Time
after time Noctua has proven to us at Dragonsteelmods that they make
some of the finest CPU cooling solutions on the market. Recently we
received their latest LGA1156/LGA1366 cooler – the NH-U9B SE2 and
today we will be looking at it in detail. Noctua designed this
cooler to provide maximal cooling while remaining whisper quiet with
HTPC and smaller enclosures in mind.
Looking
at the NH-U9B SE2 you may
notice its similarities to the bigger Noctua NH-U12P
cooler. In fact the NH-U9B SE2 is almost identical in form other
than the smaller size.
The
NH-U9B SE2 includes Noctua’s SecuFirm2 multisocket mounting system
which allows this cooler to work with numerous socket configurations
including: LGA1366, LGA1156, LGA775, AM2, AM2+ and AM3. Noctua built
this CPU cooler around their highly regarded NH-U9 series of compact
coolers. They also provide two 92mm NF-B9 fans with included Low-Noise
and Ultra-Low-Noise-Adaptors. According to Noctua the two
fans are designed to work best in a push-pull arrangement. Plus
Noctua warranties this cooler for six years.
So let’s
take a closer look at the NH-U9B SE2.
Let’s get started…..
Reviewed
by: Tomas Ratas
Sponsor:
Noctua
UPC:
4716123314523
Tech
Specs,Features or the Basic Info:
The
NH-U9B SE2 continues the legacy of Noctua’s classic NH-U9 series of
compact premium coolers, which have received more than 100 awards and
recommendations from the international press. The new SE2 version
lends itself to use in quiet HTPCs or smaller cases and adds support
for LGA1156 as well as LGA1366 via the latest SecuFirm2™
multi-socket mounting system. Topped off with Noctua’s award-winning NT-H1 thermal compound as well as two premium-grade NF-B9 fans, the NH-U9B SE2 offers a complete quality package for excellent
quiet cooling performance.
Award-winning
NH-U9B Heatsink
The
NH-U9B SE2 is built around Noctua’s premium quality NH-U9B heatsink
that combines excellent quiet cooling performance with compact size,
making it ideal for use in HTPC systems and smaller
cases.
SecuFirm2™
multi-socket mounting system
Noctua’s
enthusiast grade SecuFirm2™ multi-socket mounting provides broad
socket compatibility (LGA1366, LGA1156, LGA775, AM2, AM2+ and AM3)
and meets the highest demands in safety, performance and
ease-of-use.
2x
NF-B9 92mm Premium Fan
Including
two of Noctua’s award-winning NF-B9 92mm fans with Low-Noise and
Ultra-Low-Noise-Adaptors, the NH-U9B SE2 offers full flexibility in
fine-tuning the cooler for supreme quietness and maximum performance
in push-pull mode.
NT-H1
Thermal Compound
Noctua’s
much-acclaimed NT-H1 is a pro-grade TIM solution that provides
minimum thermal resistance, excellent ease-of-use and outstanding
reliability.
Special
Edition Premium Kit
Bundled
with a tube of NT-H1, two exquisite NF-B9 fans and the new SecuFirm2™
multi-socket mounting system, the NH-U9B SE2 forms a complete premium
quality package that’s backed up with 6 years manufacturer’s warranty
and contains everything you need in order to achieve superb quiet
cooling performance.
{mospagebreak
title=A Better Look at things}
A
Better Look at Things:
The
Noctua NH-U9B SE2 comes
packaged in the familiar Noctua branded box. On the package we see
oodles of product information including features, specifications and
diagrams of AMD and Intel installations. On the front of the package
is a windowed area revealing one of the Noctua NF-B9 fans. We even
see the Dragonsteelmods 5/5 stamp on Noctua’s list of previous
awards.
Opening
the box reveals the NH-U9B SE2 cooler, two NF-B9 fans, a bag
of common parts, an installation set for AMD and Intel processors,
four fan mounting brackets, a Phillips screwdriver tool and a set of
instructions. In addition they include their HT-N1 thermal compound
and four anti-vibration strips. Noctua provides a separate set of
instructions for Intel and AMD which helps prevent confusion. Unlike
some other cooler manufacturers these instructions are clearly
explained with diagrams and use proper English.
At first
glance the NH-U9B SE2 looks like a shrunken head version of the
NH-U12P SE1366. We find the Noctua logo on top of the cooler with
four adjacent protruding heat pipe ends on each side. The cooler’s
dimensions are 12.5 cm x 9.5 cm x 7.1 cm and 460 grams without the
fan and 12.5 cm x 9.5 cm x 9.5/12.5 and 550/640 grams depending on
whether one or two fans are attached. Its base and heat pipes are
composed of copper; the cooling fins are aluminum with soldered
joints and nickel plating.
The base
is designed to have microgrooves to allow high viscosity thermal
compounds to be dispersed uniformly in a thin layer; so don’t
expect a mirror finish on the base. For socket 775, 1136 and 1366
installations, Noctua provides a back plate that is insulated with a
foam pad to prevent the cooler from shorting out the motherboard.
This back plate has three hole positions on each arm of the back
plate corresponding to the specific Intel socket type. The AMD
system mounts using the pre-existing back plate.
The bag
labeled “common parts” includes two sets of low noise and Ultra
low noise adaptors, fan mounting clips, mounting brackets and screws,
anti-vibration pads, a tube of HT-N1 thermal compound, a metal case
badge and a Phillips screw driver to installing the brackets. Noctua
doesn’t leave anything out for installing this cooler!
The
included 92mm NF-B9 fans have seven fan blades each with a serrated
edge and can work with Low-Noise
(LNA) and Ultra Low-Noise Adaptors (ULNA). These notches are known as Vortex Control Notches designed to split the airflow into smaller
vortices across the fan blades thus spreading the fan noise a wider
range of frequencies making them less perceptible. They
are designed to push 38CFM of air through the blades.
As with
most Noctua products, the fans
are brown and rest in a beige housing. Their wiring is silicon
sleeved and the cable provides plenty of length. The fans operate at
a rotational speed of 1600 RPM at full speed, 1300 RPM with LNA and
1000 RPM using the ULNA.
{mospagebreak
title=Installation, Testing and Comparison}
Installation,
Testing and Comparison:
To
install the Noctua NH-U9B SE2 you will need to know the socket configuration of your motherboard;
you do know the type of motherboard you are using, don’t you? This
information is needed to position and align the back plate for the
cooler mounting bars. Installation is relatively simple but does
require access to the underside of your motherboard for Intel setups.
Some PC cases have openings for this area such as the NZXT Lexa S,
otherwise you will need to remove the mobo from its case.
The back
plate is installed by sliding the screw thread through the mounting
holes on the motherboard, next install the included spacers over
these thread screws, followed by the two mounting bars.
These
mounting bars are locked into place with four thumb screws. How you
orient these mounting bars will determine the position of the cooler.
If you wish to provide maximal cooling towards your power supply
and GPU, then place the bars parallel to the PSU, if you want more
air blowing towards the other components, and then place the bars at
a 90-degree angle from this position.
Now
apply your thermal paste, you can use the included NT-H1 thermal
compound if you have no personal favorite thermal interface. Noctua
recommends applying a small drop (4-5mm in diameter). The last step
involves mounting the heatsink by placing the cooler onto the CPU and
screwing it down to the mounting bars with the screws on the side of
the fastening brackets.
For our
test system using the Noctua NH-U9B SE2 I aimed the cooler
parallel to the graphics card. If you choose you can attach either
one or both of the NF-B9 fans. Noctua provides anti-vibration strips
for each fan; place a strip on the side of the cooling fins, then
attach the fans using the steel fan mounting clips. Unfortunately
these fans cannot be mounted until the heatsink is attached to the
motherboard as they block access to the fastening bracket screws.
During
instsallation I discovered that the bracket from the Noctua NH-U12P
SE1366 is not
compatible with the NH-U9B
SE2. For some reason the NH-U9B SE2 bracket screws did not align
with the NH-C12P bracket. In addition, the using the NH-U12P SE1366
mount with the NH-U9B SE2 would prevent the installation of the fans
due to the larger bracket screws.
If you
plan to use the fans make sure to plug the fans into either the
motherboard fan headers or if using a fan controller into those
headers. I set my fans in a push-pull arrangement as recommended by
Noctua. The addition of the Noise Adapters will decrease the
acoustic volume of the fans at the cost of decreased rotational
speeds.
Our test
PC was comprised of the following components:
Motherboard:
Asus
P6T Deluxe
CPU:
Intel i7 920
Memory: HyperX 1600MHz
12GB Triple Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3K6/12G)
Video
Card: MSI
n260GTX
Hard
Drives: Western Digital 250GB 7200RPM, Samsung 1 TB 7200 RPM
PSU:
Ultra X-Finity 1000 Watt Power Supply
Cooler: Noctua NH-U12P
SE1366
DVD Burner: ASUS DRW-22B1LT and LG GH22NS30
OS: Windows
7 Professional 64 Bit
Case: NZXT
Zero2
Coolers:
Temperatures
were measured using Real
Temp 3.40 and Prime95 v.25.9 was used for heat up the system. For idle, I
let the system run without any additional applications open for a
half hour. For load testing, I ran Prime95 running in-place large
FFTs in Torture Test mode as that produces maximum heat and power
consumption. I ran the system at stock settings and turned off any
CPU throttling. The Core i7 920 ran at stock speed 2.66 Mhz.
This
first graph shows the NH-U9B
SE2 in comparison to the larger NH-U12P SE1366 at idle and load
testing. As expected the bigger cooler wins out but the mighty mite
NH-U9B SE2 seems to be holding its own.
For the
next test the system was run with the NH-U9B SE2 without the fans,
with both fans using the Low-Noise
and Ultra Low-Noise Adaptors and directly plugged into the
motherboard’s fan headers. The Noctua fans are pretty quiet so
unless you have really good hearing you may not want to sacrifice
some cooling performance for total silence. Still without the fans
cooling was too shabby with the highest temp being 64 degrees without
any fans.
Obviously
a bigger cooler should and does win this battler, but the NH-U9B
SE2 does a great job for its size.
{mospagebreak
title=Summary}
Summary:
The
similarities between the NH-U9B
SE2 and the NH-U12P SE1366 are easy to see. The NH-U9B SE2 is
basically a miniature version of the NH-U12P SE1366 and is designed
for smaller enclosures. The NH-U9B SE2 performance is on par with
its bigger brother and features much of the same technology. The
Secufirm2 mount system makes installation of the NH-U9B SE2 simple.
The
Vortex Control Notches on the fan keep things whisper quiet while
maintaining low temps especially if using the Low
Noise and Ultra Low Noise Adapters with the NF-B9 fans.
If you
are running a HTPC or a system within a small enclosure then I would
be hard pressed to find a better cooler than the NH-U9B SE2. If you
own a gaming machine or have a large spacious case then you may be
best served picking up its big brother – the NH-U12P. Either way
you can’t go wrong.
DragonSteelMods
gives the NH-U9B
SE2 a
5 out of 5 score and our Recommended Award
Pros:
+Well built
+Excellent
performance
+Includes two
Noctua NF-B9 fans and NT-H1 Thermal compound
+Easy
installation
+Whisper quiet
at low temperatures
Cons:
– none
review#
632
Disclosure: This
product was given to DragonSteelMods for review by the company for
review purposes only, and is not considered by us as payment for the
review, we do not, never have, and never will, accept payment from
companies to review their products.
To
learn more about our review policy, testing methods and ratings
please see this page.