Noctua Brought Fan Shrouds, Low Profile Coolers, & Threadripper Heatsinks To Computex
We’ve already written about Noctua’s next-gen liquid crystal polymer 120mm A-series fan, thin fans, anti-vibration mounts, and fan controller, all showcased during Computex. But there was more, namely a couple low profile coolers, Chromax fan shrouds, and prototype AMD Ryzen Threadripper coolers.
The NH-L9 Low Profile AM4 cooler, with an overall height of just 37mm, seems ideal for small form factor builds using a socket AM4 mini-ITX motherboard, such as the Gigabyte AB350N-Gaming WiFi Mini-ITX we told you about earlier this week. This diminutive cooler is based on on the NH-L9a cooler and features a nickel-plated copper base and heatpipes bonded to an array of thick aluminum fins. The cooler comes standard with a NF-A9x14 fan.
The L-Type 120mm low profile cooler, even with its fan mounted under the aluminum cooling fins, stands twice as tall as the NH-L9 at 70mm. This cooler is equipped with four nickel-plated copper heatpipes and comes with a single NF-A12x15 PWM slim 120mm fan that can be mounted above or below the aluminum cooling fins.
Noctua also converted a number of existing coolers (NH-U14S, NH-U12S, and NH-U9) to work with AMD’s Threadripper CPUs. The number of heatpipes, fin count, and heatsink material (nickel-plated copper) remain the same as previous versions. Only the base plate and mounting system have been changed to accommodate the (much) larger surface area of the Threadripper processors.
Finally, Noctua showed off its prototype Chromax powder-coated aluminum heatsink shrouds. Available in both black and white, these heatsink covers feature a half-dozen colored inserts that let you customize the look of your cooler to match your system build. Although these shrouds can certainly spice up the look of your cooler, not everything is about cosmetics. Fan shrouds actually help direct airflow through the cooler’s aluminum fins allowing the cooler to dissipate heat more efficiently. The heatsink covers are compatible with NH-U12S, NH-D15 and NH-D15S air coolers.
Given the fact that many of the items on display were prototypes, the lack of information on pricing or availability was certainly no surprise.
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Steven Lynch is a contributor for Tom’s Hardware, primarily covering case reviews and news.
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warmon6 Reply19886140 said:So, colored heatsink covers, but the fans are still brown-in-tan?
How else will you know it's Noctua fan if it was colored differently! :lol: -
10tacle I painted both my NH-D14 fans and shrouds with spray can of Testor's black plastic model paint. I got sick of looking at a black tuxedo (PC case and components) wearing brown shoes (Noctua cooler).Reply
Noctua's designers must all be colorblind, lol. But when you paint a fan, you have to be very careful to apply the coat evenly so it doesn't throw it off balance sending it to an early death. I would not recommend someone doing this who is not good at applying spray paint. -
msroadkill612 Seems to me, if u bother w/ liquid cooling for one processor, may as well go modular & LCool all main processors using an external radiator.Reply
I cant help thinking a junked small car cooling/heater mechanism would have most of what u need in 12v. Bent/shaped ,leak proof, hydraulic metal brake lines used internally, could supplement existing fan cooling, by draining heat via pipe contact w/ heatsinks, & just use hot climate auto coolant. -
msroadkill612 "Yea so just a standard black fan is out of the question then..."Reply
I always thought the rolls royce emblem looked cool on the side of jet engines. Maybe they make smaller stickers somewhere in china? -
10tacle Reply19890159 said:Paint u heat sink? Quite mad. Get a life and a brain :)
LOL. I painted the shroud and fan, not the heat sink. Painting the heat sink would severely impede the cooling of the aluminum. Lots of enthusiasts custom paint their own coolers (and GPU shrouds, cases, etc.) to make their own builds unique. Here's an example of what the NH-D14 looks like after being painted with a red and black build theme:
http://i986.photobucket.com/albums/ae342/firehawk_2010/bottonshotnocin250.jpg?t=1279973150
Real PC enthusiasts go for performance first and looks second. Anything and everything can be customized.