Noctua NH-U9B SE2 review
5. Summary
This small cpu cooler is armed with Noctua's technology and the two 92mm fans manage to produce decent results, considering the low volume of the unit.
The retail package, as always, is pretty much complete, with everything that Noctua has get us used with. In the box, Noctua includes everything you need to get started, clear instructions and thermal compound. Besides the easy installation, the heatsink should easily fit in your HTPC and will operate silently enough to make you ignore its presence inside the box.
The NH-U9B SE2 restricts itself to a small portion of the market (HTPC). However, its build quality is high, the bundle is complete, it is silent and compares well with some of the HTPC cooling solutions available today. Although the product costs a few bucks more, that can be justified as the product retains high quality standards.
If you are seeking for top performance for your PC, then performance wise, it makes more sense to go with a traditional tower cooler. However if you have a small enclosure or an HTPC, the NH-U9B SE2 is a smart choice.
Retail package | |
Design | |
Motherboard compatibility | |
Installation time | |
Copper Base quality |
Pros:
+ Complete retail package
+ Low volume
+ Good performance with stock/overclocked processor
+ Supports two 92mm fans
+ Low noise levels, even at full speed
+ Works with both AMD/Intel platforms
+ 6 years of warranty
+ Retail price is good for a Noctua product
Cons:
- Performance wise, it is not a best-buy solution
- Installation procedure takes some time, but it is straight forward