...it seems the 12cm has only a ~2degree advantage at 17dBA (though that advantage does get better by the time we get to 13-14dB). Do I read that right? At 12dB there is an 8C difference which is significant. The U9S is better if you add a second fan but even then it is still 6C behind at 13-14dB. ...

If you can afford the premium price, then yes Platinum psus are worth it. Bear in mind that there other things that push the price up, for example hybrid fan control and modular cables. There are also constructional differences over cheaper PSUs, principally the quality and temperature rating of the...

Another day, another NF-A12x25 review or in this case two reviews. The links are for the test results page. The first is from GreenTech_Reviews (Russian) and the second from Hardware Inside (German).

What seems to be happening is that there are existing Gold versions with the same designations. But a Platinum version is on the way, the Platinum SF450 for example has a different part number, CP-9020181-UK to the Gold equivalent. Maybe Corsair should have adopted a slightly different model designa...

Corsair have recently released two hybrid modular Platinum SFX PSUs, the SF450 and the SF600. According to them the fan on the SF450 stays off below 90w system load, and below 120w for the SF600. As Platinum units they aren't exactly cheap, the 450 is £90 in the UK and the 600 £105, but they do seem...

I am not sure that a small amount of obstruction is going to make any difference to an intake fan. The amount of blocking of the Define C intake is similar to the Fractal R5/R6 if dual 140s are fitted and I haven't heard of anyone suggesting that they need to be dremeled.

The point about Platinum spec power supplies is that they are more efficient at lower power draws than Gold and not much off Titanium, so the issue of capacity is not the point here. The OP has simply picked the lowest output hybrid Platinum supply available where they are. Hybrid obviously to avoid...

From my usual supplier the U9S is relatively expensive at around £50; the U12S is only £5 more. On this basis I would strongly recommend you go for the U12S. If you want to spend less money then from the same source is the Thermalright Macho Rev. B at £40.

A ComputerBase review (in german) PC fan for radiators in the test: Arctic vs. be quiet!, Nanoxia, Noiseblocker, and Noctua. One of the Noctua fans compared is the NF-A12x25.

To me the Redux NF-P14S 1200 PWM would be worth the extra C$6 over the Dynamic X2. Partly its because it can go right down to around 300 rpm under idle which is less than the lowest idle speed of the X2. Partly its because if you stress it to 800 to 1000 rpm most people seem to agree that the tone i...

nimo11 wrote:tried to look on asus website support for memory and psu compatibility for the mobo i'm planning to buy.

Which motherboard is this?

Intel Desktop CPU TDP numbers cause confusion because they are quoted in watts. This leads to the assumption that it's linked to power consumption, that is electrical watts when in fact it is about the heat in thermal watts that the CPU produces when it consumes power. As Intel put it themselves* "....

My only question is how much will this wunderkind of a HSF cost? Two NF-A12X25s and a redesigned HS with two more heatpipes. I wouldn't be surprised if it comes out at close to double the price of the NH-U12S. See the video on this page from HEXUS.net . Noctua are estimating the price as $100 US/€1...

There's practically no difference! It's just that the electric power fed to the CPU is all transformed into thermal power by the work done in the CPU. TDP for Intel desktop CPUs is simply intended to be a relative guide as to how much cooling a particular CPU needs. It is quoted as a maximum figure...

To be frank I was much more interested in the all black Chromax coolers displayed on the front left. I see later in the video that they even have all black fittings. So Noctua plan to charge a premium price for the new NH-U12S with two NF-A12x25 fans in their traditional color scheme. And if instead...

Of those two, the Cooler Master Hyper T4 looks to be the best choice - a 153mm high tower with four direct contact heat pipes and a 120mm PWM fan.

Whether any particular motherboard will have a PCI-E slot blocking issue with the NH-U14S is easy to check on the Noctua website. It is of course better to check for compatibility before buying a motherboard rather than after...

i wonder how can you tell if it's ver. 2 when buying. The part numbers are different. But the easiest way to tell is that if the Corsair logo and the word 'CORSAIR' on the side of the unit are on one line it is a ver. 1. If the Corsair logo is above the word 'CORSAIR' it is a ver. 2. This for examp...

...ExtSens1, 2, and 3... Yes these are on the Asus Fan Extension Card which has an additional three thermal sensors (and as part of the kit provides three thermal sensor cables). The Asus Fan Extension Card seems to be a bit elusive in the UK, I have never yet found a boxed complete set on retail s...

The original Kotetsu did have an earlier version of the improved mounting in the latest Scythe coolers. If you swapped out the GlideStream sleeve bearing fan that comes with it I doubt if you would see any significant difference in performance between the original and the Mark II Kotetsu.

If I were looking for an alternative to the Noctua cooler number one on my list would be the Scythe Mugen 5. In part because the newer Scythes have an excellent mounting system, arguably as good as Thermalright. A lot depends on prices in your particular location. In the UK the Mugen 5 and Thermalri...

Yes, that's right.

It is dependant on the load.

What I see on that page under Cooling->multi temp sources is this "...Each header can be set to monitor and react to three user-configurable thermal sensors..." which would be CPU, motherboard and the optional T_SENSOR thermistor cable.

A potential issue with the A12x25 is the corner design. It is maybe best described as semi-closed which might cause issues with coolers that use clips that fix to the back of the fan. However since the True Spirit 120 Direct uses a front mounting I don't see any problems.

Yes, more CPU cooling will mean more higher fan speeds which will mean more noise. But there are ways to keep the noise down. For example replacing the stock Intel cooler with a third-party cooler like the Noctua NH-U12S. And if your case has case fans plugging them into the motherboard and letting ...

From a quietness point of view you can always trade higher CPU temperatures for less CPU cooler fan (and case fan) noise. The main issue is that you need to ensure that the CPU remains below the throttling point. This should not be difficult given the current level of BIOS and software fan control a...

TDP is Thermal Design Power, so 65w, 95w etc are thermal watts, that is measures of heat not electrical watts. For Intel processors the intended use of TDP is to give a relative indication of how much cooling is required in normal usage. TDP has nothing to do with how much power a CPU uses. The limi...

There is a fairly comprehensive review here (in Japanese) . In short, these two graphs show the story. The first graph seems to bear out the conclusion that the NF-A12x25 is quieter at equivalent speeds than the NF-F12. But there seems to be no significant difference between the two at 800 rpm or le...

Based on this review of the audio quality of 17 Z370 motherboards the Asus ROG Strix Z370-E Gaming might fill the bill. It features 802.11ac Wi-Fi and all the usual features you would expect from a board of this specification. The main issue with an alternative such as the Asus TUF H370-Pro Gaming ...