Noctua NH-U12A, Premium CPU Cooler with High-Performance Quiet NF-A12x25 PWM Fans (120mm, Brown)


noctua
NH-U12A header

The NH-U12A is the latest, 5th generation of Noctua’s NH-U12 series of 120mm size premium-quality quiet CPU coolers. Conceived to push the envelope of the 120mm form factor, it combines two of Noctua’s flagship model NF-A12x25 PWM 120mm fans with a completely redesigned heatsink featuring 7 heatpipes and an increased fin surface area for superior heat dissipation. This way, the NH-U12A can rival the performance of many 140mm size coolers while offering 120mm class case and PCIe compatibility. Topped off with the trusted, pro-grade SecuFirm2 multi-socket mounting system and Noctua’s proven NT-H1 thermal compound, the NH-U12A is a deluxe choice that combines top-tier performance with excellent compatibility and outstanding quietness of operation.

U12S NH-U12S TR4-SP3 NH-U12S redux NH-U12S chromax.black table NH-U12A table NH-U12A chromax.black
LGA2066, LGA2011-0 & LGA2011-3 ✓ X ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
LGA1700 ✓ X ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
LGA1200, LGA115x (LGA1150, LGA1151, LGA1155, LGA1156) ✓ X ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
LGA775 & LGA1366 with NM-I3 X with NM-I3 with NM-I3 with NM-I3 with NM-I3
Xeon LGA2011 Narrow ILM / Xeon LGA1366 & LGA1356 X X X X X X
Xeon LGA3647 X X X X X X
Xeon LGA4189 X with NM-i4189 X X X X
AM5 ✓ X ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
AM5 ✓ X ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
sTRx4, sWRX8, TR4, SP3 X ✓ X X X X


Weight: 1.7 kg
Dimensions: 11.2 x 12.5 x 15.8 cm; 1.7 Kilograms
Brand: Noctua
Model: NH-U12A
Colour: Brown
Batteries Included: No
Manufacture: NOCTUA
Colour: Brown

193 Responses

  1. Anonymous says:

     Canada

    Best cpu Air cooler , work super well with m’y 12700k , fan are very quie

  2. Anonymous says:

     Italy

    volevo prendere il dh15 ma siccome un bestione avevo paura che non ci stava nel mio case, quindi ho optato per questo U12A sempre noctua che dire.. ragazzi si adatta a tutti i tipi di settaggio senza problemi leggermente pi piccolo, quindi pi adattivo per venire incontro alle esigenze di noi clienti. Fa il suo lavoro egregiamente! mi raccomando a montare le ventole (MONTATELE PER IL VERSO GIUSTO CON LA FRECCIA RIVOLTA VERSO IL RETRO DEL PC), montaggio semplice ed intuitivo istruzioni in eng ma comprensibili anche per chi non sa la lingua! lo consiglio? SI.

  3. ElliottMontanez says:

     Italy

    veramente consigliato per dissipare CPU alder lake. Facile da installare, nella confezione presente il backplate con tutto il necessario per il montaggio ed inclusa anche la pasta termica ed un cacciavite lungo. Dissipazione ottima e rumore praticamente inesistente

  4. Anonymous says:

     Spai

    El anterior ordenado tuve un Noctua que me duro una 5 aos, fui cambiando el ordenador a componentes hasta que me cambie a una caja “small factor” y aproveche para cambiarme a una AIO al principio muy bien, pero pierden mucha efectividad con el tiempo hasta un da que me di cuenta de que el procesador estaba a ms 80. Casi lo quemo. Pues me pase a este y lo tengo entorno a 40 en reposo en verano y no llega a los 56 Max en carga. Adems pens que teniendo ColerMaster NR200 me subira las temperaturas de la grfica, pues resulta que no. Por cierto, entra justito en la que no tiene cristal.
    A se me olvidaba el anterior disipador Noctua lo tiene mi hermano y sigue funcionado perfectamente.
    Son caros, pero calidad es muy buena y duran mucho.

  5. Anonymous says:

     United States

    Great product. It does the job well. Not a lot of noise.

  6. EvelynWienholt says:

     United States

    My old cool fan cpu 2010. But it’s very hot. I put new upgraded cooler. Great!!!! I am happy

  7. Anonymous says:

     Japa

    Golden Review Award: 3 From Our UsersKRPW-GA850W/90+
    ASRock Z690 Steel Legend
    CPUi5-12600KF
    GTX-1070

    studio onePremierPC

  8. Anonymous says:

     United States

    I have been installing CPU heatsinks for as long as I can remember! This by far is one of my easiest installations I have ever done and makes me wonder why other manufactures haven’t put as much thought into their designs. As expected, this heatsink works as expected and is very quite!

  9. Amanda Cottingham says:

     France

    Refroidissement efficace pour i7 12700k.
    Ne gne pas la mise en place des barrettes de ram.
    Site noctua pour informations et compatibilit.

  10. Anonymous says:

     Spai

    Perfecto en un i7 12700….
    Con el original ya nada mas encender estaba por 36 grados o mas y ahora no pasa de 25 grados recien encendido.
    En pruebas con juegos no pasa de 55 grados y el ventilador sigue silencioso

  11. Anonymous says:

     Germany

    absoluter Spitzenkhler mit allem dabei was man braucht. Er ist zwar teuer aber diese Leistung fr die Gre kann kein anderer. Khlt meinen Ryzen 9500x absolut zuverlssig ohne das ich so einen riesigen schweren Trmmer einbauen musste. Ich mag einfach die Optik von Luftkhlern.

    mfg Thomas

  12. JewelSalcido says:

     Germany

    Der Preis als einzige Schwachstelle, relativiert sich aber wieder ber den hervorragenden Kundenservice (wenn man es braucht).

    Alles in allem ein 9/10 Produkt dem ich eine 10/10 geben wrde wenn er regulr 80 kosten wrde.

  13. IrvingWinstead says:

     Italy 🇮🇹

    E’ davvero massiccio e funziona alla grande. comodissime le molle di sgancio rapido delle ventole.
    solamente un po’ caro.

  14. CarmineTavares says:

     United States

    Probably one of the best air coolers on the market.

  15. Anonymous says:

     United States

    Works well and even fit my mini ATX case. Very happy

  16. RhodaKeyes says:

     United States

    Using on a 5800x and it keeps my temps under 60C while gaming. I went w/ Noctua bc I knew I’d get the cooling performance & quietness. I’m impressed, I replaced an AIO and I’m getting better temps.

  17. Shari43Bwh says:

     United States

    make sure it case so big enough and ram cards arnt too tall or your going have some clearance issues, but that all has to do with the motherboard layout, this cou cooling fan is perfec

  18. Ed Oswald says:

     Canada

    I had been struggling with high temps on my NH-L9i-17xx hitting 80-90C during games, even after re-mounting. Turns out the LGA1700 runs really hot and I needed to get something proper, which is challenging for an mATX profile. Enter NH-U12A + NT-H2, it surprisingly fits in my ASUS z690-G and has dropped the temperatures down to 25 idle 50-65 max while gaming. It’s really effective!

    * The fans are of exceptional quality, SanAce level.
    * The SecuFirm2 mounting is solid and makes it easy to get positioning right and avoid over-tightening.

  19. Anonymous says:

     United States

    My cooler did not come with the lga1700 bracket which is a bit disappointing. The description makes it seem like it’s supposed to come with it but mine definitely did not which is the reason for 4 stars instead of 5.

  20. Anonymous says:

     Germany 🇩🇪

    Cpukhler ist auf einen AMD Ryzen 5900x montiert.
    Khler ist auch unter Vollast leise. Kaum hrbar
    CPU unter Vollast bei 65 Grad.
    Der Khler ist gerade billig aber wr gibt schon 6 Jahre Garantie.
    Ich kann Ihn nur weiterempflen.

  21. JaneenKimbell says:

     United States 🇺🇸

    I install it on a gigabyte x570s elite ax motherboard, it took some time to install

  22. Anonymous says:

     Spai

    Vengo de ver cmo moran en 3 aos 2 RLs de diferentes marcas, la peor experiencia con diferencia relacionada con un PC… Ms feliz que una perdiz con este bicho, acompaado de 2 ventiladores ms noctua me dejan un i7-7800x con el turbo boost de intel puesto (OC pero discretito) a 24 graditos.
    Una maravilla vaya.

  23. JeffersonVQSA says:

     United States

    I could have gone with the Chrome version, to make the PC more attractive. This giant brown cooler keeps my CPU nice and cool. I was about to buy a water cooler AIO, but the tests show this cooler can keep the PC as cool as water cooling. You can’t even hear it while the computer is under load. Well packaged and arrived on time.

    AMD ryzen 7 5800x
    GeForce RTX 3060
    GIGABYTE x570 AORUS Elite Wi-Fi
    Samsung 970 2TB
    G.Skill Ripjaws 32 (2x16GB)
    MSI A650GF (650 Watt)
    Noctua NH-U12A CPU cooler
    BeQuite pure base 500DX

    First PC build

  24. Anonymous says:

     Spai

    Con un recin adquirido i5 12600k y una caja en la que no me caben los disipadores ms grandes, me estaba volviendo loco para encontrar un disipador compartible con el socket 1700 de Intel + mi placa + mi caja.

    Este disipador cabe en cajas que tengan 16cm de grosor disponible en su interior (sin contar el grosor que quita la placa base). Al principio pensaba que no podra con este micro (i5 12600k), pero tras instalarlo, est a unos 23-25 en idle, brutal.

    La instalacin es bastante sencilla, adems en YouTube la marca tiene un vdeo que lo explica paso a paso.

    Estaba dudando entre refrigeracin lquida o seguir con aire, y tras probar este disipador confirmo que no me he equivocado. Los ventiladores son totalmente silenciosos!

    Eso si, hay que pagar lo que cuesta, pero este disipador es pata negra.

  25. WilfredCooke says:

     United States 🇺🇸

    I was nervous about installing this because it was my first time installing a large heatsink. Never took the motherboard out and had no problems at all. The fans confused me at first as to how to get them back on but I figured it out. Wayyy better than water cooling

    I was nervous about installing this because it was my first time installing a large heatsink. Never took the motherboard out and had no problems at all. The fans confused me at first as to how to get them back on but I figured it out. Wayyy better than water cooling

  26. Lynwood42V says:

     Spai

    la calidad noctua es impresionante, los ventiladores son geniales bien hechos, la pasta termica es buenisima, el montaje es facil y robusto, en cuanto al ruido pues no nos vamos a engaar es silencioso pero claro si lo tienes a 2000 revoluciones todos los ventiladores suenan, eso si comparado con otros es bastante silencioso y no te enteras, la refrigeracion espectacular en cualquier mbito tanto en gaming como en otro tipo de tareas.genial noctua como siempre

  27. MieVee @ MummysReviews.com says:

     United States

    This CPU fan is quiet and easily installed in my Dell XPS 8940. NOTE: My PC’s width is 6-1/2″ and this CPU fan requires about 7″ in height to close the left side panel. I have my PC next to a piece of furniture and am not worried about looks so I am keeping this CPU fan versus the OEM CPU fan.

  28. Anonymous says:

     United States 🇺🇸

    The cooler is very large. Check dimensions before you buy it. I have a large case and the cooler barely fit.

    It was very easy to install with the fans removed. Make sure you have the orientation of the supports is correct for the way you want to install it.

  29. MichelleMadigan says:

     United States

    These are the things that I thinks make this air cooler stands out.
    1. It’s a white air cooler bundle.
    2. The Noctua Badge is a standout
    3. Just listen to the sound in the video, you will notice a pair of video card fans, and also a pair of 180mm case fans as well.

    In a nutshell that’s really all to say.
    P.S. This is the Fractal Torrent Compact Case and it fits well in the case. Try to get the suppliers to start carrying the Nano and Compact version of this case.

    That’s all folks……..

    Chromax to Tha MAX!!!!!!!!! In White and Almond.....

  30. Marcos Cabello says:

     Canada

    On the ASUS Pro Art Z690 with G.Skill DDR5 memory, the memory is quite high off the motherboard. At first it looked like the fan was getting in the way. The fans are a little bigger than the radiator, and it was easy to move the memory-side fan up about an 1/8″ to get clearance while still fully covering the radiator. I haven’t stressed the CPU too much yet but it is a very quiet setup. When I have things going on, as I still haven’t got around to putting the side back on the case, I don’t hear it, I just feel the breeze from the fan.

  31. Anonymous says:

     United States

    Incredible, excellent quiet cooling, but the 3 prong motherboard connection puts out only 30% fan power at 90 degrees C and 100% output (mining), causing computer shutdown when the processor overheats. The fans must use more power than anticipated by the motherboard. Don’t plug it into the motherboard’s cpu fan connections, but get an adaptor to power it directly from the power supply, if you want to use your processor at 100% for mining or gaming. There are two fans to plug in, so get two 3 prong connectors adapted to a 4 prong molex when you order it, if you want the fans to run at full power for heavy computer processor use.

  32. KathaleRaymond says:

     United States 🇺🇸

    It’s a Noctua product. It’s top end for air cooling. Mounting is silly easy and solid.

    Noctua presents their product to customer with attractive and safe packaging solution.

    The only pick I have was the unit I received was covered in very fine slivers of cardboard. The silicon corner pads were covered in a cardboard dust. I had to take the unit outside and blow it off. This was an unusual experience for me with Noctua.

  33. Anonymous says:

     United States 🇺🇸

    I love love love this fan. When I received it I had no idea just how big it actually was and how nice it was going to look. It fits in my mid size case with no problems! I replaced a liquid cooling fan with this and you cannot go wrong. You cannot hear this fan starting up, and if your playing big games like warzone guess what? Still no sound and my Temps are running smoothly!

  34. MaryellKepert says:

     United States 🇺🇸

    This fan combo is great! I have not had a single problem with any product from Noctua and this is my third. Never had a problem and they are all running like new nd keeping things cool!

  35. Anonymous says:

     Germany 🇩🇪

    Nutzung auf Sockel 1700 mit Intel 12700K.
    Montage ist einwandfrei, wenn denn der passende Adapter mitbeliefert wird (was bei mir nicht der Fall war). Ansonsten kann man ihn fr ca. 9 kaufen (was ich dann getan habe).
    Khlleistung ist super. CPU luft bei mit unter Vollast bei 5GHz Turbotakt auf allen Kernen ohne Probeme bei ca. 80 Grad max.

  36. AnitraBeatty says:

     United States

    While I normally use Liquid Coolers, I changed to the Noctua air cooler to use with our new MB. Works GREAT and is really QUIET…

  37. NoblePearl says:

     Italy

    Inizialmente ho acquistato un NH-U12S, sfortunatamente per il livello di utilizzo intensivo che faccio del processore (Ryzen 7 5800X) non era sufficiente ed ho acquistato questo modello. Il risultato: temperature inferiori di 10. Non troppo rumoroso quando utilizzato al 100%.
    Il kit di montaggio ne ha facilitato la montatura soprattutto data la grandezza.

  38. Anonymous says:

     France

    Montage avec Ryzen, ROG STRIX B550-F GAMING (WI-FI), barettes Crucial Ballistix 3600, faut juste prendre le temps de lire la doc (une page ddie chaque processeur). Montage plat avant de fixer la carte mre (je monte tout plat, processeur, ram et ventirad pour viter les flexions, sur certaines cm a peut peut tre poser des pbs). On peut facilement enlever les ventilateurs et les remettre ce que j’ai fait pour visser la carte mre au boitier. Pour la hauteur max des barettes cf spec des Crucial Ballistix a vous donnera une ide, avec ce ventirad j’ai encore de la marge, assembl avec les deux ventilateurs.

  39. Anonymous says:

     France

    Contrairement ce qui est crit sur la fiche produit, le ventilateur n’est pas livr avec les lments permettant de monter un processeur Intel de 12eme gnration (LGA1700).
    Il est ncessaire de commander en plus un kit environ 8 euros.

  40. YasminFairweath says:

     Italy

    Ero inizialmente deciso se comprare questo dissipatore o ricomprare un altro NH-D15 ma, vista la dimensione del case, la scelta e’ stata in un certo senso obbligata. Obbligata s ma estremamente entusiasta. E’ un dissipatore molto compatto, facile da montare, che svolge molto, molto bene il suo lavoro anche se alloggiato in case non grandissimi (l’ho montato in un case CoolerMaster Elite 330. E’ abbastanza silenzioso: tengo con la velocit delle ventole al massimo, visto che il processore esegue pesanti compilazioni per il 90% del tempo. Non avevo dubbi della qualit di questo dissipatore, come dicevo ho gi diversi dissipatori Noctua e sapevo di andare a comprare un prodotto di alta qualit e molto efficente. Dentro la confezione c’e’ tutto: un tubettino di pasta da applicare, riduttori di velocit di rotazione delle ventole, attacchi per i vari socket e un cacciavite. Ottimo, ne ricomprerei uno anche subito in caso di bisogno per un nuovo pc.

  41. GeorgeFTZT says:

     Spai

    El anterior lo cambi porque vend el equipo, era el modelo similar, pero con 11 aos y funcionaba a la perfeccin, sin ruido y con temperaturas muy buenas. Con este llevo ya un tiempo y es igual, estoy seguro de que estar conmigo durante mucho tiempo y rindiendo al 100%

  42. Anonymous says:

     Canada

    It is heavy and big. You have to put in your ram stick first as the cooler just clears them at least on my board. Plan it out first which way you are going to mount it.

  43. Erika Thomas says:

     Italy

    il terzo dissipatore che acquisto ed utilizzoma conquista il primo posto a ragione di una ottima qualit costruttiva, silenziosit, facilit di montaggio e capacit di dissipazione. Il prezzo pu sembrare altimo, ma vale ci che costa. Il look pi sobrio rispetto a quelli di altre marche, comunque di grande effetto. Non interferisce affatto con le RAM, ne con altri componenti

  44. Anonymous says:

     United Kingdom

    I purchased an NF-A12x25 fan separately from Noctua, and if I were to sum this cooler up, I would describe it in the same way as that fan: premium price for premium quality. Yes, this is expensive, but very few alternatives can top it. Coming from a stock cooler, the difference was like night and day, both in terms of noise and cooling capability. My temps went down from high 30s at idle and high 60s under load to mid 20s under idle, and I’ve never seen it go above around 50 under any load. Admittedly, I haven’t tested it extensively, but the difference in idle temps alone is remarkable. It’s also amazingly quiet (the included NF-A12x25 fans are known for quietness), which makes a change from my previous intel stock cooler. Is it overkill? Arguably. Will it give you peace of mind that you won’t need to upgrade cooler for years to come? Absolutely.

  45. TamaraVkcawkirf says:

     Mexico

    Contexto: yo en lo personal prefiero Disipadores de Aire y era fan de cooler master en un principio tenia un ryzen 7 5800x(este se calienta por que es un 5600x con 2 cores mas) y un hyperx 212 pull/push no era suficiente ,yo no queria un disipador muy grande, mis temperaturas al jugar eran de 90C de golpe, pero con este Noctua esto paso a 75-80 jugando y la verdad para este procesdor loco esta muy bien estoy contento por que discipa muy bien ahora tengo en Auto C el ryzen y puede con eso, recomendado incluso para un i9 que tambien le compre uno y va genial, eso si es conveniente tener ventialdores para disicpar y sacar el calor del gabinete, los nctua son muy buenos por que manejan el doble de presion de aire que los cooler master su defecto si hacen ruido a todo su potencial

  46. MikelGarner says:

     United States 🇺🇸

    With parts supplied you can only mount the fan horzontal not vertical. You have to have (1)NM-IMB2 and a (1)NM-IMB3 bracket to do a vertical mount. You also need to grind the corners on one of the brackets to make it fit. The bracket corners bump up against the board heat sink. So the brackets will not lay flat. I used a IC graphine pad on the CPU works good that way, The allow you to put the video card in the #1-16 bits slot with a 28 lane processor.

  47. EtsukoLarcombe says:

     Italy

    Golden Review Award: 2 From Our UsersNoctua o piace o non piace. Se non ti interessano led rgb sbriluccicosi ma pensi principalmente alla sostanza questo il dissipatore che fa per te. Riesce a competere tranquillamente con sistemi AIO medio/piccoli mantenendo un livello di rumore contenuto e un affidabilit impareggiabile. E poi il marrone non poi cos male!
    L’ho montato su un ryzen 9 5900x e riesce a tenerlo a bada senza preoccupazioni. Con un leggero undervolt la situazione migliora parecchio

  48. CindiGNOgt says:

     United States 🇺🇸

    Golden Review Award: 2 From Our UsersThis thing keeps my I7 11700K at 70C under full load cinebench stress testing. I doubt there’s another air cooler on the market that can do that. At this price point though, you’re basically paying 100% more than say a Mugen Scythe for 10% better performance. That being said, if you want the best – this is it.

  49. VictoriThornber says:

     Canada

    This cooler, albeit a bit on the expensive side for some, is definitely one of the best out there. Lowered my temps on my 5800x by a whole -10c coming from a Hyper 212 Black. It tames that hot CPU very well. Also gives the CPU a tougher time to ramp up to a higher heat, (fights the heat climb better) Would highly recommend.

  50. IndiaSixsmith says:

     United Kingdom

    For fortnight gaming PC with i9-9900K, NVidia RTX3800 running at 240fps. Keeps everything col even running in end game

  51. Anonymous says:

     United States

    Noctua makes some great products. The NH-U12A is weighty as in solid and well balance. The mounting posts which go under the mobo provides a lot of confidence in case you have any thoughts about bending or cracking the mobo … not a chance. The NH-U12A kit comes with cpu heat transfer paste, extra y-cable to mount both fans to one cpu fan 4 pin on mobo, and provides noise reducer cables. Like I said before, Noctua makes solid stuff with proper accessories to mount your cooler. The fans are 120mm, very quiet running in normal speed (you can run “silent” or “full speed”). Depending on your needs, one fan can be used as a case fan (easy clips hold the fan on the radiators) – I use both. Last thing … it keeps the cpu temp at in a very acceptable range (my computer is on for at least 10 hours a day).

  52. Anonymous says:

     United Kingdom

    some problems with assembly because there is little space, I chose air cooling because I am not convinced of water coolers

  53. Anonymous says:

     India

    Golden Review Award: 2 From Our UsersMy current air cooler is a Scythe Fuma1, which is working very well with a 3 fan config; temps are close to those reported by the Noctua D-15; the D-15 requires a really big case. I bought this purely as a standby, and because there was a very good price drop (Rs. 15000/= to Rs 9000/=).
    Being a Noctua, it has class. The finish is in a different league as compared to the Scythe Fuma; the Noctua has its fins soldered to the heat pipes, the Scythe does not have this feature (this translates to better cooling). I did a trial run with this cooler. Firstly, the installation was significantly easier than the Fuma. During Cinebench23, the Noctua gave the same temps as the Fuma (Fuma 3 fans vs Noctua 2 fans). After testing, I changed back to the Fuma; since I am using RGB fans, the Fuma looks a lot better. The Noctua, is a great buy for the price; I am keeping it as a standby.

  54. Anonymous says:

     Germany

    Man bekommt was man bezahlt, -sagen die Amerikaner,- und das stimmt wirklich.
    ber die Qualitt haben ja eh schon so viele andere Rezensenten geschrieben, daher schreibe ich jetzt mal nur ber die Kosten-Nutzen-Rechnung.
    Ich finde, da der Preis angemessen ist.
    Denn alleine schon, wenn man sich die Lfter mal ganz genau anschaut und sie ausgiebig selbst testet, – dann kommt man drauf, es gibt nichts besseres, auch wenn einem “gewisse Hardware -Spezialisten aus Deutschland” auf Youtube einem etwas anderes einreden wollen.

    Man darf nicht alles glauben, was so manche deutsche PC-Journalisten in den You Tubes so daherreden, – da meine ich einen ganz Bestimmten damit, den mit dem Geissenbart, (“Mh” ) der in den PC-You tubes immer gegen Noctua redet und immer nur fr eine bestimmte deutsche Marke Stimmung macht.

    Die Noctua Lfter kosten alleine schon 30,- Euro je Stck, also mal 2, ist 60,- dann kostet der Khler in Wirklichkeit ja nur mehr 40,-Euro, und die Lfter sind so leitungsstark, da ein einzelner Lfter fr die CPU Khlung gengt, den 2. kann man fr Gehuse verwenden, so hab es ich gemacht.

  55. AdalbertoQuinon says:

     United States

    I got this product to replace the failing stock fan on my Intel i7 2600. It has breathed new life in to my aging gaming PC. I built this computer back in 2011 for Battlefield 3; and now, a decade later, I am able to run modern games with lower CPU temperatures than ever before! Its much quieter, too. This was a very cost-effective alternative to building a whole new PC. The instructions were clear and installation was quite easy, even though I had to remove the motherboard from the case to attach the mounting plate. It comes with a syringe of top-quality thermal compound, with enough for multiple applications. This cooler will give me more time before I build my new PC, but when I do switch to an AM4 socket CPU, I will easily be able to swap this cooler in to the new build. This cooler works great and is a very good value.

  56. Anonymous says:

     United Kingdom

    Golden Review Award: 2 From Our UsersThis cooler might be magic. I’ve used a lot of coolers over the years, and very few are actually impressive. This one is. At low fan rpms with low static pressure fans, this seems to cool better than the DH15 despite being much, much smaller. It cools my 3950X (16-core) easily with Silent Wings 3 fans at 800-900rpm, absolutely incredible. It cools better than the U14S, which I find amazing. The performance is literally on par with a Liquid Freezer II 240mm AIO. I much prefer air where possible.

    Installation is super easy thanks to the standard Noctua mounting mechanism. The documentation is straightforward and the packaging easy to access. The included accessories are always welcome. Noctua always do a fantastic job with their bundles, packaging and installation.

    Update:
    I had originally mentioned Silent Wings 3 fans working better with regards to noise. Having played with the fan curves a lot, I can report that the Noctua fans are just as quiet with some effort put into fan control. Better yet, the Noctua fans are fantastic at getting air through the cooler so they’re more efficient at similar rpms.

    This heatsink really is astonishing. I’ve got another running on a Ryzen 5900X (12-core) now and it works just as well there as it does with the 3950X (16-core). Can’t recommend this heatsink enough!

  57. Anonymous says:

     India

    Golden Review Award: 2 From Our UsersI don’t like Air coolers because of the bulky size and sharp edges. I have an NZXT x53 but it will fail because of the pump. After receiving Noctua my whole idea about the air cooler has changed.

    PROS.
    1. 10/10 build quality
    2. 10/10 Excellent packaging
    3. 10/10 Accessories provided
    4. 10/10 Very Low Noise levels
    5. 10/10 User serviceable
    6. 10/10 Will last years
    7. 10/10 I purchased it for 9K from Amazon (Feeling Lucky)
    8. 10/10 No sharp edges and overall comfortable to hold in hands
    9. 10/10 Compact size and can be installed in mid sized cabinets
    10. 10/10 it will change your outlook too towards air coolers

    CONS.
    1. There is no factory seal on the box so in India it is possible that your local dealer will open the box and repack it. so beware.

    OVERALL SATISFIED with the product, Amazon and thanks to other reviews.

  58. Katie Teague says:

     United States

    This thing is as quiet as the grave. It also weighs about 4 lbs and is quite large, so make sure your case is big enough to handle it. My motherboard is vertical inside the case, and this fan hangs heavily from the board. I thought it might warp the mainboard due to the weight but it does not. The newer motherboards are designed very sturdily.

    The fan fits nicely over my Ryzen CPU. Unlike traditional CPU fans that blow air downwards, this thing uses a dual fan design that blows air across the CPU.

  59. Anonymous says:

     United States

    I upgrade my CPU to a 10700K and max overclocked all cores, I had a 140MM radiator and running my games it ran 86 degrees. I don’t have a tone of space left so I went to YouTube to do some research. I watched this unit outperforming 240 and some 360 AIO’s. Install was a BREEZE!!!!! fired up the system and went right to work stressing it out. today after an hour I’m seeing steady 57 degree temps on all my FPS, and survival games. Unreal how quiet and efficient this thing is

  60. Anonymous says:

     Mexico 🇲🇽

    Es un buen excelente disipador por parte de Noctua, para ser un modelo compacto funciona bastante bien. En mi caso lo tengo para refrigerar un Intel Core i5 10600K y funciona perfecto, los colores caractersticos de Noctua pueden no gustar a muchos, pero en mi caso donde eso no es un factor importante, pasa totalmente a segundo plano. Cmo todo disipador por aire, requiere un buen flujo de aire en el gabinete, asi que deben tenerlo en cuenta

  61. Tim says:

     United Kingdom

    High quality cooler, nicely packaged and performance is excellent. It keeps my 5900x running at 67C under full load (PBO off). I used the included fans at first but found them ugly and kinda noisy. So switched to a single Arctic P12 which actually gave almost identical results but with a lower noise output.

    The reason for 4 stars is some of the fins were slightly bent out of the box. Maybe need to be a little less rough at the factory when packaging these.

    Very good cooler but ugly fans

  62. Jonathan Lovett says:

     United States

    On my recent 5800X build (running PBO and curve optimizer, nothing fancy) I tried out a relatively nice 360mm AIO with push/pull fans (so 6 fans in total) and then one of these. Performance (Cinebench scores and max temps during runs) was so close as to be indistinguishable between the two, and I’ve been testing the Noctua during the recent west coast heat wave, so make of that what you will. All other things being equal, air has obvious advantages, and I won’t be swapping the AIO back in.

    Noise-wise, it’s extremely quiet unless my CPU is at or near full load. Idle and light load temps are a little higher than with the AIO, but that doesn’t actually matter.

    Also, the build quality on this thing is crazy. It really stands apart from the majority of the PC parts I’ve bought recently.

  63. KindraClay says:

     United States

    One of the best CPU air cooler for mid-tower case so far, before I bought this one I had a cheap stock Thermaltake RGB cooler which looked fancy but totally shit when it comes to cooling. My temperature was regularly hitting 80 while gaming and idling at 70. After I got the Noctua cooler, my gaming temperature now peak at 65 and idle at 50, big big difference.
    My advice if you bought a prebuilt is always upgrade your stock cooling equipments because they are vital to extending the lifespan of your CPU, anything will be better than the stock ones you got.

  64. Anonymous says:

     France

    Assez habitu cette marque depuis un moment, pour ma nouvelle config base sur un Ryzen 9 3950X sur ASUS TUF B550M, je cherchais donc un ventirad performant.
    En regardant les nouveauts mon choix s’est port sur ce NH-U12A.
    Je prcise qu’on m’a un peu ri au nez quand je disais que je comptais refroidir ce cpu en aircooling… mais c’est mal connatre Noctua, je vous le dit… h bien je confirme ce que je pensais, c’est un sacr produit.
    Comme d’habitude chez la marque autrichienne, rien dire sur le packaging, c’est parfait, bien prsent et pratique. Le niveau de compatibilit est vraiment lev, ce ventirad se monte facilement les instructions fournies sont nombreuses et claires. 2 ventilateurs NF-A12 sont fournis.
    C’est fourni avec une bonne pte thermique, NT-H1 personnellement j’ai prfr encore grimer l’enchre avec une Krygonaut Grizzly. Rsultat, mon CPU est remarquablement refroidi, dans un niveau de silence bien confortable… en burn 100% sur les 16 coeurs a n’a jamais atteint 75C, sachant que mon botier offre un niveau de circulation d’air qu’on peut qualifier de mauvais.
    Autre point fort : outre le niveau de performance trs lev, il faut mettre en avant le faible encombrement de ce ventirad qui avec ses ventilateurs de 120mm rentrera dans l’crasante majorit des botiers ainsi qu’un risque affaibli de problmes au niveau des barrettes mmoires… il n’y a plus qu’ surveiller compatibilit de la carte mre (liste disponible sur le site de Noctua) !
    Je pense en lisant le commentaire de Plop qu’il y a un gros souci de montage chez lui, je partage sans concession l’avis de Marc. T.
    Je pense qu’avec ce produit, Noctua possde sur son catalogue ni plus ni moins que le meilleur ventirad du monde actuellement mme si le prix est en consquence. Beaucoup de gens font monts et merveilles sur les NH-D14/15 sans citer celui ci… pourtant c’est bien la nouvelle rfrence. Ne vous prenez pas la tte prendre un AIO prix quivalent voire suprieur qui fait certes joli mais qui ne donnera certainement pas de meilleurs rsultats pour ne pas dire moins… prenez un vrai matriel comme ici et vous verrez la diffrence. Et je parle pas des garanties et du suivi potentiel chez Noctua o il est probable que vous puissiez garder ce ventirad pour des configs futures, c’est prendre en compte dans ce qu’on peut appeler finalement un vrai “investissement”.

  65. Anonymous says:

     France

    Ce ventirad est le meilleur de sa catgorie, moi n’aimant pas trop la gamme chromax ( car j’ai eu un NH U12S CHROMAX ) qu’ils ont fait je prfre amplement le design classique style marron/beige qui rappelle le style cozy/caf/crme et trs lgant.

    En plus de a les performances sont monstrueuse, sur un 5600x il va jamais au del de 60 degrs ( a 4.4GHZ sur tout les curs en overclock/downclock pour 1.23 de Vcore )

    C’est un score incroyable quand on sais que les processeur AMD ont du mal a dissip leur chaleur et que leur TMAX ( temprature max ) sont trs lev compar aux Intel.

    Je n’ai pas tester sur du Intel mais a m’a l’air d’tre tout autant incroyable.

    Compacte qui plus est, il saura renter dans beaucoup de boitier et d’tre en plus de a performant, silencieux, bref on peux difficilement avoir mieux.

    Cependant l’un des ventilateurs fait un bruit de moteur donc j’ai cre une courbe ou a n’arrive pas et le tour et jouer, j’ai manqu de le mettre a 4 toile mais je prfre le mettre a 5 toile tout de mme car ici pas de chichi, pas de marketing, un produit EFFICACE et une marque qui fait peu de marketing mensonger aujourd’hui…c’est rare !

  66. RozellaBrobst says:

     United Kingdom

    Awesome cooler, I replaced my H100 with this as I wanted a near quiet experience at idle.
    Running a 10 year old G1 sniper and Xeon W3690, I needed an adapter kit (NMi3), which Noctua supply for free !! For speed I paid for postage anyway and it turned up the next day ! Very easy to fit 🙂
    I fitted a 3 way 4 pin splitter and another Noctua fan (same fan as cooler 4 pin) in the back of the case and drive all 3 from the cpu header, did not need to fit the low noise adapter, and the system is whisper quite, at full prime 95 load @ 4.02GH the noise is the same as the H100 at tick over. (Still very quiet).
    Temps are better than the H100,
    Low 20degC at idle and max 60 Deg at full load.
    This cooler is absolutely great!! (Shame about the fan colours though)

  67. Anonymous says:

     Germany

    Hierbei stimmt einfach alles. Ich verwende ihn in einem offenen Silverstone SG08. Er khlt meinen i9 9900k auf Standardtaktrate toll. Bei anspruchsvollen Spieletiteln bleibt der Prozessor angenehm khl 60-65 C, unter groer Last (Rendern) verbraucht der Prozessor um die 160 Watt und kommt dabei nicht ber 78C. Im Idle ist er unhrbar, unter hoher CPU-Last leise hrbar. Das Design ist super, durch das goldene Lager in der Mitte wirkt er sehr edel und zusammen mit den braunen Rotorbttern erhalten die Lfter einen Steampunk-look. Die Lfterinstallation ist, im Gegensatz zu der beim U9S, mit deutlich weniger Kraftaufwand verbunden und daher angenehm einfach. Trotzdem ist Vorsicht geboten, denn die Lamellen knnen sich an den Enden bei Unachtsamkeit leicht geringfgig verbiegen und der Khlkrper ist durch seine Materialeigenschaften anfllig fr dauerhaft sichtbare Fingerabdrcke. Deswegen empfehle ich bei der Installation das Tragen von Einweggummihandschuhen.

  68. YvonneDellinger says:

     United States

    My case couldn’t fit the mighty D15 so I went with this instead. It’s very good. Fantastic footprint. Ram friendly. Supreme cooling performance.
    Not a fan of their thermal paste, seems too thick to me. Used thermal grizzly instead. Is pretty loud without the noise adapters. Very expensive.
    Is it worth it? No. For the footprint, I highly doubt anything could be better (7 heatpipes lol), so that is what you are getting here, for a steep price. If you want value look elsewhere. If you want the best for this size, like me in this hot Texas heat, then this is your girl.

  69. Anonymous says:

     United Kingdom

    After a long gap between PC builds (20 years!) I decided to make a lockdown gaming rig.

    Fortunately I managed to source a graphics card and so was able to start in earnest.

    A bit of research led me to Noctua for fans and coolers and I’m so glad I went that way. This cooler is amazing! Built like a tank, super easy to install, quiet fan and includes Noctua’s (excellent) thermal paste.

    It keeps the temps on my Ryzen 5800X way down, even under full load.

    If you can get past the beige and brown then this is the only cooler you will need. For those who can’t, they do some others in black.

    Quiet, effective, easy to install

  70. Rachel says:

     Italy

    Facile installazione grazie al SecurFirm identico al precedente Noctua che avevo installato (NH-U12S) e che ho spostato su altro PC.
    Seppur di poco pi grande di un altro pianeta: silenzioso seppur debba tenere “fresco” un 5900x.
    In idle al 30% segna 33.4 gradi con 20 nella stanza e sotto stress con AIDA (cpu+fpu) dopo un’ora e mezza si muoveva tra 68 e 72 segnando solo punte brevissime a 75.
    Per ora soddisfatto, vale la spesa.

  71. Hadar Sela says:

     United Kingdom

    Great. Easy to install on AM4 (x570 Tuf Gaming Plus). Quiet.

  72. Alex Avard says:

     Germany 🇩🇪

    Habe den Khler fr einen Ryzen 7 5800X gekauft. Der Khler khlt die CPU auf entspannte 30-40 Grad im idle und unter voller Auslastung komme ich nicht ber 70 Grad. Hitzkopf Fehlanzeige. Qualitt wie gewohnt genial! Hier bekommt man fast die Leistung des groen Bruder NH-D15 aber deutlich kompakter. Die RAM Bnke werden nicht gestrt. Aufbau ist kinderleicht und auch das Zubehr ist mehr als ausreichend vorhanden. Y-Kabel, Khler Paste und silent Adapter. Bin zufrieden.

    Wer nur einen Ryzen 5 5600x khlen mchte, der kann ohne Bedenken zum Noctua NH-U12S greifen. So wie ich fr ein anderes System gemacht habe. (Achtung! Ich beziehe mich nicht auf die Redux Version)

  73. Anonymous says:

     Germany

    Ich denke Zahlen sprechen fr sich. Um leiser zu sein, habe ich meine Hardware-Komponenten in ein gedmmtes Gehuse umgebaut. Ich verwende jetzt Fractal Design Define XL R2 Titanium. In dem Tower ist mein AMD FX 8350 mit einem alten CoolerMaster Prozessorkhler im Normalbetrieb unter Windows auf 50 bis 60 Grad gelaufen. Bei Spielstart ging es dann entsprechend hoch. Der Noctua NH-U12A luft unter den selben Bedingungen bei 20 bis 30 Grad. Der Einbau gestaltet sich fr Anfnger recht einfach. Die Richtung der Luftbewegung ist auf der Hardware eingezeichnet, Werkzeug liegt bei, Anleitung ist so deutlich bebildert, dass auch ohne Englischkenntnisse Schritt fr Schritt ein Einbau machbar ist. Dank des Klemmprinzipes der Lfter am Khlkrper klappt es auch mit meinem kleinen Mainboard und dem hohen RAM: Ich habe den Lfter etwas hher als den RAM setzen mssen (versetzt). Achtung: Das funktioniert nur wenn der Tower tief genug ist. In meinem Fall reicht es, ohne das es zu knapp wird. Die Lautstrke ist angemessen. Fr meine Bedrfnisse ist es okay. Ansonsten: die Verpackung des Herstellers und die Sortierung innerhalb der Verpackung erscheint mir hochwertig, der Preis war fr mich das einzige Manko- und zugleich ging es mir aber um Leistung- und Format. Diese Leistung auf wenig Platz verbauen zu knnen hat mich halt berzeugt.

  74. DaniHargrave says:

     Italy

    l’ ho preso per riuscire a raffreddare il mio i9 9900l senza usare sistemi a liquido con pericolo di perdite
    durante il lavoro normale la temperatura di aggira intorno ai 60 65 gradi
    sotto sforzo per oltre 40minuti con processore sempre al 100% ha sfiorato i 75 gradi
    silenziosissimo e facilissimo da montare su sk 1151
    lo uso per videoediting elaborazioni video e rendering perfetto abbinamento al mio pc

    estato con i9 9900k perfetto

  75. Anonymous says:

     United Kingdom

    After about a year of use, I’m impressed. It is far superior than the stock cooler my CPU came with. It’s almost silent, it looks decent (albeit the fans being brown, more on that later!)
    Now, I haven’t overclocked my CPU, I got this cooler because it looks more premium than the stock AMD cooler I had before, I also read up on how good noctua coolers are, but this cooler is nice and cold and whisper quiet. I have changed the curve in the bios on mine so it constantly runs at 60% until it hits higher temperatures, which it never does lol.
    I was going to go for the d15, A, because I was looking at the chromax (that black looks gorgeous) and B, because it was generally reviewed as the best cooler for its price. Then I saw what a monster that beauty really is and noticed that I either didn’t have the clearance over my ram, or I would have had to squeeze the panel back on. Neither seemed appealing, so I started looking at the u12a and liking what I saw, close results on a cooler with 2 of noctuas newest, probably best 120mm fans (again, albeit they’re brown!) Yet the cooler is tiny in comparison! I’m so glad I chose this one.
    Now, onto the brown, even though the brown has never bothered me, just recently I’ve been thinking how it doesn’t fit in with the rest of my build. I was going to spray my fan casings, as all of the videos I watched made it look pretty easy, but I haven’t got the patience, so I opted for the anti vibration rubbers, 1 pack of white and 1 black (you get enough for 2 fans!), and they made such a difference. I’m just going to wait until they release the heatsink cover for this cooler and finally release the chromax version of the fans! Then my little noctua cooler will be complete!
    You also get a little tube of thermal paste, but you only have to use a fraction so you have some for the future too!

    It's a great cooler, a good size that doesn't hide your ram and it's almost completely silent.

  76. Pam77Okhwftxq says:

     United Kingdom

    It’s Noctua, so pretty much one of the best air coolers you can get.

    I’m running a rather quiet fan curve on a stock Ryzen 9 5900X and under heavy CPU load, it generally stays between 75-80 degrees while only running at 29-30 DB (according to Sound Meter app on a Samsung A40) from about a metre away, all while still hitting high boost frequencies (~4.2-4.3 GHz under all cores, 4.95 singlecore)

    Very impressed overall!

  77. Anonymous says:

     United States

    Tengo un rysen 5 3600, bajo estrs suba hasta los 75-80 grados, as que opte por una configuracin de refrigeracin por aire, y el ncleo de dicha refrigeracin fue el disipador. Excelente disipacin, muy bajo ruido. Y libre bajar casi 10 grados. En los juegos ms exigentes ni se acerca a los 70 grados. Es importante tambin tener en cuenta que en mi ciudad la temperatura media son 28-30 grados. Gracias a Noctua por tan buen trabajo.

    La mejor elección en enfriamiento.

  78. Anonymous says:

     Spai

    No refrigeran con una buena refrigeracin liquida de 150, pero ofrece casi lo mismo y por aire! es una pasada!

    El hermano mayor, el NH-D15 refrigera un poco ms, pero no cabe en cualquier caja. Si este es enorme… imaginaos el D15, un armatoste brutal.

    Sin duda, esta es la mejor opcin con ventiladores de 120mm, que ofrece baja sonoridad y muy buena refrigeracin.

    Recomiendo comprar otro par de ventiladores noctuas para la torre si se quiere un buen flujo de aire con silencio.

  79. OdetteBrazenor says:

     Germany

    Der Preis ist echt Happig, ich habe ihn ber einen Warehousedeal bekommen und 79,99 Gezahlt und das ist eigentlich schon zu teuer. Aber man muss zugeben, er ist auch verdammt gut!

    Kommt zum Einsatz auf einen 5900X aufgrund von Platzmangel ist eine AIO nicht mglich und auch 140mm Towerkhler waren keine Option.
    Dieser 120mm Towerkhler ist noch kompakt, hat 7 Heatpipes und 2 Noctua Lfter.

    Er khlt den 5900X im Idle auf 39 C
    im Gaming auf 65-74 C (Je nach Game)
    und in schweren Workloads (Videobearbeitung, Kollissionsberechnungen, Rendering) auf 78C

    Dabei wird er nicht wirklich laut und ich finde das ist ein super tolles Ergebnis, ich bin sehr zufrieden und kann das Ding Empfehlen!
    Aber nur wenn ihr das Ntige Kleingeld brig habt. Denn der Preis ist eigentlich viel zu hoch, da bekommt man eine sehr gute 360 oder 240 AIO Wasserkhlung fr.
    Vorteil ist halt, der Khler ist Wartungsfrei. (Abgesehen davon das man einen PC eh alle 4-6 Monate mal entstauben sollte.)

  80. Anonymous says:

     United States

    My stock cooler supplied with my Ryzen 7 2700x just wasn’t cutting it anymore. I got fed up with the noise and limited it to 40% fan speed. That made my processor run a bit warm… but totally manageable (4.0ghz all core, approx 65-70C in gaming). This cooler dropped my cpu temps by a considerable margin. My idle temp dropped almost 12C and my gaming temps dropped around 10C. Again, my stock cooler was limited to the noise I found tolerable.
    The noctua fans are inaudible in comparison. Even at 100% fan speed, they are quiet enough to where I can hear my air purifier (on low) running in a different room 20 feet away. I started playing with OC settings after the install of the new cooler. I went from a 4.0ghz all core (8c/16t) to 4.225ghz (at 1.31 volt) all core. That is a 225mhz lift from my stock cooler and an overall 525mhz OC. For a 2700X…. that’s impressive!!!!

    Wish I had purchased this cooler when I first built my pc. But, after using the stock cooler for 2 years, it makes me all the more appreciative of this cooler.

    Great quality. Install was a breeze (watched some youtube vids). OC potential is fantastic. Noise level is absolutely fantastic – my HDD makes more noise.

    Totally overkill for most users. You can fight me on this but I’m telling you – if you are not an extreme user, the cheaper NH-U12S single fan is more than enough. Even the 95mm cooler is good enough for most users. But, you get what you pay for. Quality parts. 6 year warranty. Color scheme screams “I care more about performance than looks.”

  81. Jonathan Heller says:

     United States

    If you are concerned about the space your CPU cooler is going to take up, then this a good fan to consider. Not noisy, and moves a respectable amount of air for cooling your cpu. If you are going to be pushing your overclocking and trying to run at an operating point where cpu voltage is high, then you probably need to consider one of Noctua’s larger CPU coolers. This will work with some overclocking if you don’t over do it.

  82. XOZKarryemrzoh says:

     United Kingdom

    I had only just built this PC 3 months ago and tried an AIO for the first time, specifically a Corsair H100i and although the temps were very good it was incredibly noisy. So, I bit the bullet and took a loss on it and replaced it with an air cooler. It was a good decision. I was debating between this NH-U12A and the NH-D15S, eventually settling on this, the U12A. After doing a lot of research, it seemed like the general consensus was this is the superior cooler to the D15S, and can even compete with the NH-D15, yet with much, much better case and RAM compatibility. As for the temps, when compared to my 240 AIO, they’re identical at idle at around 30 degrees and slightly better while gaming, I only have Witcher 3 in 1440p as a reference but while gaming for at least 2-3 hours I had a consistent temp in the high 40’s and low 50’s. I will also add that this is MUCH QUIETER though still fairly audible once the fans hit 1000RPM, but like I said still a huge improvement in noise levels overall. In Cinebench under full load after one hour it hits 59 degrees, with PBO enabled it hit 77 degrees after one hour. Very impressive stuff, especially when the 5000 series CPU’s are known for running hot.

    Obviously there are many factors involved on whether others will get the same temps and performance as I’m getting. Your cases airflow will be quite a large factor in overall temps, as well as the CPU you’re running. For reference I’m running a Ryzen 5 5600x stock(These chips tend to run very hot) and my case is a Corsair 4000D airflow. I also adjusted the fan curve in the BIOS to give it a few more RPM at lower temps.

    Very impressive cooler.

  83. Anonymous says:

     United States

    I recently upgraded to an i9-9900k from an i5-9400F and was heavily leaning towards an AIO to ensure enough OC head room for the CPU to hit the high notes if the need ever arises. the 9900k is purported to be very OC friendly and is capable of hitting the high 5Ghz in auto settings with ease without really going past the 30 C mark (so far). Either I got lucky and hit the silicon lottery or Noctua’s NHU-S12A cooler is stupidly efficient. Having no prior experience with their product since the 9400F was a fairly efficient CPU that didn’t require any insane cooling since it ran reliably well with a Cooler master 212, I wasn’t really sure what to compare.

    Eitherway it was pure happenstance that I ended up with Noctua’s product. I had initially settled on a Arctic Freezer 2 240 fan AIO but wasn’t sure if it would fit and decided to inquire (with pics) the seller. They came back with a no and promptly cancelled the order for me. So then I figured I might as well go for the best air cooler brand possible (highly praised by Linus Tech and Gamer Nexus) and after much research the 12A was the perfect fit and it so far has not disappointed. Out of all the issues I have had with the upgrade, cooling was never a factor, and I am happy to say that this baby has yet to get in the way of anything I need to do with my PC. I have put this thing through the ringer via CPU-Z, Cinebench etc and it passed all the tests with flying colors with no issues or throttle. As far as I can tell I am highly satisfied with my investment in this brand. Will be looking into their products heavily if I ever consider going insane and OC stuff like Steve Burke. AIO’s are frankly unknown territory for me and I would rather invest in the best aircoolers have to offer prior to going for AIO’s going further.

    Do your research and stick with the best. Highly satisfied!

  84. Anonymous says:

     United States 🇺🇸

    I bought this to cool a 5800x on an Asus Prime x570 Pro in an NZXT H510i case. Although it may not look like it, the standoffs for the mounting kit do allow ample clearance for the capacitors around the CPU socket. The vertical clearance is also fine; there’s about 1/3 to 1/2 inch between the side of the case and the cooler.

    Installation was pretty easy. My only criticism is that swapping out the back mount was a little more difficult than expected. However, after getting the first screw in, the rest was pretty simple.

  85. Jason Denwood says:

     Germany

    Nach 7 jhriger Verwendung meines U14S habe ich mich dazu entschlossen, ein Update meines CPU-Khlers im Rahmen eines Mainboard-Wechsels anzugehen, obwohl ich mit dem U14S weiter zufrieden war. Ich wollte jedoch ein etwas kleineres Modell, dass weniger Platz bentigt bei gleicher oder besserer Khlleistung.

    Mit dem U12A ist damit nun das perfekte Modell verfgbar. Die Verpackung des Khlers ist Noctua typisch genial praktisch. Alles leicht zu entnehmen und berwiegend in unlackiertem Karton verpackt (bis auf dem Auekarton). Alleine dies ist schon ein Zeichen dafr, dass hier ein geniales Produkt enthalten ist – fancy Hochglanzverpackung braucht es nicht.
    Die Lfter sind in den ikonischen Noctua Brauntnen gehalten und sind selbstverstndlich frei von irgendeinem berflssigen RGB-LED-Schwachsinn.

    Natrlich ist der Preis mit 100 eine ziemliche Hausnummer, aber aus der Erfahrung mit Noctua kann man auch sichergehen, dass der Khler faktisch fr die Ewigkeit gebaut ist. Auerdem werden mit dem Khler gleich zwei der grandiosen NF-A12 Lfter mitgeliefert. Fr neue Sockel liefert Noctua kostenfrei entsprechend passende SecuFirm 2 Haltevorrichtungen – das ist mal Service.

    Die Installation ber Noctuas SecuFirm 2 System ist sicher und einfach – selbst das passende Werkzeug liegt bei.

    Die Khlleistung ist fr einen Single-Tower Khler dieser berschaubaren Gre fast schon unglaublich. Mein 3700x ist, trotz PBO, kaum ber 60 zu bekommen.

    Die Qualitt, den Service, die Leistung und die Ausstattung bercksichtigt, ist der NH-U12A wohl einer der preiswertesten Khler auf dem Markt.

    Noctua, der Goldstandard der Luftkühle

  86. Anonymous says:

     United States

    I have this cooling my Ryzen 9 overclocked to 4.3GHz in a Cooler Master NR600 case with 6 fans. During stress testing using all 24 logical cores (12 physical cores) the highest temperature I’ve seen on the CPU is 69 degrees. Much more efficient than I’d expect from air cooling. I’ve never used water cooling, but I imagine this would compete well against most water-cooled systems.
    Running days-long coding calculations on 23 of the 24 logical processors, the temperature gets up around 68-69 degrees and stays there. I’ve never seen 70 on my machine. And it is incredibly quiet. The Wraith Prism I removed was easily ten times louder than this bad boy, and nowhere near as efficient. The Wraith couldn’t keep the CPU below 90 degrees even before OC when processing code on multiple cores.
    Two thumbs all the way up!

  87. YBSNonalmz says:

     Canada

    I’m sold to NOCTUA since I’m able to afford-it. I Use only Noctua product in my last rig.
    Quality and performance at is best. But it has a price. You got for what you pay.

    I have had to deal with customer service in Australia few times, and they offer premium VIP service.

    This NH-U12A is one of a kind BIG performing cooler, but enough small to fit into a 13 liter SFF case!! (190x277x254 mm). The two NF-A12x25 PWM fan play a major role here, they are the best fan on the market and they provide all the flow to the heatsink to do his job efficiously. Heatsink desing is witout fail. Its low noise paradise.

    Really happy than this NH-U12A fit into a mini ITX config and cool my i9 9900K impressively.
    Take time to spend time on Noctua Web site. He contain a lot of helpful informations.

    In SFF situation, option to replace the two NF-A12x25 PWM by two NF-A12x15 PWM is conceivable for gain more space if nedeed.

  88. Anonymous says:

     United Kingdom

    Performance is very good, visual would have preferred other colour options than brow

  89. Anonymous says:

     United Kingdom

    Keeps my oc’d 10900k exceptionally cool and runs quiet. You simply won’t find a better air cooler for the size – can give the mighty D15 a run for its money. Good ram clearance and effortless to install. Yes it costs a lot but worth every penny.

  90. Anonymous says:

     United Kingdom

    I’ve got this in an ITX build with the NR200P case.

    The specs of this cooler means that it shouldn’t fit in the NR200 or NR200P but it does. You can only use it with the mesh panel, and there are videos and posts on Reddit about it fitting. I have it installed with the B550i Aorus Pro and it’s a quiet little cooler, though it’s quite big for the case that it’s in. The two fans that came with the NR200P fit above this CPU cooler, so there’s enough space if you were considering to use them along with this but you might have a hard time getting the cables around. RAM clearance is also not an issue.

    It comes with its own thermal paste and a fan splitter so that you can connect both of the fans onto the same header on the motherboard. Installation was simple as well, and I’m using it to cool my Ryzen 7 3700X and I plan on keeping this for many years.

    I would say that installation is going to depend depending on the case you’re using but with the NR200 and NR200P, I’d say it’s better to install everything onto the motherboard first.

  91. IYMAlizavw says:

     Italy

    Davvero imponente, installato su MSI x570 gaming plus e CPU Ryzen 7 3800xt.
    S fatica un pochino a fare i primi giri di vite durante il montaggio, seguendo bene le istruzioni tutto sommato non sorgono grossi problemi. La paura di fare danni tanta, specialmente se il primo Noctua che ti capita di montare.
    Eccellente riguardo la rumorosit, le due ventole fanno il loro lavoro egregiamente. Ideale per chi non interessato ad effetti luminosi o estetici, anche se di fatto fa un bel contrasto, ma poco importa il mio cabinet non ha vetri e le luci che vanno tanto di moda non avrebbero senso.
    Non ho messo ancora alla frusta il processore, non intendo comunque fare overclock, ma per quel poco che ho potuto provare le ventole non si sono mosse dal loro minimo impostato, segno che il dissipatore disperde molto bene il calore, durante un carico medio. Un giudizio pi obiettivo potr farlo solo un uso intenso, ma se le premesse sono queste non potr che essere positivo.
    Lato negativo ingombrante e pesa tanto, quasi 1,2kg, sulle istruzioni sconsigliano il trasporto da montato, per evitare danni alla scheda madre. Se intendete trasportarlo spesso, o lo smontate oppure opterei era uno pi leggero e meno ingombrante. Valutare anche l’ingombro nel cabinet veramente alto. Il sito del produttore da indicazioni su compatibilit con CPU, schede madri e svariati cabinet, molto professionale. Consegna Amazon sempre perfetta e puntuale.

  92. AmyHeyward says:

     United Kingdom

    Bought this to replace my existing AMD rgb fan which was driving me bonkers with the noise. Once I installed this, I had to check it was actually working. It is totally silent. I am well impressed. Not tried running at full whack yet, but it’s more the general day to day running which I’ll be doing. Very very pleased!!

  93. Anonymous says:

     United States

    …and just as quiet. For the uninformed, Noctua products are typically the best in category, and this CPU cooler is no exception. Noctua coolers and fans are in all of my systems. One of these was decommissioned recently after nine years of reliable “quiet PC” operation. At the end it was running just as reliably and quietly as when it was first installed. Pro tip: Even for someone who installs these somewhat regularly, it’s easy to get confused and attempt to install the wrong model, use the wrong parts, try to install backwards, and so forth – then complain. Not a good thing. Don’t be a complainer. Order the correct model for your board and RTFQ! (Read The Funny Instructions).