Noctua NH-U12S REDUX CPU Cooler (and Upgrade Kit) Review

Mike Sanders / 4 years ago

How Much Does it Cost?

Noctua has confirmed that the NH-U12S REDUX is available to purchase now with an MSRP of $49.90. Additionally, the second fan upgrade kit is also available for $16.90. – And overall, we have to say that these prices are significantly lower than we were expecting. Make no bones about it, Noctua is a premium brand, not just in name but also in performance. As such, seeing this cooler and even the upgrade kit available at an exceptionally reasonable price should already make it a very tempting proposition.

Overview

This shouldn’t overshadow the fact though that it is, despite its relatively small stature, an amazingly good CPU cooler. Although the CPU temperatures are clearly much better with the second fan upgrade kit, even without it, the NH-U12S REDUX manages to punch well above its weight while barely making a whisper!

Should I Buy One?

Despite its exceptionally good (and well deserved) reputation within the industry, many consumers are still, generally speaking, put off by Noctua’s products. Lacking any kind of flashy bells and whistles, some just consider them to be either too chunky or a bit (I won’t mince my words here) ugly. That being said, however, I don’t think I’ve ever encountered someone who purchased a Noctua product that wasn’t amazingly satisfied with it.

Given the significant aesthetic improvements seen in the NH-U12S REDUX, therefore, it’s our sincere hope that this does manage to turn a few heads and perhaps change a few opinions because, quite frankly, this is an amazing air CPU cooler that would look fantastic in the vast majority of PC systems. Throw that in with its fantastic performance, and the option to make it even better with the second fan upgrade kit, and, in a nutshell, for this kind of money I sincerely doubt you could do any better!

Pros

Hugely improved aesthetics when compared to the original model
Fantastically strong CPU temperature performance while maintaining exceptionally low noise output
Unquestionably well designed and to the highest standards
Suitable for the vast majority of PC systems with (in so far as we can tell) 100% RAM compatibility
Optional second fan upgrade kit takes performance to a (perhaps surprisingly) even higher level
Entirely viable for moderate overclocking (Albeit, the secondary fan kit would probably be recommended in this regard)
Amazingly good value for money! – I’d almost whisper that for what this offers, it’s borderline underpriced!