Noctua Acoustic Comparisons and Base Surface Quality

Acoustic Samples: Listen to this Heatsink!

With it 120mm fan running at the default speed of 1300RPM, the Noctua NH-U12P heatsink is very quiet, about 40dBA. With the black fan speed reducer noise levels fall some, and with the blue speed reducer the heatsink is all but silent.To listen to this heatsink in operation, be sure to click on the little headphones icon below and play the sample MP3 file. All three modes have been included in this sound recording, changing between them requires the user to connect the appropriate in-line resistor. The recording covers default fan speed, black and then blue fan speed reducers.

frostytech acoustic sampling chamber - full speed

standard waveform view of a 10 second recording. click on the headphones icon to listen to an mp3 recording of this heatsink in operation. the fan is rotating at 1300, 1100, 900 rpm

Sound Level Measurements: Which Heatsink is Quietest?

Listening to the actual noise a heatsink makes allows you to hear what pure numbers alone cannot get across. To further emphasize FrostyTech's reliance on cold hard facts when evaluating a heatsink, we also take noise level measurements with a sound level meter.

FrostyTech Heatsink Noise Level Measurements
Noise level Decibel measurements of each heatsinks' fan in operation are taken with the aid of a sound level meter and sound isolating enclosure. The values may be higher than the mfgr's listed specs, but are directly comparable to one another. Measurements are made on the dB (A) scale, lower values are best. Information on Frostytech's test methodology is available here.

manufacturer: model no.: fan* speed: noise level (dba): cpu** platform

Arctic Cooling Silencer 64 Ultra TC low 27.6 dB AMD

Noctua NH-U12P (blue) low 32.1 dB Intel/AMD

Noctua NH-U12P (black) low 34.6 dB Intel/AMD

Verax Helado 36.3 dB Intel/AMD

Glacialtech Igloo 7311 Silent 36.5 dB AMD

Intel Stock Core 2 Duo 36.7 dB Intel

Scythe Mine Rev.B 36.8 dB Intel/AMD

Glacialtech Igloo 7222 Light 37.7 dB AMD

Scythe Infinity SCINF-1000 37.8 dB Intel/AMD

Scythe Katana II 37.9 dB Intel/AMD

Scythe Andy Samuri Master SCASM-1000 38.4 dB Intel/AMD

Scythe Kama Cross 40.0 dB Intel/AMD

Noctua NH-U12P high 40.7 dB Intel/AMD

Coolink Silentator high 41.2 dB Intel/AMD

Gigabyte NeonCooler 8-BL 42.0 dB AMD

Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 LP 42.6 dB AMD

Coolermaster Hyper48 43.6 dB Intel/AMD

Arctic Cooling Alpine64 43.9 dB AMD

Dynatron A22 44.5 dB AMD

Asus Arctic Square high 44.9 dB Intel/AMD

Zalman CNPS7000B-CU high 44.9 dB Intel/AMD

Zalman CNPS7000A-Cu high 45.2 dB AMD

Zalman CNPS7000-Cu high 45.2 dB AMD

Akasa AK-860SF 45.2 dB AMD

Glacialtech Igloo 5062 Cu Light 45.2 dB Intel

Noctua NH-U12 45.4 dB Intel/AMD

Ajigo MF043-044 45.4 dB AMD

Spire SP741B3 45.6 dB AMD

Scythe Shogun high 45.9 dB Intel/AMD

Rosewill RCX-Z2-EX high 45.9 dB Intel/AMD

Intel Stock Pentium D high 47.5 dB Intel

Akasa AK-975CU high 47.7 dB Intel

nPowertek TTIC NPH-1000 47.5 dB Intel/AMD

Scythe Kama SCKK1000 47.5 dB AMD

3Rsystem Iceage 120 high 47.9 dB Intel/AMD

Zalman CNPS8700 LED high 48.1 dB Intel/AMD

Akasa AK-965 high 48.1 dB Intel

Akasa AK-876 high 48.2 dB AMD

Apack CF900 high 48.3 dB Intel

Apack CF800 high 48.4 dB Intel

LS Cable SHS-T700 48.5 dB Intel

Thermalfly I75DUH 48.7 dB Intel

Coolage Frozen Orb F0-Z924AL high 48.9 dB Intel

Spire SP601B3 48.9 dB Intel/AMD

Thermaltake Silentboost K8 49.7 dB AMD

Zalman CNPS7700-Cu LED high 49.8 dB Intel/AMD

nPowertek NPH-775-1 50.1 dB Intel

Xigmatek HDT-S963 high 50.2 dB Intel/AMD

Evercool Buffalo HPEA-10025 50.2 dB AMD

Zalman CNPS9500 LED high 50.3 dB Intel/AMD

Gigabyte 3D-Rocket 50.7 dB Intel/AMD

Zalman CNPS7700-Cu high 50.7 dB Intel/AMD

Zalman CNPS7500-Cu LED high 50.9 dB Intel/AMD

Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro 50.9 dB AMD

Evercool K802-715 51.5 dB AMD

Alpha Novatech PRE9060M92P high 51.5 dB Intel

Tuniq Tower 120 high 51.6 dB Intel/AMD

OCZ Tempest 51.6 dB Intel/AMD

Scythe Samurai SCSM1000 high 51.6 dB AMD

Apack Zerotherm BTF80 51.9 dB Intel/AMD

Apack Zerotherm BTF90 52.1 dB Intel/AMD

Cooljag Falcon 92-AL high 52.1 dB Intel/AMD

Auras SLC-747 high 52.2 dB Intel/AMD

Zalman CNPS9700NT high 52.2 dB Intel/AMD

nPowertek NPH K8-1 52.2 dB AMD

Cooljag Falcon 92-Cu high 52.8 dB Intel/AMD

Zalman CNPS9500 AM2 high 53.2 dB AMD

Zalman CNPS9500 AT 53.3 dB Intel

Glacialtech Igloo 5057 E 53.4 dB Intel

Jetart JAX801 53.5 dB AMD

Apack Zerotherm BTF92 OC Ed high 53.6 dB Intel/AMD

Thermalright Ultra 120 53.7 dB Intel/AMD

nPowerTek NPH-Big K8 54.0 dB AMD

Rosewill RCX-Z1 high 54.1 dB AMD

Coolermaster Hyper6 high 54.7 dB AMD

Xigmatek AIO-S80DP high 55.0 dB Intel/AMD

Verax Quattro 1 high 55.4 dB Intel/AMD

Arctic Cooling Silencer 64 Ultra TC high 55.5 dB AMD

Evercool Magic Cooler 55.5 dB AMD

Cooljag OAK-H2 high 55.6 dB Intel

Cooljag OAK-H high 55.7 dB Intel

Thermalright Ultra-90 high 56.2 dB Intel/AMD

Akasa AK-960E 56.3 dB Intel

Dynatron SK-V24 56.4 dB AMD

Zalman CNPS9700 LED high 56.5 dB Intel/AMD

Zalman FS-C77 56.5 dB Intel/AMD

Gigabyte 3D Rocket-Pro high 56.7 dB Intel/AMD

Vantec Mach1 high 56.9 dB AMD

Zalman CNPS8000 high 57.4 dB Intel/AMD

EKL V8 high 57.5 dB Intel/AMD

Sunon Waturbo 57.5 dB Intel

Antazone AS-C1000 57.6 dB Intel/AMD

Noctua NH-U9 58.4 dB Intel/AMD

Rosewill RCX-Z3 high 58.6 dB Intel/AMD

Thermalright SLK-948U 58.8 dB AMD

Alpha PAL-8150 58.9 dB AMD

Enzotech Ultra-X high 59.2 dB Intel/AMD

Akasa AK-920 high 59.2 dB Intel/AMD

Akasa AK-873 high 59.2 dB AMD

Coolermaster Aquagate Mini R80 high 59.2 dB Intel/AMD

AVC Z7U3301001 high 59.9 dB AMD

Rosewill RCX-Z2 59.9 dB Intel

Spire Fourier IV SP607B3-C 60.2 dB Intel/AMD

Akasa AK-922 (EVObue) high 60.3 dB Intel/AMD

Ajigo MF064-074 high 60.3 dB AMD

Thermalfly F1-IACSHA high 60.4 dB Intel/AMD

Cooljag SFO-Q high 60.6 dB AMD

Cooljag SFO-H high 60.6 dB AMD

Akasa AK-961 60.7 dB Intel

Thermaltake Jungle512 high 60.8 dB Intel

Gigabyte 3D Cooler-Pro high 62.5 dB Intel/AMD

Gigabyte 3D Cooler-Ultra high 63.0 dB Intel/AMD

AVC Z7U7414001 (stock AM2) high 63.0 dB AMD

Titan TTC-K8ATB/825/SC 63.1 dB AMD

Evercool PT02-9232CP 63.3 dB Intel

CoolJag SFO-D(18SC) 64.0 dB AMD

nPowertek SF 775-2 high 64.6 dB Intel

Gigabyte GH-PCU23-VE high 65.6 dB Intel/AMD

ASUS Starice high 67.4 dB Intel/AMD

Thermaltake Polo 735 high 68.0 dB AMD

Thermaltake Venus 12 high 68.1 dB AMD

Thermalfly I75DUB high 68.5 db Intel

Gigabyte G-Power Pro high 71.9 dB Intel/AMD

noise level (dba)

*unless noted, for reference heatsinks with variable-speed fans only the 'high speed' (12V) fan noise measurement is included in the comparison sheet; more detailed results for the low fan speed (~5V) tests reside in each specific heatsink review. ** 'AMD' denotes compatibility with socket 754/939/940 & AM2 processors where applicable. 'Intel' denotes compatibility with socket 775 platform.

With the 120mm Noctua NF-12P fan spinning at 1200RPM, the Noctua NH-U12P heatsink is very quiet. The heatsink generates just 40.7 dBA noise. With the first fan speed reducer (the black connector), that value falls to 34.6 dBA. As if that were not quiet enough, the user can select the blue fan speed reducer and bring noise levels to a whisper quiet 32.1 dBA. We'll see how these reductions in fan speed impact thermal performance next.

Surface Finish and Flatness

Surface finish is an important factor that we all look for when holding a new heatsink. Flipping a cooler over to see how well the base has been machined is a quick way to judge the attention to detail that was put into making it. The following test involves the use of a Surface Roughness Comparator, which offers a concise cross section common machine surface finishes.

The Noctua NH-U12P heatsink has a machined nickel-plated copper base with a surface roughness of approximately ~48 microinches. It is very flat and otherwise smooth, but the manufacturer has purposefully given it a ridged texture. Next, let's see how this heatsink handles the heat compared to a selection of other heatsinks!

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