Installation

When it comes to mounting kits Noctua is still defining the state-of-the-art. SecuFirm is very well thought and also tough, so your cooler will sit very thoroughly on the beloved CPU. The installation itself is as simple as it can get and the pressure with which the cooler is being push onto the CPU is definitely sufficient to spread the thermal compound equally over the entire surface area. Thanks to the fact, that this is a rather slim cooler, there are no compatibility issues with memory that features large heatspreaders. Should you decide to install a second fan on the back side of the NH-U12S, no problem, Noctua thought about everything by including two different clip positions for wide compatibility and if you want to use spacers in-between. The Austrian  also provides a set of anti-vibration rubber pads that will fit any 120mm fan.

Test Setup
Mainboard	ASUS Z87-Deluxe (BIOS 1602)
CPU	Intel Core i7-4770K Stock (Turbo On / HT On)
Memory	ADATA XPG V2 2x4GB DDR3-2800 CL12 1.65V
Video	Intel HD Graphics 4600
Software	Windows 7 x64 wPrime Benchmark v2.10 CPUID HWMonitor 1.24.0
PSU	Seasonic Platinum SS-660XP2
Fan Controller	Lamptron FC5 V3
Thermal Compound	Pre-applied or bundled GELID GC-Extreme else

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Page 1 - Presentation / Specifications

Page 2 - Photo Gallery

Page 3 - Installation & Test Setup

Page 4 - Absolute Performance

Page 5 - PWM Performance

Page 6 - Conclusion