When I first built my new gaming PC during the Covid lockdown back in 2020 I ordered the Noctua NH-U12S SE-AM4 to cool the Ryzen 5 3600. And it cooled it very well. the 3600 has a 65 watt TDP and the NH-U12S handled it easily.
Later on upgraded to the Ryzen 5 5600X, also with a 65W TDP but I did order and add another fan to the back of Noctua NH-U12S SE-AM4. Again this wasn't a problem at all and the system ran very cool and quiet.Cinebench20 would push CPU the temps to 89 degrees(c), a bit toasty!
So I started looking at the Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black as a possible replacement.
Problem 1, it's a pricey solution at ~£110
Problem 2, this tall boy would be cutting it very close to being able to fit in my case (Phanteks Eclipse P400A)
So I left it for a while...
...
Then I started looking at the NF-A12x25 PWM fans to replace the fans and keep the NH-U12S.
Again not the cheapest solution, with each coming is at ~£30 each, but half the cost of the NH-D15 solution.
So I bit the bullet, ordered and installed them, and re-used the older Noctua from the NH-12S as additional case exhaust fans. A simple swap over re-jig that probably took less than 30 minutes in total, most of which was giving the case & fans a good spring clean.
They are a bit chunkier and weightier than the old fans but install just as easily.
Now the bit you're interested in, the performance.
I re-calibrated the fans and curves with the 'Auto' function available in my Asus BIOS and booted the system.
All good, already noticeably quieter.
Then I ran Cinebench20 twice, and each time the temperature peaked at a max of 82 degrees(c)!
A 7 degree drop in maximum operating temperature, so now I don't have thermal throttling concerns anymore and it's a better than expected win.
I am very happy!
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