Noctua i4 CPU Cooler: Great For Cooling High-End LGA-2011v3 CPUs

Installing the Noctua i4 CPU Cooler onto the MSI X99S SLI PLUS motherboard was easy. The only nuisance with the setup is if you'll be frequently changing out the processor, you need to be using a long allen wrench (included with the heatsink) for being able to detach the heatsink from the motherboard. It takes a bit longer and more tedious than the CPU heatsinks with their mounting pins being accessible with a common screwdriver, but otherwise is a fine heatsink and won't pose any issues if you seldom swap out your processors.

Using the Noctua i4 CPU Cooler since October with the MSI X99 motherboard, I've run into no cooling issues when using it with either the i7-5960X EE, Xeon E5-1680v3, or E5-2687Wv3.

Uploaded to OpenBenchmarking.org were some basic thermal results when the system was running Fedora 21 and configured with the Core i7 5960X processor. The Noctua heatsink was allowing the eight-core CPU to operate around eight degrees cooler than the Arctic Alpine 20 Plus heatsink fan that I was using previously on this system. This Noctua heatsink is also very quiet while offering great performance.

The only downside to the Noctua i4 CPU Cooler is that it's a bit on the pricier side with it currently retailing for just shy of $60 USD. Find out more at Amazon.com.