Noctua NH-U9B CPU Cooler Review

Installation

The installation process is one area where the U9 takes after the Noctua downdraft NH-C12 rather than its big brother the NH-U12. To us this is a good thing as the C12's installation procedure is the more refined of the two. Just as with the other two Noctua coolers you are required to first remove the motherboard from your case and remove the old heatsink before starting the installation process.


The first thing you will have to do is install the four rubber washers to the corners of the mounting bracket. This takes a page from the C12 installation manual since there is pre-applied glue under the bracket so the washers actually stick to it. This means that all those delicate balancing acts to make sure the washers stay in place are a thing of the past.


When those washers are all stuck firmly in place you literally just tilt the previously removed motherboard up on its side, position the backplate into place and then screw in one of the SecuFirm brackets. When you have both SecuFirm brackets in place you should then mount the two mounting brackets to the base of the NH-U9B. When this is accomplished all one has to do is place some TIM on your CPU (which should have been properly cleaned before starting this installation procedure.) and then gently move the heatsink into position. We like to give the cooler a good wiggle back and forth to help properly seat the thermal compound before tightening the two long spring tensioned screws that hold the NH-U9B in place.


When the screws are fully tightened down, one simply has to place a vibration dampening strip on each end the heatsink face so you can mount the included fan. Just as with the U12 Noctua cooler you mount the fan by using the two included fan tensioning wires which go into groves along the sides of the heatsink itself. This is a fairly straight forward procedure as long as you take your time and do not lose your patience. Do one side and then do the other and you will have that fan mounted in no time. When this all accomplished all that is left to the installation is to plug in the fan & voila you are good to go.


Overall, it is still a little bit tricky to install this CPU cooling solution since it takes a bit of dexterity to properly place the backplate and screw on the mounting brackets while balancing the motherboard on its side. However, the combination of self sticking washers and the fact that the U9B is small and easy to handle makes this installation as easy as the down draft C12, and that is high praise indeed. With a little bit of practice this installation process should take you about 10 minutes.