Noctua NH-U12A

The NH-U12A chromax.black is an all-black version of Noctua’s award-winning NH-U12A premium-quality quiet CPU cooler. Thanks to the same proven asymmetrical single-tower heatsink design and state-of-the-art NF-A12x25 PWM fans, it stays true to the NH-U12A’s successful formula of fusing best-in-class cooling performance with superb quietness of operation and outstanding RAM, case and PCIe compatibility. At the same time, the chromax.black version with its black fans and black coated heatsink combines these assets with a sleek stealth look. Topped off with the renowned SecuFirm2™ multi-socket mounting system, Noctua’s enthusiast-grade NT-H1 thermal compound and a full 6-year manufacturer’s warranty, the NH-U12A chromax.black is a deluxe choice for customers who seek a highly compatible 120mm heatsink that can rival the performance of 140mm units and looks just as great as it cools.

SPECIFICATIONS

MODELNH-U12A chromax.Black
DIMENSIONSL: 125 x W: 112 x H: 158mm (including 25mm thick fans)
MATERIALS7x 6mm copper heat-pipes, copper base (nickel coated), aluminium cooling fins
COMPATIBILITYIntel: 115X/1200/1700
AMD: AM4/AM5
FANS2x Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM chromax.black (2000 max.RPM)
RAM CLEARANCEN/A

TEST SYSTEM

Testing is carried out on BC1 Mini v2 (Open Testbench), using the following hardware in 20°C ambient room temperature.

CASEBC1 Mini v2 (Open Testbench)
MOTHERBOARDRog Strix B650E-I Gaming WiFi (paid link)
CPUR5 7600X / R7 7700X (paid links)
CPU COOLERNoctua NH-U12A chromax.Black (paid link)
PSU Extreme 850R (paid link)
RAM32GB Gskill DDR5, 6000MHz, CL30 (paid link)

THERMAL BENCHMARKS

We use Cinebench R23 multicore (stability test), for CPU thermal testing. This provides worse case scenario for given CPUs thermal output.