TESTING
The cooler is tested in the compact case against: 1. Stock Intel Cooler (for E5200) 2. Noctua NH-U9B SE The cooler is tested in the mid tower case against: 1. Stock Intel Cooler (for Core i7-920 Processor) 2. Noctua NH-D14 3. Noctua NH-U9B SE 4. Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme
RESULTS
COMPACT CASE/ INTEL E5200
For the compact case, OCCT (V3.1.0) was used in the standard mode. The setup is ideal for HTPC based activities. It runs off a “silent” (fan-less) video card (Sparkle 9400GT Silent Edition). There was no need to over clock the processor or to run the torture Linpack test.
The cooler does very well, as well as NH-U9B SE with two fans. The chart does not show results of the cooler with noise control adapters. The reason being that the performance numbers were with in 1°C of this value with the Low Noise Adapter (LNA) and 2°C with the Ultra Low Noise Adapter (ULNA). The extra rotational speed of the fan has no impact on cooling performance showing that even at low speeds the efficiency of the cooler is pretty high.
NO FAN TEST
Just like the NH-U9B SE, the cooler was tested in the same setup without its fan.
No real surprises here. The cooler maintains its lead over the NH-U9B SE. It keeps the E5200 cooler by 4°C.
MID TOWER CASE/ INTEL Core i7-920 (3.6 GHz)
The cooler was then tested in a high-end gaming machine. The processor was over-clocked (about 1 GHz over stock clock). To make things interesting the gigantic 200mm fans that come with the case were removed. As before OCCT V3.1.0 was used. This time the Linpack “torture” test was run with Hyper-Threading set to “ON”.
The pertinent benchmarks are highlighted. The red boxes show the direct comparison results between a Thermalright 120 Ultra eXtreme equipped with a single fan and the Noctua NH-C12P. The results are very comparable. Both perform exactly the same when their fans run at default speed and then at 900 rpm (with LNA on the Noctua). Only when the ULNA is used does the Noctua fall behind, but then the fan’s rotation speed and the resultant noise drops further. The cooler comes ahead of the NH-U9B SE and the stock Intel cooler, which has a hard time keeping with. The leader of the pack is however the NH-D14.
Noise Levels
The Mid tower system was used as a test bed for testing noise levels.
For legibility the chart is color coded. Intel’s stock cooler takes top honors here. It generates more noise than any other cooler, including the 2 fan NH-U9B SE. The quietest of the bunch is the NH-C12P SE14 with its single fan running in ultra low noise mode. Thermalright 120 Ultra eXtreme was tested using Noctua NF-P12 fan and thus generates about the same level of noise. Here is a reference for noise levels:
Price/ Performance
The retail price of the NH-C12P SE 14 is about US$68. The closest competitor, the Thermalright 120 Ultra eXtreme is about US$75. The latter does not come with any fan. Add a decent fan and the price is bound to go up by about US$ 5-20. What appears to be a “hefty” price tag is actually less than what you might pay if you opt for an alternate.
Conclusion
This fan is a niche product. It is for those who are looking to capitalize on the cooler’s dimension with respect to the case size of their computers. It can fit in chassis that can't house a Thermalright 120 ultra eXtreme and perform just as well. In a typical HTPC case it can keep the processor cool enough without the need of its fan! If you want the best top down cooler ever made, one that performs just as well as standard tower design coolers, fits in a compact case and comes with everything you will need to set it up then stop musing and go out and get a Noctua NH-C12P SE14.
PROS
Low Profile Cooler Cools motherboard components as well as the processor Competitive performance Top notch construction Universal installation kit 140mm premium fan with fan speed control cables. Extra long fan cable length Lowest noise generation Can be used without a fan (As tested)
CONS
No LEDs on the fan May interfere with very tall memory heat spreaders No screw driver in the installation kit (no love for the NH-C12P SE14!)
You can find additional information about our hardware review process and ethics policy here.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
