Date: November 6th, 2008
Article by: Joe Anderson (Hardware Reviewer)
Edited by: Nathan Glentworth (Owner / Head Editor)
Product was submitted by: Noctua
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PRODUCT PICTORIAL AND WALKTHROUGH
Noctua proudly displays their owl logo on the top of the cooler. In this shot, you can get some idea of the unique shape of the individual fins and the arrangement of the four looped heatpipes. Contrary to what I've seen in some other coolers of this general type, the ‘pipes are concentrated in two groups about a third of the way in from each short side of the fin array. Interesting.
If I had an example of the first generation NH-U12 you could see how Noctua has moved the fin array up along the ‘pipes to make room for the larger heatsinks on the northbridge and mosfets seen more and more often on modern motherboards. You'll just have to take my word for it.
The fit and finish is top notch, but I do kinda miss the naked copper color of the ‘pipes and base on the last gen cooler. At any rate, all the components are fully soldered for optimal heat transfer and the base cap has threaded holes for securing the mounting solutions.
The base is dead flat with a very smooth, but not highly polished surface finish. The base is copper, of course, and nickel-plated like the heatpipes.
The included fan is the excellent NF-P12. This 120mm Fan offers exceptional quietness and long life coupled with high airflow capabilities. This is due in part to its superior psychoacoustic optimizations like the Vortex-Control Notches, their new SCD (Smooth Commutation Drive) System and Noctua's premium-grade SSO-Bearing. The fantail is also nicely sleeved and terminates in a 3-pin connector.
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