Noctua NT-H1 Pro Grade Thermal Compound Review

Manufacturer's Part Number: NT–H1
Manufacturer's Product Page: Noctua.at
Price: Compare Prices for Noctua NT-H1 Thermal Compound
Availability: Now
Quantity: 1.4ml / 3 gram tube



Noctua stands for ‘little owl’ in Latin. Hence the owl in their logo. Noctua, a fairly young company that manufactures aftermarket cooling solutions, is based in Austria and has been producing some of the better cooling products on the market. Working together with the Austrian Institute of Heat Transmission and Fan Technology, they continuously strive for new developments and improvements in their cooling products. Recently we have seen quite a few products from Noctua coming out on the market which is helping to make the Noctua brand better known here in North America. Noctua strongly believes in cooperation which leads to another interesting fact: Noctua’s products are a result of the cooperation of several companies, such as Rascom Computer distribution, Kolink and the Austrian Institute of Heat Transmission and Fan Technology. Here’s a little bit more about Noctua according to their website:

Noctua aims at establishing a new level of quality and performance "Designed in Austria" through paying attention to the users' needs in a market burdened with all kinds of frills and furbelows and providing sound-optimized premium components, which serve their purpose in a smart, precise and reliable manner.

Noctua arises from a cooperation between the Austrian Rascom Computer Distribution G.m.b.H and the Taiwanese Kolink International Corporation and entertains a development partnership with the Austrian Institute of Heat Transmission and Fan Technology (Österreichisches Institut für Wärmeübertragung und Ventilatorentechnik, ÖIWV). These connections form the key to the achievement of our goal: The partnership with the ÖIWV permits the application of scientific measurement instrumentation, methods of calculation and simulation technology in the R&D process. Rascom's long, customer-oriented experience in developing and distributing sound-optimized high-end products ensures a clear focus on the users' needs. The use of Kolink's advanced manufacturing technology and ultra-modern production plants allows us to efficiently implement our technical edge and provide solutions of the highest standard in quality and performance.

While a lot of enthusiasts may be familiar with Noctua’s main product line, only few people know that they have recently expanded their portfolio a bit by designing a brand new hybrid thermal paste. They must have thought: "If you already make heatsinks, why not make your own thermal paste as well?" With this paste being their first thermal compound and being completely developed in-house by Noctua, some people are rather skeptical regarding its performance. Today however, we are going to either confirm or destroy that skepticism. NT-H1 is the name of this new "pro-grade" thermal paste and it boosts some great features.

One of those important features is that the NT-H1 does not require a burn-in time like many other thermal pastes do. You can apply the thermal compound and start overclocking without having to wait for the compound to ‘settle’ or to reach its optimal performance levels. Noctua’s Pro Grade thermal compound is widely available in re- and e-tail and can sometimes be had for as little as $ 4.99CAD. Yet, just like other thermal compounds, price varies quite a bit so make sure you use our price comparison engine if you are buying it here in Canada. The tube is a filled with 1.4ml (as per its package, which threw me off a little since I only think in grams) of NT-H1 thermal compound but that would suffice for a generous 15 applications of TIM on your CPU/GPU’s. Why don’t you get a little more comfortable, while we start applying this on our CPU and we will tell you if it’s going to perform better than our current No. 1 placeholder.