Noctua NH-U12S REDUX CPU Cooler (and Upgrade Kit) Review

Installation

When compared to AIO designs, air coolers are, generally speaking a lot easier to install. Part of that process, however, is undoubtedly in having a good quality instructional manual. Fortunately, Noctua is absolutely fantastic at this and from within you get both clear written instructions as well as detailed diagrams to ensure that, as long as you’re paying attention, you shouldn’t go wrong at any point!

Mounting

Utilizing their patented SecuFirm2 installation method, the NH-U12S REDUX will be exceptionally familiar to anyone with any experience of Noctua cooling products. It’s a very simple and effective method that doesn’t attempt to re-invent the wheel. It just works!

Overall Thoughts

From out of the box and onto our test bench, the Noctua NH-U12S REDUX took us roughly 10-minutes to install with roughly another 5 minutes required to install the second fan. In terms of difficulty, while not absolutely straight forward, the tried and true installation method from Noctua will always win out for beginners or experienced hands.

Speaking of hands though, it’s well known among Noctua enthusiasts that the fins to the radiator can be more than a little prickly. And this is certainly felt when installing the fans because the metal mounting clips are amazingly tight and, in your battle, it can also be very easy to accidentally bend some of the fins. It’s not impossible, because I did it, but overall if there was one tricky part of this installation, it was installing the fans. Oh, and good luck attempting this if you’re motherboards inside a chassis. I at least had the luxury of an open test bench.

When installed, however, whether you stick with the standard base cooler or opt for the secondary fan kit, the Noctua NH-U12S looks, at least in my opinion fantastic. Yes, I know that not everyone loves the Noctua aesthetics, with the changes seen in this REDUX design, however, it’s certainly a step up in appearances from the original model, but what about performance? Well, let’s get this tested (with and without the secondary fan kit) and see what we find!