Noctua NH-U12A, Premium CPU Cooler with High-Performance Quiet NF-A12x25 PWM Fans (120mm, Brown)
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Myles
08-06-2025awesome cooler, looks, very nice and is near silent. has performance near their 140mm version but is a much smaller, albeit still large compared to a stock cooler
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Adam T
> 3 dayIts Noctua. They have established the bar for computer fans and this does not deviate from their quality standard. But if youre comparing this with other cooler from Noctua or other quality brands and are hung up on the one fan or two fan thing, lets think about that for one minute.
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Christian
> 3 dayFor the longest time when I built my first desktop I wanted to go water cooling with an AIO but for some reason something changed in me a year ago when I finally did build my first desktop and I dont think Ill ever go AIO now.
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Juan Luis Alvarez Ramos
> 3 dayLo mejor en ventilación para CPU. Anteriormente tenía refrigeración líquida y, en tres ocasiones tuve desastres por escape del líquido. Dos tarjetas gráficas y una placa base, a la basura. Está claro que ya no me la juego más y con este disipador y sus ventiladores no se corre ningún riesgo. Enfría como la líquida y es más silencioso.
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PlayTime
> 3 daySo this is one of the best air coolers their is and i trust noctua in cooling my processesor!
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jean-luc
> 3 dayInstallé avec un i5 13600k sur une Asus Z790 TUF Gaming Z4 et 32 Go de mémoire Corsair , aucun problème de pose. Par contre le silence est impressionnant (et les températures basses) par rapport aux anciens ventilos dil y a une dizaine dannées de la même marque avec du matériel dancienne génération. Ce nest pas donné, mais on peut dormir tranquille ! Je ne regrette jamais des achats Noctua , jusquà présent !
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Oredano
> 3 dayNon ce di meglio per me
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Zack
> 3 dayYou wont find a better air cooler at this size. Perfect for my test bench. Easy to install and doesnt conflict with ram. 3950x Prime 95 AXV enabled full load, with precision boost overdrive yielded roughly 75c. The only coolers better than this are by a few degrees Celsius at twice the size.
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cr33d0
> 3 dayWas intrigued by 2xNF-A12x25 PWM fans bundled with the cooler which is a great bonus and really affect the overall cooler performance. Use it to tame Ryzen 7 3700X to keep below 41 deg C in idle with Silent ASUS Q-Fan control mode. Stable at 4GHz all 16 threads with temperature around 80 deg C in Singapore weather using AIDA64. Acceptable for air cooling. Really an expected quality from Noctua. You cant go wrong with this cooler.
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Jayson H.
> 3 dayDoes exactly what it was designed for. D15 performance in a smaller footprint. Fans are super quiet, even in a open air case and at 2000rpms, it’s very quiet.
The NH-U12A is the latest, 5th generation of Noctua’s NH-U12 series of 120mm size premium-quality quiet CPU coolers. Conceived to push the envelope of the 120mm form factor, it combines two of Noctua’s flagship model NF-A12x25 PWM 120mm fans with a completely redesigned heatsink featuring 7 heatpipes and an increased fin surface area for superior heat dissipation. This way, the NH-U12A can rival the performance of many 140mm size coolers while offering 120mm class case and PCIe compatibility. Topped off with the trusted, pro-grade SecuFirm2 multi-socket mounting system and Noctua’s proven NT-H1 thermal compound, the NH-U12A is a deluxe choice that combines top-tier performance with excellent compatibility and outstanding quietness of operation.
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Classic 120mm tower size for excellent overall compatibilityStanding 158mm tall, the NH-U12A is short enough to fit most modern mid- or high-end tower cases. Measuring 125mm wide (including fan and fan clips), the cooler stays clear of the top PCIe slot on most standard ATX or Micro-ATX motherboards, ensuring optimum compatibility with multi-GPU setups. |
100% RAM compatibility on LGA1700/1200 and AM4/AM5Due to its asymmetric design, the NH-U12A does not overhang the RAM slots on Intel LGA1700 (LGA17xx family)/LGA1200/LGA115x and AMD AM4/AM5 based motherboards, which ensures easy access to the modules and 100% compatibility with tall heat-spreaders. On LGA2066, the rear fan will overhang the RAM slots on the left-hand side of the socket, so RAM modules should not exceed 42mm in height.* |
Dual NF-A12 120mm fansThe NF-A12x25 is a highly optimised next-generation 120mm fan that integrates Noctua’s latest innovations in aerodynamic engineering in order to achieve an unprecedented level of quiet cooling performance. Using this elite-class fan in a push/pull dual fan configuration is one of the cornerstones of the NH-U12A’s commanding performance and acoustic efficiency. |
NT-H1 thermal compoundNoctua’s much-acclaimed NT-H1 is a pro-grade TIM solution that provides minimum thermal resistance, excellent ease of use and outstanding reliability. Chosen again and again by overclockers and enthusiast users worldwide, it has established itself as a benchmark for premium-quality thermal compounds. |
Measurements
- Height (without fan): 158 mm
- Width (without fan): 125 mm
- Depth (without fan): 58 mm
- Height (with fan): 158 mm
- Width (with fan): 125 mm
- Depth (with fan): 112 mm
- Weight (without fan): 760 g
- Weight (with fan): 1220 g
Materials
Copper (base and heat-pipes), aluminium (cooling fins), soldered joints & nickel plating
Cooler Specifications
Scope of delivery
- 2x NF-A12x25 PWM premium fan
- 2x NA-RC14 Low-Noise Adaptor (L.N.A)
- NA-YC1 4-pin PWM y-cable
- SecuFirm2 mounting kit
- NT-H1 high-grade thermal compound
- Noctua Metal Case-Badge
* In cases with more than 158mm CPU cooler clearance, the rear fan can be moved upwards to make room for memory modules taller than 42mm.
140mm performance in 120mm size
Thanks to its completely revised 7 heatpipe layout, 37% more fin surface area and a dual fan push/pull configuration that uses the new, state-of-the-art NF-A12x25 fans, the NH-U12A can actually match or even outperform many 140mm sized coolers.
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| NH-U12S | NH-U12S TR4-SP3 | NH-U12S redux | NH-U12S chromax.black | NH-U12A | NH-U12A chromax.black | |
| LGA2066, LGA2011-0 & LGA2011-3 | ✓ | X | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| LGA1700 | ✓ | X | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| LGA1200, LGA115x (LGA1150, LGA1151, LGA1155, LGA1156) | ✓ | X | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| LGA775 & LGA1366 | with NM-I3 | X | with NM-I3 | with NM-I3 | with NM-I3 | with NM-I3 |
| Xeon LGA2011 Narrow ILM / Xeon LGA1366 & LGA1356 | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| Xeon LGA3647 | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| Xeon LGA4189 | X | with NM-i4189 | X | X | X | X |
| AM5 | ✓ | X | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| AM4 | ✓ | X | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| sTRx4, sWRX8, TR4, SP3 | X | ✓ | X | X | X | X |
