NZXT Havik 120 Review

1. Introduction2. Packaging and Unboxing3. NZXT HAVIK 1204. Installation5. Testing methodology and performance6. Final Thoughts7. View All Pages

NZXT have yet again released a high quality product to compete in the overcrowded air cooler market.  They have managed to reduce the size of the cooling tower and fans while improving the performance produced by their initial award winning Havik 140. The use of thicker heatpipes is an inspired decision.  We also appreciate the easy installation of the Havik 120, which earns some bonus points.

The noise emissions of the Havik 120 are reasonably low but not below the advertised 22dBA. The fans feature 13 blades, and with our review sample they spin at a maximum speed of 1,800 rpm. These fans are noticeably quieter at full speed when directly compared against the Transformer 4 Plus which we looked at last month. There is however, an outstanding issue regarding the fans.

The fans that shipped with some if not all of the review samples are running between 200 and 300 RPM above the specs that are listed on the box and on the NZXT website.  The higher fan speeds will increase performance so keep in mind our results may not be an accurate representation of the final retail product you will buy in a store. Just before publication NZXT said they are aware of the fan speed issues and have stated that the retail product will have this issue rectified. We also experienced noticeable fan turbulence the first time we installed the cooler in the Tempest 410 Elite.  This was quickly remedied by adjusting the position of the fans, but we feel it should be mentioned.

The rubber mounting devices make installing or removing one or both fans pretty much effortless, and they also do a good job of absorbing the vibrations that would otherwise increase noise. The use of 8mm heatpipes also proves to be a good design choice as the cooling performance is very impressive.

The Havik 120 carries a MSRP of 54.99 USD. We would expect a price around £40 inc vat in the United Kingdom when it reaches these shores. We received information that full retail stocks should arrive soon at retailers everywhere. The NZXT Havik 120 is easy to recommend as a product “Worth Buying”, due to the excellent installation and great cooling potential, especially for overclocked processors.

Pros:

• Looks great.
• 8mm heatpipes improve overall performance.
• Not excessively noisy.

Cons:

• Market is very competitive.

Kitguru says: Another winning product from the NZXT team and well worth a purchase.

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