Noctua NH-P1 – Can it Handle the Heat?

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The NH-P1 was first introduced as a prototype at the Computex computer expo in June of 2019. Noctua took the two years since then to refine and manufacture a unique and highly optimized fanless cooler. The cooling fins for optimal fanless cooling have to be significantly thicker than standard cooling fins, and Noctua had to develop a new manufacturing process to produce the thicker fins. The final product is 158 mm tall, 154 mm wide, and 152 mm deep. It weighs about 1.2 kg, so it is definitely one of the largest and heaviest CPU coolers out there.

Noctua’s early prototype claimed to be able to cool up to about 120 W, but Noctua does not provide a TDP or power use rating for its coolers. Instead, they provide an extensive CPU compatibility list, with one of several compatibility classifications listed for each CPU. The highest power Intel Rocket Lake CPU listed for compatibility without any restrictions is the 65-watt six core i5-11600. None of AMD’s Vermeer CPUs are listed with full compatibility with no restrictions, even the 65-watt six core Ryzen 5 5600X. I want to put this cooler to the test to see exactly what it can and cannot handle, with zero fans.

My test setup included the Fractal Design Meshify 2 Compact case with all fans and dust filters removed, Intel i5-11400 and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X CPUs, Asus ROG Strix Z590-A and B550-F motherboards, 64 GB of 3200 MHz memory from Mushkin, a 120 GB Western Digital Green 2.5” SSD, a SeaSonic Prime Fanless PX-450 power supply, and an Asus fanless GT 710 graphics card for use with the AMD CPU. With this data, I can estimate a maximum CPU power use allowable while avoiding any thermal throttling.

Here's a summary of the processed data for the Intel i5 CPU. The y axis is the stressed CPU core temperature, and the x axis is the CPU power limit as set up in the BIOS. The trendlines fit very well, which gives me a good amount of confidence in this data. It is immediately clear that the orange and yellow orientations performed the worst, with maximum power limits of around 80 watts at 100 degrees. These two orientations have the cooling fins in a horizontal layout, and since we are not using any fans in this system, the air that is heated by the cooler does not have an easy path upward and away from the cooler. The standard and upside-down orientations were tested with the side panel on, and the lying flat orientation was tested with the side panel off to simulate a horizontal case with effective ventilation above the cooler. These three orientations have the fins in a vertical layout, and the results are much better. All three performed similarly, with allowable power limits of close to 120 watts, which exactly matches Noctua’s early claims about the cooler. These results really emphasize the importance of orienting the cooling fins in a vertical layout when used without any fans.

Next, I tested the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X in the standard orientation only, with vertical cooling fins. These results were not quite as good as they were with the Intel CPU, but still impressive. The maximum allowable power limit to avoid throttling indicated here is just below 100 watts. For the 80-watt and 95-watt tests, the 5600X ran all cores continuously at or above base clock, at 3.7 and 3.85 GHz, respectively. This demonstrates that Noctua is being at least somewhat conservative with their CPU compatibility list.
The NH-P1 is a fantastic product, turning the dream of a truly high-end fully silent PC into reality. There are a few things to keep in mind when configuring a system with this cooler though. I recommend using this cooler only with other fanless or at least semi-fanless components, and without any spinning hard drives or optical drives. Another thing to keep in mind is the sheer size of this cooler. It was very well designed with compatibility in mind, but you will likely still have some difficulty with Micro ATX or Mini ITX motherboards and cases. Luckily the memory slots can be fully accessible, but the top PCIe slot may or may not be accessible depending on the positioning of the CPU socket and top PCIe slot. Thirdly, the case will make a big difference in how well this passive cooler will perform. Make sure to choose a case that has plenty of ventilation available in the top panel above the CPU cooler. Cases designed for bottom to top airflow are ideal. Noctua has a great compatibility list on their website for recommended cases with the P1.
Available for sale are fully silent computers, built with no moving parts. The computers utilize passive heatsinks to dissipate the heat into the air. A variety of models are available with a variety of latest generation processors and SSD storage options. These PCs are great for general use or as home theater PCs. They have zero fans, zero spinning disks, and therefore zero noise! They are available at the www.fullysilentpcs.com.

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