and price will make this cooler look very expensive. And it should.
Because you're not paying for raw numbers. You're paying for possibilities it gives.

This is exact reason why I compared it to U12S which is also small size. And no it isn't different league if you look at the charts, difference is minimal. You mentioned that U12S fan is bad, so I said fan can be updated at minimal cost. In my opinion price of U12A ruins it, and yes I take its size into consideration.

To be more specific: there are 3 load tests (prime95 oc, aida and aids fpu), and U12A beats U12S in them respectively by 1 2 and 3 degrees.
If you put new noctua fan on U12S, these differences could be even smaller, with better acoustics because it would be 1 vs 2 identical fans.
Both coolers compact size (technically U12S even less volume because it is thinner), and U12S would be still significantly cheaper.
I just don't see huge revolution here. There already is compact 120mm heatsink that noctua makes that is very close to U12A, its called U12S and this tests proves it. All it needs is update to better sounding fan, that would allow for much more reasonable price tag.

 

[StrayKAT]

U12A doesn't overhang RAM on consumer platforms. In case of Fuma the whole second fan is over the RAM slots (3 of them).

FYI, for me, it just barely scrapes by with 33mm Vengeance LPX (on a x299 mobo on the left/back end of computer). It's not intrusive, but it probably would be with anything larger.

I like it, but I suppose if someone already had the new fans on a u12s, it wouldn't be a good deal.

 

[Vlada011]

I must critic people who complain on price performance of NH-U12A.
It's very hard to reach better performance of fans or coolers today.
With Air Coolers and Fan Specific, every 1-2C improvement is big task because manufacturers tried everything.

Noctua NH-12S is cooler from 1136 and 1156 period, Nehalem and Westmere, he had anniversary 10 years before 5 years and you complain about price.
Find other models from that period in store now, that's why they cost. NH-12S have big tradition, it's favorite cooler for thousands enthusiasts who are loyal to air coolers.
NH-U12S one normal fan 61$, NH-12A improved version of famous model no matter is it 1-2C it's improvement + 2 fans worth 50$ cost 99$.
No place for complain.

Off course owners of NH-12S could replace only fans and pay 55$ for two NF-A12x25 PWM and reach almost same performance, that's why Noctua cost so much.
I who used AIO systems from day one when I saw them... first CORSAIR H50 and H70 later, I always knew only Air CPU Coolers I would ever use are Noctua NH-U12S or NH-U9S.

Price is real 50$ coolers and 50$ two fans. Every cost 29$, that' mean price of cooler is 45$.

 

[GreiverBlade]

I must critic people who complain on price performance of NH-U12A.
It's very hard to reach better performance of fans or coolers today.
With Air Coolers and Fan Specific, every 1-2C improvement is big task because manufacturers tried everything.

Noctua NH-12S is cooler from 1136 and 1156 period, Nehalem and Westmere, he had anniversary 10 years before 5 years and you complain about price.
Find other models from that period in store now, that's why they cost. NH-12S have big tradition, it's favorite cooler for thousands enthusiasts who are loyal to air coolers.
NH-U12S one normal fan 61$, NH-12A improved version of famous model no matter is it 1-2C it's improvement + 2 fans worth 50$ cost 99$.
No place for complain.

Off course owners of NH-12S could replace only fans and pay 55$ for two NF-A12x25 PWM and reach almost same performance, that's why Noctua cost so much.
I who used AIO systems from day one when I saw them... first CORSAIR H50 and H70 later, I always knew only Air CPU Coolers I would ever use are Noctua NH-U12S or NH-U9S.

Price is real 50$ coolers and 50$ two fans. Every cost 29$, that' mean price of cooler is 45$.

after reading you i came to the conclusion that indeed Notcua is overpriced ... and with no real reason...

they aren't the king anymore they aren't worthy of that price over the other that do +/-1-2°c from them and cost the same price as their cooler or pair of their fans alone (and some of them date from 1136/1156 period too ... )

the complaint are justified ... and brand loyalty is not a warrant of them being "the best" when they aren't anymore ... you love them, great! just buy them but don't say their price are right ... because they aren't.

It is a 120mm cooler with 100% ram and PCI-E compatibility.
Yet you guys are comparing it to 140mm and twin towers, it is exactly what Noctua wanted.
They have created a 120mm cooler beating the 140s matching with giant twin towers and retain ram and PCI-E compatibility.

Hope they could drop the price to $80 by shipping with ONE fan, and basically rule the 120mm cooler market.

yep sure ... the Thermalright Macho 120 SBM is a 140mm cooler ... (80$ with one fan? oh that would still be 35$ more than that Macho ... drat ... )


***unrelated to the quote above***
and before anyone come back with the Perf Noise Ratio argument... well ... my TR HR-02 Macho with a TY-147 at 1300rpm was quiet enough to not be heard with the side panel open ... (that's around 30db aka: the highest tolerable considered as "very faint" and no i am not comparing it to the u12a atm ... but to the 140mm offer from Noctua) and yet it performed similarly (with a single fan and tower but more metal surface ) to a NH-D15




TL: DR: buy it if you like it and don't care about the price, but don't go recommending it to anyone that seek a air cooler, hammering that "it's the best".

 

[Crackong]

well ... my TR R-02 Macho with a TY-147 at 1300rpm bla bla bla .....

See?
You simply HAVE TO compare it to a 140mm cooler, which obstructs RAM slots and almost touches the first PCI-E slot.
You 've just proven my words.

 

[GreiverBlade]

See?
You simply HAVE TO compare it to a 140mm cooler, which obstructs RAM slots and almost touches the first PCI-E slot.
You 've just proven my words.

and i compared it to a 120mm single tower single fan ... the Thermalright Macho 120 SBM isn't a 140 ... see? it's written 120 .... not 140 ...

you proven my point too


AND RE READ ... for goddamn sake!

and before anyone come back with the Perf Noise Ratio argument... well ... my TR HR-02 Macho with a TY-147 at 1300rpm was quiet enough to not be heard with the side panel open ... (that's around 30db aka: the highest tolerable considered as "very faint" and no i am not comparing it to the u12a atm ... but to the 140mm offer from Noctua) and yet it performed similarly (with a single fan and tower but more metal surface ) to a NH-D15

for the TR HR-02 Macho it was to a NH-D15...

do not conveniently snip part of the post to make you seems right

oh and the HR-02 doesn't even obstruct the 1st RAM slot ... with LP it was fine (Vengeance LPX and G.Skill Ares tested ...) the 120 SBM (which is a 120 by the way... ) has full clearance... (both are around 45$)

 

[kapone32]

What about the Thermaltake FRIO OCK

 

[GreiverBlade]

What about the Thermaltake FRIO OCK

also a good alternative, that got decent reviews scoring and cost a tad less ...

from the one i remember...

 

[StrayKAT]

Strangely, I've heard MSI's Frozr XL isn't bad for 120mm either.. but it's around the same price.