Installation
Getting the NH-U12S installed in your system is very easy and Noctua has always made their coolers pretty easy to install. If your case has a CPU cutout you won’t even need to remove your motherboard from the case. If you are installing on socket 2011 like we are then you won’t even need to worry about a CPU cutout. So getting into installation the first thing you are going to want to do when starting socket 2011 is to install the first 4 screw on to the socket 2011 mounting plate. From there place to two mounting brackets and install them as you see in the photo below. Secure them with the included thumbscrews.
Now install the included thermal paste and take the cooler (without the fan installed) and place it on top of your CPU. From there secure it to the mounting brackets using the screws that are mounted to the bracket. Noctua does include a long screwdriver if you do not have one of your own.
As you can see once the cooler is installed there are no clearance issues whatsoever. The cooler is actually extremely thin, which makes for easy installation.
Now it is time to put the fan on. This is done by simply locking the fan hooks into place. All Noctua fans have indication arrows on them to tell you which way the air will be flowing when they are powered on, which is a plus. With the fan installed there are still no clearance issues at all.
Noctua did supply us with a second NF-12 fan so we went ahead and installed it. It is just the same as the first fan, secure the clips are you are good. The NH-U12S cooler comes with a set of extra clips and a Y-connector so you can easily connect both fans to the CPU fan header on your motherboard.
With two fans installed you can still see we have no clearance issues!
