Should I be careful with Noctua's NH-U12S weight?

[Bobsy]

Today I finally received the last part I ordered for my new build: the CPU cooler, Noctua NH-U12S. I was quite shocked at the weight of the box. The cooler itself weighs 755 grams, or 1.66 pound. I want to attach it to a MSI Z97M motherboard, which will be mounted vertically in the computer case. Pretty standard setup it seems... but I am worried that this cooler is too heavy to be mounted vertically. Should I worry or not? Thanks and Happy Holidays.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Today I finally received the last part I ordered for my new build: the CPU cooler, Noctua NH-U12S. I was quite shocked at the weight of the box. The cooler itself weighs 755 grams, or 1.66 pound. I want to attach it to a MSI Z97M motherboard, which will be mounted vertically in the computer case. Pretty standard setup it seems... but I am worried that this cooler is too heavy to be mounted vertically. Should I worry or not? Thanks and Happy Holidays.

Based on strength-of-materials data about motherboard PCBs, and a likely inclination to make RMA transactions as near zero as possible, Intel published a spec concerning heatsink/fan weight. It was a little shy of 500 grams.

On the basis of personal experience, 1,000 grams or a kilogram doesn't seem too much for any of these boards that I've seen or used.

Even so. Check to see that the manufacturer spec includes the fan weight. The way the cooler manufacturer states the spec, the greater I'd bet that such is the case.

Your typical 120x25mm fan or 140x25mm fan weighs something between 6.5 and 7.5 oz. Noctua's are heavier than some, but they fall into that range. That's about 200 grams.

You can do a neat thing with those single-tower Noctua coolers like the U12S or U14S. For instance, you could fit a PCI fan-bracket (designed to suspend a fan blowing down on expansion cards) -- to the rear of a drive cage, and suspend the fan next to the cooler. You could use finely scissor-cut Spire-pad rubber as a seal against the cooler fins. You can duct the rear case exhaust fan to the rear of the cooler.

To allay your fears, consider that a good-sized fraction of the cooler's weight is in the base, which is closest to the motherboard. Fins and pipes don't really create much in the way of extra torque on the cooler-fittings and board. Eliminate the fans from that torque and it will amount to a lot less -- excepting some of those "special" all-copper TRUE coolers.

 

[Rvenger]

I had an NH-U14S push and pull installed on a cheaper Z97 with a 6 layer PCB. No sweat, you will be fine.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Yes, you should be careful, regardless of the weight.

I'm likely going to use that cooler or the low profile NH-L12 on my next build, so I've been wondering about the weight myself.

The U12S weighs 755 grams with the fan and 580 grams without.

I've never used a cooler quite that tall or heavier than about 550 grams or so.

Fortunately, I've never heard of a tall and heavy tower heatsink ripping out of a motherboard, though I'd certainly imagine it has happened. There's a number of coolers that are heavier.

Just rotate the case slowly when handling it so as not to add any unnecessary torque. The odds are certainly in your favor, but your only alternative is to use something lighter or with a lower center of gravity. Or maybe use some type of stabilization.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I think the old Intel spec was unnecessarily conservative. But like I said -- it's mostly fan weight that much exceeds the spec. Same thoughts would apply to the U14S.

If there's anything to worry about, it would be jostling the case up and down with the HSF assembly. But consider the range of boards and the prevailing design of mounting hardware. Take a board like an ASUS Sabertooth, high-end Maximus or Rampage, for instance: the PCB is noticeably thicker and more rigid.

I suppose if I were going to ship the computer, I'd just unbolt the cooler and box it separately. It takes less than five minutes or so to put the heatsink and fan back on the motherboard. Most of those coolers just unscrew from their special hardware, which remains mounted to the board.

With a low-end board, a person might either use the stock cooler or something like a 212 EVO. You're not going to do enough with a low-end board to warrant better cooling than that.

 

[AntonioHG]

Anecdotal evidence ahead: I've almost always run the large heatsinks in every build and so far, nothing. Some of the builds have been running for almost 7 years now and they're fine.

I wouldn't ship a system with a large tower/dual tower heatsink though.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Anecdotal evidence ahead: I've almost always run the large heatsinks in every build and so far, nothing. Some of the builds have been running for almost 7 years now and they're fine.

I wouldn't ship a system with a large tower/dual tower heatsink though.

Well, it's mostly a concern about torque as opposed to just weight. Take the fans off the cooler, and you can probably leave the cooler attached for shipping. It depends on how the guys on the trucks and planes will handle it. But without the fans, the pipes and fins are not likely to jolt the motherboard enough to do any kind of damage. The pipes and fins hanging out the furthest from the board are almost "light as a kite."

 

[Carson Dyle]

I wouldn't ship a system with a large tower/dual tower heatsink though.

Neither would I. And unless you're _really_ lazy, or you're shipping it to someone incapable of remounting the heatsink, there's little reason to.