Noctua announces Threadripper, Epyc heatsinks

Cooling specialist Noctua has unveiled new variants of its three best-selling coolers designed specifically for use with AMD's latest Threadripper high-end desktop (HEDT) and Epyc server processors.

When AMD unveiled Threadripper as being the enthusiast implementation of its Epyc server processor platform, it revealed the many-core design as a very different package to its mainstream Ryzen family. While architecturally speaking Threadripper is effectively Ryzen with more cores, the physical processor itself is based on multiple dies on a single package - making it considerably larger than Ryzen. A larger processor means a larger heatspreader, and a larger heatspreader means that many heatsinks and coolers designed for the smaller Ryzen processors and the AM4 socket simply aren't suitable for use with Threadripper and its X399 platform.

Noctua is, naturally, aware of this, and its answer is simple: Threadripper- and Epyc-compatible variants of its most popular coolers, featuring an enlarged baseplate to make full contact with the chips' larger heatspreaders. 'A high-end platform usually calls for high-end cooling solutions, and that's precisely the case with AMD's new Epyc and upcoming Ryzen Threadripper ecosystems,' claimed Roland Mossig, Noctua's chef executive, during the announcement. 'We have therefore customised our award-winning NH-U14S, NH-U12S, and NH-U9 coolers so that users can enjoy the performance and quietness of these proven premium heatsinks on the new AMD platforms.'

The surface area of the revised design's base plate measures 70x56mm, more than double that of their predecessors. The heatsinks also include a new SecuFirm2 mounting system, designed specifically for the new TR4 and SP3 sockets and featuring an offset system which allows the cooler to be moved 3mm or 6mm towards the upper edge of the motherboard to improve clearance for the top PCI Express (PCIe) slot.

Noctua has confirmed that the heatsinks will be launching towards the end of August, with European pricing set at €79.90 for the 140mm NH-U14S TR4-SP3, €69.90 for the 120mm NH-U12S TR4-SP3, and a matched €69.90 for the more compact 92mm NH-U9 TR4-SP3 (around £70, £63, and £63 respectively, including VAT).