The NH-U12A is one dense, compact and cool mother fucker. It's my favorate CPU tower because the size makes it less unweildy and gives it better ram compatablity. Those benifits do come at a price and small noise premium however. Have a look at Noctus own performance ratings , they have the 12A at ~8-10% worse than a D15, which makes sense because its hard to overcome the basic limit of physics, more surface area = more cooling. I suspect Tech Notice did not normalize for fan speed or sound, so it won't be an apples to apples comparison. Answer from AnAttemptReason on reddit.com
Noctua
noctua.at › en › products › nh-u12a
NH-U12A | Noctua
June 16, 2026 - Conceived to push the envelope of the 120mm form factor, it combines two of Noctua’s flagship model NF-A12x25 PWM 120mm fans with a completely redesigned heatsink featuring 7 heatpipes and an increased fin surface area for superior heat dissipation. This way, the NH-U12A can rival the performance of many 140mm size coolers while offering 120mm class case and PCIe compatibility.
AVADirect
avadirect.com › home › components › cooling › cpu coolers › all cpu coolers
Noctua NH-U12A CPU Cooler | AVADirect
NH-U12A, 158mm Height, 210W TDP, Copper/Aluminum CPU Cooler
The NH-U12A is the latest, 5th generation of Noctua’s award-winning NH-U12 series of 120mm size premium-quality quiet CPU coolers. Conceived to push the envelope of the 120mm form factor, it combines two of Noctua’s flagship model NF-A12x25 PWM 120mm fans with a completely redesigned heatsink featuring 7 heatpipes and an increased fin surface area for superior heat dissipation. This way, the NH-U12A can rival the performance of many 140mm size coolers while offering 120mm class case and PCIe compatibility. Topped off with the trusted, pro-grade SecuFirm2™ multi-socket mounting system, Noctua’s
Price $127.31
Noctua NH-D15 and NH-U12A Review: Two powerful air coolers for all common CPU sockets
76 votes, 95 comments. 4.4M subscribers in the hardware community. r/hardware is a place for quality computer hardware news, reviews, and intelligent… More on reddit.com
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January 27, 2023Thoughts on the Noctua NH-U12A CPU Cooler
It’s a very good cooler - but much more than needed for the 5600x. You could go with coolers half the price and still be fine cooling the 5600x.
To answer your questions, it fits in the Corsair 4000D Airflow without issue (158mm tall and the case has clearance for 170mm) and won’t interfere with your RAM.
More on reddit.com 10
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February 2, 2022Noctua U12A enough for 13700K?
It’s fine as long as your keep power limits to intel suggested and not unlimited power all the time. U12a can soak up 200w+ for a short time easy.
More on reddit.com 12
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October 21, 2022Noctua NHD-15S vs NH-U12A for Ryzen 7 5800X3D
You suspect wrong. X3D doesn´t run cool but is easy to keep cool enough since it has a low TDP. Modern Chips are hot due to their construction not the cooling setup. You can continue using your 212 without issues. Temperature wouldn´t be much better with a higher end cooler due to the way conventional CPU cooling works. So neither Air nor Water+Air will keep it at the temperature you are accustomed to. Get used to seeing higher temps from now on with highly integrated (dense) chips or get a phase change cooling setup if you mentally can´t handle seeing a CPU at 85C under medium load. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiMcQB2FvyM This might help you to understand that you just have to relax when seeing high temps with todays CPUs. 360AiO could cool an old 400W CPU but can´t keep a modern chip with 100W under 90C because even the small volume of heat simply doesn´t get transferred quickly enough out of the heat dense area. Conventional cooling doesn´t "suck" heat out of the Chips it just transfers whatever volume it gets to the air. Thats why changing the construction of the IHS improves the Temps greatly but the risk of those "operations" simply isn´t worth it for anyone that isn´t trying to break OC World records. 90C might be hot for humans but not really for a piece of metal. 90C is just 363 K instead of the 293K Room temp and being 24% warmer isn´t a big deal for something that isn´t a lifeform. More on reddit.com
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December 16, 2022Is there a Noctua NH-U12A equivalent for the socket TR4 (Threadripper) platform?
Hello Peera,
I would recommend that Noctua NH-U14S TR4-SP3, it doesn't have two fans but it is specially designed for use with Threadripper. Hope this helps!
Newegg Support
newegg.com
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Noctua NH-U12A, Premium CPU Cooler with High-Performance Quiet ...
Will the Noctua NH-U12A fit in a GIGABYTE X570 AORUS XTREME ?
Yes, the item supports all am4 atx and micro atx motherboards, including GIGABYTE X570 AORUS XTREME.
newegg.com
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Noctua NH-U12A, Premium CPU Cooler with High-Performance Quiet ...
Is the u12a now shipping with lga 1700 mounting brackets included?
Yes, the Noctua NH-U12A now includes the SecuFirm2 mounting system for easy installation on Intel LGA1700 among other sockets.
newegg.com
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Noctua NH-U12A, Premium CPU Cooler with High-Performance Quiet ...
Reddit
reddit.com › r/intel › nh-d15 vs u12a performance on current chips?
r/intel on Reddit: NH-D15 vs U12A performance on current chips?
October 28, 2023 -
Any idea how the NH-D15 compares to the U12A on today's chips like 13th and 14th gen?
I generally found 2 types of benchmarks with the 13900K:
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Hardware Canucks with their reviews showing the the D15 performing better than the U12A, capping the power limit to 253 Watts.
2: Tech Notice running it at 285 Watts, where the NH-U12A would outperform everyone else. He apparently tested 2 types of NH-D15 with the same result.
What do you guys think?
Top answer 1 of 7
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The NH-U12A is one dense, compact and cool mother fucker. It's my favorate CPU tower because the size makes it less unweildy and gives it better ram compatablity. Those benifits do come at a price and small noise premium however. Have a look at Noctus own performance ratings , they have the 12A at ~8-10% worse than a D15, which makes sense because its hard to overcome the basic limit of physics, more surface area = more cooling. I suspect Tech Notice did not normalize for fan speed or sound, so it won't be an apples to apples comparison.
2 of 7
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Something must be wrong with that D15 installation - maybe there is a fault with it's mounting pressure. Some channels like Gamers Nexus have equipment to check that.
Amazon
amazon.com › Noctua-NH-U12A-chromax-Black-Single-Tower-Cooler › dp › B098XP1Y38
Amazon.com: Noctua NH-U12A chromax.Black, 120mm Single-Tower CPU Cooler (Black) : Electronics
Buy Noctua NH-U12A chromax.Black, 120mm Single-Tower CPU Cooler (Black): CPU Cooling Fans - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases
Noctua
noctua.at › en › expertise › guides › noctua-standardised-performance-rating
NSPR: Noctua Standardised Performance Rating | Noctua
June 18, 2026 - As the TDP (Thermal Design Power) specifications that are provided by CPU manufacturers and many heatsink suppliers have become increasingly confusing, Noctua aims to help customers making an informed buying decision by offering both a straightforward, general performance rating for each cooler (Noctua Standardised Performance Rating, NSPR) as well as detailed CPU-specific compatibility classifications that allow users to determine how much turbo or overclocking headroom they can expect with a particular model on a specific CPU.
Quietpc-usa
quietpc-usa.com › nh-u12a
NH-U12A Premium 120mm CPU Cooler with two Quiet NF-A12x25 PWM Fans
NH-U12A Premium 120mm CPU Cooler with two Quiet NF-A12x25 PWM Fans
Noctua's NH-U12A CPU cooler features seven heatpipes, more surface area and a dual fan configuration with state-of-the-art NF-A12x25 fans allowing the NH-U12A to rival many 140mm size coolers!
Price $122.05
TechPowerUp
techpowerup.com › review › noctua-nh-u12a › 2.html
Noctua NH-U12A Review - Packaging & Contents | TechPowerUp
Noctua NH-U12A
Noctua delivers top-tier air cooling performance in a compact design with the release of the NH-U12A. Sporting two of their latest NF-A12x25 PWM fans, what this cooler lacks in regards to RGB LEDs, it makes up for with brown and tan Noctua styling and a premium build quality that is second to none.
Newegg
newegg.com › home › components & storage › fans & pc cooling › cpu air coolers › noctua
Noctua NH-U12A, Premium CPU Cooler with High-Performance Quiet NF-A12x25 PWM Fans (120mm, Brown) - Newegg.com
Conceived to push the envelope of the 120mm form factor, it combines two of Noctua’s flagship model NF-A12x25 PWM 120mm fans with a completely redesigned heatsink featuring 7 heatpipes and an increased fin surface area for superior heat dissipation. This way, the NH-U12A can rival the performance of many 140mm size coolers while offering 120mm class case and PCIe compatibility.
Published 4 days ago
Noctua
noctua.at › en › products › nh-u12a › specifications
NH-U12A: Specifications | Noctua
140mm class performance in 120mm size: 7 heatpipes, more surface area and dual high-performance NF-A12x25 fans.
Techace
techace.jp › NH-U12A-chromax.black-JP
Noctua, NH-U12A-chromax.black, 120mm, CPU-cooler, LGA1700, fan, Case-fan, Cooling, Air_cooling
Noctua NH-U12A chromax.black with Dual fans Single tower heatsink CPU cooler
Noctua, NH-U12A-chromax.black, 120mm, CPU-cooler, LGA1700, fan, Case-fan, Cooling, Air_cooling, PC_fan, AMD, intel, LGA, cooling_system, heat_sink, Austria, Europe, black, quiet
Price ¥17
Reddit
reddit.com › r/hardware › noctua nh-d15 and nh-u12a review: two powerful air coolers for all common cpu sockets
r/hardware on Reddit: Noctua NH-D15 and NH-U12A Review: Two powerful air coolers for all common CPU sockets
January 27, 2023 - My opinion about NH-U12S is mixed, I had to switch from D15 and it seems pretty loud and the temps on 10900f reach 90 degrees after a bit on Cinebench, I know Cinebench is pretty heavy and 10900f is power hungry but I expected 80 degrees.
SCAN UK
scan.co.uk › / › computer hardware › cooling - air › intel
Noctua NH-U12A chromax.black Quiet CPU Air Cooler Intel/AMD LN121010 - NH-U12A-CH-BK | SCAN UK
Topped off with the renowned ... customers who seek a highly compatible 120mm heatsink that can rival the performance of 140mm units and looks just as great as it cools....
Reddit
reddit.com › r › buildapc › comments › 17d8t5h › best_air_cooler_for_running_12900k_at_max_intel
12900kを最大Intel仕様TDPで動かすのに最適な空冷クーラー ...
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Databyran
databyran.nu › produkter › datorkomponenter › kylning › cpu-kylare
Noctua NH-U12A, Intel 1150/1151/1155/1156/2011, AM2/AM3/FM1/FM2, 2x120mm fläkt, 22,6 dBa
Topped off with the trusted, pro-grade ... top-tier performance with excellent compatibility and outstanding quietness of operation. 165 W TDP ·...
Vortez
vortez.net › articles_pages › noctua_nh_u12a_review,2.html
Noctua NH-U12A Review - Technical Specifications
April 3, 2019 - TDP: see CPU compatibility list Fan compatibility: 120x120x25 Scope of delivery: 2x NF-A12x25 PWM 120mm fan 2x Low-Noise Adaptor (L.N.A) 4-pin PWM y-cable SecuFirm2 mounting system for Intel and AMD NT-H1 thermal compound Noctua Metal Case-Badge ...
YouTube
youtube.com › the provoked prawn
Noctua NH-U12A Chromax Black review - YouTube
Prawn here with a review of the Noctua NH-U12A Chromax Black. This is a nifty little cooler that's capable of cooling an i9 processor while still running qui...
Published February 16, 2024 Views 14K