AMD may not be getting as much enthusiast dear equally it used to, but the company'south APU range is still where it's at for home theater-style systems, then I didn't hesitate to selection one upward for a new compact media-streaming box recently. Unfortunately, while the chip was a relatively powerful nonetheless affordable solution for playing 1080p content, it was surprisingly loud -- we're talking plenty racket that I thought something was incorrect with my power supply. Upon inspection, it wasn't the PSU and naught was wrong per se, the stock AMD cooler was just existence obnoxious, especially for a living room setup.

I idea I could get away with slowing the CPU fan in the BIOS, merely that caused a drastic temperature fasten and left me seeking a more than elaborate solution. Information technology's one that proved to be relatively uncomplicated: the Xigmatek Janus, a small heatsink and fan combo for Mini-ITX systems.

Strangely enough, that very same mean solar day I found myself facing some other CPU libation problem while building a Sandy Bridge-East rig with my friend. Having bought all the parts, we discovered that the Core i7-3820 processor didn't come with a cooler. Instead, Intel sells its heatsink/fan separately for $xxx. Although I knew he'd need a cooler, I wasn't prepared to answer my buddy's question when he asked which model to purchase.

It had been years since our concluding CPU cooler roundup so my knowledge was a niggling dated.

With the recent arrival of Ivy Bridge-E (run across our Cadre i7-4960X review), I felt it was a good time to bank check out the latest aftermarket coolers. The new chip is fully uniform with Sandy Bridge-E/EP's LGA2011 socket. We contacted all the major players and received 10 heatsinks to test including units from Noctua, Thermalright, Xigmatek, Silverstone and Thermaltake.

Noctua NH-U14S & NH-U12S

The Noctua NH-U14S and NH-U12S are amongst the most recently released coolers in this roundup. Whereas the NH-U12S comes with with the renowned NF-F12 120mm fan and succeeds the popular NH-U12P SE2, the NH-U14S is the series' commencement 140mm model and uses the new NF-A15 140mm fan.

Both models have a new slim pattern that ensures easy RAM access and maximum compatibility with tall modules. They feature PWM fans for convenient automatic speed control through the motherboard, but you tin can also lower the maximum fan speed from 1500 to 1200 RPM using a supplied depression-dissonance adapter.

Noctua NH-U12S

With a fin depth of only 45mm, the NH-U12S doesn't overhang the DIMM slots and wouldn't even with two fans installed. Its slim profile provides full access to the memory on motherboards with all modern processor sockets and guarantees total compatibility with tall heatspreaders or optional memory fans.

Without fans, the heatsink measures 158H 10 125W x 45D mm. With a 120mm blower attached, the cooler measures 71mm deep and weighs 755 grams. The heatsink features nickel plating and a copper base with 5 double heatpipes that extend up into an assortment of aluminum fins.

Along with a heatsink, the bundle includes one Noctua NF-F12 PWM fan that uses SSO2 (self-stabilizing oil-pressure bearing) bearing engineering science. If you're unfamiliar with the feature, it combines oil-based hydrodynamic bearings with an additional magnet that supports rotor centrality' cocky-stabilization.

With a stabilized axis, SSO fans terminal longer than ball, sleeve or hydrodynamic solutions. SSO2, of course, is the technology's second-generation. It comes courtesy of metal bearing shells likewise as new injection molding techniques and moves the magnet closer to the axis for fifty-fifty more than stabilization and durability.

The fan is designed to operate at between 300 and 1500 RPM while the low-racket adapter that nosotros mentioned earlier can cap the maximum RPM at 1200.

The Noctua NH-U12S comes with the SecuFirm2 mounting kit which allows for installation on the Intel LGA2011, LGA1156, LGA1155, LGA1150 & AMD AM2, AM2+, AM3, AM3+, FM1, FM2 (backplate required) platforms. At $70, the NH-U12S isn't exactly cheap, only premium parts rarely are.

Noctua NH-U14S

The NH-U14S is the NH-U12S'due south big brother, featuring a very similar design, just on a grander scale. The larger model features a 52mm pattern (15% larger than the NH-U12S) that is tailor-fabricated for the LGA2011 platform. As a outcome, it doesn't interfere with the DIMM slots on this platform.

It'southward bigger in the other directions too at 165H 10 150W and it weighs 770g lone -- more than the NH-U12S with its fan mounted. With the NF-A15 PWM fan installed, the libation measures 78mm deep and weighs 935g.

Like its smaller sibling, the NH-U14S heatsink features a copper base of operations, nickel plating and soldered joints, simply it has six double heatpipes rather than five. Meanwhile, the NF-A15 PWM fan features the same SSO2 engineering that we noted above, while a racket adapter identical to the NH-U12S' is also included.

Both the NH-U12S and NH-U14S are backed by a six-yr warranty, which should ensure they arrive through the life of the platform they are installed on. Speaking of which, the NH-U14S also touts the same platform back up as the smaller NH-U12S and every bit far equally nosotros tin tell, it only costs slightly more at $75.