Noctua, an Austrian company, introduces the NH-U12F to the market as one of the most powerful CPU coolers with high efficiency and very good performance.The NH-U12F can be rotated by 90° on all sockets It fully supports AMD's new AM2 socket and comes equipped with a Noctua NF-S12 120mm fan, which has a minimum noise rating of only 8dB(A). Thanks to the 4 Dual-Heat-Pipes, the 38 aluminium cooling fins with a total surface area of more than 5000cm² and soldered joints for optimal heat-transfer, the Noctua NH-U12F achieves superior cooling performance at minimum noise levels.

- Features

4 Dual-Heatpipes for optimal heat absorption
The 4 u-shaped Dual-Heat-Pipes have a huge contact area with the copper base to efficiently absorb the CPU's heat. They form 8 risers to spread the heat throughout the fins.

38 aluminium cooling fins for optimal heat dissipation
Thanks to a surface area of more than 5000cm², the cooling fins dissipate the heat extremely fast. Both the choice of aluminium and the fins' shape and spacing allow for outstanding cooling performance with the supplied ultra silent NF-S12-1200 fan.

Soldered joints for optimal heat-transfer
Unlike many other coolers, whose heat-pipes are stuck to the base and the fins, the Noctua NH-U12F possesses high-grade soldered joints to ensure optimal heat transfer.

Noctua NF-S12-1200 fan with Ultra-Low-Noise adaptor
Thanks to the sound-optimized blade geometry of the Noctua Straight-Blade-Design and the self-stabilizing oil-pressure bearing (SSO bearing), the NF-S12-1200 achieves a flow rate of 81m³/h at a noise rating of only 17dB(A). Using the supplied Ultra-Low-Noise adaptor, the noise level can be lowered to only 8dB(A)!

Screwless fan-mount including anti-vibration strips
Attaching the fan with the steel clips is a child's play and doesn't even require a screwdriver. The supplied anti-vibration strips minimize vibrations transmitted to the cooler and hence allows for extra quietness.

Easy installation on socket LGA 775, K8 (754, 939, 940) & AM2
The NH-U12F fits Intel's socket LGA 775 as well as AMD's K8 (754, 939, 940) and AM2. Thanks to the detailed step-by-step installation guide, installation only takes a few minutes!

SecuFirm™ mounting system
The SecuFirm™ mounting system guarantees optimal contact pressure and maximum security thanks to the use of a backplate and spring-loaded screws. As a result, the SecuFirm™ mounting system makes it possible to safely transport the assembled system without any risk even though the cooler exceeds the 450g weight specification established by Intel and AMD. Perfect for LAN gamers!

Can be rotated by 90° for improved compatibility and optimal positioning within the case
The NH-U12F can be installed rotated by 90° on all compatible sockets to allow for an optimal positioning of the cooler within the airflow inside the case and to evade compatibility issues.

Including manual, thermal paste and mounting hardware
In addition to the mounting hardware, the manual and the NF-S12-1200 fan, the package contains a syringe of high-grade thermal paste so that you can get started right away!

- Specifications

- Retail package

The retail package of Noctua NH-U12F is middle sized and includes apart from the cpu cooler, a 12cm fan from Noctua, mounting hardware and thermal paste.

The Noctua NH-U12F is made our of a copper base with U-shaped copper heatpipers and aluminium fins.

The base has an excellent finish..

On top there is the Noctua logo...

- Installation

Noctua has a webpage that includes many motherboard brands and the compatibility list. Due to the size of the cpu cooler, we advise to visit the page and check if your motherboard is compatible. Apart from this page, there is a FAQ page with many interesting facts about the NH-U12F product. There is also the possibility to add a second 120mm fan using the included 4 fan clip for further boosting the product's capabilities...

Let's begin our installation tour, everything you need is included, you can i the cooler either in horizontal or

in vertical position, this depends upon your needs. For our tests, we placed the cooler horizontally as shown on the photos bellow:

Then you need to gently place the cooler and mount it with the included screws. The included screwdriver does helps, since the Noctua NH-U12F has 155mm height. Included in the retail package there are four (4) anti-vibration strips that absorb any shocks produced from the fan.

Finally our cpu cooler is ready and armed. The two steel clips are easy to place, until you understand how exactly they should be placed, Noctua should had a better sketch for this.

Despite the height of this cooler, we didn't had any problems with the nearby copper heatsinks.

Due to the small volume, there shouldn't be any kind of problems even with specially designed motherboards. Finally here is how our CPU cooler looks after the installation on Thermaltake's Soprano case

Yep, the height is enormous...

- Adding an extra 12cm fan

You can add a second 12cm fan on the Noctua NH-U12F  in order to boost the product's abilities and performance. For this we used a Noctua NF-S12 fan that was very easy to install. The overall volume of the cooler rised up and the total weight of both fans and CPU cooler reached 940gr...We are not very sure if this is safe for your motherboard.

Another picture from the top, despite the increased volume, there is still enough room for air to circuit. What we didn't like was the fact that our 12cm case fan wasn't aligned at the same height as the Noctua NH-U12F cooler. This could have a negative effect on the overall performance but we will talk about this later in our review.

- Ratings

Retail package
Design
Motherboard compatibility
Installation time
Bottom Base quality