Final Thoughts
After years of development we finally have the passive CPU cooler that Noctua previewed at CES a couple years ago. While there are many things to talk about with this cooler, but most important is performance. There is no point in getting this cooler if it can’t keep a modern CPU in check. Well to our surprise it did quite well! In our “Load 2” test I was expecting to see some type of thermal throttling, but the NH-P1 held strong. Now the performance results were the worst in our test group, but almost all of the coolers in this test group are large coolers with 2 fans. Just the fact with no fans the NH-P1 was able to keep up is extremely impressive! Another thing to keep in mind is that in most cases you are not going to putting 100% load on your CPU for very long.
Now this is a larger cooler as it needs as much mass as possible to provide cooling. This obviously limits the size of cases you can install it in, but we have seen this cooler in a handful of smaller form factor cases. We installed the NH-P1 in the be quiet! Pure Base 500DX and we had to remove our rear fan. So definitely keep the dimensions of this cooler in mind if you are thinking about using it in a smaller case.
Talking about installation it could not have been easier. Noctua’s SecuFirm2 mounting system is one of the best when it comes to large coolers. It shouldn’t take you more than 10 minutes to get this cooler installed. It was a bit weird that Noctua went with Torx screws instead of normal philips head screws on the mounting system. They do provide a screwdriver for the Torx screws so its not that big of a deal.
Obviously this cooler is not going to be for everyone. If you are really concerned with noise and are not going to be doing super-intensive CPU tasks all the time then this could be the perfect cooler for you. While not providing the same type of cooling a high-end CPU cooler or AiO does it will keep your CPU in check and you won’t see any thermal throttling. The quality on the cooler is amazing and what we’ve come to expect from Noctua. Right now you can pick up this cooler at our favorite online retailer for $109.90. Overall ThinkComputers gives the Noctua NH-P1 Passive CPU Cooler a 9 out of 10 score.
Pros:
– Excellent quality
– Can keep up with modern CPUs
– Easy installation
– Silent (no fans)
Cons:
– Could run into some clearance issues in some cases
– Similarly priced air coolers and AiO’s perform better
