Conclusion
At the end of this roundup, two models stand out:
- The Thermalright Silver Arrow
- The Noctua NH-U12P SE2
Let’s start with the Silver Arrow, the highest performance solution among those we’ve looked at here. Though this cooler does cool very effectively, it’s also very large making it impossible to use it in combination with certain memory bars, something that you have to admit is rather illogical given how the cooler is positioned. The Archon doesn’t have this problem, but considering that there isn’t much of a price difference between the two, the Silver Arrow is the one we prefer. If you find the Archon at a decent price however, don’t hold back!
The Noctua NH-U12P SE2 is the surprise of the roundup. We only included it as a reference as it’s positioned a notch down on most of the other coolers tested here. Nevertheless it did very well. As usual with Noctua products, the bundle is extensive, including adapters making up to some extent for the fact that it does not have a PWM fan for those users who can’t regulate the DC fan (via a rheobus or the motherboard). Note that Noctua is likely to supply an LGA 2011 kit free as it has done in the past, something we congratulate the company on. Still looking at the Noctua range, the NH-D14 is disappointing and we prefer the NH-U12P SE2. The NH-C14 will be useful in casings which can’t house a 16 cm tall cooler or which have four big memory bars.
The style award goes to be quiet! for its Dark Rock Advanced and Pro C1 and the exuberance award to Scythe and its Susanoo. With the HAVIK 140, NZXT, the new arrival on the market, has brought out a solid solution. It is however currently overly priced for the performance to noise ratio achieved, especially when using two fans.
