- Review -

13.06.2013 HardwareCanucks.com

Noctua’s NH-U12S and NH-U14S may not be genre-defining coolers, nor do they provide the absolute best performance but they boast class-leading designs which seamlessly fit the demands of today’s enthusiasts. Few, if any other heatsinks have managed to accomplish this but these two entries have proven once again that refined engineering practices can easily beat brute force approaches to cooling. The U12S and U14S aren’t chart toppers but their overall performance beggars belief. Being able to run with some of today’s best air coolers and similarly priced water-based setups is no small feat but to do so with a single fan and barely noticeable acoustics is simply astounding. Noctua’s design is so fine-tuned that switching out fans for higher performing (and louder) models amounts to very little in the way of decreased CPU temperatures. It feels like Noctua’s engineers designed the NF-F12 and NF-A15 first and then said “ok, let’s design two heatsinks to take advantage of these fans”. The end result is a pair of highly adaptable heatsinks that remain blissfully silent while retaining the capability to cool off overclocked CPUs. Aside from raw performance and quiet operation, the U12S and U14S both provide an ease of installation that’s nearly unrivaled. The SecureFirm 2’s individually boxed mounting kits, straightforward instructions and intuitive hardware all work together to create an installation process which will be a time saver for enthusiasts and a game changer for novices. It also provides excellent, even pressure without introducing the possibility of over tightening bolts. This is all accomplished without any notable compatibility issues and installation hiccups.

"With the NH-U12S and NH-U14S Noctua have continued a longstanding tradition of creating excellent heatsinks with a focus on quiet operation." (Anthony Garland, HardwareCanucks)