However, the sound levels didn’t demonstrate an issue. They were in fact very tolerable and shows room for improvement in the overall cooler performance. We didn’t touch the stock Asus Rampage V Extreme Motherboard PWM settings so a little adjustment should resolve all concerns on high temperatures when overclocking.
With the out of the box single fan and PWM set up throttle at the overclocking settings, albeit 30% of an overclock, we added a second NF-A9 fan and benchmarked the overclocked set up again.
Performance during idle was 1°C higher which we didn’t really acknowledge this as an issue, we have really pushed previously and it can be accounted for by heat soak, ambient temperature increase or a combination. Load is much better, achieving the same results as the much larger be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 3 at 95°C. Excellent as a comparison.
Sound performance is still good too, 35.9Db at idle and 44.3Db at load, with two fans this is another giant killer.
Conclusion
Like the Noctua NH-D9L CPU Cooler, when you look at this as a standalone CPU cooler, it works well. It is small, quiet, well made, PWM and has expansion options. The main difference being a different cooler style and a minor performance hit. In dual fan mode, it’s enough to trouble the Dark Rock Pro 3 at half the size.
It is perfect for a Thermaltake Core V1 or a BitFenix Phenom Mini ITX Chassis and won’t skin your knuckles trying to fit it either. It is also big on performance, we pushed it with a 30% overclock on an Intel i7-5820K and it did throttle 4% in single fan mode, but in dual fan, it manages to perform.
Final Thoughts
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.
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.