# Noctua NH-U12P Dual fan Vs Megahalems single fan



## trt740 (Sep 6, 2009)

I got tired endless reviews and of wondering If a new cooler would make any difference in the cooling inside my case and so after a trek to Micro center I decided to purchase a Megahalem cooler to compare it to my current Noctua. My Noctua is one hell of a cooler but was being overwhelmed buy my case temps and every review I read said it was on par with the Meg, TRUE, Hammer and all the rest. Orginally I was going to purchase a TRUE RT 1366 revision B with the new fin arrangement but look at my feet to see the Megahalem on sale for 10.00 less. So here is the comparison 

Noctua NH-U12P with a Antec TRI cool 120mm fan 78CF in push pull with a Noctua 120mm 55CF fan
verses a Megahalem with a single Antec Tri cool 120 mm 78CF couldn't added a second fan because a second set of clips are not sent with the MEG. *So The Noctua has the benefit of a 55 cf additional fan.*

Both heatsinks had Noctua NT-H1 thermal paste applied but again the Noctua had about 3 months of curing as a advantage so here we go. Testing was done in my Thermaltake armor case with a solid side panel on. Room temperature is 70F, my case has 5 120mm fans, two 92 mm fans and a 140mm psu fan. The Noctua once again get an advantage because the Meg loses a 120mm fan from the heat sink. Here is the test..

*1.Noctua NH-U12P with a Antec TRI cool 120mm fan 78CF in push pull with a Noctua 120mm 55CF fan*







*2.Megahalem with a single Antec Tri cool 120 mm 78CF*







*My mouth dropped when I saw this and this is with one fan and remember the Noctua is no slouch of a cooler.* 


*Okay Found a rubber band to rig up a second fan on the Meg and a 4c drop in max temps occurred*





*Halloween art work is by my 10 year old daughter feel free to copy and paste it LOL!!!*


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## sneekypeet (Sep 6, 2009)

Nice numbers TRT....you didnt mention...is the mega a ton easier to install?


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## trt740 (Sep 6, 2009)

sneekypeet said:


> Nice numbers TRT....you didnt mention...is the mega a ton easier to install?



Because that wouldn't be true at all the Noctua has just as good if not better a mounting system in fact they are very similar.


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## sneekypeet (Sep 6, 2009)

I didnt ask if they were similar, I asked which is easier to install....lol


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## Cold Storm (Sep 6, 2009)

Come on Trt, grab some scythe's and go at it!! 

as for the facts you have there.. pretty nice. Glad to see it dropped like that for ya.


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## sneekypeet (Sep 6, 2009)

Cold Storm said:


> Come on Trt, grab some scythe's and go at it!!
> 
> as for the facts you have there.. pretty nice. Glad to see it dropped like that for ya.



I agree my Jyuni is quiet too, and does well over 80CFM. get a pair and the wire mount kit and enjoy


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## trt740 (Sep 6, 2009)

sneekypeet said:


> I didnt ask if they were similar, I asked which is easier to install....lol



Neither really Noctuas  color instructions are much better and they install almost exactly the same way the new TRUE mounting system is a rip off of them both. The MEG is quality surrounded by crappy packaging, in fact the worst I have ever seen. Where the Noctua is not as good a performer but is packaged like a Rolls Royce and even includes a screw driver, 1366/775 mount and AMD mounts, some of the best thermal paste made, plus it comes with 2 sets of fan wires, 2 fan controllers and in my case one of the best 120mm fans made. The MEG comes in a crappy beat up looking blue box with a 1366 / 775 mount with black and white instructions and one set of fan wires *Having said this give me the MEG please.* The only thing I have seen to compare  it's performance to is a TRUE and I would have to say this is better. However, the last TRUE I used was a A revision.* For those of you that missed these results thats a 12 degree drop using one less fan wow!!!!*


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## sneekypeet (Sep 6, 2009)

now that is an acceptable answer

The packaging couldnt have been all that bad, the mega got to you in one piece but I do get what you mean.

Seriously tho, look into some better fans, it can only get better....BTW I used to use tri-cools myself, then to loud ass Yate Loon H fans, now to the Scythes....get some!!!!one !


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## trt740 (Sep 6, 2009)

sneekypeet said:


> now that is an acceptable answer
> 
> The packaging couldnt have been all that bad, the mega got to you in one piece but I do get what you mean.
> 
> Seriously tho, look into some better fans, it can only get better....BTW I used to use tri-cools myself, then to loud ass Yate Loon H fans, now to the Scythes....get some!!!!one !



I have two Scythe fans but like the TRI cool better, but that's me I just needs some extra fan clips to mount them. The Scythe when they pull hum and are 66cf but the Antec is 78cf and is silent plus has a purdy red led. I will most likely use one of the Scythes as the second fan or buy another 78 CF TRI cool.


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## trt740 (Sep 6, 2009)

sneekypeet said:


> now that is an acceptable answer
> 
> The packaging couldnt have been all that bad, the mega got to you in one piece but I do get what you mean.
> 
> Seriously tho, look into some better fans, it can only get better....BTW I used to use tri-cools myself, then to loud ass Yate Loon H fans, now to the Scythes....get some!!!!one !



You and Paul both told me but I was hard headed but in the end it was you two that made the decision to set the  purdy ( man has Thermalright stepped it up) TRUE 1366 RT B down and pick up the MEG


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## sneekypeet (Sep 6, 2009)

I have one of these strapped to mine, and the GPU fan at 40% stock speed is louder than my Mega at full RPM.   http://www.jab-tech.com/Scythe-KAZE...mm-Case-Fan-SY1225SL12SH-1900rpm-pr-3945.html

That fan is quieter than both the yates and my old tri-cools.


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## dr emulator (madmax) (Sep 6, 2009)

i want some pics of that beat up box


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## Cold Storm (Sep 6, 2009)

sneekypeet said:


> I have one of these strapped to mine, and the GPU fan at 40% stock speed is louder than my Mega at full RPM.   http://www.jab-tech.com/Scythe-KAZE...mm-Case-Fan-SY1225SL12SH-1900rpm-pr-3945.html
> 
> That fan is quieter than both the yates and my old tri-cools.



hey, I got 12 going in my case right now... And the Sound isn't bad at all. IMHO

 The only reason I even have the Tri Cool fans is that it was all right for the front fans.. since there isn't anything there but to show.. Now, I got my hands on some Cooler Master fans, and once I get back from my trip I'll be switching out the 3 tri fans for the Cooler Master ones.


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## sneekypeet (Sep 6, 2009)

About that box, I just got mine out....what is so bad about it?

Mine is baby blue, not pretty but oh well, with an inner cardboard box. Inside the box mine was bubble wrapped and inside of another bag with the anti corosion paper in it. They even layed a piece of high density foam over the top to protect the fins even more. I would say similar to a BARAM, or alot of other manufaturers. Was you looking for blister packaging or something?


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## trt740 (Sep 6, 2009)

sneekypeet said:


> About that box, I just got mine out....what is so bad about it?
> 
> Mine is baby blue, not pretty but oh well, with an inner cardboard box. Inside the box mine was bubble wrapped and inside of another bag with the anti corosion paper in it. They even layed a piece of high density foam over the top to protect the fins even more. I would say similar to a BARAM, or alot of other manufaturers. Was you looking for blister packaging or something?



I'm not even gonna debate that with you lol!! just compare that to any current packaging from any other heat sink maker  except maybe the old thermalright packaging and even it was nicer  than that. That my friends is not very well done at all, and will turn off alot of buyers when it's in a store. I know thats dumb but it looked horrible on the shelf with the rest of the packaging. It reminds me of the generic beer cans that are white and say beer in black lettering on the front next to say a Budweiser select can. It shouldn't matter how it's boxed but the fact is it does.


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## sneekypeet (Sep 6, 2009)

ahhh I think I get ya on that, I wasnt trying to debate it really, just trying to gain perspective as to what the off the shelf buyer sees. I do all of my shopping via e-tailers, so I cant give good perspective on my impressions in the stores.

Basically you are saying it could have been in a brown bag and not been any less noticable?


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## trt740 (Sep 6, 2009)

sneekypeet said:


> ahhh I think I get ya on that, I wasnt trying to debate it really, just trying to gain perspective as to what the off the shelf buyer sees. I do all of my shopping via e-tailers, so I cant give good perspective on my impressions in the stores.
> 
> Basically you are saying it could have been in a brown bag and not been any less noticable?



Exactly the way it was presented compared to say OCZ or Thermalrights new packaging or the Hammer which Micro Center wants *100.00 for was crazy*. The debate things wasn't meant like it sounded


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## trt740 (Sep 6, 2009)

*here are the two at 3.9 ghz*

1. 	Noctua NH-U12P  tested earlier this week






2. Prolimatech Megahalems     tested today






i*t appears the Noctua gains a bit when more voltage is added like at 4.0ghz but in this case it loses by 14 degrees. Thats crazy!!!! it's blowing away the Noctua which is in the top ten air coolers made and it's only using one fan.* Remember these tests are performed in the exact same case under almost identical conditions with the same I7 920.


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## sneekypeet (Sep 6, 2009)

trt740 said:


> Exactly the way it was presented compared to say OCZ or Thermalrights new packaging or the Hammer which Micro Center wants *100.00 for was crazy*. The debate things wasn't meant like it sounded



I knew what you meant I just wanted to clearify. As I say I dont get to look in the store. Best buy is the closest I have to a PC store, and they dont carry shit.

Its good to see what the retail buyers see, it helps me to add things to my writing


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## trt740 (Sep 6, 2009)

sneekypeet said:


> I knew what you meant I just wanted to clearify. As I say I dont get to look in the store. Best buy is the closest I have to a PC store, and they dont carry shit.
> 
> Its good to see what the retail buyers see, it helps me to add things to my writing



I can tell you the true test of a cooler is under stress in a case not in the open air as you can see. I'm stunned buy these results that has to be near water cooling.


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## sneekypeet (Sep 6, 2009)

my testing is done in a box, no incomming airflow. I wait for a 40*C ambient then record what the die is reading. As close to closed case as possible, if not a bit more abusive. Altho this does show worst case scenario, and to be honest, temps in the reverse TEC are almost spot on with linpack testing numbers.


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## Kantastic (Sep 6, 2009)

sneekypeet said:


> now that is an acceptable answer
> 
> The packaging couldnt have been all that bad, the mega got to you in one piece but I do get what you mean.
> 
> Seriously tho, look into some better fans, it can only get better....BTW I used to use tri-cools myself, then to loud ass Yate Loon H fans, now to the Scythes....get some!!!!one !



The Megahalem's description says that it yields optimum CFM/performance results with a 57 CFM fan, or that's how I interpreted it.

Anyhow, I'm glad you ditched the Megashadow and the BARAM idea, can't go wrong with a classic Prolimatech Megahalems! I'm still set on getting the TRUE Black Rev. C when the time comes.


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## sneekypeet (Sep 6, 2009)

the way I take it is they recommend at least a 57 CFM fan for optimal performance. My box says 1200 RPM BTW

clerification from the horses mouth....http://www.prolimatech.com/products/megahalems.html   Look at the top right features bullet point. 1600 RPM and up is recomended!


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## trt740 (Sep 7, 2009)

good the antec fan I'm using is 2000 RPM 78 CF


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## sneekypeet (Sep 7, 2009)

the scythe I run is 110CFM at 1900. Just saying trt, there are better solutions, and your i7 will like it


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## trt740 (Sep 7, 2009)

sneekypeet said:


> the scythe I run is 110CFM at 1900. Just saying trt, there are better solutions, and your i7 will like it



I will add a second and quiet is my middle name and these are near silent.


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## sneekypeet (Sep 7, 2009)

DOesnt look like Im going to convince you but this fan is near silent too, not up to Noctua quiet but way less than the blue LED tri-cools from the front of my 900. Just trying to help out and help your i7 breathe even better than it is


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## trt740 (Sep 7, 2009)

sneekypeet said:


> DOesnt look like Im going to convince you but this fan is near silent too, not up to Noctua quiet but way less than the blue LED tri-cools from the front of my 900. Just trying to help out and help your i7 breathe even better than it is



I might try them give me a newegg link and Peete look at this my old cooler would be overwhelmed and error at this voltage with a D0 this is a stable clock 24/7. Unreal gonna try for 4.3ghz but let this prime a bit more and re post. I learned my lesson from now on yours and Pauls advice moves to the top of the heap now that the old monkey is gone into retirement.


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## Cold Storm (Sep 7, 2009)

sneekypeet said:


> I have one of these strapped to mine, and the GPU fan at 40% stock speed is louder than my Mega at full RPM.   http://www.jab-tech.com/Scythe-KAZE...mm-Case-Fan-SY1225SL12SH-1900rpm-pr-3945.html
> 
> That fan is quieter than both the yates and my old tri-cools.



There you go TRT, SP linked it in the thread on page one.... To tell the truth, that's the best price to grab them at, and I've done ton of buys from them, so if your iffy on the site, I can say they are great.


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## trt740 (Sep 7, 2009)

found it here aswell http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185060 37 dba seems loud to me the tri cool are 30 but I can give them a try but i do like my leds. I cannot believe 4.2 ghz is going to prime on air with one fan that's crazy. It now time to try to hit near 4.3ghz. *Dual fan testing coming added a second fan using a rubber band.*


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## sneekypeet (Sep 7, 2009)

nice, glad to see its all going well


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## trt740 (Sep 7, 2009)

sneekypeet said:


> nice, glad to see its all going well



4.3 ghz is going to be doable 24/7 with two moderate fans amazing. I have a better chip than I thought. When I say this I'm shaking my head because my Noctua would have been well over 95c ( and the chip near death) and this heat sink  with two fans now is keeping the hottest core at 89c using 1.336v at 4.3ghz . The most I could use with the Noctua is 1.288v at 4.1ghz and it would be screaming hot 93c or so.

Update temps are beginning to rise nearing 88-89c on one core still amazing. If I took the case side off it would drop a bunch may try that if it hits 90c just to see if 4.3ghz can be achieved. Lowest core is currently at 81c


*here is a quick prime 20+ minutes with dual fans on the meg closed case.*






*Now I'm gonna remove the case side. to see how much it drops.* *not a giant drop so air flow in the case must be decent*


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## trt740 (Sep 7, 2009)

trt740 said:


> 4.3 ghz is going to be doable 24/7 with two moderate fans amazing. I have a better chip than I thought. When I say this I'm shaking my head because my Noctua would have been well over 95c ( and the chip near death) and this heat sink  with two fans now is keeping the hottest core at 89c using 1.336v at 4.3ghz . The most I could use with the Noctua is 1.288v at 4.1ghz and it would be screaming hot 93c or so.
> 
> Update temps are beginning to rise nearing 88-89c on one core still amazing. If I took the case side off it would drop a bunch may try that if it hits 90c just to see if 4.3ghz can be achieved. Lowest core is currently at 81c
> 
> ...



*Okay I'm done now.  *


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## pantherx12 (Sep 7, 2009)

Hey I'm not sure if I read thurther up right cos I'm tired, but if your after LED fans that are quiet check out the hiperFLOW fans by Hiper group.

They're 20 dba and push 45 cfm ( same amount of air as tricools on medium speed) but 8 dba quieter!


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## Kantastic (Sep 7, 2009)

pantherx12 said:


> Hey I'm not sure if I read thurther up right cos I'm tired, but if your after LED fans that are quiet check out the hiperFLOW fans by Hiper group.
> 
> They're 20 dba and push 45 cfm ( same amount of air as tricools on medium speed) but 8 dba quieter!



Then you better check these out, I'm getting them for a TRUE Black soon.


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## pantherx12 (Sep 7, 2009)

Cool, shame you can only really get them on ebay in the UK. : [


These are the Hiper fans if anyone is still interested, I got specs wrong by the way.

19dba 49cfm

http://www.hipergroup.com/products.php?lv=3&cate=15&type=16&pid=53


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## Naelex (Sep 7, 2009)

Those temps are insane, how did you apply the thermal paste exactly?


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## trt740 (Sep 7, 2009)

Naelex said:


> Those temps are insane, how did you apply the thermal paste exactly?



small drop dead center of heat shield, set the heat sink on the drop and gave a few twists.


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## trt740 (Sep 8, 2009)

gotta tell ya boys 24/7 4.2ghz is screaming fast burned a dvd in 11 minutes.


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## sneekypeet (Sep 8, 2009)

OK now you're just bragging

Get some better fans on her and see what 4.4GHz 24/7 is like


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## Kantastic (Sep 8, 2009)

I suggest earplugs with the order!


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## sneekypeet (Sep 8, 2009)

Kantastic said:


> I suggest earplugs with the order!



not when you know what fans to buy


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## trt740 (Sep 8, 2009)

sneekypeet said:


> OK now you're just bragging
> 
> Get some better fans on her and see what 4.4GHz 24/7 is like



No actually I can run it at 4.3ghz 24/7 now thats bragging. I just wanted to back her on down a bit.   and you gotta give me a while I just added a second Icage to the front of my case , a new cooler and new psu. My funds are running a bit low. I need to sell this finely crafted Noctua. Peete you ever owned one of their coolers ? It's crazy how much accessories that company gives you and the quality is crazy. They remind my of Zalman in the old days. I told you how I like the mount. Well with AMD you can also mount it in any direction. Something the TRUE didn't do tell recently.


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## sneekypeet (Sep 8, 2009)

lmao....yup I sit here corrected!


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## mlee49 (Sep 8, 2009)

Thanks TRT, theres proof now that the Megahalem is the i7 air cooler supreme.  I'm surprised of the drastic differences, is it at all possible the Noctura had a bad seat?  Or perhaps thermal paste wasn't just right?  I'm quite as surprised as you are.

Thanks for the numbers and the sweet wallpaper.


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## revin (Sep 8, 2009)

sneekypeet said:


> the scythe I run is 110CFM at 1900. Just saying trt, there are better solutions, and your i7 will like it


 I can confirm to this fan[12SH] also, I've had mine since waaay back, came with my Ninja RevB,
and have been thru a LOT of fan's trying to cool the XazerV case, and especially the AI-7/P4EE and except for my Ultra Kaze 3000's that I have on a custom controller it is the best flow vs noise for a hot situation. 
 The Q6700 I was using[back on the EE for now] was Very cool with the Ninja/Kaze 12SH combo.
 I have been told here a few times on both setups, that unless I build a good custom water setup, not to even bother changing either cooler or fan combo

 Now if I can just figure how i'm gonna mount this Ninja on the i7 920!!!


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## trt740 (Sep 8, 2009)

mlee49 said:


> Thanks TRT, theres proof now that the Megahalem is the i7 air cooler supreme.  I'm surprised of the drastic differences, is it at all possible the Noctura had a bad seat?  Or perhaps thermal paste wasn't just right?  I'm quite as surprised as you are.
> 
> Thanks for the numbers and the sweet wallpaper.



No it would take my  I7920 C0 to 3.9 ghz and then my D0, that ran hotter but needs less voltage (my current chip overclocks like mad but is hot hot), to 4.0ghz . I also had it on my old Q9550 4.0ghz , Qx9650 4.0 ghz , E8500 4.2 and E8600 4.3 ghz (both of these would bench at 4.8ghz) and it matched my old True step for step. These new chips are just hot as hell.


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## johnnyfiive (Sep 9, 2009)

trt740 said:


> Because that wouldn't be true at all the Noctua has just as good if not better a mounting system in fact they are very similar.



The problem with the U12P is the surface. It NEEDS to be lapped to perform at its best, especially with an i7. The i7 CPU's heatspreader has a arch in the middle, its not 100% flat. The U12P doesn't cool as well as it should because of this very reason. If you mounted the U12P horizontal instead of vertical, you should see a 2-3C difference in temps. Lapping the CPU will give a 2-3C difference as well.


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## trt740 (Sep 9, 2009)

johnnyfiive said:


> The problem with the U12P is the surface. It NEEDS to be lapped to perform at its best, especially with an i7. The i7 CPU's heatspreader has a arch in the middle, its not 100% flat. The U12P doesn't cool as well as it should because of this very reason. If you mounted the U12P horizontal instead of vertical, you should see a 2-3C difference in temps. Lapping the CPU will give a 2-3C difference as well.



sold it and no reviews use it lapped.


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