The NH-U12A chromax.black is an all-black version of Noctua’s award-winning NH-U12A premium-quality quiet CPU cooler. it uses the same proven asymmetrical single-tower heatsink design and state-of-the-art NF-A12x25 PWM fans, it stays true to the NH-U12A’s successful formula of fusing best-in-class cooling performance with superb quietness of operation and outstanding RAM, case and PCIe compatibility.
SPECIFICATIONS
| MODEL | NH-U12A chromax.Black |
| DIMENSIONS | 125×112×158mm (L×W×H) |
| COMPATIBILITY | Intel: 115X/1200/1700 AMD: AM4/AM5 |
| MATERIALS | 7x 6mm copper heat-pipes, copper base (nickel plated), aluminium cooling fins |
| WEIGHT | 1220g (with fan) |
| FANS | 2x 2x NF-A12x25 PWM (SSO2-Bearing), 450~2000RPM (+/- 10%) |
| RAM CLEARANCE | N/A |
The chromax.black version with its black fans and black coated heatsink combines these assets with a sleek stealth look. Topped off with the renowned SecuFirm2™ multi-socket mounting system, Noctua’s enthusiast-grade NT-H1 thermal compound and a full 6-year manufacturer’s warranty, the NH-U12A chromax.black is a deluxe choice for customers who seek a highly compatible 120mm heatsink that can rival the performance of 140mm units and looks just as great as it cools.
TESTING
Testing is carried out on BC1 Mini v2 (open testbench), using the following hardware, in 20°C ambient room temperature. We noise normalised the cooler fan speed to 35dBA at distance of 50cm. This helps eliminate brute force cooling from higher RPM fans.
| CASE | BC1 Mini v2 (Open Testbench) |
| MOTHERBOARD | Rog Strix B650E-I Gaming WiFi (paid link) |
| CPU | R5 7600X / R7 7700X (paid links) |
| CPU COOLER | Noctua NH-U12A chromax.Black (paid link) |
| PSU | Extreme 850R (paid link) |
| RAM | 32GB Gskill DDR5, 6000MHz, CL30 (paid link) |
THERMAL BENCHMARKS
We use Cinebench R23 multicore (stability test), for period of 30 minutes. This provides worse case scenario for a given CPU. CPU coolers are tested across range of CPU’s for data validation and to reduce risk of errors in testing. This also helps account for variables between CPU platforms.
CONCLUSIONS
NH-U12A chromax.Black is a beautiful, quiet performance cooler. Unfortunately, with increasing competition in the market, it relevance is shrinking as there are similar performing coolers available at lower price points.