Noctua NH-D12L Dual Tower CPU Cooler - 120mm-Class Cooling For 4U Server Cases

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Noctua NH-D12L Dual Tower CPU Cooler - 120mm-Class Cooling For 4U Server Cases

With the dozens of 4U rackmount enclosures used at Phoronix, when it comes to the high-end desktop systems the Noctua NH-U9 series has been the go-to choice for CPU cooling. The Noctua NH-U9 series has been capable of cooling HEDT systems even with Threadripper / EPYC processors using the NH-U9 TR4-SP3 while fitting within 4U height requirements. For the Noctua NH-U9 series and other 4U compatible heatsinks they've tended to be limited to 80~92mm cooling fans due to height requirements. Noctua though recently introduced the NH-D12L as offering a dual tower CPU heatsink design capable of fitting 120mm fans and has been the focus of our recent testing.

https://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=31038

[Anux]

Woha, 100 and 94 °C. Maybe something went wrong with the thermal paste application?
@Michael: Do you have any temp readings with the original cooler?

[Michael]

Woha, 100 and 94 °C. Maybe something went wrong with the thermal paste application?
@Michael: Do you have any temp readings with the original cooler?

The 'original' cooler is the NH-*U9S as shown in the article.... The temps aren't out of the ordinary for 12900K under max load in peak conditions on air cooling.

[billyswong]

I wonder what this new Noctua fan (and also the NH-U9 series) performance against Cryorig H7 Ultra. ( http://www.cryorig.com/h7ultra.php )

The H7 Ultra is a 4-heat pipe, single 120mm fan, 145mm tall cooler. It was sold less than 60 USD in Hong Kong.

They also have a H7 Quad Lumi ( http://www.cryorig.com/h7ql.php ) that is identical in cooling capacity and differ only in LED. I have purchased both in the past due to shop availability.

[Anux]

The 'original' cooler is the NH-*U9S as shown in the article.... The temps aren't out of the ordinary for 12900K under max load in peak conditions on air cooling.

Ok my bad, I guess if it really takes 240 W for a short moment it might be impossible to transport the heat elsewere fast enough given the die size and thermal resistance. Average looks fairly normal.

[L_A_G]

Woha, 100 and 94 °C. Maybe something went wrong with the thermal paste application?

Normally I'd be with you, but Intel has fallen down on some old habits from the Netburst days to try and maintain an edge against a resurgent AMD. They've literally used a commercial fish tank pump/cooler (the kind of thing you use to maintain the lobster tank at a seafood restaurant) to show off the supposed peak power of their top-of-the-line chips at trade shows.

[Anux]

Normally I'd be with you, but Intel has fallen down on some old habits from the Netburst days to try and maintain an edge against a resurgent AMD. They've literally used a commercial fish tank pump/cooler (the kind of thing you use to maintain the lobster tank at a seafood restaurant) to show off the supposed peak power of their top-of-the-line chips at trade shows.

My last Intel CPU would shut down the system when reaching 95 °C but they must have raised their Tjunction to 100 °C a long time ago. If the CPU lasts 10 years under those conditions its an impressive achievement. I remember those Nvidia GPU dies, that desoldered themselfes.

I read on arc.intel, that the boost limit is 70 °C so somehow the CPU reaches those temps at base clock.

[L_A_G]

My last Intel CPU would shut down the system when reaching 95 °C but they must have raised their Tjunction to 100 °C a long time ago. If the CPU lasts 10 years under those conditions its an impressive achievement. I remember those Nvidia GPU dies, that desoldered themselfes.

I read on arc.intel, that the boost limit is 70 °C so somehow the CPU reaches those temps at base clock.

We're talking the hottest part of the CPU die here and (IIRC) those didn't use to be exposed to temperature monitoring software. I'm pretty sure the tail end Prescott Pentium 4s would hit that temperature on the die.

As for the "de-soldering" issue, the melting point of the solder (usually about 190C) has never been an issue. The widespread issue around 2006-2010 (which went well beyond Nvidia graphics cards) was that the new lead-free solder, which everyone moved to fairly rapidly after the EU banned lead-containing solder, would begin to develop cracks after thousands of heating/cooling cycles.

[M@GOid]

This cooler is totally inadequate to the CPU utilized. That poor CPU was throttling for its life.

[zxy_thf]

The 'original' cooler is the NH-*U9S as shown in the article.... The temps aren't out of the ordinary for 12900K under max load in peak conditions on air cooling.

The performance of U9S is not good enough for modern processors.
My 3900X was definitively thermal throttled by U9S when I tested it with blender rendering.
The problem was lately solved by putting three extra fans to my case, replacing the exhaust fan, and creating tons of noises under full load.

This will be a nice upgrade for small cases.