We will agree that the fact of not knowing if our PC is on or off is tremendously seductive because it does not sound at all. As we say, not even the best custom liquid cooling, extremely well configured and passive cooling, achieves a loudness of zero. The pump, even if it rotates at 800 RPM as the minimum allowed, will generate the odd decibel, so passive purists are not satisfied. In these cases and if you are one of them, the offer of this heatsink will make you smile.
Noctua NH-P1, the passive heatsink par excellence
With this heatsink we are not talking about a model that started from a prototype already manufactured and from which now only the fan is removed given its high performance per se. Here we have a heatsink designed from the ground up with the best performance in passive environments in mind.
This design has taken years to reach the market, because what is required in R&D and in testing of all the improvements it includes have taken such a long time that it was postponed. But what improvements does it bring? Starting with a much thicker fins than the competition and with a greater spacing to achieve a minimum resistance to air flow, no matter how small it is inside the chassis.
Therefore, the fins are positioned vertically, to enhance the natural convection provided by their design. What is achieved is unparalleled performance that allows us to install high-end CPUs with low or moderate thermal dissipation in our system, although this can be qualified.
Not all CPUs can be cooled
The problem with a passive heatsink and a passive system in general is that the thermal limitation works against us. Therefore, Noctua offers a list of compatible CPUs depending on the type of system that we mount, since a closed box without any type of ventilation, nothing more than natural convection, is not the same as another that includes fans to an open system.
In addition and as a novelty in this heatsink, you can include a 120mm fan if desired, which will greatly improve its performance. To ensure compatibility with all types of boards, this Noctua NH-P1 has an asymmetric layout design so as not to obstruct the first PCIe slot. Of course it is compatible with all current sockets, including LGA1200 and AM4.
Its price was in accordance with its virtues and was around 173 euros on average, but today and after falling it is offered to 109.96 euros, an average of 37% off.
