News Noctua is back in black with new 120mm NH-D12L chromax.black air cooler

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Dr3ams

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It's pulling heat from one heatsink and blowing it onto another heatsink. I wonder if that air exchange is effective for cooling the CPU.
 

jlake3

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It's pulling heat from one heatsink and blowing it onto another heatsink. I wonder if that air exchange is effective for cooling the CPU.
Dual tower coolers have been a thing for ages. I first got into tinkering with computers in the Core 2/Socket 775 era, and I feel like they were already an established thing at that point.

As for performance; they add additional surface area for heat transfer without the flow restriction of a really deep fin stack, so well-made ones generally perform well.
 
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boju

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$100 for an air cooler is rediculous, but hey, if you buy from that link toms gets a kickback...

A decent HSF is usually a one off payment, they tend to last forever. Sure, can find and save maybe 20~30$ for another product that can do just as well, but in the scheme of things, someone keeping and often reusing same cooler and acquiring updated mounting brackets for newer platforms reputable brands often provide and usually for free if proof of purchase, savings isn't much really.
 
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Notton

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Air coolers last nearly forever, and the chart toppers haven't budged in ages.
The very best was a dual tower, the Noctua NH-D15, until the Jiushark JF13K showed up.

I think you will get more variance in temperatures depending on what TIM you use and how well the heatsink was mounted.

I still have a NH-D14 and Thermalright Ultra 120 extreme rev.C from ages ago. It took a 360mm AIO to see tangible performance benefits over the NH-D14.
 
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NedSmelly

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Interesting how, based upon their own NSPR rating that their single tower 120mm NH-U12A still outperforms everything except their NH-D15. I like Noctua but I’m getting the vibe that they’re starting to fall behind in their cooler product development. When auto makers release the same car with new paint colours for over 5 years, people start to worry.
 

Notton

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Interesting how, based upon their own NSPR rating that their single tower 120mm NH-U12A still outperforms everything except their NH-D15. I like Noctua but I’m getting the vibe that they’re starting to fall behind in their cooler product development. When auto makers release the same car with new paint colours for over 5 years, people start to worry.
That's because the NH-U12A is cleverly designed. AFAIK, it was designed with the 120mm LCP fans in mind, and is highly optimized for a 120mm single tower.
NH-D15 barely leads, despite its sheer mass and surface area.

They are supposed to release their 140mm LCP fan latter this year, but that thing has been stuck in development hell for some 5+ years now.
 

Phaaze88

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They can do black heatsinks and fans, but not white.
What is it about white pigment? I know about the yellowing thing. Is there a different, yet not favorable reaction with the liquid crystal polymer compared to the beige and blacks?
 
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