First up, stock single fan performance. Below we have the CPUID showing 3.3Ghz stock and 3.6Ghz Turbo clocks.
30°C at idle is pretty respectable for such a low footprint cooler, 67°C under load at 3.6Ghz isn’t too bad either. It is a significant improvement over a low profile cooler, so if you have a small form factor chassis, it’s a good performer and no throttling was observed.
Sound levels are excellent considering we are at the TDP limit of the NH-U9S. 34.7 Db idle and 36 Db load are excellent, almost inaudible during normal usage, and using the MicroCool Banchetto 101 Open Chassis that’s quite something.
Next, overclocking.
Next, the single fan overclock temps. With 43°C as a starting temperature at idle we had some concerns around the installation of the cooler. We repeated our burn-in procedure to ensure we hadn’t missed anything and check the mounting. The results remained the same and at 102°C full load, the CPU was throttled at 4%. This would have been disappointing for a larger cooler, but it is to be expected with a cooler of this footprint.
Next, overclocking sound performance and dual fan set up.
Noctua NH-U9S CPU Cooler Review
Package - 9.2
Performance - 8.5
Price - 9
Consumer Experience - 9.2
9
If you want big block CPU cooler performance in your small chassis, this maybe for you. From a consumer experience point of view, there isn’t anything bad about this cooler, and there is a lot good about it, though go for the two fan option, and you will sleep well at night.