The item is clearly well made and very good quality. It replaced a much smaller fan - this one is huge, the heat-sink takes a large amount of space inside the tower, but it is well worth it as the cpu now runs significantly cooler. I dare say my original heatsink and fan was not up to the job as the cpu temperatures were running higher than I would have liked and the fan was noisier than it was when I ran a lesser processor. Having upgraded the processor and not the heatsink fan, I have had time to realise the difference that this, often overlooked and arguably unsexy part of a pc can make. My pc is now whisper quiet with cpu temperatures cut by half or more and surprisingly, I have a substantially faster pc after the upgrade that suddenly met the criteria for Windows 11! Honestly, the difference was that great, and the first time after installing this and booting my pc, it gave me the option to upgrade (previously Microsoft had said that I did not meet the criteria).
Set aside about an hour to read the instructions and become familiar with what you have bought before installation. You will need to see both sides of the motherboard to mount the heatsink as the mounting bracket fits on the back of the motherboard using pins that then go through the board and secure the heatsink. If you can imagine, the processor and motherboard are sandwiched between the mounting bracket and the heatsink. Building pcs is not my job, so many people might be more familiar with this concept, but my old one simply clipped in place. Once I'd realised the difference, it was a quick job and if I had to do it again, I think it would take me no more than 15 minutes. One other small word of advice would be to use some 99.9% isopropanol alcohol to properly clean the processor prior to installation as a new tube of high quality thermal paste comes with the product and you will want to make sure that it is applied to a clean surface.
| Manufacturer | Noctua |
|---|---|
| Part number | NH-U14S |
| Item Weight | 935 g |
| Product Dimensions | 15 x 7.8 x 16.5 cm; 935 g |
| Item model number | NH-U14S |
| Size | 12 Volts |
| Colour | Black |
| Material | Copper Aluminium |
| Voltage | 12 Volts |
| Item Package Quantity | 1 |
| Air Flow Capacity | 140.2 CMPH |
| Noise Level | 24.6 dB |
| Specification met | No |
| Specific uses | personal |
| Batteries included? | No |
| Batteries Required? | No |
