Testing and Conclusion
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Next, place the cooler into place and tighten the screws. Thanks to the spring-loaded screws, there’s little worry of over-torquing the screws. Finally, secure the fan onto the cooler and plug it in.
With this being a small cooler, as expected there were no clearance issues. No concern with this cooler hitting any of the capacitors, RAM, the Northbridge cooler, etc. As to be expected, after turning it on there was no LED from the fan. Perhaps Noctua finds LEDs to be “low-class”, but I still like the touch.
Testing
Test System:
AMD 64+ X2 3800+ AM2
ECS GeForce 6100SM-M
Noctua CPU Cooler
Super Talent 1GB DDR2-1000 RAM
GeForce 7600GS video card
Hauppauge TV tuner card
Maxtor 200GB 7200 rpm harddrive
Maxtor 250GB 7200 rpm hard drive
Sony DVD writer
Idle temperatures were taken running Windows and full loads were taken while running SiSandra’s Burn-in Module. Temperatures (in degrees Celsius) were recorded at two fan speeds, with the results compared with two recently reviewed air coolers: the GlacialTech 5750 and the Tuniq Tower 120. Ambient temp was about 20C.
Results after overclocking to 2400 MHz-
As seen in both tests, the Noctua cooler’s performance was very respectable, very-much on par with both other coolers which were either larger (the Tuniq) or came with 2 fans (the GlacialTech). As expected, the noise performance was fantastic, thanks to the top-quality Noctua fan.
Conclusion
Noctua has once again proven that they can accomplish great things when they put their attention on it; every one of their products just screams “quality”. The Noctua NH-U9B is no exception, as it is a solidly performance CPU cooler that delivers on the noise performance equally well. Its wide range of compatibility and easy installation should allow you to use it in many builds to come. Overall, this cooler is worth of your consideration for your next computer build and beyone.
Pros:
+ Very easy installation
+ Quiet operations
+ No clearance issues
+ Compatible with both AMD and Intel processors (inc quad-core)
+ Good performance
+ Light weight
Cons:
- No LEDs on the fan
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