A Closer Look

Noctua's NH-U12A is a traditional tower-style heatsink made up of fifty aluminium fins, with heat being transferred to them from the base via seven Ø6 mm nickel-plated copper heat pipes. As for the design, it tops out at 158 mm in height, meaning it stays below the 160 mm limit of many standard cases. That said, one thing should be quite clear from the photos: any bare aluminium cooler will be a fingerprint magnet, so don't be like me—get some gloves and avoid leaving greasy mitt prints everywhere.


There are no dimpled surfaces or eccentric design elements as the NH-U12A uses smooth fins with only a slight cut out in the center of the fin stack. The edges are folded down, which maintains fin spacing, but keeps air moving through the heatsink rather than out the sides for hot air to be funneled straight to the rear exhaust fan in a traditional system.


The top plate is plain with only the Noctua logo stamped into it with no RGB LEDs or fancy designs elements. Instead, it is simple, clean, and understated. As for the heat pipes, they are spread out to distribute heat to the fins more evenly. When it comes to the base, it is smooth, clean, and nickel-plated, just like the heat pipes.


The two fans included by Noctua are of their new NF-A12x25 PWM model, which pushes 60 CFM and has an RPM range of 450–2000.