Last month Noctua insisted that its passive CPU cooler was "coming very soon", and over the weekend it has been spotted up for sale at Newegg in the USA. The listing for the Noctua NH-P1 has it as available and in stock now at $100 plus shipping. A bullet point set of key features as well as a more lengthy description is available on the retail produce page, which is good because Noctua web designers are still in bed and there is no official product page or press release available yet.
An overview of the NH-P1 provided by the retailer explains that this is "Noctua’s first passive CPU cooler and has been custom-designed for fanless operation from the ground up." In order to cool passively and effectively the large device has combined six heatpipes with "thick, widely spaced heatsink fins." We previously learnt that these aluminium fins are not like the typical designs we usually see on active coolers, due to their thickness Noctua needed to invest in extra machinery.
Noctua recommends the NH-P1 for use in "low to moderate heat dissipation," systems, and name checks the following processors as being within that remit "Intel 9900K, 9700K or AMD Ryzen 2700X, 3950X 3700X, 3400G, etc". You will need to be installing in a well vented PC case, an open benchtable-type setup or a PC case with fans in order to achieve the full performance of this cooler. If your PC case doesn't have good natural convection, Noctua suggests you add a low-speed, ultra-quiet 120mm fan such as the NF-A12x25 LS-PWM for semi-passive operation that will be "virtually inaudible".
Considering some further practicalities, the NH-P1 offers 100 per cent RAM compatibility on AMD AM4 and Intel LGA1200/115x, clears the top PCIe slot on most ATX and micro ATX motherboards. Noctua provides a Torx-based SecuFirm2+ mounting system for Intel LGA115x (LGA1150, LGA1151, LGA1155, LGA1156), LGA1200, LGA20xx (LGA2066, LGA2011-0, LGA2011-3) & AMD AM4, AM3(+), AM2(+), FM2(+), FM1 sockets. Buyers will find that Noctua's NT-H2 thermal compound has been pre-applied.
We don't have all the specs I would be interested in checking over yet, perhaps Noctua will be uploading its official product pages and data sheets this week. Some basics like dimensions and weight are missing, for example, and some example processor cooling graphs would be welcome. Buyers get a six-year warranty.
