Noctua NH-U9S CPU Cooler Review

Admin Cooling 4967

Noctua come with a simple fitted cover for the shiny contact plate that takes the heat away from the CPU. They always arrive intact and have a little more protection that the usual sticky film.

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The plate is shiny and smooth to Noctua standards, but it can always be taken further if required. If you rub thermal paste into the contact plate before mounting, this will fill a good number of scratches or imperfections that may cause performance issues.

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Below is a close up of the surface; You can still see the manufacturing process but it is ultra fine and the shot was difficult to achieve. Again, rub some thermal paste into the surface, it’s a little old school but it always does the trick for us.

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Test Set Up

We tested the Noctua NH-U9S for sound and cooling performance using an i7 LGA2011 set up. We tested two configurations, stock with turbo and over clock with turbo.

Software used for load tests and temperature capture;

We ran the AIDA64 Extreme stability test in 30 minute batches and recorded the results. We used the Core Max result as there was typically a variance across the cores of a couple of degrees. We only selected the cache, FPU and CPU tests, so no other component would generate impacting heat during the tests.

Fitting

Installing the Noctua NH-U9S wasn’t hard at all. You need to remove the fan and use the supplied screwdriver but due to the small foot print, it doesn’t have access issues and it doesn’t clash with the surrounding motherboard and memory. We can’t really say much more about it, it was trouble-free.

BIOS Setting

We used the default PWM setting and left it alone!

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Sound Level Testing

We used a standard generic digital sound level meter at 15 inches. It is important to note we used the MicroCool Banchetto 101 Chassis for testing which is an open chassis. This means you are hearing the CPU coolers fan unobstructed.

Thermal Paste

We use Arctic MX-2 for all heatsink cooler tests and in fact we use it for all builds, test or otherwise. We run the AIDA64 Extreme stability test as our burn in programme for thermal paste, which allows the paste to spread out and share the love across the mating surfaces. It is worth doing, we noted a drop in throttling after 30 minutes of burn in, and we don’t like throttling!

Next, results.

Noctua NH-U9S CPU Cooler Review

Package - 9.2
Performance - 8.5
Price - 9
Consumer Experience - 9.2

9

If you want big block CPU cooler performance in your small chassis, this maybe for you. From a consumer experience point of view, there isn’t anything bad about this cooler, and there is a lot good about it, though go for the two fan option, and you will sleep well at night.

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