Cooler for i7-12700K reuse NH-U14S or something better?

[Elmer]

I think I have decided on a i7-12700K CPU for my next PC build. I want it to be nice and quiet, should I just contact Noctua and ask them to send me a new bracket so I can reuse my existing NH-U14S with its single fan or is it worth it for better/quieter cooling to get a NH-D15 or NH-D15s. I won't be overclocking.

I seem to remember when I got the NH-U14S it wasn't really worth getting the NH-U14 over the NH-U14. I was wondering if it is a similar small difference between the NH-U14s and either a NH-D15 or NH-D15s.

Thanks

 

[g67575]

Go for it. Temps are mid 60s under load with the NH-U14S (12700K at stock settings), review here:
https://tpucdn.com/review/intel-core-i7-12700k-alder-lake-12th-gen/images/cpu-temperature.png

You might need to buy a mounting kit (if Noctua won't send you one), but they aren't expensive.

Alder Lake runs much hotter at/close to 5ghz, it's just not worth the small performance gain.

You might wonder, why bother with the 12700K, rather than the upcoming locked variant. Well, there's usually around 100mhz difference in clock speed, and in theory, the unlocked CPUs get the best silicon.

You can always get a better cooler later if needed, but at stock settings, the 12700K runs cooler than competitors like the 5800X.

 

[ceekay]

I'm planning to upgrade to an i7-12700k also. Current cooling is the Arctic Freezer 360, already bought a the 1700 mounting kit... For various emergency there's a NH-D15 on the reserve bench... I just really hope the current cooling solutions will be enough for the new CPU model (elongated) and won't be needing to look for something specific after a month of use.

 

[Heinz57]

I'm running an 11700k with a U14S and it works fine - I believe the 11700k is more power hungry and runs hotter than the 12700k, so the 12700k shouldn't cause the U14S any issues.