ASUS showed us its GeForce RTX 4080 Noctua Edition graphics card that it formally announced yesterday. To call this card thick would be an understatement, as it's possibly the first graphics card that is 5 slots thick! The card easily overshoots what constitutes 4 slots, and is technically 4.2 to 4.3 slots; but then expansion slot counts are whole numbers rounded to the next digit despite what marketing says.

This card combines an ASUS ROG Strix RTX 4080 PCB with an air-based cooling solution designed by Noctua. The cooler has two large aluminium fin-stacks that have been skewered by eight 6 mm-thick nickel-plated copper heatpipes, and ventilated by a pair of Noctua's top-of-the-line NF-A12x25 120 mm fans that feature fluid-dynamic bearings. The fan-tuning for this card is a Noctua-ASUS collaboration, and promises to make this the quietest air-cooled RTX 4080 you can buy.

ASUS today announced the GeForce RTX 4080 Noctua Edition graphics card, a continuation of its collaboration with the legendary cooling company, building on the previous GeForce RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 Noctua variants. This year ASUS and Noctua have worked together to tame the power of the mighty GeForce RTX 4080 graphics card. Noctua fan-design prowess and an ASUS custom-built vapor chamber combine to create the quietest air-cooled RTX 4080 on the market.

Cool and quiet
The ASUS GeForce RTX 4080 Noctua Edition incorporates a pair of state-of-the-art Noctua NF-A12x25 fans to move air over a massive heatsink, developed in a partnership between the veteran ASUS thermal R&D team and the engineers at Noctua. The engineers successfully refined the fin density and heat pipe arrangement of the heatsink, optimizing it for the airflow characteristics of the NF-A12x25. To prioritize low noise levels, a smooth acoustic signature and high cooling performance while making room for the pair of 120 mm fans, ASUS expanded the card's total volume to occupy 4.3 slots of space. The card features a Dual BIOS switch, and Quiet mode is enabled by default to minimize noise right out of the box.

ASUS and Noctua have had great success with their limited edition GeForce RTX 30-series graphics cards in the past. The collaboration saw ASUS-marketed graphics cards that combine an ASUS-designed PCB with a cooling solution designed and supplied by Noctua, combining their best VGA heatsink technology with a pair of their high static-pressure FDB fans. The ASUS x Noctua RTX 3080 (pictured below) remains among the best RTX 3080 cards we ever got a chance to test. It turns out that ASUS and Noctua will continue their collaboration with the new RTX 40-series "Ada" generation. ChipHell reports that ASUS will show off its next ASUS x Noctua graphics card(s) at the 2023 International CES. The report doesn't specify which GPU they will use. CES could see the introduction of at least two more RTX 40-series SKUs, namely the RTX 4070 Ti, and the RTX 4070, so it could be anything. Given that ASUS has given the Noctua treatment to the RTX 3080, it's quite possible that the RTX 4080 could get it too, at some point.

Noctua today introduced its new NA-IS1 intake side spacer frames for suction or "pull" type applications where fans draw air through obstacles such as grills, perforated plates, mesh panels, filters or radiators. By offsetting the fan from the obstacle, the NA-IS1 can significantly reduce influx turbulences and thereby help to improve both acoustics and performance. In addition, Noctua also introduced the NA-SAVG2 anti-vibration gasket set for using 140 mm fans on water cooling radiators or other applications that benefit from a tighter seal with the fan.

"Intake applications where fans draw air through obstacles such as grills or perforated panels are notoriously challenging both from an aerodynamic and from an acoustic point of view due to the massive turbulences that are caused by these objects", explains Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO). "These influx turbulences can have a significant impact on fan acoustics and performance, so we have created the NA-IS1 spacer frames that give customers a simple yet highly effective solution to reduce these turbulences and thereby make fans more efficient in suction type applications."

Noctua today announced its new NA-TPG1 thermal paste guard for AMD's latest AM5 based Ryzen processors. When the mounting pressure of the cooling solution is applied, excess thermal paste will be squeezed outwards. With AM5 CPUs, this excess paste tends to accumulate in the cut-outs at the sides of the heat-spreader and may become difficult to remove. Simple and risk-free to apply, the NA-TPG1 prevents this undesired phenomenon.

"While there's no denying that AMD's new Ryzen 7000 processors perform fantastic, we found that the cut-outs at the side of the heat-spreader tend to attract thermal paste that can be challenging to clean off" says Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO). "This is where our new thermal paste guard steps in: it's a simple yet highly effective tool for keeping your new Ryzen 7000 series CPU nice and clean."

Noctua today confirmed that all its CPU coolers and mounting-kits that support AMD AM4 also support the upcoming AM5 socket, except the NH-L9a-AM4 low-profile cooler and the NM-AM4-L9aL9i mounting-kit. For the latter, Noctua announced the new NM-AM5-L9aL9i kit that will be available free-of-charge from end of October. Mounting upgrade kits for older heatsink models that do not yet support AM4 will also be provided to customers at no additional cost.

"We have offered free-of-charge mounting upgrade kits to our customers ever since AMD introduced AM2 in 2006, and we're proudly continuing this tradition with the upcoming Ryzen 7000 series processors and their new AM5 socket", says Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO). "While all our current multi-socket coolers already support AM5 out of the box and don't require any updates, customers will be able to upgrade the NH-L9a as well as most older coolers at no additional cost, so even 15-year-old coolers can be used on the latest processors!"

Only a week ago the first pictures of the ASUS x Noctua GeForce RTX 3080 card turned up on the web and now the card has been officially announced as the ASUS GeForce RTX 3080 Noctua OC Edition 10 GB GDDR6X. The card will have an OC and a Gaming mode with different boost clocks, where the Gaming mode allows the GPU to boost to 1785 MHz and the OC mode takes this further to 1815 MHz. The memory remains at stock clocks and uses 19 Gbps GDDR6X memory. ASUS claims it's the quietest card in its class, but doesn't mention any actual noise levels, although the card comes with a 0dB fan stop mode. It should be noted that the card takes up 4.1 slots and as such, it might not fit in all builds. No official pricing was provided.

In cooperation with Noctua, we at WATERCOOL proudly present the ideal fan for our "MORA3 420 for Noctua". The new Noctua NF-A20 HS-PWM chromax.black offers a 40 percent higher flow rate as well as 90 percent more static pressure than the Noctua NF-A20 chromax.black.swap. With Noctua's proven SSO2 premium bearing, more than 150,000 hours MTTF and 6-year manufacturer's warranty, the NF-A20 HS-PWM chromax.black is the perfect choice for users who want to get the absolute maximum out of their MORA3!

"Our NF-A20 has always been very popular among MO-RA3 users, but with 800 RPM and a maximum of 18 dB(A), it is clearly tailored to silent enthusiasts," says Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO) "Therefore, we are even more pleased to now be able to offer the faster-spinning HS-PWM chromax.black model in cooperation with Watercool, which can significantly increases the cooling performance of radiators!"

ASUS looks set to release a second graphics card featuring a Noctua cooling solution nearly a year after the two companies announced the ASUS x Noctua GeForce RTX 3070. This new card features the GA102-based 10 GB version of the RTX 3080 instead of the newer 12 GB version launched in January. The quad-slot cooling solution present on the card is very similar to the existing configuration with dual 120 mm Noctua fans and a slightly modified backplate. The card features dual 8-pin power connectors in addition to non-standard display outputs with 3x DisplayPort 1.4 and 2x HDMI 2.1. The ASUS x Noctua GeForce RTX 3080 is expected to launch soon and retail for 1150 EUR which is 250 EUR more then the existing ASUS x Noctua GeForce RTX 3070.

Japanese company Sycom has recently released the RTX 3090 Ti G-Master Hydro as a new graphics card option for their prebuilt systems. The Sycom RTX 3090 Ti G-Master Hydro features a triple fan onboard air-cooler in addition to an external Asetek Hybrid GFX 240 mm AIO with Noctua NF-A12x25 ULN fans. The card also features RGB lighting and achieves a temperature reduction of 10°C - 15°C compared to the default air-cooler. The card doesn't feature any factory overclocking but the increased thermal headroom allows the card to maintain an average boost clock of 1802 MHz increasing performance by 6%. Sycom currently offers the RTX 3090 Ti G-Master Hydro as an option in 6 computers paired alongside the Core i9-12900K, Core i7-12700K, or Ryzen 7 5800X with base prices ranging from 562,180 yen (4320 USD) to 670,870 yen (5150 USD).

Noctua has recently published an updated roadmap showing that their next-generation NH-D15 CPU Cooler has been delayed once again until Q1 2023. The NH-D15 was released back in 2014 with initial plans for its successor to launch sometime in 2021 however the new cooler has faced numerous delays. Noctua has showcased numerous technological improvements in its fan and heatsink designs in recent years which have the potential to make the successor a best-in-class product.

The updated roadmap also includes information for other upcoming products including fan grills, voltage converters, fan hubs, CPU coolers, and numerous fans. Noctua plans to release new fan grills this quarter followed by a 24 V to 12 V voltage converter, 8-way fan hub, and next-generation Intel Xeon CPU cooler in Q3 2022. In Q4 we can expect next-generation 140 mm fans along with slim 60 mm fans, and 24 V 40 mm fans ideal for 3D printing applications. The products expected to launch in Q1 2023 alongside the next-generation NH-D15 cooler include the Noctua desk fan and white versions of existing fans to complement the existing color options.

Noctua today presented the all-new NH-D12L low-height dual tower CPU cooler and the corresponding NF-A12x25r round-frame 120 mm fan. At a height of only 145 mm (13 mm lower than Noctua's regular 120 mm models), it fits many 4U enclosures as well as narrower tower cases that have been previously limited to solutions with 92 mm fans. At the same time, its five heatpipe dual-tower design and state-of-the-art NF-A12x25r 120 mm fan allow it to achieve a level of efficiency that surpasses many full-height 120 mm models.

"So far, all our 120 mm class coolers were 158 mm high, but as of recent, more and more PC cases only support up to 150 or even 145 mm - this is where the NH-D12L steps in", explains Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO). "Simply lowering one of our existing models wasn't an option because a standard square 120 mm fan would cause lots of issues with motherboard heatsinks or shrouds. That's why we came up with this novel dual tower design and a round-frame version of the NF-A12x25 fan that can be installed at a very low position between the two towers - a winning combination that provides impressive results for this height class."

Noctua today introduced new, LGA1700-specific revisions of its award-winning NH-L9i and NH-L9i chromax.black low-profile CPU coolers. The new NH-L9i-17xx and NH-L9i-17xx chromax.black are ideal for building ultra-compact HTPCs and Small Form Factor (SFF) systems using Intel's brand new 12th generation Core processors such as the Core i9-12900K, Core i7-12700K or Core i5-12600K. The new, optional NA-FD1 fan duct makes it possible to further improve the performance of the coolers by bridging the gap between the fan and perforated case panels in order to enable the coolers to draw in fresh air from the outside.

"We're very happy with the performance of the NH-L9i-17xx coolers on Intel's new LGA1700 CPUs", says Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO). "We have managed to dissipate up to around 160 W on the Core i9-12900K, pushing it to over 4.2 GHz, and up to 125 W on the Core i5-12600K running at 4.3 GHz. These are excellent results for such small coolers, making them fantastic options for highly compact Intel Z690 builds that pack a lot of processing power!"

ASUS and Noctua today announced the ASUS GeForce RTX 3070 Noctua Edition: the world's first graphics card to use Noctua fans and a tailored heatsink that has been co-engineered by Noctua. Allowing for a reduction in noise levels of up to 15 dB(A), this refined cooling setup makes the Noctua Edition the quietest card in its class and the perfect choice for customers who demand serious GPU performance without sacrificing quietness of operation.

"Using our extensive thermal R&D experience, we've created a new GPU heatsink that's tailor-made for the performance characteristics of their state-of-the-art NF-A12x25 fans," said Kent Chien (Corporate Vice President and General Manager of the ASUS Multimedia Business Unit). "Our teamwork gives noise-conscious gamers and Noctua enthusiasts a unique graphics card that maximizes heat dissipation per decibel of noise emitted, all in a package that coordinates perfectly with other Noctua products in a DIY PC."

Back in August, we have seen rumors of ASUS collaborating with Austrian cooling specialist Noctua to develop a custom set of graphics cards based on custom cooling solutions provided by Noctua. In the early EEC listings, the references stood for a GPU based on NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 3070 GPU with a custom cooling provided by Noctua. We thought that such a collaboration would open many doors for both companies. Today, the product is finally looking like a genuine offer, and we got the first set of pictures thanks to ASUS Vietnam.

The card, pictured below, has dual 8-pin power connectors to supply the chip and has three DisplayPort connectors accompanied by two HDMI outputs. The product is a three-slot body with Noctua's iconic brown theme, featuring two large fans to cool the heatsink. While we don't know any further information, the Vietnamese pricing is supposed to stand at 26 million VND, translating to around 1137.62 US Dollars at the writing date.

Noctua today announced that it will provide free-of-charge mounting upgrade kits for Intel's upcoming LGA1700 platform, enabling customers to keep using existing CPU coolers on the new 12th generation Intel Core CPUs (Alder Lake-S). Additionally, most of Noctua's current multi-socket cooler models will soon include LGA1700 mounting hardware and the popular NH-L9i low-profile coolers will come in new, dedicated LGA1700-revisions.

"We have offered free-of-charge mounting upgrade kits to our customers ever since AMD introduced AM2 in 2006, and we're proudly continuing this tradition with Intel's upcoming Amber Lake-S processors and the LGA1700 socket", says Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO). "Customers will be able to upgrade most Noctua CPU coolers since 2005 at no additional cost, so even 15-year-old coolers can be used on the latest processors!"

ASUS appears to be working with Noctua to release an RTX 3070 graphics card with a custom cooler developed by the company. ASUS has partnered with other companies such as EK to release similar graphics cards with integrated water blocks in the past so this collaboration would seem possible. We have seen ASUS register a new model 'RTX3070-8G-NOCTUA' with the Eurasian Economic Commission however, more information on the upcoming product is sparse with details regarding what specific cooling system will be used and if other models will be released are currently unknown. ASUS replied to an email inquiry about the product saying they were unable to comment but that they would hopefully be able to announce something soon which lends considerable weight to these rumors. We have seen several renders and mods over the years of Noctua themed graphics cards one of which is included below in absence of any pictures or drawings of this card.

Noctua today presented four CPU coolers and a separate mounting kit for Intel's LGA4189 platform. The new NH-U14S DX-4189, NH-U12S DX-4189, NH-U9 DX-4189 and NH-D9 DX-4189 4U are ideal for creating whisper-quiet high-end workstations using Intel's just-announced Ice Lake-64L based W3300 series Xeon processors for LGA4189. In addition to the new DX-4189 coolers, the NM-i4189 mounting kit allows Noctua DX-3647 and TR4-SP3 series coolers to be installed on LGA4189.

"DX line CPU coolers have become a default choice in premium grade quiet cooling solutions for Intel Xeon processors", says Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO). "The latest revision for LGA4189 comprises 14, 12 and two 9 cm models, covering anything from spacious workstation cases to 4U rack-mount servers."

Did you ever look at Noctua's tan and brown color scheme and think you would certainly love to have more of that? Then I have just the news for you today! Mito, a popular keyboard and keycap designer with plenty of success stories and collaborations, has worked to get an official license from Noctua to have keycap sets made in the color scheme that the Austrian brand is synonymous with. We reached out to Noctua who confirmed the whole thing started as a simple design render on social media, which garnered enough attention for Noctua to get in touch and purse the idea formally. Currently still in the interest check stage, these are pretty much guaranteed to go the group buy route on Drop sooner than later. There is also an option for Noctua's Chromax colorway as well, for a more subtle fan offering (get it?). If this interests you whatsoever, head over to the Google form here and express your opinion on the final designs and what you would like to see when it comes to Noctua-themes keycaps, coiled cables, and other accessories—including a potential hoodie!

Sonnet Technologies today announced the DuoModo line of professional, modular Thunderbolt expansion systems for the desktop and for rack installation, the latest entries in its award-winning lineup of Thunderbolt products. The DuoModo line is comprised of three interchangeable expansion modules—a three-slot PCIe card system, an eGPU card system, and a Mac mini mounting system with integrated 40 Gbps Thunderbolt storage dock—and three enclosures consisting of two dual-module housings (one desktop and one rackmount) and a single-module desktop housing. Sonnet will also offer four preconfigured systems to simplify the order process for the most popular combinations of modules and enclosures. All modules are Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 compatible.

DuoModo Echo III Module: This module (the same one used in Sonnet's Echo III Desktop and Echo III Rackmount systems announced at the end of 2020) features one x16 and two x8 PCIe 3.0 slots; accommodates full-height, full-length (up to 12.28 inches long) PCIe cards; and connects them to a computer's Thunderbolt port via the included 0.7-meter Thunderbolt 3 (40 Gbps) cable. The module integrates a universal 400 W power supply and includes a 75 W auxiliary power connector for non-GPU cards that require extra power. The module includes a mode switch that enables the use of three Avid Pro Tools|HDX PCIe cards, and features Noctua cooling fans for ultra-quiet operation.

Noctua today released its much anticipated NH-P1 CPU cooler as well as the optional NF-A12x25 LS-PWM 120 mm fan. Custom-designed for fanless operation from the ground up, the NH-P1 is capable of cooling modern high-end CPUs with low to moderate heat dissipation completely passively in enclosures with good natural convection. For further enhanced performance or semi-passive setups that only spin up their fans when necessary, the NH-P1 can be outfitted with a low-speed, ultra-quiet 120 mm fan such as the new NF-A12x25 LS-PWM.

"The NH-P1 is our very first passive cooler, and it should be easy to see that we didn't just take a regular heatsink and omit the fan", says Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO). "A lot of engineering work went into designing this unit for fanless operation from the ground up and we're truly proud of the end result. In our completely fanless demo system, the NH-P1 cools an Intel Core i9-11900K running Prime95 at more than 3.60 GHz - this is a lot of processing power and a whopping 125 W kept in check with zero fan noise!"

Noctua's ambitious 100% fanless CPU heatsink, the NH-P1, was briefly listed on Newegg for $100. The heatsink offers clearance for standard-height memory and VRM heatsinks of most motherboards; and completely fanless cooling due to the sheer amount of surface area on offer to dissipate heat without the need for an active airflow. The design of the NH-P1 involves a nickel-plated copper base, from which six heat-pipes emerge passing through a gargantuan aluminium fin-stack.

Noctua claims that the cooler can handle mainstream desktop CPUs without the need for fans. These include the Core i9-9900K, Ryzen 7 2700X, etc., which should mean that most non-K 10th Gen and 11th Gen Intel processors; as well as Ryzen 3000 and Ryzen 5000 chips up to 8 cores should run perfectly fine with this heatsink. Among the CPU socket types supported are LGA1200, LGA115x, LGA2066, and AM4. For higher TDP chips, particularly HEDT chips in the LGA2066 package, the heatsink supports the mounting of a pair of 120 mm fans.

Noctua first teased their passive CPU cooler at Computex 2019 which weighed 1.5 kg and could handle processors with a TDP of 120 W passively and 180 W with quiet fans. Noctua had been planning to release a commercial version of the cooler in Q1 2021 but that date was pushed to Q2 2021 when Noctua updated its product roadmap in early 2021. Noctua has recently confirmed that this latest launch date is on schedule with an announcement that the cooler is "coming very soon" in response to a user on Twitter. The prototype featured mounting for AM4 and LGA 115x sockets with it keeping the Intel i9-9900K cool under load so we expect it will handle any consumer CPU.

ASUS today formally launched the Republic of Gamers (ROG) Ryujin II series all-in-one liquid CPU coolers. The second generation of Ryujin was first shown off in January 2021. The production version is unchanged. Launching in two variants based on radiator size—the Ryujin II 360 and Ryujin II 240, these coolers are characterized by a 3.5-inch true-color LCD display on the pump-block, and the inclusion of premium Noctua Industrial PPC 2000 PWM fans with the package.

The screen can be made to display anything from cool animation presets, to system monitoring, real-time cooling performance, and your clan's identity. The pump-block also has a concealed lateral fan that ventilates the CPU VRM area around the socket. The pump-block is functionally based on the 7th generation of AIO CLC technology by Asetek. The included Noctua Industrial PPC 2000 fans turn at speeds of 450 - 2000 RPM, pushing up to 71.6 CFM of air-flow at 3.94 mm H₂O static pressure. The company didn't reveal pricing.

Noctua today presented the NH-U12S redux, the first CPU cooler within its redux line of products. True to the spirit of the redux line, the NH-U12S redux takes the proven concept of the original, award-winning NH-U12S and reduces it to its essential core: a quiet, quality-made 120 mm cooler with streamlined accessories that is highly compatible, easy to install and accessibly priced. With the NA-FK1 second fan kit, the NH-U12S redux can be upgraded to a push/pull dual-fan configuration for further improved performance.

"Our redux line fans have earned an excellent reputation for providing trusted Noctua quality without breaking the bank", says Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO). "Today, we're proud to present our first redux line CPU cooler, which does exactly the same thing. We're confident that the NH-U12S redux will be a perfect choice for anybody who has always wanted a Noctua heatsink but couldn't quite justify the investment."