Noctua NH-U12A Ram Clearence

[NeoSk11zle]

I was planning to buy U12A for my R5-3600 but after looking at the pictures It seems like a big cooler, much bigger than what I thought. I have a B450 Aorus mobo with HyperX ram and a fat 2060 occupying the first slot. Would this still fit? 

 

I'm probably being paranoid but I really like this cooler as it has the performance of a D15 but is quieter and smaller. Picture for reference if it helps, but you can see here my stock wraith cooler that came with the 3600 is already close to the ram.

 

[Metallus97]

That RAM is not that tall. There are much taller modules in the market  

So yeha: I am 99% sure it will fit

[NeoSk11zle]

1 minute ago, Metallus97 said:

That RAM is not that tall. There are much taller modules in the market  

So yeha: I am 99% sure it will fit

Lol thanks! 
 

QQ: After I install the cooler, would the fan spot at the top of the case be unusable? I mean I have 2 fan vacancies to the right (probs for a radiator) but the top seems like it would do better in airflow or something idk. 

[Metallus97]

6 minutes ago, NeoSk11zle said:

Lol thanks! 
 

QQ: After I install the cooler, would the fan spot at the top of the case be unusable? I mean I have 2 fan vacancies to the right (probs for a radiator) but the top seems like it would do better in airflow or something idk. 

Depends a bit. Do you have fans in the front? I cant directly see them on the pic

[Jurrunio]

6 minutes ago, NeoSk11zle said:

Lol thanks! 
 

QQ: After I install the cooler, would the fan spot at the top of the case be unusable? I mean I have 2 fan vacancies to the right (probs for a radiator) but the top seems like it would do better in airflow or something idk. 

There will be space up top. Case fans are not that thick, as long as it clears the motherboard it wont have problems with the U12A

[NeoSk11zle]

Just now, Metallus97 said:

Depends a bit. Do you have fans in the front? I cant directly see them on the pic

Uh I have one (exhaust?) fan in my entire system.... it came with the Phanteks case for free 

[Jeppes]

Just get a decent tower and 2x intake fans. No need to buy an extremely over priced noctua when a sub 30d cooler does the same job for under 150W cpu:s.

[Metallus97]

Just now, NeoSk11zle said:

Uh I have one (exhaust?) fan in my entire system.... it came with the Phanteks case for free 

in that case i would recommend getting a second intake fan whilst getting the Noc. Then I would do. Front bottom intake, Noc in push and oriented vertically (blowing at the rear fan) and rear exhaust.

[Metallus97]

1 minute ago, Jeppes said:

Just get a decent tower and 2x intake fans. No need to buy an extremely over priced noctua when a sub 30d cooler does the same job for under 150W cpu:s.

yeha but the noc will do it more silently (yes i know then the case fans also have to be silent) and will do it for longe without problems. My GF now has my old noc form 2010 and it runs like on day 1.

[NeoSk11zle]

2 minutes ago, Jeppes said:

Just get a decent tower and 2x intake fans. No need to buy an extremely over priced noctua when a sub 30d cooler does the same job for under 150W cpu:s.

Imma be honest, I don't really know what you said but what this cooler seems pretty cool. Can you find a better cooler that's just as quiet and small?

[Metallus97]

Just now, NeoSk11zle said:

Imma be honest, I don't really know what you said but what this cooler seems pretty cool. Can you find a better cooler that's just as quiet and small?

i suggest to invest some more in noc and getting a quality product. But sure there are cheaper options.

[Jeppes]

Just now, Metallus97 said:

yeha but the noc will do it more silently (yes i know then the case fans also have to be silent) and will do it for longe without problems. My GF now has my old noc form 2010 and it runs like on day 1.

Nope. Its equivalent to Freezer 34 duo.

[NeoSk11zle]

Just now, Metallus97 said:

i suggest to invest some more in noc and getting a quality product. But sure there are cheaper options.

Yeah I plan to spend my money left over for 2 intake fans on the right. I don't plan on using a radiator anytime soon so may as well use them.

[Metallus97]

1 minute ago, Jeppes said:

Nope. Its equivalent to Freezer 34 duo.

But NOT the quality and longevity 

[Jeppes]

28 minutes ago, Metallus97 said:

But NOT the quality and longevity 

10 year warranty and it costs a third of u12a if you just get freezer 34 and an extra p12 pwm fan.

[WoodenMarker]

3 hours ago, Jeppes said:

Nope. Its equivalent to Freezer 34 duo.

Not sure which cooler you're referring to but the NH-U12A easily outperforms the Freezer 34 eSports Duo. Were you thinking of the NH-U12S?

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/noctua-nh-u12a-cooler,6372-2.html

https://adoredtv.com/arctic-freezer-34-esports-duo-review/

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?296779-Arctic-Freezer-34-eSports-Duo

https://www.funkykit.com/reviews/cooling/noctua-nh-u12a-cpu-cooler-review/4/

3 hours ago, NeoSk11zle said:

Imma be honest, I don't really know what you said but what this cooler seems pretty cool. Can you find a better cooler that's just as quiet and small?

Are you just looking for a quieter alternative to the stock cooler? The NH-U12A is an excellent performer but overkill. 

What case are you using? Where are you shopping / located?

[Jeppes]

4 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

Not sure which cooler you're referring to but the NH-U12A easily outperforms the Freezer 34 eSports Duo. Were you thinking of the NH-U12S?

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/noctua-nh-u12a-cooler,6372-2.html

https://adoredtv.com/arctic-freezer-34-esports-duo-review/

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?296779-Arctic-Freezer-34-eSports-Duo

https://www.funkykit.com/reviews/cooling/noctua-nh-u12a-cpu-cooler-review/4/

Are you just looking for a quieter alternative to the stock cooler? The NH-U12A is an excellent performer but overkill. 

What case are you using? Where are you shopping / located?

On the first review you link its on par. Then you get adoredtv where the noise difference is 8dB. Reviews are not equal and I am leaning on a bit more professional sites because of the likelyhood of using a consistant test methodoly is much more likely than on a sensationalist site like AdoredTV or some random forum.

 

And the TomsHW review seems to match what Kitguru found out with a 9900K. You cant say a cooler performs inconsistantly on tests if you cant really trust the source.

https://www.kitguru.net/components/cooling/james-dawson/arctic-freezer-34-esports-duo-cpu-air-cooler-review/5/

[WoodenMarker]

14 hours ago, Jeppes said:

On the first review you link its on par. Then you get adoredtv where the noise difference is 8dB. Reviews are not equal and I am leaning on a bit more professional sites because of the likelyhood of using a consistant test methodoly is much more likely than on a sensationalist site like AdoredTV or some random forum.

 

And the TomsHW review seems to match what Kitguru found out with a 9900K. You cant say a cooler performs inconsistantly on tests if you cant really trust the source.

https://www.kitguru.net/components/cooling/james-dawson/arctic-freezer-34-esports-duo-cpu-air-cooler-review/5/

The methodology should always be kept in mind but there's no reason to trust the review less unless the testing methodology itself is actually less reliable or the reviewer is known to be unreliable.  How a website looks doesn't matter. What in particular makes you distrust AdoredTV's results?

 

In a practical sense from a user perspective, coolers perform inconsistently because there are a variety of system configurations and one isn't any more valid than another yet the system configuration will affect the result. 

 

My bad, the links I picked weren't particularly great examples as I was trying not to cherry pick any particular results but also didn't want to bother with scouring too many sites at the time. 

There are certainly results that show the Freezer 34 eSports Duo performing similarly to the NH-U12A but it rarely wins. There are many, many more examples of it being outperformed by the NH-U12A and even NH-U14S. 

https://www.eteknix.com/noctua-nh-u12a-dual-fan-air-cooler-review/5/

https://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/noctua_nh_u12a_review,7.html

https://www.hardware-journal.de/testberichte/luft/4026-noctua-nh-u12a-test?showall=&start=4

https://www.comptoir-hardware.com/articles/refroidissement/38752-test-arctic-freezer-34-esports-duo.html?start=3

http://myc-media.de/noctua-nh-u12a/

https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/9057/noctua-nh-u12a-cpu-cooler-review/index.html#Test-System-Setup-Thermal-Tests-and-Noise-Results

https://tech4gamers.com/arctic-freezer-34-esports-duo-yellow-cpu-air-cooler-review/#Testing_Methodology

https://www.hardwareluxx.de/index.php/artikel/hardware/kuehlung/49192-noctua-nh-u12a-im-test-zwei-flaggschiff-luefter-fuer-mehr-performance.html?start=5

https://youtu.be/D-Q4dlFtAeA?t=1092

 

I'm not entirely sure why the Freezer 34 eSports Duo can sometimes perform so similarly. I doubt it's a fluke but do keep in mind that tests not being strenuous enough to adequately show the performance difference clearly in temps is a common issue. 

[Jeppes]

On 11/19/2020 at 9:05 AM, WoodenMarker said:

The methodology should always be kept in mind but there's no reason to trust the review less unless the testing methodology itself is actually less reliable or the reviewer is known to be unreliable.  How a website looks doesn't matter. What in particular makes you distrust AdoredTV's results?

 

In a practical sense from a user perspective, coolers perform inconsistently because there are a variety of system configurations and one isn't any more valid than another yet the system configuration will affect the result. 

 

My bad, the links I picked weren't particularly great examples as I was trying not to cherry pick any particular results but also didn't want to bother with scouring too many sites at the time. 

There are certainly results that show the Freezer 34 eSports Duo performing similarly to the NH-U12A but it rarely wins. There are many, many more examples of it being outperformed by the NH-U12A and even NH-U14S. 

https://www.eteknix.com/noctua-nh-u12a-dual-fan-air-cooler-review/5/

https://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/noctua_nh_u12a_review,7.html

https://www.hardware-journal.de/testberichte/luft/4026-noctua-nh-u12a-test?showall=&start=4

https://www.comptoir-hardware.com/articles/refroidissement/38752-test-arctic-freezer-34-esports-duo.html?start=3

http://myc-media.de/noctua-nh-u12a/

https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/9057/noctua-nh-u12a-cpu-cooler-review/index.html#Test-System-Setup-Thermal-Tests-and-Noise-Results

https://tech4gamers.com/arctic-freezer-34-esports-duo-yellow-cpu-air-cooler-review/#Testing_Methodology

https://www.hardwareluxx.de/index.php/artikel/hardware/kuehlung/49192-noctua-nh-u12a-im-test-zwei-flaggschiff-luefter-fuer-mehr-performance.html?start=5

https://youtu.be/D-Q4dlFtAeA?t=1092

 

I'm not entirely sure why the Freezer 34 eSports Duo can sometimes perform so similarly. I doubt it's a fluke but do keep in mind that tests not being strenuous enough to adequately show the performance difference clearly in temps is a common issue. 

I need a reason to trust a review, not to distrust it. Either you have all you need for a review, or you dont. Not mentioning if all cpu:s were tested in same room temperature is a huge no and so is AdoredTV:s dB measurements. If you have one review claiming it sounds twice as loud and others showing draws, its not hard to see who got it wrong. And if you let something like that through it puts a shadow on everything else too. Tweaktown uses an old 6700K without delid so older test temps will be better than newer as the paste degrades. I bet there are plenty of other things to get wrong too like using delta temps with large differences on room temp. Should not come as a surprise that its easier to cool a cpu with 18C air than 28C air. And dont even get me started on using obsolete hw in general I dont care how it cools a 2600K, I want numbers for new 200W cpu:s if Im looking for a high end cooler.

[WoodenMarker]

2 hours ago, Jeppes said:

I need a reason to trust a review, not to distrust it. Either you have all you need for a review, or you dont. Not mentioning if all cpu:s were tested in same room temperature is a huge no and so is AdoredTV:s dB measurements. If you have one review claiming it sounds twice as loud and others showing draws, its not hard to see who got it wrong. And if you let something like that through it puts a shadow on everything else too. Tweaktown uses an old 6700K without delid so older test temps will be better than newer as the paste degrades. I bet there are plenty of other things to get wrong too like using delta temps with large differences on room temp. Should not come as a surprise that its easier to cool a cpu with 18C air than 28C air. And dont even get me started on using obsolete hw in general I dont care how it cools a 2600K, I want numbers for new 200W cpu:s if Im looking for a high end cooler.

There's no perfect testing methodology that is representative of all legitimate use cases and there's always margin for error. At least for testing cpu coolers, I recommend taking all results with a grain of salt.  

What about the review is trustworthy and what isn't? It's not like you're supposed to pretend all of the reviews are using the same testing methodology. Most of the reviews describe in detail how they arrive at their results and that should be kept in mind when looking at the data. 

 

AdoredTV doesn't state that the room temperature is the same but they explain that a HDE TA318 thermometer used to measure ambient temps. With that in mind, the data isn't necessarily rendered null for helping determine which cooler is better performing if the results are more significant than the testing methodology is flawed. Considering their results between pad / paste being fairly consistent across coolers, it's a bit unlikely that the ambient temp was drastically changed during testing. 

Depending on the mic, measuring distance, and noise floor, it's not hard to have dB results be drastically different in one and very similar in another. It's very similar to what's mentioned in my previous post about tests not being strenuous enough to adequately show the performance difference clearly in temps.

Different results from different testing methodology is normal and is the data that's available. What basis are you using to determine which one is wrong?

 

There isn't much way around a cpu getting worn out with tests. It doesn't even have to be old if previous cooler mountings have deformed the cpu. By using a new cpu, there's also a lack of comparison to previous results.