Noctua NH-U12P CPU cooler review

Given Noctua's impressive range of cooling products, from system fans through to thermal paste through to northbridge coolers, it was only ever going to be a matter of time before they joined the ever-burgeoning CPU cooler market, and indeed that's exactly what they have done, leveraging their current high-end 120mm fan, the NFP12, and bolting it to a rather large heatsink sporting four heatpipes.

It sounds simple enough, but I'm sure it goes without saying that there's more to designing a cooler than slapping together a lump or two of metal and a big fan.  So, have Noctua succeeded in creating a compelling piece of hardware for anyone looking for a high-end CPU cooler for a current Intel or AMD system?  That's exactly what we're here to investigate.