Manufacture Product Page: Noctua.at
Model Number: NH-U9B
Availability: Now
Price: Click Here To Compare Prices
Warranty: 6 years




In the fast paced world of CPU Air cooling, what was great yesterday may be a real dog today. Over the years we have seen this happen to many and several once - great companies have fallen into ill repute. We have also see many a great company just grow and grow until they are considered by many to be the dominant mover and shaker (or even THE company to beat). One never knows what is going to happen and when a new product is added to a company's line there is always that little voice saying “this too shall pass” as we look and see if they have pulled another rabbit out of their hat…or another Spruce Goose.

Over the past year Noctua has made quite the name for themselves with their ultra quiet, yet ultra efficient CPU cooling solutions, and can be considered by enthusiasts as one of the top manufacturers out there. This really is saying a lot as their rise to stardom has been down right meteoric.

Today we will be looking at another addition to Noctua’s award winning lineup: the NH-U9B. Unlike the other Noctuas we have put through their paces, the U9B is different from its brethren since it is actually quite small in comparison and uses a completely different fan size and design to keep its heatsink cool. It is geared towards those of you who do not want a massive heatsink in your HTPC (or standard ATX) case and seems to be released to compete with the Thermalright Ultima 90. It also looks like this Noctua heatsink is widely available from retailers and e-tailers throughout the country and goes for about $50.

The release of U9 really does point to a strategy of Noctua branching out and trying to saturate the market with a whole entire range of products all of which are designed to dominate in one area or another. It will be interesting to see exactly how this “smaller brother” with stack up against the relative giants we have reviewed in the past. We have come to expect a lot from Noctua coolers so the bar is going to be set awfully high for this little guy; and with a price point which is on the upper end of moderate it is going to be set even higher. Great expectation or not, I for one am looking forward to putting it through its paces and seeing if it lives up to the Noctua name….and find out if it is worth the price of admission.