Noctua's Colossal NH-P1 Passive Heatsink Arrives For $100

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Unleashing the Kraken

Noctua NH-P1 (Image credit: Newegg)

FanlessTech has spotted Noctua's highly anticipated NH-P1 passive heatsink at Newegg for $100. Noctua hasn't revealed the highly-anticipated heatsink to the public yet, but Newegg's listing suggests that an official announcement shouldn't be far behind.

The NH-P1 features a fanless design with six heatpipes that transfer heat from the processor towards the massive radiator with widely spaced fins. Noctua claims 100% compatibility with memory slots and the first PCIe expansion slot for most ATX and microATX motherboards. For added cooling or consumers that want to leverage a semi-passive configuration, Noctua recommends pairing the passive CPU cooler with the brand's own NF-A12x25 LS-PWM 120mm cooling fan that's barely audible.

Noctua advises consumers not to use the CPU cooler for overclocking or with processors that are space heaters. Being a passive cooler, the NH-P1's performance depends on various factors, including ambient temperature and the other hardware inside your system. Therefore, Noctua doesn't commit to a TDP (thermal design power) rating, instead suggesting that consumers consult the NH-P1's processor compatibility list.

Noctua NH-P1 (Image credit: Newegg)

In fact, the NH-P1 will only thrive in cases with good natural convection or open-air bench tables. Noctua will release a list of recommended cases for the NH-P1 once it officially launches the CPU cooler.

Although Noctua didn't slap a TDP label on the NH-P1, the cooling specialist mentioned processors, such as the Core i9-9900K and Ryzen 9 3950X. For perspective, the Core i9-9900K has a 95W PL1 rating and 210W PL2 rating, while the Ryzen 9 3950X is a 105W chip.

Like countless other Noctua CPU coolers, the NH-P1 employs the company's proprietary SecuFirm2+ mounting system, which provides an easy and quick setup. The cooler is compatible with Intel's LGA115x, LGA1200 and LGA1200xx CPU sockets and AMD's AM4, AM3(+), AM2(+), FM2(+) and FM1 sockets. Noctua also includes a tube of its award-winning NT-H2 thermal compound with the NH-P1. 

Noctua's NH-P1 is already available for purchase on Newegg for $100. The manufacturer backs the cooler with a limited six-year warranty.

Zhiye Liu
Zhiye Liu
News Editor and Memory Reviewer

Zhiye Liu is a news editor and memory reviewer at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.

12 Comments Comment from the forums
  • ezst036
    I just bought a Dark Rock TF and took the fans off of it to get close to the same effect. Works great!

    https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/be-quiet-dark-rock-tf-cpu-cooler,4340.html
    Reply
  • slash3
    The 3950X has a TDP of 105W, but a PPT of 142W. In normal use, it can and will boost itself up against that 142W limit as long as it isn't throttled by CPU or VRM temps. Most other 8+ core Ryzen CPUs have the same 142W PPT (3700X, 5800X, 5950X, etc).

    Given my experiences with a 3950X and 5950X under Noctua's NH-U12P and NH-D14, I suspect that this passive cooler will still cause the CPU to throttle down under extended loads, but is still a very good option and I'm glad they were finally able to get at least one of them seemingly all the way to retail. ;)
    Reply
  • irateogle
    To each their own but I don’t get the need for something like this unless you want to go fanless for the sake of being fanless. The fans on some of the bigger existing heatsinks can be inaudible outside the case and don’t require the weight or bulk that this one brings. But hey, pc builds aren’t always about being practical so I’m sure there’s a market for this monster fanless cooler.
    Reply
  • lorfa
    Just don't drop it on your foot!
    Reply
  • littlechipsbigchips
    irateogle said:
    To each their own but I don’t get the need for something like this unless you want to go fanless for the sake of being fanless.

    The need for this is to have a 0db PC with good performance . also to have a super clean PC without Dust . and finally , they work wonders with water proof PC cases and industrial PCs.
    Reply
  • watzupken
    littlechipsbigchips said:
    The need for this is to have a 0db PC with good performance . also to have a super clean PC without Dust . and finally , they work wonders with water proof PC cases and industrial PCs.
    I think you are kidding yourself if you think using a fanless CPU cooler like this, will result in a super clean PC, i.e. no dust. In a closed case, you will need fan to draw air in, and exhaust the hot air out of your PC. While you don't need a fan on this cooler, it doesn't mean no airflow is required. This is not a cooler where its utilising the sides and top of the casing as heatsink, so you will surely need some fans to move air within an enclosed case, especially when its running a high end CPU. You can mount this on a open bench, but again, does not solve the problem of dust.

    I also question the need for 0db PCs. PCs with good fans running at low RPM are almost inaudible and can achieve better cooling performance. Unless you are sticking your ear to the side of your PC case all the time, or have the hearing power of Superman, I don't think you can discern whether there's a fan running at low RPM vs a 0db cooler.
    Reply
  • Sleepy_Hollowed
    The semi passive configuration is where it’s at if you need computers that are powerful but need to be silent, like recording studios or libraries, not that they’d use high end cpus.
    Reply
  • littlechipsbigchips
    watzupken said:
    I think you are kidding yourself if you think using a fanless CPU cooler like this, will result in a super clean PC, i.e. no dust. In a closed case, you will need fan to draw air in, and exhaust the hot air out of your PC. While you don't need a fan on this cooler, it doesn't mean no airflow is required. This is not a cooler where its utilising the sides and top of the casing as heatsink, so you will surely need some fans to move air within an enclosed case, especially when its running a high end CPU. You can mount this on a open bench, but again, does not solve the problem of dust.

    I also question the need for 0db PCs. PCs with good fans running at low RPM are almost inaudible and can achieve better cooling performance. Unless you are sticking your ear to the side of your PC case all the time, or have the hearing power of Superman, I don't think you can discern whether there's a fan running at low RPM vs a 0db cooler.

    I know what I am talking about. and This heatsink is perfect with <=45 watt TDP CPU without fans. I never said anything about high end CPU. Intel has the "T" Class CPUs for each model. rated between 35 and 45 watts even the i9 , like the i9 10900T and i9 11900T
    Reply
  • CooliPi
    But the amount of air is definitely lower for heatsinks with large area than for the small ones with a fan. Less airflow also means less dust. Even a big heatsink without some airflow is not effective. So, to get the desired cooling effect (at 0dB), a case need to be constructed as semi-open, and the heatsink has to be oriented (with regard to ground level) such that it blocks the airflow the least of the possible orientations.

    Surface area is the king. Airflow is the queen. Without the latter, any heatsink is only a passive heat absorber. We knew this when we designed CooliPi 4B passive heatsink for Raspberry Pi 4. Mind you, this board has some 7-11W TDP, and with CooliPi , if can rest circa 25˚C above the ambient temp at max load.

    Go extrapolate this to a CPU of your choice. If you close it in any case, be sure it can get the cold air from below and can exhaust it to the top. Proper heatsink fins/ribs alignment is then a necessity.

    I can also confirm that running an NH-D15 with slow fans is almost inaudible. The most audible source of sound are HDDs. If you plan to use an HDD, don't waste your money on fanless CPU heatsink.
    Reply
  • BaRoMeTrIc
    irateogle said:
    To each their own but I don’t get the need for something like this unless you want to go fanless for the sake of being fanless. The fans on some of the bigger existing heatsinks can be inaudible outside the case and don’t require the weight or bulk that this one brings. But hey, pc builds aren’t always about being practical so I’m sure there’s a market for this monster fanless cooler.
    building a server in an area where accessing it frequently and dusting aren't an option, builds for use cases where vibrations and audible fans aren't ideal. There are tons of use cases.
    Reply