Noctua Reviews

I replaced the stock cooler on my 5600x. After hearing all the hype about Noctua, I finally got to see what the fuss was about. This cooler runs super quiet during regular tasks like browsing, watching YouTube, or working in Excel.

Once I overclocked my chip and ran some benchmarks, I noticed about an 8% boost in performance while staying 20° cooler than I was before. The sound it makes is manageable; it’s not that annoying whine, but more like a steady airflow.

Right now, my case fans are actually louder than the CPU fan, which is a big change from how it used to be. I can definitely recommend the NH-U12S for mid to low-end CPUs like the 5600x.

Just got my hands on a used cooler from a seller, but it didn’t come with the AM4 mounting bits. I reached out to Noctua support, and they sent me the missing pieces at no charge! I really appreciate that and would definitely recommend them to anyone in the market for a PC cooler. The cooling performance is top-notch, and their customer service is truly commendable. Thanks a bunch!

Initially, I gave this a one-star rating after waiting nearly two weeks for a free mounting kit upgrade for my NH-D15 from Noctua.

After the kit finally showed up, I’m bumping this up to three stars...

Noctua makes some of the best products out there, but their customer support could use a bit of polish. Nobody enjoys waiting two weeks for a mounting kit while their shiny new computer parts just sit there collecting dust.

I get that the Alder Lake launch was probably a hectic time for them, but the way it was managed left a lot to be desired. I was getting all sorts of mixed signals from customer service—like when they suggested I just buy the mounting kit myself, or how it sometimes took three days for them to respond to my inquiries.

I’ve heard Noctua might outsource their customer support? If that’s the case, they might want to rethink that arrangement...

Anyway, once the upgrade kit finally came, it worked perfectly—fits like a glove. Thanks!

Their items are quite pricey, but the quality of the products and the customer support is truly top-notch, making them well worth the cost. My NH-D14 has been running daily since 2010 and after 11 years, it’s still in great shape. The stock cooler from AMD on my new Ryzen CPU doesn’t hold a candle to theirs. I’m excited to set up the NH-D14 with the AM4 adapter they sent me for free (even to Italy!) without charging for shipping. I really value this company for their offerings and support, and I’m definitely planning to grab another Noctua next year for my new home PC.

Outstanding customer support and items. They even threw in a free mounting platform for my decade-old cooler, aiming to extend its life for hopefully another CPU generation! It'd be great to have some ARGB Noctua fan choices down the line!

The quality of their products might be decent, but the customer service leaves a lot to be desired. They don’t sell directly to consumers. Good luck trying to get an NA-HC3. I attempted to place orders through two different sellers, but neither worked out. One had it listed as in stock online, yet it wasn’t available in the warehouse, and the other turned out to be a nightmare to ship, costing nearly as much to send from Italy to the UK as the item itself. On Amazon UK, there’s someone asking for £60 just for shipping (which is 2 to 3 times the actual price of the product). It seems like Noctua is only focused on bulk sales, which doesn’t really cater to folks like me who are building their own PCs. Because of this, I won’t be coming back as a repeat buyer.

I ordered the free mounting kit for my old D14 and it arrived in just 2 weeks. I’m based in Kotka, Finland, so I reckon folks in the USA, Australia, etc., might have to wait a bit longer. It’s pretty amazing to get it for free for a cooler that’s been around for 7 years. So far, no issues with customer support.

I picked up the new NH-D15 after figuring out I could finally fit in some DDR with those big cooling fins. The new fans are fantastic and super quiet. My Ryzen x5950 sits at 30-36°C when idle and hits 60-65°C under max load. It’s as quiet as a whisper and weighs a ton. Just a heads up, it’s about 1kg, so you’ll want to take it off if you’re moving the PC. Mishandling it when it’s not installed could bend the cooling pipes.

I really hope the new black versions don’t take over the classic creamy brown. There’s just something about that color that brings a smile to my face.

I placed an order for an NM-AM4 mounting kit 16 days back. I had to reach out on Twitter for an update, and they bluntly suggested I purchase it again but with express shipping, then I’d be waiting 8 weeks.

Honestly, just go with another brand; there are loads out there. Noctua really doesn’t deserve our business.

I've given a few AIOs a shot, along with various air coolers for my 3900X, but the straightforward setup, quality of construction, and the sleek appearance you achieve with the heatsink covers is likely among the finest out there. The temps I’m seeing are superior to those of the AIOs I've compared it to!

I've tested several 120mm fans, and they all fit without any hassle.

I got a bracket and fan from this company for my d14 when my CPU was crashing with BSODs (as someone who's been overclocking at 5GHz for over 5 years with a Sandy Bridge K series, I don't trust what those PC salespeople say about pricing in stores). The shipping might take a little while, but honestly, it's worth it for the price.

My 5GHz setup didn’t hold up for long, only stable for about 2 hours on air, but hey, it was a sight to behold. I'm currently running at 4.8GHz.

Top-notch PC fans and outstanding customer support on the planet!

I misplaced some anti-vibration rubber pieces for my fan that I purchased 9 years back. I reached out to see if they had those available. They generously offered to send them to me at no cost! That's the finest service I've ever encountered. Plus, their fans are simply the best out there. Super quiet, dependable, and moves a whole lot of air.

I really appreciate them and their customer service. The place I got the coolers from didn’t assist with the missing items, but Noctua came through! The coolers are sturdy and have been performing excellently. Thanks, and keep it up!

Noctua coolers are awesome! They really are.

However, their service could use some serious improvement.

In a lot of situations, they provide brackets to help mount CPU coolers on a variety of older sockets.

I thought this service was spot on, so I ordered a CPU cooler from a local shop and filled out the necessary form to get the right brackets for an older socket.

That was weeks ago, and even after reaching out for an update, hoping it would show up before Christmas, Noctua's customer support has been totally unresponsive!

Go ahead and buy the coolers if you want a solid product, but don’t count on any customer service or support.

They also promise that many of their coolers will fit future sockets, but if you take advantage of this, just know you might be in for a long wait before those new brackets come in.

Update: Four days after Christmas, the brackets for the older socket finally showed up.
I’ll bump my initial review up by one star.
Could’ve been five stars if the bracket had arrived sooner.