Noctua NH-U9B Heatsink Review

Mike D. 30 Mar, 2008 at 1:00am ET Article published in Tech

Conclusion

Noctua does not disappoint with the NH-U9B. Outperforming almost all of our 120mm heatsinks, it is a phenomenal performer. The NH-U9B is shorter than most towers at only 125mm and is nice and light at only 460g. Noctua’s Secu-Firm mounting system is still the best mounting system I have seen to date as well. Noctua has included some great accessories with the NH-U9B, including a unique premium 92mm fan, two in-line fan RPM limiters, a tube of their premium grade thermal paste and even extra fan clips for dual-fan configurations. Noctua’s included documentation is top notch, as usual.

The NH-U9B retails at around the $50 mark. There are cheaper heatsinks out there, but none will offer you this level of performance at this size. You get what you pay for, and the NH-U9B is worth every penny.

Although the included NF-B9 fan is very quiet given its output and rotational speed, the NH-U9B does benfit from higher-flow fans. Buyers more concerned with performance can either replace the NF-B9 or buy another for a dual fan configuration. The dual NF-B9 configurations was still very quiet–much more so than our reference fan alone.

Noctua’s NH-U9B is a fantastic heatsink. Again, I was thoroughly impressed. I’m happy to award the Noctua NH-U9B with Icrontic’s “Outstanding Product Award”. I very much look forward to what Noctua has in store for the future!

We’d like to sincerely thank Noctua for providing us with this sample.

Pros:

• Excellent Performance (Outperforms most 120mm heatsinks!)
• Noctua’s excellent Secu-Firm mounting system (the best we’ve seen to date)
• High quality fan, premium grade thermal paste and other accessories included
• Compact size at only 125mm high and 460g in weight
• Excellent included documentation

Cons:

• A higher CFM fan is needed to unleash its full performance potential due to more densely packed fins.

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Comments

1. 
   31 Mar 2008 ~ 1:09am Winfrey Great job Mike!
   
   Is there any pricing on either the NH-U12P or the NH-U9B?
2. 
   31 Mar 2008 ~ 8:46am lemonlime Thanks
   
   The NH-U9B goes for around ~$50, and the NH-U12P goes for around ~$60. They can be found for less on sale, I'm sure.
3. 
   31 Mar 2008 ~ 10:58am DogSoldier Great review. But I don't see "A higher CFM fan is needed to unleash its full performance potential due to more densely packed fins." as a Con. Amazing little piece of "cool" engineering.
4. 
   31 Mar 2008 ~ 1:14pm lemonlime

   DogSoldier wrote:

   Great review. But I don't see "A higher CFM fan is needed to unleash its full performance potential due to more densely packed fins." as a Con. Amazing little piece of "cool" engineering.

   
   Thanks
   
   I see what you are saying, DogSoldier. Densely packed fins may be a positive thing for some individuals. Performance on tap for those not interested in silent cooling is a good thing. From a buyers perspective though, the cost of a higher flow 92mm fan would have to be factored in.
   
   It would probably be more accurate to state that "The included fan is not able to unleash the NH-U9B's full performance potential", rather than mentioning the densely packed fins.
5. 
   2 Apr 2008 ~ 10:22am lemonlime Some additional information I received from Noctua regarding the review:
   

   Noctua wrote:

   I'm also glad to hear that you like the new backplate and the improvements of the mounting system. We'll also include self-adhesive washers to make the installation process easier in the future. The new mounting parts will also be included with the NH-U12P by the way.
   
   I'd also like to comment on the clearance for mainboard components and on the fin-spacing: Since the NH-U9B is quite a bit lower, we had to pack the fins a little tighter in order to keep the overall surface area large enough so that the cooler can cope with higher heat loads. The same thing goes for the smaller clearance underneath the fin stack. Due to the smaller size of the NH-U9B, this doesn't result in compatibility issues because it nicely fits into the 95mm LGA square that has a maximum component height of 25mm.
6. 
   16 Apr 2008 ~ 10:33am GHoosdum Looks like another winner. Great review, too... I think your testing methodologies are much more rigorous than most websites go into for heatsink reviews. :bigggrin:
7. 
   25 Feb 2009 ~ 2:41pm BuddyJ The NH-U9B is still making rounds.