NH-U12A chromax.black, 120mm Single-Tower CPU Cooler (Black)

Bought in 2021, but relevant to this day. Easy to install and compatible with most cases, even considering its size. This black version is really sleek, not sure if I'd have liked their other colour scheme... Performance is really good. I don't have a lot to compare it to, but PC is silent and heat is dissipated quickly under load. Easy to install, comes with its own thermal paste. Just makes sure it fits your build size, type and budget. I'd buy it again.

The Noctua NH-U12A is an outstanding air cooler that delivers on both performance and aesthetics. As a first-time Noctua buyer, I was thoroughly impressed by the build quality and attention to detail. The all-black finish looks sleek and premium, and the overall design fits well in a high-end build. Installation requires care, but it's not difficult if you follow the manual, which is exceptionally clear and well-structured. I’d strongly advise against winging it; a methodical approach makes all the difference. Thermal performance while gaming has been excellent, with consistently low temperatures and quiet operation. I haven’t stress-tested beyond gaming yet, but early results are very promising. Do note the cooler's size. It’s compact for its performance class, but still fairly large, so check your case compatibility in advance. Overall, this is a top-tier air cooler that earns its reputation. Highly recommended for anyone seeking a reliable, high-performance solution without jumping to liquid cooling.

This cooler has been absolutely fantastic in my use case! It currently cools my Intel Ultra 9 285k and handles it's heat brilliantly whether it be at idle, gaming or under an intense load whilst rendering. The price for this is steep but the quality more than makes up for it! It's also astonishingly quiet at idle and still very very good whilst gaming. It was also very easy to install, and cleared my RAM easily.

This is a cooler in a different league. The quality of this product is second to none. I purchased the black version which looks really nice in my case. It is sizable but my case is a micro ATX and it fits without any issues. Installation was easy enough with Noctura even suggesting the thermal paste position for my CPU. I'm very impressed with how quiet it is even under full load. My CPU is a Ryzen 7 5700X3D and it stays at around 32 degrees whilst idling rising to around 68/70 degrees under full load. I would definitely say if you can afford the additional cost of this cooler it's definitely with it.

Let me start by saying i got rid of a custom loop for this and i do not regret it one bit. I had a full custom loop but the stress of potential leaks and water temps was ruining my experience so i ditched the entire thing and went all the way back to full air cooling and i am extremely happy with it! Not only does this cooler look amazing it performs even better. I use it for a 10700k i've not ran stress tests etc as they aren't real life usage scenarios but i have played a few games and i'm blown away by how cool it stays! Red dead 2 around 40c, kena bridge of spirits was 37c and Forza horizon 5 was 40c this compared to my custom loop at 55c on the cpu when gaming or my aio before that hitting low 60's. I expected close to the aio performance but this destroys the aio and custom loop water cooling just isn't necessary for this cpu. The fans i absolutely love i'm considering buying two more for under my gpu, the fins are really tough and the finish is great, they ramp up and you can barely heat it not to mention how well they push air this keeps my cpu sitting around 20c idle. I know Noctua are good but the fact i haven't had air cooling in years and it's come this far makes me so happy! Traditional style heatsinks aren't for everyone the aesthetics may not appeal to some but i love it the industrial look with my rgb fans around it looks great. One last thing the price to performance is well worth it and it came with an adjustable bracket as it supports alder lake! It came with low noise cables, fan splitter, thermal paste ( i used my own arctic mx-4) and a Noctua badge. I have nothing bad to say about it one of the fans is ever so slightly raised due to heatsinks on my z590-e strix motherboard but it doesn't affect performance. Chromax black is another reason i love it. I highly recommend this if you want to stick to air cooling it's more expensive than the d15 but it's a lot smaller and the fans look a lot nicer in my opinion. Performance is similar from what i have read. Good work Noctua!

After spending hours and hours comparing this to AIO and the NH-D15 and NH-D15S I went with this for my I9-14900K based on size/compatibility concerns and my continued allergic reaction to a water based cooler. Noctua’s own ‘Noctua Standardised Performance Rating (NSPR)’ which places this air cooler as their second best behind their flagship NH-D15 (score 169 former vs 183 latter). I can confirm the marketing is spot on, you get 140mm fan performance in a 120mm fan. I use my system mostly for Lightroom and Photoshop processing with some occasional gaming. The temp for the CPU ranges between the mid 40s and 80 degrees, only really hitting the highs when I’m carrying out some heavy Lightroom processing. As a side note, I bought the newer thermal paste Noctua NT-H2 3.5g rather than use the packaged NT-H1 (every extra bit of cooling performance is welcome!). This PC is the first one that I have built with a glass panel so I paid the premium for the black version and it is worth it - this cooler looks amazing. The only downside is that because the fan is smaller than a 140mm it does need to spin faster when the CPU is working hard - it’s not a big effect when gaming but I definitely notice it during LR processing. However it’s is still a pretty quiet fan.

Bought this for my Ryzen 7 5800X3D fitted to my MSI MPG B550 Gaming Plus motherboard. I followed the instructions and fitted it with the recommended 7mm offset, neither the cooler itself or fans foul any part of the motherboard including the RAM slots. It comes with a Y cable so both fans are plugged into the one CPU fan connection. Playing Flight Simulator 2020 the CPU’s temperature stays at or around 50 Degrees and quickly drops back when finished playing. It is super quiet as well. Thoroughly recommend if you want a quality cooler.

The compact format, compared to similar performance coolers, and the fantastic new fans makes this cooler a very good option for those who need this level of performance at a more compact size. No issues with RAM, won't seat too close to the GPU, won't require a very wide case. But if you don't have any of those limitations, there's quite a lot of good options available. From Noctua the NH-D15S, rather than the bulky NH-D15, or the Dark Rock Pro 4 from BeQuiet. Even much cheaper options from Thermalright (Peerless Assassin).

Ryzen 5 5600X のメインPCに使用しています。 半年以上使っていますが、結論は 「空冷の完成形」 だと思います。 ■ 静音性（驚異的） アイドル時は完全に無音。 高負荷時でもケースファンの音に埋もれてしまい、 耳を近づけてようやく「回ってるかな？」と分かる程度です。 静音性を重視するなら、これ以上は求める必要がありません。 ■ 冷却性能 5600Xでは完全に余裕があります。 ゲームやCinebenchなどの負荷でも温度が安定しており、 空冷でここまで冷えるのは本当に優秀だと思います。 ■ 取り付けやすさ SecuFirm2 の固定方式は相変わらず完璧です。 ネジの締め込みトルクも均一で、 「これ一生使えるな」と思わせる安定感があります。 ■ 外観 黒一色で統一されており、 ケース内の雰囲気が一気に引き締まります。 派手さはないのに存在感がある、絶妙なデザインです。 ■ 総評 空冷で迷っているなら、5600Xクラスではこれを選べば間違いありません。 “無音で強い空冷” を求める人には最適な一台です。

Ich wollte ursprünglich eine AiO-Wasserkühlung im neuen PC installieren, jedoch schreckten mich die Berichte über die auftretenden Mängel - in Bezug auf Aluminium und Kupfer mit den oftmals zu lesenden Verunreinigungen - ab. Also wieder zurück zu einer Luftkühlung. Nachdem die werkseitigen Lüfter des NAS eines berühmten Herstellers ebenfalls durch Noctua Lüfter ersetzt wurden und diese jahrelang einwandfrei funktionierten, griff ich erneut zu Noctua. Dieser CPU-Kühler ist für manche ästhetisch nicht die erste Wahl, jedoch kühltechnisch TOP. Die Installation des CPU-Kühlers ist einfach und auch für Laien mit der deutschsprachigen und bebilderten Anleitung mehr als spielend umsetzbar. Eine Wärmeleitpaste, ein Schraubendreher sowie alle benötigten Materialien gehören zum Lieferumfang. Ein Ryzen 5 8500 G wird unter Windows 11 auf 32 °C heruntergekühlt. Der Lüfter ist in einem ASUS TUF Gaming GT302 ARGB PC-Gehäuse praktisch (natürlich subjektiv) nicht hörbar. Preislich ist der CPU-Kühler natürlich hoch angesiedelt, jedoch solltet ihr dem Preis nicht unbedingt den Vorrang geben, wenn man auf die kommenden Sommertemperaturen denkt und eine Klimaanlage nicht vorhanden ist. Für mich ist dieser CPU-Kühler von Noctua die erste Wahl, wenn es sich um Kühlsysteme im PC-Bereich dreht. Eine klare Kaufempfehlung und alle Sterne von mir für diesen wirklich "coolen" CPU-Kühler.

Amazed that is keeping my ryzen 7950x3d cool .

First thing you need to know is that I do not write reviews lightly or even at all really, but I was really blown away by the performance of this CPU cooler and I felt like I needed to let people know to just pull the trigger on it and don't think twice. I also am not paid or associated in any way with Noctua. It improved my thermals by over 40° C. I had a 3 year old Lian Li 360 AIO that was showing it's age. I have a great Fractal case and it moves a ton of air. I also am running a i9-12900k which is power hungry at all moments and tends to run hot. I did not know there was a problem with temps until my computer shut down while I had a game open and I wasn't home. My computer shut down on it's own, warning that the CPU temps are way to high and that it shut down. I was unable to restart my computer for about 15 minutes and my AIO felt pretty warm near the CPU. I started seeing artificing after a OCCT stress test. So I started first with trying the two main things which were replace thermal paste and try and reorient my tubes so they face down. Well I could not do the tubes down due to no flexibility in the tubes, so I knew there was a reason why I put them near the top of the AIO. I replaced thermal paste, and it did not do anything. So I replaced with this cooler and man, it has far exceeded my expectations. It is so quiet even under load, I cannot tell it's running. Install was overall pretty easy, but just be careful and follow directions closely. There is a lot of value for the money. It is overall more expensive than a competitive AIO, but I digress. I know Noctua's quality, so I expected nothing less. I thought I would need the G2 since I have that power hungry i9-12900k, but I needed to ensure clearance of the RAM. The size is great to clear ram, it still has a little space. So I'm glad I compensated for that and did my research beforehand. The quality is top notch, and it looks great inside of my case. Worse case scenario, I spent a little more money, but air cooling just makes sense for my particular build since it's literally built to move a ton of air. I may have to replace the fans in like 7 years, but that'll still be cheaper than buying another pump that will eventually fail in 3 years. I would do this over again 100x.

Works better that expected fits well with rgb ram too. For a hotter climate the cooling is better than AIO liquid cooler.