Noctua NH-C12P Premium CPU Cooler Review

Testing
The following system was used in testing:

Case: NZXT Tempest
Motherboard: XFX 680i LT SLI
CPU: Q6600 @ 2.4 GHz
Memory: 2x2GB OCZ SLI Ready DDR2 800 MHz
CPU cooling:
– Masscool 8W553
SilenX iXtrema IXC-120HA2
Thermaltake DuOrb
Titan Cool Idol
Cooler Master GeminII S
Cooler Master Sphere
Cooler Master Hyper 212
Zalman CNPS9300 AT
Vantec AeroFlow FX 92
Vantec AeroFlow FX 120
Xilence Xilent Blade Pro
Thermaltake MaxOrb EX
Thermaltake Spinq
– Noctua NH-C12P
Video Card: XFX 9800 GTX Black Edition

Tests were conducted under idle and load states. The computer was left to sit after 30 minutes after being turned on to check the idle temperature. The load temperature was found by running the latest version of Prime95 which supports multi-core CPUs by default. Temperatures were obtained through SpeedFan.

CPU Cooler
Idle
Load
Masscool 8W553
46C
70C
SilenX iXtrema – Low
45C
69C
SilenX iXtrema – High
44C
66C
SilenX iXtrema – 2x Fans
44C
64C
Thermaltake DuOrb
47C
67C
Titan Cool Idol – Low
45C
62C
Titan Cool Idol – High
44C
59C
Cooler Master Sphere
46C
61C
Cooler Master Hyper 212
44C
54C
Zalman CNPS9300 AT
41C
55C
Vantec AeroFlow FX 92
46C
60C
Vantec AeroFlow FX 120
43C
58C
Xilence Xilent Blade Pro
47C
61C
Thermaltake MaxOrb EX – Low
45C
55C
Thermaltake MaxOrb EX – High
43C
53C
Thermaltake Spinq – Low
45C
58C
Thermaltake Spinq – High
43C
57C
Noctua NH-C12P
41C
54C

The Noctua NH-C12P so far is the best in both Idle and Load tests that we’ve conducted on this test machine. With an idle speed of 41C it ties with the Zalman CNPS9300 AT, but the Noctua cooler beats it just by a hair with 54C under load conditions while the Zalman only was able to achieve a low of 55C. The Noctua did tie the Cooler Master Hyper 212 in load conditions as well, but the Noctua just has the best of both worlds for the cooler’s we’ve tested.

Conclusion
While the Noctua NH-C12P probably isn’t for everyone it certainly is a great CPU cooler to have. It is probably a worthy investment of around $70 because when you upgrade your system, chances are you don’t have an i7 processor, you can use this cooler with the mounting kits typically available from Noctua for free. Overall there weren’t any significant problems that I found with this cooler rather than just a few annoyances, but it still is a great CPU cooler that even comes with a 6 year warranty. ThinkComputers awards the Noctua NH-C12P Premium CPU Cooler a 9 out of 10 score and our Recommended Award.

rating9 10 small TC award recommended small

Pros:
– Superior cooling
– Very quiet
– Secure hold to motherboard
– Supports all socket types, even i7 (LGA 1366)
– 6 year warranty

Cons:
– Attaching the fan can be annoying
– Fan color may not be appealing to some
– Minor fixable problems with lower PSU cases