Noctua NH-U9B CPU Cooler Review

Value

The term “Value” is such an amorphous term that it truly has different meanings for different people. For some a CPU cooler is only as good as it overclocking potential, for others it is how quiet it does its job; for others still it’s how effective it is for its cost. We here at HWC try to provide as many answers as possible for the term “Value”. Hopefully by this point in the review people looking at OC potential or loudness levels will have a fairly good idea of what its Value is. For the “best bang for the buck” crowd we have included a chart below showing how much each 1*c less costs when compared to Intel’s FREE stock cooler. No consideration has been made for noise levels, “looks” or any other extraneous factors; this is just raw performance vs. monetary cost.

For any cooler which performs worse than the Intel stock cooler a rating of “FAIL” will be given. For any cooler which has a “Value” of more than $10 per 1*C a rating of “FAIL” will be used in the graph but the chart will list its actual “value”.

All prices are based on either their MSRP (if no e-tailer prices were available at review time) or the online price they sold for at the time of their review. IF a CPU cooler does not include a fan the price of a Scythe F has been included ($12).

To make it as easy as possible for you to modify this ratio we have also included the various coolers temperature difference so if you do come across one of them on sale you can easily modify its “Value” rating. We here at HWC are in no way saying this is the definitive answer to “Value”, rather it should be considered another tool to help you make your final decision. After all something is only as “valuable” as what you consider it to be.


E4600 Cooling Value

Please note: This chart has be calculated based upon the differences between Intel stock cooler’s average load at its highest OC on a e4600 @3.2GHz versus various after market coolers average load temperatures (in their stock configuration with MX-2 TIM) also on a e4600 @ 3.2GHz.


Dollar for dollar this little cooler not only blows away all the other smaller coolers we have tested in the past it also comes awfully darn close to tying its bigger brother the NH-U12 for value. As it stands, a 4th place finish for such a (relatively) small product is impressive and you should not discount its performance without first giving it some hard thought. After all not everyone wants a behemoth hanging off their motherboard and the combination of lighter weight, a great backplate system and really good value make a pretty convincing argument in favor of this mighty little cooler.


Q6600 Cooling Value

Please note: This chart has be calculated based upon the differences between Intel stock cooler’s average load at its highest OC on a Q6600 @3.0GHz versus various after market coolers average load temperatures (in their stock configuration with stock TIM) also on a Q6600 @ 3.0GHz.


Ouch. When it comes to cooling quad cores at relatively mild overclocks the U9 is certainly not the best bang for your buck. However, as we have said in the past: quality costs, and making it a low noise solution costs even more. So unless monetary concerns are your only main concern the U9 can in certain instances be considered a good value…it all depends on what you are looking for in a after market Air based CPU cooling solution.