Chromax Heatsink Covers

Noctua also included six of their new Chromax heatsink covers as well. The way they break down is they have three designs in two different sizes. The two sizes are important to help them cover most of their most popular heatsinks. Three of them fit the NH-D15, NH-D15S- and NH-D15 SE-AM4, all variations on their huge D15. Then the others work with the NH-U12S, NH-U12S TR4-SP3, and the NH-U12S SE-AM4. Those are all variations of the U12, lucky for us we use the U12 on all of our test benches because they have good cooling while fitting in almost any case. So the D15 models as you see below come in a larger box and each actually comes with two covers. That is because the D15 is a monster and has two towers to cover up.

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Along with the covers, each box also comes with an easy to read instruction sheet, mounting clips, and a grey plastic magnetic mount for each cover. The NA-HC3 also comes with six dual-sided color inserts, two of each color.

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Here are what the three different models look like individually. The HC3 is the one on the left and in the second photo. It comes with the color inserts because it has an arrow-like design cut into it and you can use the inserts to color match it with your Chromax fans and cables. The HC4 has both white and black variations, this is huge because not only has black been popular but white themes have taken off as well over the years. To the point where you can even find white AIO kits, Video cards, and even motherboards.

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So the smaller U12 models only need a single cover so the boxes fit that. They have the same color and design options as the larger models but because of the different sizes, they do have different model numbers. The HC1 is the arrow design and then the HC2 is the simple design and is also available in white or black. They all come with the same grey plastic magnetic mounting system and the HC1 still comes with a swappable insert. There isn’t any reason to go into the same details again so check out the photos.

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Once I took a look at all that Noctua had to offer I did want to put some of the new Chromax stuff to use. Specifically, the day before I had built in the H400i in a black on black version and the all blacked out build was looking really out of place with the Noctua fan and silver heatsink in the middle. What a perfect chance to play around, we already had the U12 installed so all I had to do was grab the NF-F12 PWM Chromax Black Swap fan and all three of the U12 based covers.

So installing the Chromax covers, in typical Noctua fashion, was extremely simple. You don’t need to remove your heatsink, you just take the magnetic mount and clip it on to the top of the heatsink using the second fin down.

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From there the covers just slide on and stay in place from the magnets. There are rubber pads built into the inside of the cover to make sure there isn’t any vibration or noise later but they run smooth down the heatsink as well. I doubt many people will have more than one cover, but it was a blast just swapping between them trying to decide what look I wanted to go with. I knew I didn’t need any bright colors for this specific build but I didn’t know if I wanted black or to do a white accent. The white really stands out but looks good. In the end, I went with the basic black but in most other builds I would have gone with something more flashy.

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Now when I installed our fan, this is when I actually figured out that the Chromax fans come with just four rubber pads of each color. I debated on using them on the inside for noise or outside for looks. Even just using black I thought they looked good. In the end, I put them on the outside but this is a real issue with these fans. The mount touches the outside and the heatsink the inside, both sides need that rubber pad for vibration not to mention it is all going to look weird when you only have a bright colored pad on one side of the fan.

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As for pricing of these kits, they are about in line with Noctua fans actually. Not bad considering they are all metal in construction. The U12 models all can be found for $19.90 on Amazon and the D15 covers with two covers are $29.90. I was happy to see that they didn’t just double the price for the D15’s. The HC3 wasn’t available at the time of writing but I imagine it is also going to run that same price.

Noctua NA-HC1 chromax.black.swap heatsink cover $19.90

Noctua NA-HC2 chromax.white heatsink cover $19.90

Noctua NA-HC2 chromax.black heatsink cover $19.90

Noctua NA-HC3 chromax.black.swap heatsink covers $N/A

Noctua NA-HC4 chromax.black heatsink covers $29.90

Noctua NA-HC4 chromax.white heatsink covers $29.90

Author Bio
garfi3ld
Author: garfi3ldWebsite: http://lanoc.org
Editor-in-chief
You might call him obsessed or just a hardcore geek. Wes's obsession with gaming hardware and gadgets isn't anything new, he could be found taking things apart even as a child. When not poking around in PC's he can be found playing League of Legends, Awesomenauts, or Civilization 5 or watching a wide variety of TV shows and Movies. A car guy at heart, the same things that draw him into tweaking cars apply when building good looking fast computers. If you are interested in writing for Wes here at LanOC you can reach out to him directly using our contact form.

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