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DESIGN OVERVIEW
Upon removing the fan from the cooler, we get a good look at the heatsink’s asymmetrical design. The heatsink itself is made up of approximately 43 (we counted!) densely packed aluminium fins. It measures 95 mm wide, 125mm tall, and 68mm deep, without the fan installed and the depth increases to 95mm with the fan installed.
The heatsink features an inward curving design that is slightly different on both sides. This allows for for better cooling performance and increased compatibility, as it does not cover any RAM or PCI slots on most motherboards.
There are five 6mm nickel-plated copper heat-pipes which protrude out from both sides of the bottom of the heatsink and meet a the base.
The aforementioned base is made of a nickel-plated copper and features a smooth mirror-finish, and a relatively large surface area which should provide good contact with any modern CPU. At the top of the cooler we’ll see where the five heat-pipes are capped off, as well as a Noctua logo embossed into the center of the heatsink.
The included NF-A9 premium PWM fan features a rotational speed of 400-2000 RPM, and a max noise output of 22.8 dB with a max airflow of 46.4 CFM. It also measures just 92 x 92 x 25 mm, and features an SSO bearing type.
The seven fan blades also feature three angled ridges at the top, which is what Noctua calls ‘Flow Acceleration Channels’ which is said to speed up airflow at the outer portion of the blades, which would reduce suction side flow separation, which allows for better efficiency and lower noise.
The fan is attached to the cooler using metal wire clips, which slip through the fans mounting holes. They also feature some nice rubber padding around the corners to help with noise dampening. The fan’s 4-pin PWM power cable is sleeved with an all black dimpled rubber, which has heatshrink tubing at both ends to hide the colored cables inside. This gives it a very nice and clean look.