120mm Noctua Nh-U12A Processor Air Cooler

Frank_Nitty

Feb 5, 2026 10:23 PM

10K Comments

Joined Jul 2016

Frank_NittyFeb 5, 2026 10:23 PM

10K Comments

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank

That's why I stopped buying Noctua coolers after 2014 since they've been constantly raising their prices over the years after getting too big for their own britches when there are other CPU cooler manufacturers out there whose products offer comparable performance as their offerings, but at a fraction of the price.

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1

ElatedSpaniel543

Feb 5, 2026 10:55 PM

1.2K Comments

Joined Nov 2020

ElatedSpaniel543Feb 5, 2026 10:55 PM

1.2K Comments

Quote from Frank_Nitty

:

That's why I stopped buying Noctua coolers after 2014 since they've been constantly raising their prices over the years after getting too big for their own britches when there are other CPU cooler manufacturers out there whose products offer comparable performance as their offerings, but at a fraction of the price.

I both agree with the statement and yet have an NH-D15 and three more A14s in my system somehow...

3

ElatedSpaniel543

Feb 5, 2026 10:58 PM

1.2K Comments

Joined Nov 2020

ElatedSpaniel543Feb 5, 2026 10:58 PM

1.2K Comments

This is both a good deal and a bad deal. It's good because Noctua make genuinely great stuff and are rarely on double digit sale. But bad, because you can get a cooler and 5 cases fans from other companies for the same price and just run the fans slower and be just as quiet or more so.

3

burgerbob

Pro

Feb 5, 2026 11:20 PM

609 Comments

Joined Dec 2007

burgerbob

Pro

Feb 5, 2026 11:20 PM

609 Comments

Quote from mazdamiata210

:

While technically true, they are just inferior products too. I put a cheap thermaltake air cooler in a young kids pc as a replacement to his broken water cooler and I had to get two replacements before the backplate didn't come broken out of the box or after install snapping off the board since it's made of plastic versus metal like noctua. Plus noctua customer service has always treated me well. Years later I asked for them to send me an intel mounting kit and they sent it free of charge no questions asked. You can't beat that kind of service

The Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 is $33 right now, and as far as I know, doesn't use plastic for mounting. Also you can buy two of them so you have a backup, and it would still be cheaper than this.

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1

ubertrout

Feb 5, 2026 11:35 PM

448 Comments

Joined May 2014

ubertroutFeb 5, 2026 11:35 PM

448 Comments

Niche question, but does anyone know if ordering from Woot somehow disqualifies from getting a 1366/775 kit from Noctua?

Frank_Nitty

Feb 5, 2026 11:39 PM

10K Comments

Joined Jul 2016

Frank_NittyFeb 5, 2026 11:39 PM

10K Comments

Quote from ElatedSpaniel543

:

I both agree with the statement and yet have an NH-D15 and three more A14s in my system somehow...

It's your prerogative regarding what cooler you decide to use regardless of its cost. However, the purpose of my statement was meant put a spotlight on how egregious the price increases Noctua has been implementing over the past few years, a cost I'm unwilling to bear.

9

TalentedWinter245

Feb 5, 2026 11:43 PM

81 Comments

Joined Aug 2018

TalentedWinter245Feb 5, 2026 11:43 PM

81 Comments

Recently replaced my Noctua U12S to put it in another build, and probably would have jumped on this deal had it been available, but went with a Phantom Spirit 120 Evo - dual heatsink that outperforms this U12A for half of the sale price. Love that Noctua included the long ass screwdriver though because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to install the PS without ordering one.

Last edited by TalentedWinter245 February 6, 2026 at 07:09 AM.

2

Frank_Nitty

Feb 5, 2026 11:59 PM

10K Comments

Joined Jul 2016

Frank_NittyFeb 5, 2026 11:59 PM

10K Comments

Quote from mazdamiata210

:

While technically true, they are just inferior products too. I put a cheap thermaltake air cooler in a young kids pc as a replacement to his broken water cooler and I had to get two replacements before the backplate didn't come broken out of the box or after install snapping off the board since it's made of plastic versus metal like noctua. Plus noctua customer service has always treated me well. Years later I asked for them to send me an intel mounting kit and they sent it free of charge no questions asked. You can't beat that kind of service

I beg to differ w/ your assessment. I've fooled around w/ quite a few CPU coolers since dealing w/ the last one I bought from Noctua off Amazon, the NH-U12 which is still going strong to this day cooling a i7-5775C from an older 2014 PC build. Although the metal backplate and tooling fixtures are a nice touch, that shouldn't necessitate exorbitant pricing. be Quiet! CPU coolers use a metal backplate and tooling fixtures bundled w/ their CPU cooler kits akin to Noctua's, but are nowhere near as excessive in price from what I can recall. EVGA, who scaled down their output w/in their PC component business also offers great customer service, but I don't recall them nickel and diming consumers for their products even though they sell more items than just CPU coolers. I also can't speak to your experience dealing w/ broken plastic backplates and tooling fixtures that came from other CPU cooler manufacturers since I've never encountered such an isolated mishap ever since I started building PCs back in 2007. There's not much to go off of your statement based on the assertions you're making since for all I know, it could have been user error due to misinterpreting the instructions when performing the installation, implying that your past troubles could be a personal issue.

Last edited by Frank_Nitty February 5, 2026 at 05:27 PM.

6

cb56789

Feb 6, 2026 12:19 AM

873 Comments

Joined Dec 2014

cb56789Feb 6, 2026 12:19 AM

873 Comments

Quote from ubertrout

:

Niche question, but does anyone know if ordering from Woot somehow disqualifies from getting a 1366/775 kit from Noctua?

I can confirmed that I used invoice from Woot to get additional mounting kit from Noctua for free before.

1

cb56789

Feb 6, 2026 12:23 AM

873 Comments

Joined Dec 2014

cb56789Feb 6, 2026 12:23 AM

873 Comments

Quote from Frank_Nitty

:

That's why I stopped buying Noctua coolers after 2014 since they've been constantly raising their prices over the years after getting too big for their own britches when there are other CPU cooler manufacturers out there whose products offer comparable performance as their offerings, but at a fraction of the price.

I think you buy Noctua not only for its product but also the customer services that come with it. No question asked product support comes with a price tag.

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2

1

LarsMarkelson

Feb 6, 2026 12:33 AM

106 Comments

Joined Jun 2010

LarsMarkelsonFeb 6, 2026 12:33 AM

106 Comments

i have nh-d14 from like 20 years ago, it's still good tho right?

Frank_Nitty

Feb 6, 2026 12:33 AM

10K Comments

Joined Jul 2016

Frank_NittyFeb 6, 2026 12:33 AM

10K Comments

Quote from cb56789

:

I think you buy Noctua not only for its product but also the customer services that come with it. No question asked product support comes with a price tag.

To be frank, no pun intended, I've purchased over 20x CPU coolers in my lifetime and not once have I ever had to contact the manufacturer so the "customer service" you're referencing has never been necessary w/ that kind of item for my use case due to me usually not having to spend so much out of pocket for just the CPU cooler. It's an air cooler and not even an AiO at that so it's too low maintenance to justify paying so much more for "customer service."

10

Infi01

Feb 6, 2026 12:41 AM

748 Comments

Joined Dec 2010

Infi01Feb 6, 2026 12:41 AM

748 Comments

Quote from TalentedWinter245

:

Recently replaced my Noctua U12S to put it in another build, and probably would have jumped on this deal had it been available, but went with a Phantom Spirit 120 Evo - dual heatsink that outperforms the U12A for half of this sale price. Love that Noctua included the long ass screwdriver though because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to install the PS without ordering one.

How do those two coolers compare in term of noise?

Superorb

Feb 6, 2026 2:10 AM

18.4K Comments

Joined Sep 2006

SuperorbFeb 6, 2026 2:10 AM

18.4K Comments

LOL $80 for a 120mm air cooler is not a deal in any reality when you can get Thermaltake 120mm Peerless Assassins for under $35 all day long that are a better overall design with more heatsink metal than this.

You buy this if you have more money than sense. That's it.

https://www.amazon.com/Thermalrig...B09LGY38L4

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120mm Noctua Nh-U12A Processor Air Cooler

$80

$140

Editor's Notes

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Editor's Notes

Original Post

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Common Questions (4)

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120mm Noctua Nh-U12A Processor Air Cooler

$80

$140

Editor's Notes

Original Post

Editor's Notes

Original Post

Top Comments

Community Reviews

Best For / Not Worth It If (8)

Pros & Cons (8)

Common Questions (4)

Can cheaper coolers like the Peerless Assassin or Phantom Spirit match the NH-U12A?

Is the Noctua NH-U12A worth $79.99 compared with Thermalright alternatives?

Does Noctua provide free mounting kits or socket adapters for older coolers?

How does the NH-U12A compare with the NH-D15 or NH-D15 G2?

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