Visual inspection
The Noctua NH-U12A is designed to offer more clearance for both the RAM Slots and the PCIe slots of the motherboard. This is achieved by using a heatsink which measures 150mm in height, has a width of 125mm and a depth of just 58mm. The cooler uses two 120mm fans running in a push-pull configuration.
The heatsink has a total of 50 fins that are made from aluminum and are shaped downwards on the sides. To further increase the clearance, the heatsink has a single tower design and has a slight offset. The weight of the cooler without the fans is 760g.
The NH-U12A uses a total of seven heatpipes manufactured from nickel-plated copper. Each heatpipe, has an outer diameter of 6mm and is soldered to the baseplate of the cooler, to provide the best possible thermal transfer. The endings of the heatpipes are visible at the top of the cooler, as is the case with many coolers, the heatpipe endings are not symmetrical.
The baseplate of the cooler is manufactured from the same nickel-plated copper as the heatpipes. The surface making the contact with the CPU has a smooth finish, with subtle circular marks left from the manufacturing process.
The aluminum fins used on the heatsink have the sides bent downwards to not only maintain a symmetrical design, but to channel the airflow through the heatsink. There are also two channels perforated in each fin to allow easy access for the screwdriver when installing the cooler.
The NH-U12A is equipped with two 120mm fans, both are the model NF-A12x25 PWM. These fans are fully PWM compatible and use the Noctua SSO2 bearing system, among other features such as: Flow Acceleration Channels, Stepped Inlet Design and a Metal-reinforced motor hub.
The fans have a maximum speed of 2000 RPM and a minimum speed of 450 RPM. These values are achieved without the usage of the included low noise adapters.
The corners of the fans are covered by rubber pads to dampen any vibration generated by the moving mechanism. These pads also protect the edges of the fins, and provide a better contact surface for the fans to sit on when installed on the cooler.
The cable of the fans has a medium length and is protected by high quality sleeving. The connector used is a standard 4 Pin.
