Noctua NH-U12P HSF CPU Cooler Reviews

[RobRich]

Quote:

Nickel is becoming the element of choice for a few cost-conscious manufacturers, but it always frustrates me to see high-performance products covered in low-performance metal. The purpose of plating the copper heat-pipes with nickel is to retain the vapors that escape over extremely long periods of time (ten years estimated), thereby ensuring performance levels do not diminish. There are so many other directions that are commercially possible, that cost appears to be the primary concern. This is understandable for the heat-pipe rods, but I haven't discovered a valid reason for nickel-plating the base.

Source: Benchmark Reviews

[RobRich]

Quote:

Surprisingly enough there was almost no difference between the 2 fan and 1 fan setup. The 2 fan setup seemed to perform better under idle conditions, however, did not perform up to par with the 1 fan setup under load. In terms of overclocking results where I ran the Q6600 at 3.285 GHz, the 2 fan setup produced 66 C (Max) and 45 C (Max) at load and idle respectively.

Source: Techware Labs