Last Updated: August 1, 2019 (Refresh Now)
Noctua NH U12S Premium CPU Cooler with NF F12 120mm Fan Brown
Last Updated: August 1, 2019 (Refresh Now)
9.0
SCORE
/10
Total Reviews
992
Old Reviews
810
Unverified
27
Spam Test
PASS
4.72 meters
SIZE
Review Analysis - 155 recent, verified reviews
Detailed Mode
Cooling
49cooler, quiet, noctua, cpu, water cooling
+98%
-2%
" ... TLDR: It went in easy, it's quiet and effective, and I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for top notch air cooling. ... "
" ... Couldn't be happier with a air cooler. ... "
" ... I like and recommend this Noctua NH-U12S air cooler and the Arctic Liquid Freezer 120. ... "
" ... - Subjectively better looking than cheaper air coolers ... "
" ... Great cooler as long as your case can accommodate the 158mm height. ... Keeps my CPU about 25C cooler than the OEM socket LGA1150 cooler, and the fan never need to rise above its minimum RPM. ... "
" ... one cooling my i7-8700k and one cooling my Xeon server. ... Noctua has become my go-to brand for air cooling and airflow accessories. ... The NH-U12 is an amazing cooler! ... "
" ... Exactly what I needed as I moved from second water cooling failure. ... Very quiet and seems to cool well. ... "
" ... I am a fan of air cooling vs water cooling. ... "
Overall performance
31cooler, i7, intel, i5, gaming
+100%
" ... It was time to find a CPU cooler that would respect my PC. ... You cannot go wrong with this CPU cooler. ... "
" ... I manage to have the CPU at 35C idle/60C under load ... "
" ... This is probably the most quality CPU fan I have used in my 20 years of building PCs. ... "
" ... Noctua CPU Cooler [NH-U12S] ... Intel Core i5-7600K LGA 1151 Desktop Processors (BX80677I57600K) ... "
" ... Was using a Hyper 212 for the past year on my Intel system (i7 8700k) and decided to upgrade. ... It is consistently 10-12 degrees lower in all tasks, definitely happy with my purchase. ... "
" ... I'm running i7-8700K (not OC). ... With the CPU under typical load, this one is very quiet and most people probably wouldn't notice it. ... "
" ... Keep in mind it's summer and pretty warm in my room, but I have a nice stable 5.0GHz Adaptive OC on my 8700k @ 1.25v. ... When gaming my CPU stays around 68C-70C. ... "
" ... It still keeps my Intel Core Cool. ... "
Setup
30install, instructions, easy to install, easy, breeze
+100%
" ... Installation was a breeze with great instructions. ... "
" ... Installation was ridiculously easy. ... "
" ... Eager to install upgrades, I opted for the simple "loosen screws on the motherboard" solution. ... "
" ... It is also extremely easy to install, and it comes with premium thermal paste. ... "
" ... Super easy to install. ... "
" ... Easy to install, just double check the back of your PC for an opening, before you take out the entire motherboard like it did. ... "
" ... Installation was easy enough. ... "
" ... Follow the instructions and installation was about as straightforward as can be. ... "
Sound Quality
23fan, noise, silent, rpms, zero
+91%
-9%
" ... Not only that, my computer is now seriously silent. ... "
" ... Not only that, my computer is now seriously silent. ... "
" ... It is also very quiet. ... "
" ... Quiet as hell. ... "
" ... It will keep your PC cool and quiet. ... "
" ... Very quiet and seems to cool well. ... "
" ... My first impression was "this is a lot quieter." ... "
" ... The fan is quiet at higher rpms compared to others of the same class. ... "
Ease of Use
14easy, install, super, quiet, paste
+100%
" ... Super easy to put together. ... "
" ... It was easy to install. ... "
" ... Excellent and easy to set up. ... "
" ... Easy to install, just double check the back of your PC for an opening, before you take out the entire motherboard like it did. ... "
" ... SO MUCH easier to install than the very popular Cooler Master variant I had before this. ... "
" ... Works perfectly and was easy to install ... "
" ... The cost difference is for precision manufacturing that makes this easy to install and very, VERY effective. ... "
" ... Super easy to install. ... "
Gaming
12cpu, overclocked, games, demanding games, playing games
+100%
" ... Quality Air Cooler for what I do and that's gaming. ... "
" ... Now when I play the most demanding games, you can barely hear anything at all. ... "
" ... Keeps my i7 7700k around 31 C when idling/doing basic tasks and 50 C when playing games. ... "
" ... Keeps my i7 7700k around 31 C when idling/doing basic tasks and 50 C when playing games. ... "
" ... These coolers are probably going to be inherited across my next few gaming and server rigs! ... "
" ... My CPU temp would raise to 60-70 Celsius when I would play my games. ... "
" ... Wonderful for cpu based games. ... "
" ... Unit is quiet, and keeps my CPU cool even when gaming. ... "
Fit
12heatsink, brackets, noctua, mounting, backplate
+67%
-33%
" ... Excellent instructions, everything fit precisely, the fan is whisper quiet. ... "
" ... somehow I look in the box & no FAN CLIP! ... "
" ... FYI - Ensure this will fit your case and there are multiple versions. ... "
" ... Put a spare noctua fan on the back for a push/pull arrangement. ... "
" ... The mounting brackets are robust, and the heatsink assembly is very secure once installed. ... One common-sense caveat, measure the clearance in your case and make sure the size of the particular unit you order will fit. ... "
" ... Mine was a tight fit, so give yourself a healthy clearance when buying this product. ... "
" ... - Fits snugly in an NXZT S340 Elite Mid-Tower Case ... "
Build Quality
12motherboard, coolermaster, build, well made, nh
+92%
-8%
" ... supporting my belief that the processor was throttling and (2) I've noticed that the air coming out he back of my case feels warmer. ... "
" ... It looks fine with LED strips in the case, it doesn't stand out. ... "
" ... Components were well-secured within the box and everything was nicely packed and padded. ... Luckily, my case leaves the motherboard's back exposed, which made it easy to install the backplate. ... If the back of your motherboard is *not* exposed, you'll have to remove it from the case which will add considerably to the work that needs to be done. ... "
" ... Previously, I used NH-US14S with NZXT Original Phantom case. ... "
" ... Very well made . ... "
" ... The fans weigh more and feel more heavy duty and better built than anything else out there and I've used fans from all major manufacturers. ... "
" ... Redundancy of protective devices makes me feel confident and prevents annoying worry. ... "
" ... Heavy and durable build. ... "
Price
9worth the money, price, worth every penny, worth, money
+100%
" ... The quality is remembered long after the price has been forgotten. ... "
" ... Your money is well spent on this! ... "
" ... Worth every penny. ... "
" ... It's worth every dollar ! ... "
" ... For the price point, this is also a great value. ... "
" ... This is a premium heatsink and well worth the money. ... "
" ... This is a premium heatsink and well worth the money. ... "
Delivery
8open, works, well, product, packaged
+88%
-13%
" ... Quality was obvious even as I was unpacking the box. ... "
" ... - Packaged very well ... "
" ... you can tell the difference as soon as you open the box ... "
" ... you can tell the difference as soon as you open the box ... "
Storage
8u12s, nh, accommodate, tall, size
+75%
-25%
" ... The product is top-shelf quality. ... "
" ... I still have great thermals and now I have enough space for a card in my top pci-e slot. ... "
" ... Components were well-secured within the box and everything was nicely packed and padded. ... "
" ... I like and recommend this Noctua NH-U12S air cooler and the Arctic Liquid Freezer 120. ... "
" ... Great cooler as long as your case can accommodate the 158mm height. ... "
" ... Great cooler as long as your case can accommodate the 158mm height. ... "
Product Reliability
6working, problems, last, fan, cpu
+100%
" ... It has not failed! ... "
" ... It worked out perfectly. ... "
" ... It will probably last longer, too. ... "
" ... No problems at all. ... "
" ... So far a terrific piece of CPU hardware, and working as expected (after one year now). ... "
Design
6looks, look, fan, thing, noctua
+100%
" ... I personally don't mind how it looks. ... "
" ... I put this in a windowed Fractal Design Nano S case over an 8600K. ... "
" ... It's the "gold standard" as far as I'm concerned . ... "
" ... Amazing piece of engineering, this thing is. ... "
Memory
5cooler, slots, memory, clearance
+100%
" ... Plenty of clearance from RAM on an ASRock 270Pro4. ... "
" ... A year goes by and I decided to treat myself with some more RAM which, like I mentioned before, required a CPU cooler change. ... I kept this in mind while installing the NH cooler and it luckily pleased the RAM gods. ... "
" ... This model has 5 heat pipes and plenty of room for your ram too. ... "
Packing
5well, packaged, even
+100%
" ... The packaging of this unit is in a class of it's own. ... "
" ... The packaging is more than what I expected. ... "
" ... even the packaging is nice. ... "
" ... The packaging was nicely done and the product feels very premium. ... "
" ... - Packaged very well ... "
Volume
3stock, quiet, fan, even, enough
-100%
" ... I always kept the stock cpu cooler that came with my processor, but that thing was so annoyingly loud. ... "
" ... It was also quite loud. ... "
" ... It was also quite loud. ... "
Color
3personally, fan, brown, unappealing, fans
+100%
" ... :P. Believe in it, even if you don't believe in the color combo. ... "
" ... The color scheme ends up looking pretty nice but the aesthetics might not be right for every build. ... "
" ... These fans look like a band-aid, the color is horrible. ... "
Device Stand
3mounting, mount, heatsink, brackets
+33%
-67%
" ... It may have been a defect but the bracket is oversized so it does not mount at all. ... "
" ... It may have been a defect but the bracket is oversized so it does not mount at all. ... "
Marketplace
3products, product, amazon, also
+100%
" ... About 4 & half yrs ago when I bought this product from here at Amazon & still have it. ... "
" ... All their products also come with unheard of warranties. ... "
" ... (They were available on Prime now.) ... "
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Specifications
Body
Size: 4.72 meters