im planning to buy an nh u12s + fan kit due its cheaper but u12a have another difference? (i have a ryzen 7 5700x)
I had access to both the U12S and U12A for testing. I could not find information on the actual heatsink difference between the two in terms of performance and wanted to test it.
CPU: 5950X (C.O -25)
MOBO: Asus Strix B550A (Fmax Enhancer OFF)
Ram: 32GB 3200mhz Cl16
GPU: RTX 3080 FE
Room Ambient Temp 21C
Test used Prime 95.
Test to See Heatsink Difference - Fans at max speed.
U12S Heatsink w/ 2x NF-A12x25s 76C
U12A Heatsink w/ 2x NF-A12x25s 74.6C
Noise Normalized Test 40dba
U12S Heatsink w/ 2x NF-A12x25s 85.2C (1498rpm)
U12A Heatsink w/ 2x NF-A12x25s 84.1C (1490rpm)
TL;DR
Depending on pricing, NH-U12S with 2 NF-A12x25 is the same price as NH-U12A and maybe a better value (at least it is in Canada) since you get a free NH-F12, NH-U12A heatsink marginally better than NH-U12S with at most 2C diff.
Edit: I also tested the heatsinks with NF-F12, no difference was found less than 0.5C diff and can be attributed to run to run variation.
Running a STRIX x570e with a ryzen 9 3900x, g.skill Trident Z neo 16gb x 4 CL16-16-16-36, 1tb Sabrent Rocket pcie4.0, Seasonic Focus GX-850 ina Cooler Master HAF XB EVO. (Waiting for AMD to realease their GPUs to pick among the Newest gen)
Assuming a second fan is connected to the NH-U12S, is this same performance as the NH-U12A? I recently got a NH-U12S Chromax Linus Tech Tips for what i thought was a good price. However seeing how I have to buy a second fan, im wondering if is should just skip the aesthetics now and go with the NH-U12A. Why doesnt the NH-U12S come with a second fan to complete the Push Pull configuration? Im finding them sparingly on ebay for $27 While there $35+ on Newegg. Does anyone know where I can find a Noctua NF-A12 x 25 PWM 120mm Chromax fan for sub $25?
Is it worth getting the u12a when it comes at a $40 price premium (and doesn’t have chromax covers)? From looking at the reviews, it looks like they only differ by 1 or 2 C, and I assume I could just put another fan on the u12s for a push/pull configuration. I currently have a Ryzen 1600, but plan to upgrade to the 3000 series at some point, and want to know if the U12s will be sufficient in the long run, or if it would be better to splurge on the U12a.
Also ich denke darüber nach, mir bald einen neuen PC zuzulegen, und ich habe viel Gutes über Noctua gehört. Habe etwas recherchiert und mich für eines dieser beiden Produkte entschieden (wegen Freigabeproblemen mit RAM und so). Ich werde diesen Kühler mit einem R7 5800x kombinieren, der für thermische Probleme bekannt ist. Daher frage ich mich, ob es die zusätzlichen 30 $ (an manchen Orten eher 40-70) wert sind, um den 12A anstelle des 12S zu bekommen. Der PC wird hauptsächlich zum Spielen verwendet, gelegentlich mit AAA-Titeln wie Shadow of the TR und Halo Infinite.
Edit: Nachdem ich die Kommentare gelesen und meine Auswahl überdacht habe, habe ich mich für den NHD15 entschieden lol