Noctua NH-U12S redux, High Performance CPU Cooler with NF-P12 redux-1700 PWM 120mm fan (Grey)

TL;DR - Get it.. Long version - I have been gaming on a PC for over 15 years. Started building PCs (for me, friends, their friends, or anyone who has asked me to build a PC) roughly 10 years ago. And I have used several CPU coolers during that time. My budget is not big, so I use Ryzen 5 5600x in my gaming PC. It has all the power I need. Again, my budget is not big. I used to swear by the Hyper 212 EVO, mainly because Noctua CPU coolers are... on the pricier side. Then I discovered the NH-U12S redux and decided to try it. Holy... cow. This thing is a beast. Compared to the stock 5600x cooler it lowered the CPU temperature by more than 20 degrees when gaming (from 89-92 to 62-65 degrees Celsius). My Hyper 212 EVO was not doing bad, the temperature when gaming was around 72-75 degrees, but for similar price NH-U12S redux does a better job. This is not a bargain, it's a steal. It comes with pre-applied NT-H1 Noctua thermal paste, so you don't need to buy additional expensive paste (because most of the cheaper CPU coolers come with thermal paste that is a joke). The performance is great. And it's sooo silent. Get it. If you have budget limitations and want a great CPU cooler that will last you for ages (Noctua will send you mounting brackets for newer motherboards for free) there is nothing better than NH-U12S redux.. P.S.: if you have a higher performance/temperature CPU get the NA-FK1 redux second fan upgrade kit. Two fans will make NH-U12S redux more quiet and will also decrease the temperature even further..

Highlights: SLIM, so no problems with RAM clearance. QUIET, LOW TEMPS, EASY TO INSTALL I got this to get something affordable, reliable and quiet to replace an intel stock cooler Laminar RH1. Stock coolers for Alder Lake are loud as Hell. The RM1 that comes with the low power CPUs like 12600 produces a loud pitched noise that makes you murderous. Whereas the RH1 that comes with the 12900F and the likes, produces more of a whooshing sound that's still too loud and annoying. This one is whisper quiet at low speeds and hardly audible at full speed. And of course maximum temperatures during gaming for the CPU are never above 64 Celsius for 12900F, generally more around 55-60. During idle temperatures are of course 1 degree above room temperature. Haven't stressed it fully yet, but have no reason to believe it would have any issues handling anything that a non-K intel CPU can throw at it. It's the low noise that makes it a good sell for me. And it's slim, so you don't have to worry about RAM clearance, as it won't go over the RAM at all. Did have to remove the NVME heatsink that the motherboard provided by default as it was simply too beefy and not allowing the cooler to sit properly.

Short Version: It's really really good and you should buy one, because I feel like I stole it at this price. The Full Story: I bought this Noctua to replace an (8yr) old water cooling unit. I have never done this before. Fortunately the Noctua comes with instructions that are clear and easy to understand and the cooler has thermal paste already applied in a very pleasing pattern. Thanks for that as it clears up the age old question of "how should I apply the paste? In a pea shaped amount, or should I spread it out or should I put multiple blobs?" Noctua did it for me, awesome. I switched off my pc, and waited for only 10mins, before removing the old cooler. This meant the old paste was still moist and therefore easier to remove. The new cooler had all the brackets and spacers required to fit it to my motherboard and CPU, with clear instructions how to fit them. The only sacrifice I had to make was removing one of my side case fans, as the fan protruded in to the case about 20cm, and the side door would not fit. I still have one more side case fan, two on top and one on front. So I would urge you to check the measurement of the cooler, and check you have the clearance. As for performance, well I am amazed that an air cooler can perform this well. At idle temps have dropped by 20c and fan speeds halved at that temp to 30%. Under load temp hasn't gone above 60c and 70% fan speed. I think my case may have been designed for air flow, and its running great. This is one of those rare moments when you buy something and it's not just perfect, but it performs way better than you could've possibly imagined and it was a lot cheaper than you imagined too. I would say I am speechless, but I am clearly not, so I will say that I could wax lyrical about this Noctua cooler, but I will finish here: an excellent product and well worth the money.

I was looking around for an aftermarket CPU cooler at this price point and saw the recent video on Linus Tech Tips about this coming out - it was right in my price range so I didn't even need a second thought to buy! This fit perfectly in a Fractal Meshify C MicroATX case. Easy to install on an AM4 socket with pre-applied thermal paste, and it reduced CPU temps under a full stress-testing load from around 83 celsius to barely breaking 70 (Ryzen 5 3600, running at around 4.0-4.2GHz when boosted. From videos I've seen, this performace matches even the more expensive non-redux version. The fan is nearly silent on day-to-day gaming load, and with the right fan curve, barely even needs to go up to full power (where it will be as loud as any other CPU cooler in this price bracket, but will definitely shift some air!). Noctua are one of the most respected brands in computer cooling for very good reason - they are excellently made, have what is widely regarded as the best mounting system in the industry, and thier products deliver on performance. I have also heard thier customer support is excellent, not that I've needed it. Apparently, if you upgrade your motherboard later with a future socket that isn't supported, Noctua will send you the required hardware to mount for shipping costs only. If this is the amount you're looking to spend on a cooler, I really think there isn't a better option and I would recommend it to absolutely anyone.

Cooler looks fine, still haven’t been able to install yet but will assume it performs fine. NOTE: Listing doesn’t include thermal paste.

I was forced to buy another cooler when my stock Ryzen 5600x cooler was allowing temps to rise to 90 degrees C and caused a shut down when playing warzone. After fighting my inner demons that wanted to buy a lighty up AIO or a cooler with an LCD display, I settled on this fairly ugly, boring cooler. To my amazement, this thing will sit at around 50 degrees on average when before my CPU would be in the 80s when gaming. Only maxed out at 69 degrees. Is it loud? Not noticeably louder than my stock AMD cooler, or at all for that matter. It is big though, only just fits into my Phanteks P300 case, which granted is a small case. If you want a very good and reasonably priced CPU cooler and like me you realise the novelty of RGB will wear off, just buy it.

It's an excellent CPU cooler for £44, it keeps my i5 12500 nice and cool whilst remaining quiet (much quieter than a stock intel cooler), it could probably handle a bit more too! Mounting it was also fairly straightforward, so no complaints here!

Runs so much cooler and quieter than the stock Ryzen Wraith cooler and thats just with one fan. I love that you can add another if needed.