INTRODUCTION

   Summer is almost upon us and at least for many people i know this presents a somewhat serious challenge, keeping CPU temperatures in check (myself included in regards to my home rig). Obviously with temperatures reaching all the way and even surpassing 40 degrees Celsius (ambient) the gap between winter and summer can be as high as 30 degrees in most areas and that's especially troubling if you happen to be overclocking your system. Yes, one can always have the AC on during the summer period (or at least when the PC is on) but with electricity prices lately skyrocketing all over the world that's not really a valid option for most people. The next best thing is of course to equip your system with a good CPU cooler and if you happen to prefer traditional air models and not liquid ones then the latest NH-U12A chromax.black model by Noctua could be the one for you.

   Designed in Austria, Noctua’s premium cooling components are internationally renowned for their superb quietness, exceptional performance and thoroughgoing quality. Having received more than 6000 awards and recommendations from leading hardware websites and magazines, Noctua’s fans and heatsinks are serving hundreds of thousands of satisfied customers around the globe.

   Just like with other chromax.black CPU coolers by Noctua the NH-U12A chromax.black is the all-black version (black powder coating) of their award winning NH-U12A model released back in 2019 (review here). This pretty much means that aside the aesthetics part (aside the black color Noctua also makes several chromax accessories available, most of which we'll take a look at later on) everything else remains pretty much the same from its asymmetric design (allowing for zero clearance issues with RAM Modules up to 42mm in height), the dual NF-A12x25 120mm PWM fans (2000RPM/60CFM/2.34mmH2O/22.6dBA) arranged in push and pull configuration and the total number of aluminum fins (50 closed on both sides) to the 7 all-copper 6mm thick heatpipes (soldered with the main body of the heatsink) and the polished copper base. Of course once again Noctua covers the NH-U12A chromax.black CPU cooler with their very generous 6-year limited warranty.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The NH-U12A chromax.black model arrived inside a black boxes that has a product picture at the front right next to the company and line logos.

On both sides Noctua has placed details about the main product features.

At the rear of the box, we find the specifications of the cooler along with details for two more of its features.

Typical for a Noctua product both the cooler and the bundle are placed inside different cardboard boxes.

Noctua ships the NH-U12A chromax.black with a backplate, two low noise fan adapters, NT-H1 thermal paste tube, 2 mounting manuals, metal case badge, Philips screwdriver and all the necessary bits to mount the cooler onto Intel LGA 1150/1151/1155/1156/1200/1700/2011/2011-3/2066 and AMD AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+/AM4/FM1/FM2/FM2+ motherboards.

THE NH-U12A CHROMAX.BLACK

The NH-U12A chromax.black is a mid-sized model so with both fans installed it weighs 1220g and measures 158mm in height, 125mm in width and 112mm in depth.

By using two NF-A12x25 PWM 120mm fans (metal-reinforced motor hub and axis with impeller made from Noctua’s ultra-durable novel Sterrox liquid-crystal polymer compound) in push and pull Noctua has squeezed every bit of performance from this particular model (these fans can reach speeds of up to 2000RPM to produce up to 60CFM of airflow with 2.34mmH2O static pressure and just 22.6dBA of noise).

Just like the regular version the NH-U12A chromax.black has all of its 50 fins closed on both sides (keeps air inside the fins thus improving heat dissipation).

Just like with all of their tower type coolers Noctua has placed their logo on the top aluminum fin and both of the fans.

The seven 6mm all-copper heatpipes placed on the NH-U12A chromax black are soldered to the aluminum fins (not press-fitted) for optimal cooling efficiency.

The all-copper base is polished and comes close to a mirror-like finish.

As mentioned earlier you can further "tweak" the appearance of the NH-U12A chromax.black CPU by getting one of the extra available accessories like the NH-HC7/HC8 heatsink covers and the NF-A12x25 PWM chromax.black.swap fan (or better yet the NA-SAVP1).

The NA-HC7 is a black metal cover that comes ready with 6 different colored inlays which you can place at the top as seen above.

Both the NA-HC8 white and black metal covers on the other hand come without any inlays.

Finally you can get the NA-SAVP1 chromax anti-vibration pads (available in blue/green/red/white/yellow/grey) to change the ones bundled with the fan (instead of sending me 6 different boxes Noctua just send me the NF-A12x25 PWM chromax.black.swap fan which includes all of them).

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   We always take things quite seriously when it comes to work so just like with the previous LGA1366 database we will not be testing each CPU Cooler on its own and with different ambient temperature levels and thus we can actually have yet another valid CPU Cooler database. Testing a CPU Cooler automatically means that you need to know where it stands against the immediate competition and to accomplish that we have spent both money and time through the years, something that we plan to continue to do so in order to get the most accurate results for the end consumers who read these lines. Every CPU cooler in this database is tested with the bundled 140mm/120mm/92mm/80mm fans while working at both idle speed and 100% of their speeds for all the temperature tests. CPU Coolers that do not come bundled with a fan/s are measured using a Noctua fan (size dependent on the model) to test for the temperature tests but due to the lack of a stock fan dBA level tests are obviously skipped. Single (120/140mm) watercooling solutions are tested with the radiator mounted at the rear of our test rig while dual/triple/quad (240/260/280/360/420/480/560mm) solutions with the radiator mounted at the top. For the dBA tests every cooler in the database was measured both while on idle mode or with the fan controller in the minimum setting and while on extreme load or with the fan controller all the way to the highest possible setting (PWM fans do that on their own without our intervention). Every single test takes place in a temperature controlled room of 23 degrees Celsius Ambient Temp with the help of two AC units placed diagonally inside the room. The Noctua NT-H1 thermal paste is used with every CPU Cooler in our latest LGA2011 database (although initially this was not the plan, we had to change things to get the most accurate results). Finally, it's very important to point out that just because a CPU Cooler is better than another when tested with our test rig that does not necessarily mean that the same performance differences will apply 100% for other CPU models and in other situations (such as different ambient temps and system configurations).

   To successfully record the load temperatures, we use the latest OCCT application for around 6-10 minutes to push the processor to its limits and after that is done and the temperatures are recorded, we wait for about 10-20 minutes for the CPU to cool down and record the idle temperatures. This is done to allow time for the thermal conductive material to achieve the optimal performance level. Same procedure is then repeated with the Passmark BurnIn Test as a failsafe just in case the OCCT results are wrong. This procedure is more time consuming than the usual peltier/thermometer tests but this way not only can we deliver real world results to our readers based on real CPUs but we can also triple check the results using a variety of programs. Last but not least the temperatures were recorded using both the latest versions of AIDA64 and RealTemp while the noise level tests are performed using a high precision ExTech HD600 Decibel Meter placed about 10-15cm above the CPU Cooler. Still although the same testing procedure applies to all units do take into consideration that unlike the official numbers which are measured in special noise isolated labs with just the fans here, we also have both the rest of the cooler and the rest of the system (although all system fans are turned off when recording noise levels).

TEST RESULTS

CONCLUSION

   Just like the NH-U12A i reviewed back in 2019 the NH-U12A chromax.black doesn’t fail to impress with its performance, even more so when you take into account its size. Certainly 3 years after that review there are quite a few CPU coolers in the market that can get close to the cooling efficiency of the NH-U12A chromax.black (not quite there however) but what almost none of them can is build quality which once again is nothing short of excellent (something I’ve come to expect from Noctua over the years). What did surprise me a bit was noise levels since i recorded just over 3.5dBA more from the chromax.black model as opposed to the original model. Two fans are hardly ever 100% identical (which is why most manufacturers place the +-10% next to speed) so this is always a possibility but it’s probably the 1st time I’ve recorded such a difference between two identical fan models. As for the chromax accessories if you’re building a white rig or if you’d like to add more color on the cooler, they can help you out with that.

   The one thing about Noctua some consumers never did like was the pricing of their products which is indeed higher compared to those of the competition (in this case especially however you get what you pay for). Of course the NH-U12A chromax.black model is no exception and so it currently retails for USD119.95 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 119.95Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de). Still for that price you’re not only getting one of the highest performance CPU air coolers around, you’re also getting one that features excellent build quality and low noise levels at full load. On top of those add the 6-year limited warranty and all the extra chromax accessories and it should be clear why the NH-U12A chromax.black gets the Platinum Award.

PROS

- Excellent Build Quality
- Design (Zero Clearance Issues / Black Color)
- Superior Cooling Efficiency (Top Charts)
- Two 120mm PWM Fans in Push & Pull
- Noise Levels
- Extra Chromax Accessories
- Easy Installation
- Bundle

CONS

- Price (For Some)