Noctua Xeon coolers and free Core i7 kit

Noctua dropped off some new kit earlier this week - first of all we cracked the latest NH-U9DX Xeon workstation coolers out of their boxes and fitted them in our cases in order to reinstate the sanities of both Tim and I. If you've ever used a Xeon workstation or server before, you'll know the Intel stock heatsinks are incredibly noisy and cool very poorly, so we were keen to swap them out for something different. Even though we see plenty of LGA775 heatsinks come through bit-tech labs, rarely do they support LGA771 as well.

We got both the 120mm and 92mm version - the NHU12DX and NHU9DX, but only the 92mm fitted in the Antec P190 and Asus Z7S WS motherboard. Noctua claims the Z7S WS doesn't conform to Intel Xeon socket LGA771 specifications, which is why the fit is so tight, but we still managed to get the 92mm in. Just.

The installation is pretty clever - having to poke the allen key through the fins to get them to hold down - and the contact is far easier to get right than the all copper Intel reference 'sinks. They are designed to work in tandem should you dual-socket as well - the fan fits perfectly between two 'sinks to draw the air right through, however we still think this design is unfortunately limited by case and board design.

Either way, if you've got a Xeon workstation that's driving you nuts, we'd recommend you take a look at the Noctua NHU9DX as very few companies offer decent, quiet Xeon coolers.

We've also got the latest mounting bracket for socket LGA1366 - if you currently own a NH-C12P, NH-U12F, NH-U12P, NH-U9B, NH-U9F, NH-U12 or NH-U9 the upgrade will cost you nothing. That's right - all you need is your heatsink receipt and either any Core i7 CPU or X58 motherboard receipt as proof of purchase, from any retailer, and Noctua will simply pop a bracket in the post! Noctua will soon put up a page on its website for those of you interested to fill in.

In the next few weeks Noctua also told bit-tech that it will be launching a special edition NH-U12P which will ship with the LGA1366 bracket included and two NF-P12 fans for optimum cooling.


The fitting is certainly simple enough, the only laboursome issue we found was getting a CPU in and out requires dismantling of half the surrounding bracket. Other than that, it fits our NH-U12P securely. We've also got an LGA1366 mounting for kit a Thermalright Ultra Extreme 120 too, so prepare for a face off in the future!


The NH-U12P fitted to an Asus P6T Deluxe and the NH-U9DX fitted to an Asus ZS7 WS.

Are you in the market for a Xeon or Core i7 cooler? Can you recommend better alternatives? Let us know, in the forums.