Noctua U12a good enough for a 5800x?

[maizenblue]

I prefer air but Im tired of big honking heat sinks that get in the way of everythingand create clearance issues. 
 

The U12a seems like the answer to my problems but i hear mixed things about its actual cooling ability with a beast like the 5800x. 

[GuiltySpark_]

With PBO off you'll be fine.

[maizenblue]

1 minute ago, rickeo said:

With PBO off you'll be fine.

And with PBO on?

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

Other smaller tower coolers you can consider:

scythe mugen 5 (non black version)

Thermalright silver soul 135 

Arctic freezer 34 esports duo

 

The nhu12a should have enough thermal performance for the 5800x. 

 

[maizenblue]

I went with the u12a but kept my 3700x. I had a noticeable improvement in temps. The d15s with two fans got me about 68-75c while gaming in say warzone while my u12a gets me 59 to 65c, so should be fine for a 5800x if i upgrade. 
 

Maybe i mounted it better or my minor mobo upgrade helped with temps too. Hard to believe a smaller cooler works better, but the u12a is a beast. Worth the money. 

[Blue Man]

I have a 5800x with a NH-U12A, and under max load, the CPU isn't able to reach max turbo on all cores. I don't know if it was just a bad thermal paste application, but I am only able to get to 4.5 GHz before it hits 90C. While gaming and streaming simultaneously, the temperatures are around 80C, but I'm still a little disappointed in the all core performance.