Noctua NH-U12S Cromax Black Review • Performance and elegance

💰 Enter the only Telegram channel dedicated to Hardware & Gaming offers
🙋 Direct support and advice in our Telegram group
📹

Here is the complete Noctua NH-U12S Cromax Black review: if you are looking for a air cooler with excellent performance but also aesthetically satisfying, this version of the classic Noctua NH-U12S is for you.

The Austrian house has in fact launched a line of produced in black color to satisfy even the most visually demanding PC builders (not everyone likes brown fans!).

We are always in the field of heatsinks designed to get into build from small size, but we'll show you in the review how this little guy doesn't get scared by either processors freaked out

Noctua NH-U12S Cromax Black • Technical Specifications

We have already explored in the reviews of the destroyer of the night, as the Austrian house is a super reliable company with regard to this type of products.

Il Noctua NH-U12S Cromax Black he does not differ from this: despite his own size very small, the performance are those of an excellent air cooler, able to compete with many more expensive products.

There is no need to point out that thanks to his small size, you will be able to install any RAM memory you want on your motherboard, without going to get in the way fan.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Pre-installed fans: 1x120mm	Controller/ HUB: Ninth
Thermal paste: NT-H1	Dimensions: 158x125x110 mm
Total weight: 755 g	Fan model: NF-F12 PWM chromax.black
AMD Sockets: AMD AM2, AM2+, AM3, AM3+, FM1, FM2, FM2+, AM4	Intel Sockets: Intel LGA2066, LGA2011-0 & LGA2011-3, LGA1700, LGA1200, LGA1156, LGA1155, LGA1151, LGA1150

Also materials and finishes that presents are of quality premium: brass and aluminum for heatpipes and lamellas, nickel for welds.

Thanks to his 5 heat pipes and its fan NF-F12 PWM da 120 mm, as black as the blades of the air cooler, you will see from subsequent tests that the NH-U12S he does not get scared even by intense workloads.

How noisiness of the fan, Noctua indicates a maximum of 22,4 decibels, a lot silent therefore, even under stress.

It is also possible, thanks to the Low noise adapter (a cable that you find in the package), to limit the RPM heatsink fan maximums from 1500 to 1200, to get even more noise in case the processor on which it is placed is easily cooled, producing only 18,6 decibels.

The packaging of the air cooler is as usual complete with screwdriver, kit Intel, kit AMD, instructions for both types of socket, a metal badge Noctua 12 anti vibration pad and a tube of type thermal paste NT-H1.

Noctua NH-U12S Cromax Black Review • Test & Performance

To test the Noctua NH-U12S Cromax Black we used a test bench with a processor well known for pawing: the Ryzen 7 3700x, high-end of the previous generation AMD. The room temperature was around 20 degrees.

As you can see from the graph, the air cooler sits smoothly underneath workload with Aida64 Extreme a 54%, impressive, considering that in the graph you see him challenge himself with dual fans and important towers such as the Deepcool Assassin 3, which detaches this Noctua only 4,5 degrees compared to a significant increase in size.

Particularly surprising temperature of this air cooler when compared to theArctic Freezer 50 or Freezer 34 eSport Duo, since both are much more bulky double fan towers, for which the installation of theNH-U12S results in a temperature increase of only 2 degrees.

So again we see a product Noctua that despite tower and single fan he has courage to spare, losing only to his older brother NH-D15.

Obviously, the part is missing in this air cooler RGB, but as we know Noctua always points to products for those customers who mount build from sober and elegant design, without too many lights.

If you want to transform the heatsink into RGB you could give up the excellent workmanship of the noctua fans and buy a 120mm RGB fan from a third brand.

The other point that must therefore be taken into consideration when choosing a air cooler, it is precisely the practicality in the assembly.

In the case of Noctua NH-U12S Cromax Black, depending on Intel o AMD, a different one is used backplate or, in the case of the red team, directly the backplate of AM4.

The assembly is the classic one of the cooler ad aria: 4 screws to fix the structure and only 2 to close the heatsink in its place.

Keep in mind that these tests were carried out on testbench and which may therefore vary depending on the CASE​ andairflow. You could also add a secondary fan in aspiration, if you so wish.

Despite this, the air cooler achieves its goal: cool quietly, certainly even in small builds.

Review Noctua NH-U12S Cromax Black • General consideration

Suitable both for those who want a medium-high-end heatsink with good performance, and for those who want a product with a satisfying aesthetic, the Noctua NH-U12S Cromax Black proves yet another goal scored by the Austrian company leader in this sector.

Her performance And its dimensions make it particularly suitable for any build, unless you want to upgrade to a all in one liquid cooler.

Given that the Ryzen 7 3700x is a processor known to heat up a lot, the tests done show you like this cooler still has many years of life ahead.

With the right processor, and if you want with a little bit of undervolt, with a little study onairflow, you will get a fantastic build, performing and fascinating at the same time.