@@mastaw once I saw them performance numbers I couldn't care less about the color. 7 fans and 2 coolers from them is a cost. But the quality is worth it. No way I'm putting a server in the same room as me and not hearing it without noctua. Beige = good to me now. Shot out to scythe fuma 2 tho. That thing is the price 2 dollar champ.
@@Tential1 Plus, these coolers and fans can follow you to new builds in the future. And if you happen to have the cooler built for one system (say, Intel) and change to another (AMD), you can get the required mounting hardware for about $7.95. I have never had a Noctua fan fail, but even if you should have one do so down the road, it's cheaper to slap a new Noctua fan on it than to buy a new HSF combo.
I agree, I literally have so many extra cables and shit from buying so many. I’d rather pay cheaper for what I need then to pay extra for shit that doesn’t get used!
@James Smith IMO The Sycthe Fuma 2 is actually the worse performing cooler. It's a DUAL tower cooler vs a slim single tower. The only reason it's as quiet and have the same temperatures is because, again, it's a dual tower cooler with 2 fans. But it is cheap for a dual tower though. That's the only reason it's acceptable.
@James Smith LOL Oh my god, I've never seen someone got butthurt over a product so much after Intel fanboys. Please, show me where did I say it's a "cheap quality cooler". No it wont fit into cases that Noctua coolers wouldnt, because the 160mm height the NH-D15 fits literally most (as in 99%) of the standard ATX case. A standard ATX case will fit literally any cooler including the NH-D15, what makes you think it cant fit anything else by Noctua? Even the Meshify C and Phanteks P360A can fit an NH-D15 albeit with very tight clearance. In fact that glass would be touching the cooler on the P360A, but it'll fit. There arent much mATX cases on the market and most people still go with ATX cases if they're building mATX since the price of mATX are on par with ATX cases anyway. ITX builds either use low profile coolers or are watercooled. Heck even the bigger ITX builds like the NCase M1 can fit the NH-D15. The Fuma is 6mm lower than the NH-D15 and 4mm lowerthan the U12S and U12A, so no. Noctua coolers fit almost anything. There are any much issue with RAM clearance either, except with NH-D15, and then we still have the NH-D15S. "When you say "worse", you are being subjective based on design, for which you want to try to make a point that because it's a two tower (though smaller) that it's not as good, while TOTALLY ignoring the test data, which is a pretty wild judgement on a product. Forget about how it ACTUALLY performs, and make some new subjective judgement about it. Are you from Intel?" Considering a single fan slim single cooler can keep up with a dual fan dual tower cooler, the Fuma is performing worse, it's literally 3 degrees cooler than the Redux, just 1 degrees cooler than the original U12S. That's just not subjective based on design, that is with test data. Note that the U12S is tested with 1 fan. "Though smaller", smaller than what? An NH-D15? It's literally bigger than the U12S, just lower in height. That is not small, just shorter. Effective surface area is still bigger than the U12S. "while TOTALLY ignoring the test data, which is a pretty wild judgement on a product. Forget about how it ACTUALLY performs, and make some new subjective judgement about it. Are you from Intel?" "while TOTALLY ignoring the test data, which is a pretty wild judgement on a product. Forget about how it ACTUALLY performs, and make some new subjective judgement about it. Are you from Intel?" "while TOTALLY ignoring the test data, which is a pretty wild judgement on a product. Forget about how it ACTUALLY performs, and make some new subjective judgement about it. Are you from Intel?" "while TOTALLY ignoring the test data, which is a pretty wild judgement on a product. Forget about how it ACTUALLY performs, and make some new subjective judgement about it. Are you from Intel?" Funnily enough, the redux dual fan is ACTUALLY BETTER than the Fuma 2. Are you an stupid or an idiot? Need I remind you again that this is a slim single tower? "In pretty much every way the Scythe Fuma 2, including the quality of engineering, is as good or better than the Noctua, based on REAL data, and not subjectivity. I find the installation a bit easier because it lines up better than Noctua coolers. It reverses where the screw and screw hole is and it makes a difference." HAHAHAHAHA a real Scythe fanboy arent ya? The quality of engineering is barely what Noctua is. There's a reason Noctua have a very high reputation and have confidence to back that up with 6 years of warranty. This is also why the Fuma is so cheap for a dual tower cooler. Yep the Fuma installation is a bit easier because your ego outweigh the difficulty that you didnt realize the real difficulty of it. Noctua's installation has been said the best by every reviewer, ever, that everyone is questioning why arent other brands just start copying it at that point. "It's been tested on THIS channel, which showed the Scythe to be better. Do I need to post the link to their review? It's why they included it on their graphs, and it beat out this cooler BTW." This IS THE REVIEW and included the graph that the Redux U12S beat the Fuma 2 when 2 fans are installed. Did you miss that part? It's in the second last timestamp 'btw'.
It was clear that Mike was feeling rusty after so long off the camera, but he definitely seemed to find his stride as the video went on! Kudos to his fellow Canuck off-camera for helping him relax. Good work, guys.
Fun fact, if you're a Noctua fan like me and you email them a pick of your rig with Noctua fans ; they will send you a nice "fan" package of stickers, metal badge, as well as a keychain fan.
I REALLY REALLY LIKE Mike style, this video went Really solid, honestly.. half way into the video... I Have to stop the video, to write how awesome the setup, the passion and interaction is with mike.. he shows more -to me- is a Pc geek guy than any other, not only the Pc workhouse setup in the background, but his facial expressions are better (I'm sorry Dimitri.. you re my great with Cases dude) but he puts zero "drama" to his facial-expresions and i love how he truly talks with someone else about past experiences. Really nice video guys, looks like Completely other youtube channel, and I would love to have more of this. Great fucking review
@@andresgallego5727 The black coolers and fans are really sharp. According to their website, we can look forward to a white unit and fans late in the summer.
Was contemplating this purchase a couple weeks ago and ultimately had my package stolen off of my porch,now I can change my mind! Thank you for this review.
Who was the guy who started Hardware Canucks? I remember a totally different guy and then Dimitri came. You guys should do a channel history during your anniversary of the channel.
The first person on the HWC UA-cam channel was someone called Keeton. The people who started HWC as it is today, starting with the website and then reviews were Mike (on this video) and Ryan (not a camera guy!).
@@HardwareCanucks Amazing! I remember looking back and seeing Keeton at Pax 2010 and I have always been curious on what happened. Thank you so much for the information!
I really love Mike's way of reviewing on this channel. it's soo refreshing to see more people on this channell. fun fact, my first comment on this channel was when Eber and Mike were reviewing the p-atx v2 and it was funny how they were fighting over who's got the better components haha, great duo and love from London :)
I used to have arctic and scythe fans which are considered to be good fans. This year I replaced all 4 of them for noctua fans (3 case fans and 1 static pressure fan for the cpu heatsink). I eliminated 85% of noise with identical temperatures. Noctua fans are really that good. They are worth it.
Damn that performance is good at $50, and when with the additional fans, it's priced really close to Fuma 2 ($60) which comes with 2 fans. Good job Noctua, for giving customers an upgrade path! Hey, good to see you Mike!
Great vid Mike - the Noctua 12's are an absolute legend. What is overlooked is this cooler not only is slim, it's low profile enough for many of the mITX cases like the Fractal Node 84. They are so easy to mount, each chipset gets its own set of instructions, the whole Noctua experience in terms of packaging, instructions, the quality, it's peerless. As for performance, once I fitted it, I had to shine a torch in the case to check it was working - it is so quiet and cools supremely well. Personally, I'd go for the extra and get the U12S because those splitters and extra clips are well worth it especially with so many motherboards skimping on fan controller sockets. Add Noctua intake and exhausts - it is a very, very, very quiet rig.
Honestly that accessory kit is a decent value all on it's own. I've got Redux Fans on one of my radiators. For the vibration pads and fan alone I think they add up to about that much usually.
Or more. But you'll notice (something I didn't until after I went on-cam) that the Redux fans on this + the kit only have one set of anti vibration mounts, not the usual two.
@@HardwareCanucks for Radiator mounting that’s fine IMO. Doesn’t look as nice if they are visible but otherwise I don’t see much reason to have both sides equipped.
@@HotRodHippie Its interesting you say that. The Redux fans aren't really designed for optimal noise / static pressure ratio so they wouldn't do as well as some alternatives on radiators.
I think the market needs line between regular products and redux, one that gives you all the quality you get with top products but with less goodies and fanciness so no see through packaging that doesn't even matter since you order online, no extra pads, no LNA, no extra clips but the main product itself would be the same top tier one that way you save the environment a bit, don't end up with a whole drawer of accessories and even if it's just $5 less on a package it makes a difference when you buy say full set of A12x25 for your case taking away a heatpipe, making contact worse and on top of that using worse fan makes you risk actually spend more money since you'll end up not satisfied and moving to the top anyway eventually but obviously you won't notice it when noise normalized, it starts to matter when silence normalizing though what I'd love to see is exactly that: setting the coolers up to the speeds you'd actually use them at (so much, much lower than you use currently) and seeing how they fare I can tell you already that some of them would simply fail (like Scythe ones, Kaze Flex are just unable to go quiet enough, but for the completeness of comparison running them fanless would be interesting)
Yeah, I’d like to see a simpler packaged version. Same product but fewer accessories. Even pre applied thermal paste is OK. But cutting corners on the cooler itself is not good. Most Noctua buyers don’t care that much about price, they want a premium product. And this just look like a knockoff.
*If you are brave:* I used black Rit Dye and made all of my Noctua fans dark black.. Just make sure you do this outdoors (gas grill burner) and with a pot you plan on throwing away :).. Came out really nice and did not harm the fans (they are sealed). 7 years later all RPMs are still in spec and they work great.
@@HardwareCanucks You have to put about 5 packets of the RIT dye into a gallon of distilled water. You bring the water to a boil. Submerge the fans into the water until full submerged. Hang the fan power cable over the edge. Use metal clamps, pinchers or some way to fasten the cable to the side of the pot. This is just to prevent the 3/4-pin plug from getting wet. Leave it at a boil (not violent) for at least 1 hour. If you want to go darker you can leave it in longer (2-3hrs). Just be sure to put all fans in for the same time. When done rinse well with cold water (stainless steel sink or outdoors). Let to dry on paper towels. May need to repease a rinse. Enjoy your BLACKED out Noctua fans :) - Edit: I even put the silicon (rubber?) corners in too but I did remove them from the fans first.
Noctua....you get the quality that you pay for. Not only do you get products with good finishing and high quality performance, but also yes, super easy installation. So easy that a first-time PC builder like me could take a brand new NH-D15S and fix it onto my CPU on the very first try. No fiddling, no fumbling, no guesswork required. Awesome. Absolutely love it.
Damn this was well timed and needed for me having a terrible time with a single radiator water cooler I bought on an i7 thanks for the great review will be purchasing this as soon as I can
Just a heads up that if you've lost your AM4 motherboard backplate, just send Noctua Support an email. They had a free replacement delivered to me within 48 hours. They're a brilliant company.
@@HardwareCanucks Yeah it was really great of them. I'd lost my standard backplate when I installed the Cryorig H7, but that one wasn't compatible with the NH-U12S I installed about two weeks ago. But their manual said to get in touch with their support, so I did, and it was legitimately like 48 hours with zero charge, no postage cost, nada. Very friendly, very helpful. Basically just needed proof of purchase and the delivery address, that's it. Obviously postage might vary as I'm in the UK so presumably a little easier for them to deliver to me than in Canada!
I would have paid extra for the alternative brown colour that Noctua loves. Noctua NH-D14 has never failed for me after 9 years btw. Keeps my i5-3570k nice and cool still
Actually leaving the accessories out of the redux is great, not everyone needs them but everyone pays for them. Less wasted materials, and better price, not what happens with smartphones where you pay the same without the charger. GG noctua, when i get my hands on hardware they'll get my business for sure
I used to think all tower coolers were basically the same, and no one who air cools would need anything better than a 212 Evo- But just seeing the installed crossbar opens my eyes so damn wide
Nice video. You mention Thermalright was one of the first sponsored vidoes or companies to reach out to you. I would love a Thermalright cpu cooler video for am4! Im specifically interested in the difference between the Macho and the ARO. They look like basically the same coolers but the ARO is specific for AMD only and has a nice little stamp on it, want to know if its just a gimmick or does it actually cool better! Thanks!
What I see as a main advantage for me, is preinstalled thermal paste (so I don't have to worry I didn't apply it correctly) and option to rotate it 90° on AMD platform (it is surprisingly difficult to find budget CPU cooler with this option).
I'd like to see more from ThermalRight, their high end stuff. I've been using them since the 120 Ultra 120 & still using an Ultra 120 Extreme Copper & classic aluminium in dual Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM. I do use Noctua overall in my dual; Xeon sockets. This U12S AM4 with 2011-3 adapter fits brilliant. ASUS Z9PE-D8 WS w/ E5-2667-V2 over 4G turbo OC
Gotten the fuma 2 locally for 50+, imo that is the better deal, at least in my SEA region. Noctua product tends to be sold at a very high mark up here.
I've used a u12s for years never had a problem with it. But when I upgraded to the 10700k it struggled to keep it cool and overclocking was off the table. Got myself a fuma2 and now temps are under control.
@@HardwareCanucksagree there! The longer right angle ‘bar’ really helps to torque up on Phillips #2 head screws, especially if you suffer from grip strength through disability.
Great informative video - Maybe a great comparison would be "Why upgrade from a standard AMD Wraith CPU Cooler to an aftermarket cooler?" Love the Merch too!
Air coolers are good long term investments. Don't buy the cheaper one if you don't have to. I have a thermalright ultra extreme 120 and silver arrow sb-e from years ago. They're both capable of, silver arrow especially, of holding their own against most 240mm aios. It's not just about liquid cooling. Most aios don't have enough liquid in them, not enough fin density, not powerful enough pump and aluminium only radiators.
The only real issue I find with the Redux range is the actual name, which makes it sound like it's new and improved versions of older designs, when it is in fact stripped-down versions of those.
My original U12 from 2013 is still going strong. Keep the receipt, guys! If you ever change Sockets, Noctua will send you a free installation kit for your new motherboard.
Have this cooler, it’s amazing this and the redux line is actually really good. Got 2 intake and 1 exhaust and of course the redux cooler but it’s very silent and the anti vibration pads I added to them are amazing just debating weather I want to add my extra redux fan to my cooler.
Well, I think it might have been more interesting to have other near priced competitors shown to see thier level of performance, a round up of $50 coolers to see if the Redux is really worth the price. How does it compare to the Scythe Mugen 5, the A500, Hyper 212 B.E., Shadow Rock 3, perhaps others, is it worth the Noctua premium at the mid-range?
Great review! Would love to see the latest version of the CM hyper 212 tested to see if it's keeping up with the cheap performance cooler going (and to see how the new sickleflow fans perform)
Do a side by side cooling performance comparison video of this $50 Noctua NH-U12S Redux against the $29 budget Vetroo V5 CPU air cooler found on Amazon.
6:00 W(ho)TF takes off the AM3/AM4 mounting plastic brackets? Any cooler rated for AM4 mounts to stock brackets on the motherboard. The stock backing plate is solid, no need to change it.
Test or review: Which cooler has lasted the test of time and cpu mounting standards? CPU Socket changes and still cuts the mustard? I know of a few and I'm sure you do as well, so which cooler can be used for more generations of CPU's, Socket Types, etc.?
I love my Scythe Mugen 5 rev.B... It has 6 heat pipes, came also with preinstalled screws and... Real Looong Screwdriver!!! And costed about 60 or 70$... P.S.I have checked and it cost 55$ 😁
Seems like a great value cooler , as u wont need the extra's u get on the normal u12s for most modern systems you could just spin the fan down instead of using a low noise adapter.
From brown and beige, to a subtle gray and gray. Nice going, Noctua.
But that brown and beige does bring me quite a bit of nostalgia
We were hoping for purple and orange. Maybe next year! :P
@@mastaw once I saw them performance numbers I couldn't care less about the color. 7 fans and 2 coolers from them is a cost. But the quality is worth it. No way I'm putting a server in the same room as me and not hearing it without noctua. Beige = good to me now.
Shot out to scythe fuma 2 tho. That thing is the price 2 dollar champ.
they have black coolers
@@Tential1 Plus, these coolers and fans can follow you to new builds in the future. And if you happen to have the cooler built for one system (say, Intel) and change to another (AMD), you can get the required mounting hardware for about $7.95. I have never had a Noctua fan fail, but even if you should have one do so down the road, it's cheaper to slap a new Noctua fan on it than to buy a new HSF combo.
It's great to see Mike again! :D
It felt weird to be on camera again after so long, not kidding. - Mike
@@HardwareCanucks You make an excellent presenter. No need to fear the camera. We are all friends here.
Noctua is the one name in PC hardware that has never disappointed. A Noctua HSF for $50 is actual charity.
I agree, I literally have so many extra cables and shit from buying so many. I’d rather pay cheaper for what I need then to pay extra for shit that doesn’t get used!
@@PolntBlank pay cheaper lol
@James Smith IMO The Sycthe Fuma 2 is actually the worse performing cooler. It's a DUAL tower cooler vs a slim single tower. The only reason it's as quiet and have the same temperatures is because, again, it's a dual tower cooler with 2 fans. But it is cheap for a dual tower though. That's the only reason it's acceptable.
@James Smith LOL Oh my god, I've never seen someone got butthurt over a product so much after Intel fanboys. Please, show me where did I say it's a "cheap quality cooler".
No it wont fit into cases that Noctua coolers wouldnt, because the 160mm height the NH-D15 fits literally most (as in 99%) of the standard ATX case. A standard ATX case will fit literally any cooler including the NH-D15, what makes you think it cant fit anything else by Noctua? Even the Meshify C and Phanteks P360A can fit an NH-D15 albeit with very tight clearance. In fact that glass would be touching the cooler on the P360A, but it'll fit. There arent much mATX cases on the market and most people still go with ATX cases if they're building mATX since the price of mATX are on par with ATX cases anyway. ITX builds either use low profile coolers or are watercooled. Heck even the bigger ITX builds like the NCase M1 can fit the NH-D15. The Fuma is 6mm lower than the NH-D15 and 4mm lowerthan the U12S and U12A, so no. Noctua coolers fit almost anything. There are any much issue with RAM clearance either, except with NH-D15, and then we still have the NH-D15S.
"When you say "worse", you are being subjective based on design, for which you want to try to make a point that because it's a two tower (though smaller) that it's not as good, while TOTALLY ignoring the test data, which is a pretty wild judgement on a product. Forget about how it ACTUALLY performs, and make some new subjective judgement about it. Are you from Intel?"
Considering a single fan slim single cooler can keep up with a dual fan dual tower cooler, the Fuma is performing worse, it's literally 3 degrees cooler than the Redux, just 1 degrees cooler than the original U12S. That's just not subjective based on design, that is with test data. Note that the U12S is tested with 1 fan. "Though smaller", smaller than what? An NH-D15? It's literally bigger than the U12S, just lower in height. That is not small, just shorter. Effective surface area is still bigger than the U12S.
"while TOTALLY ignoring the test data, which is a pretty wild judgement on a product. Forget about how it ACTUALLY performs, and make some new subjective judgement about it. Are you from Intel?"
"while TOTALLY ignoring the test data, which is a pretty wild judgement on a product. Forget about how it ACTUALLY performs, and make some new subjective judgement about it. Are you from Intel?"
"while TOTALLY ignoring the test data, which is a pretty wild judgement on a product. Forget about how it ACTUALLY performs, and make some new subjective judgement about it. Are you from Intel?"
"while TOTALLY ignoring the test data, which is a pretty wild judgement on a product. Forget about how it ACTUALLY performs, and make some new subjective judgement about it. Are you from Intel?"
Funnily enough, the redux dual fan is ACTUALLY BETTER than the Fuma 2. Are you an stupid or an idiot? Need I remind you again that this is a slim single tower?
"In pretty much every way the Scythe Fuma 2, including the quality of engineering, is as good or better than the Noctua, based on REAL data, and not subjectivity. I find the installation a bit easier because it lines up better than Noctua coolers. It reverses where the screw and screw hole is and it makes a difference."
HAHAHAHAHA a real Scythe fanboy arent ya? The quality of engineering is barely what Noctua is. There's a reason Noctua have a very high reputation and have confidence to back that up with 6 years of warranty. This is also why the Fuma is so cheap for a dual tower cooler. Yep the Fuma installation is a bit easier because your ego outweigh the difficulty that you didnt realize the real difficulty of it. Noctua's installation has been said the best by every reviewer, ever, that everyone is questioning why arent other brands just start copying it at that point.
"It's been tested on THIS channel, which showed the Scythe to be better. Do I need to post the link to their review? It's why they included it on their graphs, and it beat out this cooler BTW."
This IS THE REVIEW and included the graph that the Redux U12S beat the Fuma 2 when 2 fans are installed. Did you miss that part? It's in the second last timestamp 'btw'.
We definitely need to have Mike on more reviews. Guy does a great job.
Thanks!
It was clear that Mike was feeling rusty after so long off the camera, but he definitely seemed to find his stride as the video went on! Kudos to his fellow Canuck off-camera for helping him relax. Good work, guys.
Yeah, it wasn't easy. But we figured it out as a team. - Mike. :)
Fun fact, if you're a Noctua fan like me and you email them a pick of your rig with Noctua fans ; they will send you a nice "fan" package of stickers, metal badge, as well as a keychain fan.
oh wow, I have my case filled with them and I will surely do that, thank you :)
@@ShawnStrickland glad to help!
I REALLY REALLY LIKE Mike style, this video went Really solid, honestly.. half way into the video... I Have to stop the video, to write how awesome the setup, the passion and interaction is with mike.. he shows more -to me- is a Pc geek guy than any other, not only the Pc workhouse setup in the background, but his facial expressions are better (I'm sorry Dimitri.. you re my great with Cases dude) but he puts zero "drama" to his facial-expresions and i love how he truly talks with someone else about past experiences.
Really nice video guys, looks like Completely other youtube channel, and I would love to have more of this. Great fucking review
Everyone: We love your products, but can you make them look less awful? Noctua: Slightly less awful? You got it.
The look grows on you over time.
They have sexy blackout coolers now, they even have covers for them.
RGB rainbow vomit or Noctua shit stain brown, the price is the same.
@@andresgallego5727 The black coolers and fans are really sharp. According to their website, we can look forward to a white unit and fans late in the summer.
@@balesjo What a progress!
Was contemplating this purchase a couple weeks ago and ultimately had my package stolen off of my porch,now I can change my mind! Thank you for this review.
Man that sucks. :(
Who was the guy who started Hardware Canucks? I remember a totally different guy and then Dimitri came. You guys should do a channel history during your anniversary of the channel.
The first person on the HWC UA-cam channel was someone called Keeton. The people who started HWC as it is today, starting with the website and then reviews were Mike (on this video) and Ryan (not a camera guy!).
@@HardwareCanucks Amazing! I remember looking back and seeing Keeton at Pax 2010 and I have always been curious on what happened. Thank you so much for the information!
@@phohan-2649 Any time!
Agree, this channel is a bit of a mystery in it's origin to many many of its subscribers :D Great content nonetheless
Bro, this cooler checks off every mark ✅✅
Check check check
@James Smith yeah but it ain't noctua
@James Smith true true, I know it's better what I meant was the brand value.
Great to see Mike on cam. Such a great variety of presenters!
This cooler though 🥶 steal price
I really love Mike's way of reviewing on this channel. it's soo refreshing to see more people on this channell. fun fact, my first comment on this channel was when Eber and Mike were reviewing the p-atx v2 and it was funny how they were fighting over who's got the better components haha, great duo and love from London :)
I used to have arctic and scythe fans which are considered to be good fans. This year I replaced all 4 of them for noctua fans (3 case fans and 1 static pressure fan for the cpu heatsink). I eliminated 85% of noise with identical temperatures. Noctua fans are really that good. They are worth it.
Great job Mike!
Thanks! Still getting used to it! - Mike
Damn that performance is good at $50, and when with the additional fans, it's priced really close to Fuma 2 ($60) which comes with 2 fans. Good job Noctua, for giving customers an upgrade path! Hey, good to see you Mike!
Great vid Mike - the Noctua 12's are an absolute legend. What is overlooked is this cooler not only is slim, it's low profile enough for many of the mITX cases like the Fractal Node 84. They are so easy to mount, each chipset gets its own set of instructions, the whole Noctua experience in terms of packaging, instructions, the quality, it's peerless. As for performance, once I fitted it, I had to shine a torch in the case to check it was working - it is so quiet and cools supremely well.
Personally, I'd go for the extra and get the U12S because those splitters and extra clips are well worth it especially with so many motherboards skimping on fan controller sockets. Add Noctua intake and exhausts - it is a very, very, very quiet rig.
Great Job Mike. Nice to see you behind the camera again.
More vids with Mike pls! You do this great!
Thanks!
what a refreshing review! was not expecting this quality content on such a cooler
Thanks for the video, Mike! I'm getting one for sure now.
Went with the Fuma 2, can't complaint. Awesome performance, awesome price. It holds my 10900 around 38º C easily under normal load with ambient 28-30.
Amazing value there!
@Dennis Andrews the one that came with it, from scythe. Excellent quality.
Great vid and I love snows yelling in the background. :D
the included fan is a beast, running a NF-P12 redux on my Hyper212 heatsink and makes a great improvement
NH-U12S
Redux
wow
finally
Thanks guys and Noctua! Already on my wish list. ;)
I never knew that Boot Sequence and H.C. were in the same building. What a small world!
thanks for the review. It is what sold me on the redux. got a used one with an upgrade kit for the same price as a new Arctic Freezer Esports duo.
Honestly that accessory kit is a decent value all on it's own. I've got Redux Fans on one of my radiators. For the vibration pads and fan alone I think they add up to about that much usually.
Or more. But you'll notice (something I didn't until after I went on-cam) that the Redux fans on this + the kit only have one set of anti vibration mounts, not the usual two.
@@HardwareCanucks for Radiator mounting that’s fine IMO. Doesn’t look as nice if they are visible but otherwise I don’t see much reason to have both sides equipped.
@@HotRodHippie Its interesting you say that. The Redux fans aren't really designed for optimal noise / static pressure ratio so they wouldn't do as well as some alternatives on radiators.
@@HardwareCanucks I’ve been fairly happy with them to this point. I could stand for a quieter option but they are getting the job done.
We need more Mike!
I think the market needs line between regular products and redux, one that gives you all the quality you get with top products but with less goodies and fanciness
so no see through packaging that doesn't even matter since you order online, no extra pads, no LNA, no extra clips but the main product itself would be the same top tier one
that way you save the environment a bit, don't end up with a whole drawer of accessories and even if it's just $5 less on a package it makes a difference when you buy say full set of A12x25 for your case
taking away a heatpipe, making contact worse and on top of that using worse fan makes you risk actually spend more money since you'll end up not satisfied and moving to the top anyway eventually
but obviously you won't notice it when noise normalized, it starts to matter when silence normalizing though
what I'd love to see is exactly that: setting the coolers up to the speeds you'd actually use them at (so much, much lower than you use currently) and seeing how they fare
I can tell you already that some of them would simply fail (like Scythe ones, Kaze Flex are just unable to go quiet enough, but for the completeness of comparison running them fanless would be interesting)
and of course I hope to see the passive Noctua as soon as possible once it finally gets released, this will be a game changer
Yeah, I’d like to see a simpler packaged version. Same product but fewer accessories. Even pre applied thermal paste is OK. But cutting corners on the cooler itself is not good.
Most Noctua buyers don’t care that much about price, they want a premium product. And this just look like a knockoff.
I LOVE their redux series, bought a few to add to my case fan count
*If you are brave:* I used black Rit Dye and made all of my Noctua fans dark black.. Just make sure you do this outdoors (gas grill burner) and with a pot you plan on throwing away :).. Came out really nice and did not harm the fans (they are sealed). 7 years later all RPMs are still in spec and they work great.
Honest question: how did you get a fabric dye to stick to plastic / hybrid plastic.
@@HardwareCanucks You have to put about 5 packets of the RIT dye into a gallon of distilled water. You bring the water to a boil. Submerge the fans into the water until full submerged. Hang the fan power cable over the edge. Use metal clamps, pinchers or some way to fasten the cable to the side of the pot. This is just to prevent the 3/4-pin plug from getting wet. Leave it at a boil (not violent) for at least 1 hour. If you want to go darker you can leave it in longer (2-3hrs). Just be sure to put all fans in for the same time. When done rinse well with cold water (stainless steel sink or outdoors). Let to dry on paper towels. May need to repease a rinse. Enjoy your BLACKED out Noctua fans :) - Edit: I even put the silicon (rubber?) corners in too but I did remove them from the fans first.
Noctua....you get the quality that you pay for. Not only do you get products with good finishing and high quality performance, but also yes, super easy installation. So easy that a first-time PC builder like me could take a brand new NH-D15S and fix it onto my CPU on the very first try. No fiddling, no fumbling, no guesswork required. Awesome. Absolutely love it.
Damn this was well timed and needed for me having a terrible time with a single radiator water cooler I bought on an i7 thanks for the great review will be purchasing this as soon as I can
Please do more , you are good host
Honestly, I love the brown and beige look.
Just a heads up that if you've lost your AM4 motherboard backplate, just send Noctua Support an email. They had a free replacement delivered to me within 48 hours. They're a brilliant company.
That's interesting! Didn't know about that!
@@HardwareCanucks Yeah it was really great of them. I'd lost my standard backplate when I installed the Cryorig H7, but that one wasn't compatible with the NH-U12S I installed about two weeks ago. But their manual said to get in touch with their support, so I did, and it was legitimately like 48 hours with zero charge, no postage cost, nada. Very friendly, very helpful. Basically just needed proof of purchase and the delivery address, that's it. Obviously postage might vary as I'm in the UK so presumably a little easier for them to deliver to me than in Canada!
Waiting for NF-A12 Chromax.
It was Q1, then Q2, now Q3..Noctua please!
I don't think that was ever officially announced. From my understanding the A12 fans can't be replicated in Chromax. Its a long story....
@@HardwareCanucks thermaltake did it... kind of haha.
@@HardwareCanucks Noctua's roadmap on their site says black A12 fans are coming in Q3 2021, along with a black U12A.
NH-U12A in black!
@@HardwareCanucks I don't know the whole story, I just found the info on Noctua website, in the roadmap section. It was Q1, then Q2, then Q3..
Sweet T-shirt!
I would have paid extra for the alternative brown colour that Noctua loves.
Noctua NH-D14 has never failed for me after 9 years btw. Keeps my i5-3570k nice and cool still
D14 on a 3570K is close to the ultimate flex.
...Doesn't the more expensive non-redux version come with the brown fan?
Actually leaving the accessories out of the redux is great, not everyone needs them but everyone pays for them. Less wasted materials, and better price, not what happens with smartphones where you pay the same without the charger. GG noctua, when i get my hands on hardware they'll get my business for sure
I used to think all tower coolers were basically the same, and no one who air cools would need anything better than a 212 Evo-
But just seeing the installed crossbar opens my eyes so damn wide
I got my Nhu12s for £36 used. Couldn't be happier with the purchase
Nice video. You mention Thermalright was one of the first sponsored vidoes or companies to reach out to you. I would love a Thermalright cpu cooler video for am4! Im specifically interested in the difference between the Macho and the ARO. They look like basically the same coolers but the ARO is specific for AMD only and has a nice little stamp on it, want to know if its just a gimmick or does it actually cool better! Thanks!
Love your content. Follower from Egypt ❤️
What I see as a main advantage for me, is preinstalled thermal paste (so I don't have to worry I didn't apply it correctly) and option to rotate it 90° on AMD platform (it is surprisingly difficult to find budget CPU cooler with this option).
Cant wait for this to be available in my country
I'd like to see more from ThermalRight, their high end stuff. I've been using them since the 120 Ultra 120 & still using an Ultra 120 Extreme Copper & classic aluminium in dual Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM. I do use Noctua overall in my dual; Xeon sockets. This U12S AM4 with 2011-3 adapter fits brilliant. ASUS Z9PE-D8 WS w/ E5-2667-V2 over 4G turbo OC
Gotten the fuma 2 locally for 50+, imo that is the better deal, at least in my SEA region. Noctua product tends to be sold at a very high mark up here.
I've used a u12s for years never had a problem with it. But when I upgraded to the 10700k it struggled to keep it cool and overclocking was off the table. Got myself a fuma2 and now temps are under control.
Good detailed review 👍
A cheaper U12S without the beige fan? Now i know what to recommend to my friends now
I bought 2 of these for 2 systems. You don’t need the Noctua screwdriver to install. Installation on AM4 is a breeze and up to Noctua standard.
True....but those screwdrivers Noctua usually provides are amazing for a LOT of things. Including Ikea furniture. Trust me, I know. - Mike.
@@HardwareCanucks I believe it, Noctua stuff is awesome!
@@HardwareCanucksagree there! The longer right angle ‘bar’ really helps to torque up on Phillips #2 head screws, especially if you suffer from grip strength through disability.
if i didn't already have a nh-u12s i would definitely buy this...
Good to have on my radar ig if i fsr need another pc.
I own 2 NH-D15's (one of them the black model) and like 8 of their fans for case fans, personally the color doesn't bug me.
Great informative video - Maybe a great comparison would be "Why upgrade from a standard AMD Wraith CPU Cooler to an aftermarket cooler?" Love the Merch too!
Air coolers are good long term investments. Don't buy the cheaper one if you don't have to. I have a thermalright ultra extreme 120 and silver arrow sb-e from years ago. They're both capable of, silver arrow especially, of holding their own against most 240mm aios. It's not just about liquid cooling. Most aios don't have enough liquid in them, not enough fin density, not powerful enough pump and aluminium only radiators.
We need more of mike on the camera!
OMG....NOOOO! - Mike
Those Y splitter cables saved my ass in my first build. I'd rather get the U12s non-redux.
The only real issue I find with the Redux range is the actual name, which makes it sound like it's new and improved versions of older designs, when it is in fact stripped-down versions of those.
Really useful video, thanks!
Scythe fuma 2 for 60$ is the goat
Plenty Scythe Fuma 2 available in Europe. Prices around EUR.55,-
Nice video. Just bought a U12S for my brand new 5600x
You should review some arctic tower cooler! Those are the best value imo right now
Okay, this product already looks good in reviews, but with their NT-H1 thermal paste included, it becomes nothing short of stellar.
My original U12 from 2013 is still going strong. Keep the receipt, guys! If you ever change Sockets, Noctua will send you a free installation kit for your new motherboard.
For sub 200w TDP, it looks like the FUMA 2 is the clear choice. Otherwise at the extreme TDP go with NH-D15. What about Deepcool as500 plus?
All Noctua better support and warranty.
Have this cooler, it’s amazing this and the redux line is actually really good. Got 2 intake and 1 exhaust and of course the redux cooler but it’s very silent and the anti vibration pads I added to them are amazing just debating weather I want to add my extra redux fan to my cooler.
Well, I think it might have been more interesting to have other near priced competitors shown to see thier level of performance, a round up of $50 coolers to see if the Redux is really worth the price. How does it compare to the Scythe Mugen 5, the A500, Hyper 212 B.E., Shadow Rock 3, perhaps others, is it worth the Noctua premium at the mid-range?
That T-shirt design is perfect.
I.LIKE.DA.SHIRT!
The Scythe Fuma looks like the way to go.
Can you make this guy a regular? He nailed this review.
Thanks so much!
I have P-12 redux fans in my system, It's a good fan for money and quiet even with max RPM !
How about a small tower cooler series for SFF builds?
great color
As soon as I bought a cooler this comes out 🥲
I've been using noctua because I'm to lazy to research and I know they will deliver a quality product
You! New guy! I like you.
Great review! Would love to see the latest version of the CM hyper 212 tested to see if it's keeping up with the cheap performance cooler going (and to see how the new sickleflow fans perform)
I love Noctua!
Mikeeeee!
The heatpipes being non soldered is a cost cutting measure and that actually REDUCES performance a little bit.
Do a side by side cooling performance comparison video of this $50 Noctua NH-U12S Redux against the $29 budget Vetroo V5 CPU air cooler found on Amazon.
Good stuff, thanks!
6:00 W(ho)TF takes off the AM3/AM4 mounting plastic brackets? Any cooler rated for AM4 mounts to stock brackets on the motherboard. The stock backing plate is solid, no need to change it.
Good review
Noctua FTW!!
Test or review: Which cooler has lasted the test of time and cpu mounting standards? CPU Socket changes and still cuts the mustard? I know of a few and I'm sure you do as well, so which cooler can be used for more generations of CPU's, Socket Types, etc.?
Nice vid!
SOOOO I’ve owned a NHU12S chromax black with a redux fan swapped on for a while. And it’s double the cost and double the cool.
So Fuma2 is the same price, but better performing and better looking, hows that a win for Noctua?
Other then size, they are totally different coolers and fans, different size & amounts of heatpipes etc, dunno why they kept the same naming?!
I love my Scythe Mugen 5 rev.B... It has 6 heat pipes, came also with preinstalled screws and... Real Looong Screwdriver!!! And costed about 60 or 70$... P.S.I have checked and it cost 55$ 😁
is $20 cheaper but will be the same price with the DLC pack plus a fan. That is so much bang for the buck.
Cool. Was looking for a new air cooler for my 3600. This seems to do a nice job at a decent price.
The way he appears 😆
Seems like a great value cooler , as u wont need the extra's u get on the normal u12s for most modern systems you could just spin the fan down instead of using a low noise adapter.