[SOLVED] Noctua NH-U12A on an i7 9700k

[ArinBane001]

Hey , I got this (see title) combo and I have been using it for a while. But I cant help to think that temps are a bit to high for an expensive cooler like this.
so I wanted to ask you guys if something is wrong cuz I cant find reliable info online for the same cooler on the same cpu I have,
anyway here are some temperature stats:

My 9700k is at stock turbo , all core at 4.6Ghz and gaming temps are from 55c - 60c with average 30-40% cpu usage.
Stress testing the cpu with aida at stock turbo temps go up to 72 c.

I tried applying some auto overclocking via the bios (z390 aorus elite)
with advanced profile all cores go up to 4.9 ghz and temps while gaming are around 68 c - 72 c
Stress testing with this oc applied temps peaked at 91 c and contied to be around 85 c - 88 c

I was running pretty agressive fan curve while I was testing this.

Prior to noctua nh-u12a I had a coolermaster 212 evo for a short amount of time if I remember correctly the temps were not making me worried at all , around 55 c while gaming.

One thing I remember that I should not leave out is when I first mounted the cooler I might have overtightened a screw and the screw head (part where screwdrivers goes) is worn out.
With this I hope I didn't bend one of the mounting bars , I did check how the thermal paste was spread and both cpu and cooler surface looked even. (I am using noctuas thermal paste that came with the cooler)

I also want to mention that I got plenty of case airflow in my fractal design case , unobstructed 3x 140mm intake (Noctua NF-P14s) and 2x 140mm exhaust (Fractal Design Dynamic X2)
with my ambient room temperature being 18-22c

Thank you in advance for any help on this.

 

[siaan312]

FIrst off, Remount the cooler, just check yourself to not overdue any screws. Clean the thermal paste, preferably with alcohol, or the (I think) included cpu wipes that came with the cooler.
Noctua has good mounting hardware, and I doubt you'll bend it, but overtightening is just not good anyway.

If after that you still get those temps, I guess you just have to live with them. Those temps are not out of spec, and while they are a little toasty for that cooler, it's not something to really worry about that much.

 

[ArinBane001]

FIrst off, Remount the cooler, just check yourself to not overdue any screws. Clean the thermal paste, preferably with alcohol, or the (I think) included cpu wipes that came with the cooler.
Noctua has good mounting hardware, and I doubt you'll bend it, but overtightening is just not good anyway.

If after that you still get those temps, I guess you just have to live with them. Those temps are not out of spec, and while they are a little toasty for that cooler, it's not something to really worry about that much.

Hey , I forgot to mention I have remounted/reseated/reinstalled the cooler multiple times already prior to writing this post. Is it still the same , nothing changes.

 

[Phaaze88]

I don't really see a problem here, except:
Auto OC < Manual OC

With some trial and error, you should be able to run that chip at lower Vcore than what the mobo is doing automatically.
Or just leave it be; there's really nothing unusual here.

 

[BogdanH]

NH-U12A is high quality cooler and priced accordingly. But.. it has it's limits as every cooler has: at certain point (constant high CPU temp.) it just can't keep up anymore -and that's why larger cooler exist.
However, your temperatures seems to be within margins (for this CPU), so I wouldn't really worry. On the other hand, there might be some hot summer days and you don't like the idea to run fans close to 100% most of the time...

Just sharing my thoughts

 

[falcon291]

As BogdanH wrote, your temperatures are very much OK. Gaming temperatures seem OK. Hower there are differences between games. Without overclocking, my 9700K can reach 80-85 C in Battlefield V. In anything else it does not come near to these numbers.

 

[geofelt]

I think your temps are just fine.
Noctua has some suitability analysis, here is the link to the 9700K and NH-U12a:
https://ncc.noctua.at/cpus/model/Intel-Core-i7-9700K-411
Looks to be as good as it gets.

As I recall, the noctua mounting system has a spring to deliver the correct pressure and you can't over tighten it.