Noctua aims at establishing a new level of quality and performance "Designed in Austria" through paying attention to the users' needs in a market burdened with all kinds of frills and furbelows and providing sound-optimised premium components, which serve their purpose in a smart, precise and reliable manner.

What does Noctua mean? The little owl, Athene noctua, is the symbol of the Greek goddess Athene, who represents wisdom, science and strategy. She has a marked preference for the most clever among the Greek heroes, like Odysseus, who endure their adventures by the use of savvy consideration instead of mere force. Until today, the owl symbolises intelligence and prudence, its manlike face emblematises attentiveness and communication. We from Noctua follow the suit of its calm and accurate observation in the dark, its soundless flight as well as the effective, economical use of its powers and precise attack.

Noctua has this to say about their NH-U12P heatsink: “The NH-U12P continues the legacy of Noctua's classic NH-U coolers, which won over 150 awards and recommendations from leading international websites and magazines. While retaining the successful design and the well-proven SecuFirm™ mounting system, the newest revision has been reworked for enhanced main board compatibility and now comes with Noctua's NT-H1 pro-grade thermal compound. Fitted with the new NF-P12 premium fan, the NH-U12P brings its predecessors' much-acclaimed quiet cooling performance to a whole new level!”

Noctua have a justified reputation of silent, yet powerful cooling. Partnering with the Austrian Institute of Heat Transmission and Fan Technology(!) allows some serious science behind their products, and as seen in the performance of their NT-H1 thermal paste we reviewed recently it seems to work. So it is with piqued interest that I will be looking at their 120mm-fan based cooler; the NH-U12P.

Digging around it turns out that the NH-U12P is not entirely a new heatsink, but Noctua has tweaked and improved the design several times over its lifetime and the latest revision now includes one of their best fans, the NF-P12. So it should be interesting to see the performance of this cooler.

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