I bought this cooler to replace the stock cooler on my AMD Ryzen 5 3600 CPU. I'm not a gamer so the computer is primarily for business software. I built the computer a few months back and it was very noisy. So I decided to replace the two noisiest components, the power supply and the cooler. First I replaced the power supply since that was the louder of the two. I went for “Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 750W 80+ Gold SLI/Crossfire Ready Ultra Quiet 140mm Hydraulic Bearing Smart Zero Fan Full Modular Power Supply 10 Year Warranty PS-TPD-0750FNFAGU-1 “ This is a fantastic PS, absolutely quiet..5 dB till about 60% (i.e. 450 Watts of quiet power). After replacing the PS, the stock cooler noise became even more irritating. I researched a few different coolers, most of which were in $40-50 range but had a little more noise levels. Since I wanted a very quiet one, I decided to go for Noctau brand based on reviews I had read an a few different websites. I selected Noctua NH-U12S SE-AM4 primarily because it is meant for AM4 processors.. This is a BIG cooler, so I looked up for compatibility with my hardware. Even though my motherboard (Gigabyte B550 Aorus Elite) did not show up on the list, I measured the space required for the cooler and found it could easily fit.
The installation was pretty easy and the manual is well written. My CPU was stuck to the stock cooler when I removed it and had to be careful to pry it free. There are a few Youtube videos that helped with that and the installation. I'm using the Low Noise Adapter (L.N. A.) provided by Noctua which reduces the max speed of the cooler but so far I have not felt the need for higher fan speeds. The cooler is very efficient and QUIET!!! All I hear is a low frequency hum that is barely audible as opposed to the constantly changing noise the stock cooler made as the CPU usage changed. This even quieter than my Dell Latitude 7000 series laptop that at times gets noisy when the fan kicks in. I'm very happy that the noise is eliminated. As for the cooling performance, my CPU idle temp is around 38 deg C and with 33 % CPU usage goes to about 53 - 56 deg C. I think that is good enough for my use. Overall, it was WORTH spending extra $$ and Noctua comes with a 6 yr warranty so that’s another peace of mind.
| Product Dimensions | 4.92"L x 2.79"W x 6.22"H |
|---|---|
| Brand | Noctua |
| Power Connector Type | 4-Pin |
| Voltage | 12 Volts |
| Cooling Method | Air |
| Compatible Devices | Desktop |
| Noise Level | 22.4 dB |
| Material | Copper (base and heat-pipes), aluminium (cooling fins), soldered joints & nickel plating |
| Maximum Rotational Speed | 1500 RPM |
| RAM | 1 GB |
