Introduction

I would like to thank Noctua for supplying the tested cooler and their patience with the review.


Nowadays it is very important that a CPU cooler supports installation on multiple sockets, Noctua has them all - and the mounting kits for all of them are included in the package. This means that there will be no additional cost for you if you decide to upgrade sockets.

Packaging

Box contents:

• CPU Cooler Heatsink
• 120 mm fan
• Fan mounting clips
• Several bags with mounting parts for all supported sockets
• Instruction manual

The full color, multi-language manual has to be one of the best manuals I have ever seen.
The fan is made by Noctua too, it has a diameter of 120 mm and is fairly quiet while still moving a good amount of air. The colored fan blades are a nice addition and make the cooler stand out from other completely black fans.




To protect the baseplate from damage during production and shipping, a plastic film is stuck to the bottom of the heatsink. It should be obvious that it has to be removed during installation, the sticker tells you as well.


The surface of the Noctua NH-U12F is very flat, but has very small milling marks. These won't be a problem as they are easily filled with thermal paste when the cooler is installed.

Installation

First we had to remove the heatsink retention module of our motherboard.


Depending on the orientation you want to use for the fan you have to use different metal clips here. They are screwed to the back of the bottom of the heatsink base.


Next we put together springs and screws and insert them into the metal clip holes.


Align the cooler over the CPU socket and screw down the two screws. Take a turn each then switch to the other screw. The holes in the cooler clips are a bit bigger so it is easy to screw down the cooler even though it is not 100% perfectly aligned at the start.


The screws have exactly defined points at which they are screwed down tight, this means you can't screw the heatsink down too tight.