Summary
How do you judge a product that actually has no faults other than the somewhat sporty price? An entry-level price of just under 100 euros for a fairly compact air cooler including two really good fans quickly relativizes itself when comparing the performance with a normal water cooling for the CPU. Because that's where the differences are rather small, especially since the Noctua NH-U12A remains pleasantly quiet even in the border areas.
Noctua has been able to significantly improve the product in detail, including the seventh heatpipe. All in all, the heatpipes, which have now been produced in-house for quality reasons, leave a really good and convincing impression. Noctua reaches a really high standard here, which of course can be paid accordingly. Whether you really need this last ounce of performance, let's face it. This quickly becomes a pure question of faith.
The fact is, however, that in many situations the Noctua NH-U12A can make at least the usual compact water cooling quite obsolete if one shies away from water. The NH-U12A is also quieter than many of these closed circuits with simple aluminium radiators and fans from the rod. Then the price is also put into perspective, especially since one gets a product without RGB-Gedöns, which relies on conservative design language and thus also on a timeless appearance.
The accessories are extensive, the handling is easy and the fans are really lace. One really has to ask yourself if you should not use the second fan as a housing fan, because in many cases you will rather not need it. It would have been nice if the AMD sockets had also been kept more variable in alignment, because two silly brackets no longer drive anyone into ruin. Especially since the even cheaper big brother can do it with the extra mounting kit.
Conclusion
Anyone who is looking for a really good cooler with fans at the highest level and knows the local ministry of finance on your side, can access without hesitation. The workmanship quality is free of any criticism and the performance including the range of accessories and handling are top. A product doesn't have to be able to do more. The price is reasonable, but unfortunately also a possible criterion for resorting to a competitor product, which was a bit bigger and heavier, but also not much worse.
Of course, I can't take that decision away from anyone, but at the end of the day everyone has to figure it out with themselves. But it's a nice, nice piece of water-free cooling technology that can even keep a thick Ryzen or Core i9 in check. You have to do that first. From this point of view, Noctua has kept the airspace above the motherboards quite impressively clear and as an Austrian company you don't have to worry about the compact water forces anyway.
Noctua NH-U12A
 | Zentrallager: >5 Stück bestellt, wird in 3 Werktagen erwartetFiliale Wilhelmshaven: >5 Stück bestellt, wird in 3 Werktagen erwartetStand: 26.04.24 22:01 | 115,59 €*Stand: 26.04.24 22:02 |
 | ab Lager | 115,60 €*Stand: 26.04.24 20:28 |
 | Versandbereit: Lieferzeit 3-6 Werktage | 119,25 €*Stand: 26.04.24 21:57 |
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