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I was hoping this cooler would be as good as it looks, I have come to expect great things from Noctua and once again they have met my expectations. The NH C12P is beautifully designed and with the giant fan it can keep high end processors in check without generating much noise.
This is the biggest selling point of this product – you would hardly even know it is turned on. The Noctua 140mm fan, once again, is a class leader and for those with extra sensitive ears they give you not one, but two adapter cables to further reduce fan speed (and noise).
The product is suitably marketed, it is ideal for high end processors or those which have moderate overclocking applied, as long as you don't increase voltages … if you want to do that then we advise you to go for the higher end (and much bigger) NH D14 cooler.
As we have seen however, with our 1055T processor the cooler is able to cope at 3.7ghz which is a great achievement for a product classed as ‘low profile'. Using the optional adapters and reducing fan speed to an absolute minimum we were able to effectively turn the cooler into silent mode and still keep temperatures under 50c at all times. Bear in mind also that this was achieved in a budget £40 chassis, not a high airflow case.
It is also worth considering that with the large downward firing fan the motherboard components also receive some additional cooling which will help in a restricted chassis with limited airflow.
The only downside is the price, which again is going to mean this cooler is only targeting those with deeper pockets – its £57 inc vat in the UK right now. Is it worth it? Yes, we think so.
KitGuru says: The Austrian Cooling experts have done it again.
Discuss in our forums over here or leave a quick comment below.
They do build some lovely coolers. this is beautifully designed and big fans are a winner.
Everyone loves Noctua, if they don’t they dont know what they are talking about. My big problem with them is the price. They are overpriced IMO. Great products, fantastic cooling, but do they actually sell a cooler under £50?!
Another great review KG – I concur with previous views. love their fans in particular as they have such a long life and high quality internals. only concern is the price again. I dont mind paying for a high quality product but there are many others out there and sometimes they cost considerably less.
This particular product would appeal to me more than the austrian sandwich you reviewed a while ago. Its more compact, less fitting restrictions and probably quieter. Obviously if I was overclocking a 980x I might have a different view, but im not.
I recently bought one of the 120mm fans and I was stunned how good it was, after I replaced my old akasa unit. Pushed more air, was quieter and didnt rattle. (I can hear weird noises with most fans).
Nice cooler indeed, shame about the massive price.
The Noctua 14cm fan on this cooler is exceptionally well designed, uses all the best components with no corners cut, the rated life is 4-5 times that of a standard fan.
This is most impressive, I particularly like the noise levels. or lack of.
In a lot of situations, there is a really simple test you can apply to see if the more expensive cooler is worth buying
Comparing a budget cooler, like the Contac29, to a top end cooler like the Austrian-Sandwich, look at the price difference and ask yourself “Can I upgrade to a better CPU for the difference ?”
With something like a Core i3 530, the answer will be YES, but with an i7 930 the answer will be NO
Cannot promise this is 100% foolproof in all cases, but it is a decent rule of thumb
If you’re into games, apply the same price difference to your graphic card selection – where the CPU cooler saving might make a 5670 into a 5770, but it will never make a 5770 into a 5850
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