Noctua NH-C12P CPU Cooler

 

As this is a new product, the specifications have been taken off the packaging. The specifications provided for the fan are solely for full voltage operation. For specifications of the fan while running the different low noise adapters you can refer to the full fan review.

 

 

 

 

 

Usually the first thing you notice when you get your hands on a big piece of metal like a heatisnk is the weight (or lack of it). Unusually, in this case, the first thing that struck me when the cooler emerged from its boxing was the quality of its construction and lack of flex in any of the fins. Every joint, solder and tube end is completely flawless, all of which most likely contributes to the also very apparent sturdiness and unity of the whole construction.

 

 

 

All 6 heatpipes enter the same side of the base and travel fully through it before being pressed shut. The joints between the fins and the pipes is direct and very cleanly soldered. One thing I also noticed was the use of bracing bars traveling through the width of the heatsink, improving its strength and solidity.

 

 

Size wise, the heatsink has a pretty large footprint (towards the top) but is not particularly tall, which would make it a perfect candidate for desktop and HTPC systems, both passively and actively cooled.  With the fan attached the whole cooler does become a bit more substantial and was actually slightly troublesome to install due to the size of other components in the computer, but we will discuss that later.

 

 

 

The fitting of the fan needs to be left until after the fitting of the heatsink within the case, but for illustrative purposes I have fitted it here.

 

 

The base of the cooler, while not bare copper, is extremely well polished and when tested with glass and a drop of water, looks to be very flat.