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If you’re the type who considers a trip to the BIOS standard fare for a reboot, and carefully considers the potential vdroop when choosing a motherboard; chances are that you may have heard of Noctua. Designed in Austria, Noctua has carved out an interesting niche - cooling products that strike the elusive balance between cooling power and silence. If you are the type who buys retail box CPU’s because the heatsink is included, perhaps you haven’t.
Today we will be looking at their latest NH-U series CPU cooler, the NH-U12P. When using the included NF-P12 fan, you’ve got a combo that promises cooler temperatures and lower noise at the same time. Since everyone talks about the packaging, I’ll touch upon it briefly. The NH-U12P comes very well packed. The shipping box was heavily damaged during shipping, but the contents within were securely packaged and entirely undamaged.
We’re going to touch on the marketing stat sheet first. Noctua builds the NH-U12P with:
# 4 dual heat pipes
# Award winning NH-U design
# NF-P12 120mm premium fan
# Improved compatibility
# SecuFirm™ mounting system
# Incl. Noctua NT-H1 high-end thermal compound
# Award winning NH-U design
# NF-P12 120mm premium fan
# Improved compatibility
# SecuFirm™ mounting system
# Incl. Noctua NT-H1 high-end thermal compound
The NH-U12P is large. If you’re working with a SFF (small form factor) or other pint-sized case, you can probably cross the Noctua off the list. The height of the heatsink is 158 mm, so if you aren’t sure if it will fit, measure the distance from your motherboard to the top of the case. If its less than 165mm or so, you are probably out of luck.
Noctua’s SecuFirm mounting system consists of a surprising variety of socket supports. With included support for LGA 775 (most modern Intel processors), AM2, AM2+, as well as Intel Xeon, AMD K8 (754, 939, 940) & Socket F on request. It is very straightforward to install, simply place the retention plate on the underside of the motherboard and then attach the legs on the top side. From there, you mount the cooler and screw it in using the high tension screws.
A bit of advice to those who end up purchasing the NH-U12P is to do the installation in this order:
Install all the hardware that directly attaches to the motherboard first, install it in your case, then attach the heatsink to the support legs. If you do a complete installation (heatsink attached) before placing your motherboard in your case, you may have a hard time screwing it on to the risers.
Because of its “raised fin-stack” design, there is plenty of clearance between the motherboard and the heatsink. This means that (depending on orientation), you aren’t going to have any issues clearing motherboard chipset coolers or RAM heatsinks.
I’ve been sold on Shure earphones since I got the Shure E2c many years ago. In the time since then, I’ve owned several other brands (Sennheiser, Bose) but when it comes to in-ear monitors, Shure has it figured out.
I bought the SE210’s in July 2007, before heading onto a plane bound for South Africa. The included cord did not fit into the headphone jack of the first generation Apple iPhone, which I had intended to use them with, so I used a small knife to shave the plug down so it would fit into my iPhone. Since then, Shure has redesigned the plug to fit the old iPhone and the iPhone 3G has no problems with any headphones.
I love the SE210s. Using the medium black foam inserts, they fit my ears perfectly and provide excellent noise cancellation, especially because they’re not actively canceling. Its not quite the battery powered block-all that you get with the Bose QuietComfort, but its close and not even close to as bulky. That leads me to the next point, size. The SE210s are earbuds, not on ear or over ear headphones, and they’re small. When I’m listening to music, I’m almost constantly traveling and full size headphones were getting in the way. With the Shures, I can just coil the cord up and stick them in my pocket.
I touched on sound quality earlier, but let me reiterate that they sound great. I prefer the sound from the Shure ‘buds to what I got from my Sennheiser HD595, amped and unamped. Sound is a very personal thing and everyone’s ears are different, so take that with a grain of salt - but once you’ve found which tip fits your ear best and you’ve got a good quality source, these earphones put out some excellent sound.
Support is the best part. Shure offers a 2 year warranty with the SE210’s and its an excellent warranty. I lost sound in one ear and I sent the headphones in. They were delivered overnight, and I had them back in 5 days; brand new in a retail box. A week total turnaround time is just about as good as it gets, and they’re very friendly people to deal with. They told me that I hadn’t cleaned it well enough and a build up of wax was the problem, but they still sent me a new pair of earphones for nothing, not even shipping. On that note, be sure to clean them regularly. Even if you can’t see earwax, clean it with the included tool to keep them performing ideally.
If you’re looking to spend $150 on headphones, you can’t do a whole lot better than the Shure SE210. They’re a great balance of price, performance and size - not something you see too often.
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When it comes to protecting phones and other gadgets, I’m a big fan of skins. They’re thin enough to be completely unobtrusive but still provide protection from scratches and minor dings. With my original iPhone, I used an InCase slider - a hard plastic “shell” case that fit snugly and did an excellent job protecting my phone. I liked the hard plastic because it didn’t have the “grab” that rubbers cases do when removing it from your pocket.
Now that the iPhone 3G is out, I need to find all new accessories and one that really has my attention is the DLO Jam Jacket iPhone 3G case. The first thing I noticed when I opened the package was how it felt. It feels “different.” It doesn’t have a rubbery, grippy texture, more of a smooth; very interesting feel. Combined with the rubber niblets along the side that provide as a grip, it has a very unique texture all around.
DLO also includes a 3 pack of their “Surface Shields” (reviewed here) with the Jam Jacket, which provide protection for the screen.
First things first: Price. The JamJacket is very reasonable. With a list price of $19.99 and a street price of $15 or so (Amazon), that sure beats the $35 I spent on the Incase Slider. Combined with the screen protectors ($15 for a 5 pack), its a major bargain. I have no hesitations recommending it based on price.
Next up are the physical attributes: Its definitely well built, DLO is not new to the business and has the mold figured out. Its very easy to put on and remove if you need to, but snug enough that it will never come off without your permission.
The things I don’t like: I’m a fan. Its a unique case that does its job well. However, there is one thing I’m not a fan of - the silence switch. The thick rubber is great for protecting the phone, but it also keeps you from being able to use the silent/normal mode switch on the left hand side of the phone. The depth of the switch hole is so great that it is nearly impossible to change modes, something I do a lot. You really have to dig in with a fingernail or even peel the case off to change. It really is a bit of a pain. If you don’t use the silence/vibrate switch a whole lot, then you’re fine - all the other controls work perfectly. If you are switching frequently, this is something to consider.
In conclusion, DLO has a real winner on their hands. Its well made, has a great feel and does its job - protecting your expensive (and impossible to replace) iPhone 3G.
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