Noctua Offers Free Alternative Mounting Kit for Low-Profile NH-L9a Cooler

Subject: Cases and Cooling | April 26, 2013 - 12:30 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: noctua, nh-l9a, hsf, cooler, mini-itx, low profile cooler

Noctua, an Austrian company known for its high-end air CPU coolers has announced that it will be offering up alternatvie mounting kits to users of its low profile NH-L9a cooler that have incompatible motherboards. Certain mini-ITX motherboards that place components on the back of the motherboard around the processor socket are incompatible with the company’s existing SecureFirm 2 mounting kit because the backplate cannot be installed.

The new alternative mounting system for the NH-L9a CPU cooler uses Noctua’s NM-APS3 spacers that go in place of the standard backplate. The spacers go in between the motherboard and screws, but are small enough to not run into any components installed in the area normally reserved for a CPU backplate. Two such boards that Noctua has found to be incompatible are the mini-ITX AsRock FM2A75M-ITX and AsRock FM2A85X-ITX.

Users with an incompatible motherboard and NH-L9a cooler can obtain the alternative mounting kit for free by contacting Noctua’s customer service line and providing them with a proof of purchase (scan, photo, or electronic invoice) receipt for both the Noctua cooler and an incompatible motherboard. Additionally, Noctua will be including both the standard SecureFirm 2 and alternative mounting kits in the retail NH-L9a cooler box from now on.

It is nice to see Noctua continuing its tradition of good customer care. They many not be as popular as other cooler vendors in the US but it seems they are a company willing to go the extra mile for its enthusiast customers.

Noctua Launches Two New NH-U Series Air Coolers

Subject: Cases and Cooling | April 8, 2013 - 08:14 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: tower cooler, noctua, nh-u, air cooling

Noctua has launched two new single-tower air coolers in the NH-U series. The new NH-U12S and NH-U14S slim tower coolers come in both 120mm and 140mm sizes respectively. The air coolers are slim-enough to be installed in most system configurations, even with tall RAM heat-spreaders in use.

The Noctua NH-U12S is an updated version of the company's NH-U12P-SE2 cooler. It features a 45mm thick tower heatsink paired with a 120mm NF-F12 fan.

On the other hand, the NH-U14S is Noctua's first air cooler sporting a 140mm fan. The cooler is 52mm thick, and is compatible with Intel's enthusiast LGA 2011/X79 platform. Further, it uses NF-A15 140mm fan that provides ample cooling power at lower RPMs (which means less noise, ideally).

Both the NH-U12S and NH-U14S air coolers include Noctua's SecureFirm 2 mounting system, NT-H1 thermal compound, and PWM-controlled fans. Users can also attach the low-noise adapter to reduce the maximum fan speed from 1500 to 1200 RPM should they value quiet operation over maximum performance. Noctua is supporting both air coolers with a 6 year manufacturer warranty.

Both the 120mm NH-U12S and 140mm NH-U14S will be "available shortly" according to Noctua. The NH-U12S has an MSRP of $64.90 USD (59.90 EUR), while the larger NH-U14S is priced at $79.90 USD (69.90 EUR). In all, they appear to be decent air cooling options, and Noctua has demonstrated quality support in the past (such as the free Haswell mounting kit upgrades for older HSFs). Personally, I'm interested to see how the 140mm unit performs.

Noctua Offers Free LGA 1150 Haswell Mounting Kit Upgrade for Older Heatsinks

Subject: General Tech | March 20, 2013 - 12:05 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: noctua, lga 1150, hsf, heatsink, haswell, cpu cooler

Noctua has recently announced that the company is providing free mounting kits to owners of existing coolers to make them compatible with Intel's latest LGA 1150 (Haswell) motherboards. The new NM-i115x mounting kit will allow enthusiasts to recycle their older Noctua coolers with the new platform without issue. The kit includes a new back plate with fixed struts and the necessary connectors (screws, springs, et al) to make alignment and mounting easier than previous setups.

Because the LGA 1150 socket keeps the same mounting hole spacing as the current LGA 1156 and LGA 1155 sockets, many newer Noctua cooler will not need the mounting kit upgrade, and can simply be installed into the Haswell machine as is. In other words, if the heatsink worked with your Lynnfield, Sandy Bridge, or Ivy Bridge-based system, it will work in a Haswell system as well. According to Noctua, the following coolers are already compatible with Haswell:

NH-C14, NH-D14, NH-C12P SE14, NH-L12, NH-L9i, NH-U12P SE2, NH-U9B SE2

If your cooler was released prior to LGA 1156, you will need to grab the NM-i115x mounting kit upgrade by filling out this form. Noctua will make the kit available on its website as well as in retail stores (for a minimal charge, though the company did not provide specific pricing). You will need to provide proof of purchase for your existing cooler by sending Noctua a scan or screenshot of your invoice or receipt.

For more information on the NM-i115x, head over to the Noctua product page.

It is nice to see Noctua standing behind its products like this, even if it only affects a small number of users that will be making the jump for LGA 775/ect to LGA 1150.

Noctua Announcing PC Fans With Active Noise Cancellation

Subject: General Tech | May 30, 2012 - 09:58 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: quiet, pc case, noise cancellation, noctua, fans, air cooling

Enthusiast PC fan manufacturer Noctua has announced a partnership with RotoSub to produce fans with active noise cancellation technology. They two companies have already developed a prototype chassis fan that uses fan blade modulation and a series of stationary blades in addition to the moving fan blades to improve performance while keeping the noise down. The noise canceling fan prototype will be shown off at Computex 2012 in Taipei next month (booth J1312 in Exhibition Hall 1F).

In a recent press release, RotoSub and Noctua have announced a “strategic partnership” to develop and market a line of Noctua fans with a new noise cancellation technology from RotoSub. The technology in particular is called the RotoSub Acive Noice Control (R-ANC). It uses phase cancellation principles to cancel out the annoying hum (or whine in those smaller server fans that sound like jet engines) given off by the fans. The fans do this by slightly modifying how the blades spin using proprietary algorithms (hopefully they will release more information on exactly what is going on there), and by including physical features like the stationary set of fan blades behind the moving set of blades.

Mårten Oretorp, RotoSub CTO stated that the company is aiming to achieve 80% more airflow and 120% greater static pressure than the Noctua NF-F12 fan by incorporating the company’s ANC technology. Noctua is licensing the RotoSub technology, which is claimed to deliver better noise-per-performance ratios than can be accomplished by physical aerodynamic improvements alone.

Further, Noctua CEO Roland Mossig stated “it has always been our goal to push the boundaries of acoustic optimisation and this partnership will allow us to reinforce our technology leadership in the field of premium grade PC cooling equipment.”

RotoSub hasn’t detailed the algorithms but they do have hints of information on their page including a video demonstration of the fan and an animation that shows the “anti-sound” being generated by the fan itself to cancel out the annoying fan noises that it produces. The video can be seen below.

It is an interesting concept, and I hope that it works. While moving to watercooling has cut down on the number of fans I’m using in my desktop, it is still not anywhere near what I would call quiet. Stay tuned for more information once the prototype is shown off at Computex 2012.