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The NH U12P ships in a heavy duty box designed with the traditional Noctua colours. There is a detailed list of specifications on the front and top of the box.
Noctua accessories have always been a showcase of how everyone else should do it. They bundle the Intel and AMD mounting kits in separate resealable bags, with a shared package of components directly related to the heatsink. There is a fold out booklet, with AMD and Intel fitting instructions on either side. As this is the Special Edition (SE2) version of the cooler, there is also a tube of Noctua high grade thermal paste (NT H1), and an extra 120mm fan (NF P12).
The heatsink is very similar to the ancient NH U12F. It is slightly taller and the aluminum stack fin is more dense, allowing for better clearance of the heatpipes around the CPU socket. The Noctua logo is proudly embossed into the top of the heatsink.
The heatpipes are nickel coated which gives corrosion protection long term. As expected, the soldering quality on all the areas is first class and a testament to Noctua engineering standards. The base is really smooth and although there are a few very minor imperfections it is as good as we have seen.
Noctua fans are like marmite, you either love them or hate them. I think the cream and brown stands out in a crowded marketplace, but I know some of my associates really dislike their appearance. The NF-P12 is a super quality fan however regardless of the colour and operates at 19dBa while spinning at 1,300 rpm. Noctua use SSO bearing technology with nine blades on each fan.
They also supply low noise and ultra low noise adapters which reduce the speed to 1,100rpm and 900 rpm respectively. Noise is apparently reduced from 19.8 dBa to 16.9 dBa and 12.6 dBa although getting measuring equipment and an environment sensitive enough to measure this is difficult.
Only problem I see is the pricing, while you can get the coolers at the prices you mention, the D14 is as cheap as £63 and the U12P SE2 as expensive as £57.
It becomes a tougher sell thanks to the UK pricing of D14 atm.
Why do you have the heatsink pictured with a Gigabyte P67 mobo when the system specs show an Asus Rampage III Black Edition X58 mobo?
Sometimes we show installation on different slot configurations (especially as people want to see there no fitting problems with 1155), even though we tend to test on 1366 (to generate the most heat). Variety is the spice of life.
Good coolers. expensive mind you
Great coolers, my concern is the size. I prefer all in one coolers now from antec, corsair etc. they leave so much room free for an install, especially at memory slots.
REckon Noctua will make an all in one liquid cooler sometime?
Im quite happy with my Corsair H50, very quiet too 🙂
Awesome cooler, had mine for 6 months now. ive a 2600k with it at 4.8ghz. hits 67c under load 🙂
I’ve had this running for five years in my Fractal Design R4 Case and it’s never missed a beat. Fantastic cooler. It’s no longer on sale here and I’m now looking at Noctua NH-U14S for my new build.