I happened to notice that $50 is $5 more than the MSRP of the Coolermast Hyper 212 Evo. I don't think that's a coincidence.
Although we'd need to see some discounting for this to come close to the common street price of that cooler. I hope we do, because the 212's mounting solution is a pain and I'd like to buy these instead.
Agreed. The fan that came with my Hyper 212 Evo started making an annoying rattling fan after a few years of use; I wound up buying another fan to replace it. I would have been better off buying this Noctua cooler and fan for $5 more had it been on the market at the time.
The problem is most people just see Noctua as the only "good" or "premium" cooling solution, when there are others with equal or better performance and similar quality. The only advantage I've read from Noctua is the free adapters for newer platforms they send, even after a couple years of your purchase.
The one thing that Noctua has that is way above just about everyone is their fans. Its relatively easy to build a high performance fan or a quiet fan but building a quiet high performance fan that is reliable isn't cheap and thats Noctua's advantage. The bearing and motor design in the Noctua fans is just better than 90% of everything else in the consumer space.
There's no time limits on those adapters. Last year Noctua sent me an AM4 adapter free-of-charge for a NH-C12P cooler I bought in 2010. Their post-sale support is amazing.
I'm a system builder, I do not really care for more performance than needed. But I do care about never hearing back after installation. I've tried many coolers/cases etc. But with brands like PAPST and Noctua I can be relatively sure, they will not start to rattle or whine in my lifetime. That's easily 100 bucks saved.
No. The brown colors that Noctua uses are great and I prefer that they continue to use it. Why? Because everyone knows when they see those brown fans, theyre Noctua, which stands for quality. The color screams brand recognition, its a badge of honor and a sign of pedigree to have these brown fans inside any case.
Yeah, I like the signature Noctua brown if your components area neutral color scheme but if you have pretty much any component with a red or a blue the fans really stick out and are pretty ugly.
What a childish comment. This isn't math, there isn't a right or wrong answer. You like Noctua brown, that's fine. Not everyone does, and that's a legitimate preference, as well.
Many of Noctua's higher end products - both fans and coolers - are available in "chromax.black" alternate versions which are, well, black. You're welcome to buy that option if you prefer.
Is there really a market for lowered end air coolers? Seems like with every performance degradation you get closer to just using the cooler bundled with the processor.
If Intel's still using their never sufficiently cursed pushpin coolers then yes. If I never have to try to install one of those again, it'll be too soon.
Even basic 120mm tower coolers significantly outperform the bundled coolers especially if you also factor in noise. Even 92mm towers perform better aside from the Wraith Prism/Max type coolers (roughly equal) which come with limited AMD SKUs (and maybe none going forward).
The mounting kit for older/newer sockets thing is definitely free. I bought a Noctua cooler a few months ago and wanted to put it on a 13-year-old motherboard, which of course they don’t include mounting kits for anymore. Contacted Noctua, got a free LGA1366 kit. If I upgrade my desktop from AM4 to AM5 in the future, I’ll be able to use my existing Noctua cooler there too.
i mean i don't care if they lowered the quality of the fan, lowered the number of heat pipes, and don't includes some accessories, but it is just petty, giving you half the corner bits, it is a CHEAP cosmetic issue
Along with the 2nd set of fan clips, it's part of the 2nd fan kit mentioned in the article. It's the cheap model, of course they're not going to include any optional extras.
After my first Noctua cooler over a decade ago, I've never used anything else. Overall a quality product. Interesting to see an actual new line of coolers, though they have been introducing the additional lines of fans for a few years now. The Redux line of coolers sounds interesting, but I wonder if the lack of solder between the heatpipes and fans will make a difference in cooling. The other complaints I've seen are easily alleviated. If you want additional rubber bumper corners, you can purchase packets of them in black and some assorted colors. The color of the Redux line is no long the Noctua brown. You can add additional fans, or else step up to the original line of coolers, which is also offered in black as well as Noctua brown. If you don't want to wait for mounting kits from the factory, the Intel and AM4 mounting kits are available for $7.95. Just a great company with great products!
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Flunk - Wednesday, March 17, 2021 - link
I happened to notice that $50 is $5 more than the MSRP of the Coolermast Hyper 212 Evo. I don't think that's a coincidence.Although we'd need to see some discounting for this to come close to the common street price of that cooler. I hope we do, because the 212's mounting solution is a pain and I'd like to buy these instead.
Operandi - Wednesday, March 17, 2021 - link
That and you get the Noctua fan which are some of the best you can get, that easily makes it worth the $5 more.IBM760XL - Wednesday, March 17, 2021 - link
Agreed. The fan that came with my Hyper 212 Evo started making an annoying rattling fan after a few years of use; I wound up buying another fan to replace it. I would have been better off buying this Noctua cooler and fan for $5 more had it been on the market at the time.desii - Wednesday, March 17, 2021 - link
For $50 you can buy something like the Scythe Mugen 5, which is a beefier 6-heatpipe cooler and almost certainly performs better.Udyr - Thursday, March 18, 2021 - link
The problem is most people just see Noctua as the only "good" or "premium" cooling solution, when there are others with equal or better performance and similar quality. The only advantage I've read from Noctua is the free adapters for newer platforms they send, even after a couple years of your purchase.Operandi - Thursday, March 18, 2021 - link
The one thing that Noctua has that is way above just about everyone is their fans. Its relatively easy to build a high performance fan or a quiet fan but building a quiet high performance fan that is reliable isn't cheap and thats Noctua's advantage. The bearing and motor design in the Noctua fans is just better than 90% of everything else in the consumer space.gsvelto - Saturday, March 20, 2021 - link
There's no time limits on those adapters. Last year Noctua sent me an AM4 adapter free-of-charge for a NH-C12P cooler I bought in 2010. Their post-sale support is amazing.Foeketijn - Thursday, March 25, 2021 - link
I'm a system builder, I do not really care for more performance than needed. But I do care about never hearing back after installation. I've tried many coolers/cases etc. But with brands like PAPST and Noctua I can be relatively sure, they will not start to rattle or whine in my lifetime.That's easily 100 bucks saved.
brucethemoose - Wednesday, March 17, 2021 - link
The 212 EVO is not great value. Not a lot of surface area, not great fans compared to other ~$50 coolers.Its just riding on the popularity of the 212+, which was dirt cheap for what it was.
damianrobertjones - Wednesday, March 17, 2021 - link
"How can we increase the price of our standard/top range products?""Make a lower spec option...!"
"Ooh, standard Marketing. Nice. Do it!"
Cha-ching.
DenverLett - Wednesday, March 17, 2021 - link
I'd prefer Noctua just banish that hideous shade of brown they use on their other products.vanish1 - Wednesday, March 17, 2021 - link
No. The brown colors that Noctua uses are great and I prefer that they continue to use it. Why? Because everyone knows when they see those brown fans, theyre Noctua, which stands for quality. The color screams brand recognition, its a badge of honor and a sign of pedigree to have these brown fans inside any case.Operandi - Wednesday, March 17, 2021 - link
Yeah, I like the signature Noctua brown if your components area neutral color scheme but if you have pretty much any component with a red or a blue the fans really stick out and are pretty ugly.vanish1 - Wednesday, March 17, 2021 - link
no, youre wrong. The brown is iconic, it works with any colors in a pc system.Operandi - Wednesday, March 17, 2021 - link
Agree to disagree.warreo - Wednesday, March 17, 2021 - link
What a childish comment. This isn't math, there isn't a right or wrong answer. You like Noctua brown, that's fine. Not everyone does, and that's a legitimate preference, as well.vanish1 - Thursday, March 18, 2021 - link
^Childish commentBeaver M. - Thursday, March 18, 2021 - link
Or just stop being a child and put that PC under the desk where nobody can look inside of it anyway.kepstin - Thursday, March 18, 2021 - link
Many of Noctua's higher end products - both fans and coolers - are available in "chromax.black" alternate versions which are, well, black. You're welcome to buy that option if you prefer.Tams80 - Tuesday, March 30, 2021 - link
If you don't like it, then buy one of their black fans or paint it yourself. You built your own PC, it shouldn't be hard.fcth - Wednesday, March 17, 2021 - link
Is there really a market for lowered end air coolers? Seems like with every performance degradation you get closer to just using the cooler bundled with the processor.Operandi - Wednesday, March 17, 2021 - link
This is not a low end heatsink, its 120mm tower and leagues above any of the AMD stock coolers. Intel is only worth mentioning as a joke...DanNeely - Wednesday, March 17, 2021 - link
If Intel's still using their never sufficiently cursed pushpin coolers then yes. If I never have to try to install one of those again, it'll be too soon.limitedaccess - Wednesday, March 17, 2021 - link
Even basic 120mm tower coolers significantly outperform the bundled coolers especially if you also factor in noise. Even 92mm towers perform better aside from the Wraith Prism/Max type coolers (roughly equal) which come with limited AMD SKUs (and maybe none going forward).Guspaz - Wednesday, March 17, 2021 - link
The mounting kit for older/newer sockets thing is definitely free. I bought a Noctua cooler a few months ago and wanted to put it on a 13-year-old motherboard, which of course they don’t include mounting kits for anymore. Contacted Noctua, got a free LGA1366 kit. If I upgrade my desktop from AM4 to AM5 in the future, I’ll be able to use my existing Noctua cooler there too.Alistair - Wednesday, March 17, 2021 - link
It seriously only includes 4 rubber corners, instead of eight? I'm so over Noctua and their crappy products and crappy prices...Alistair - Wednesday, March 17, 2021 - link
i mean i don't care if they lowered the quality of the fan, lowered the number of heat pipes, and don't includes some accessories, but it is just petty, giving you half the corner bits, it is a CHEAP cosmetic issueDanNeely - Wednesday, March 17, 2021 - link
Along with the 2nd set of fan clips, it's part of the 2nd fan kit mentioned in the article. It's the cheap model, of course they're not going to include any optional extras.[email protected] - Wednesday, March 17, 2021 - link
After my first Noctua cooler over a decade ago, I've never used anything else. Overall a quality product. Interesting to see an actual new line of coolers, though they have been introducing the additional lines of fans for a few years now. The Redux line of coolers sounds interesting, but I wonder if the lack of solder between the heatpipes and fans will make a difference in cooling. The other complaints I've seen are easily alleviated. If you want additional rubber bumper corners, you can purchase packets of them in black and some assorted colors. The color of the Redux line is no long the Noctua brown. You can add additional fans, or else step up to the original line of coolers, which is also offered in black as well as Noctua brown. If you don't want to wait for mounting kits from the factory, the Intel and AM4 mounting kits are available for $7.95. Just a great company with great products!