Noctua NH-U12P - Case Compatibility + General Thoughts

[Wills]

Edit** Firstly, sorry for the really short thread title, I couldnt successfully post anything longer without getting this as a error on attempted post:

Fatal error: Allowed memory size of 16777216 bytes exhausted (tried to allocate 262144 bytes) in /usr/home/customers/hexus/forums.hexus.net/www/includes/functions_search.php on line 197

Title was going to be: Noctua NH-U12P - Case Compatibility + General Thoughts

Edit 2** Managed to get the correct title with a double "Edit"


So, after my previous thread I (sort of) concluded that I was going to try o/cing my E4300 on my P5B-Plus "Vista Edition". So im looking for a good cooler for it.

I was looking at the Noctua NH-U12P (Which looks to be very good, but expensive), so its a bit of a gamble if it wont even fit in my case (Akasa Zen), I tried to measure the distance from the mobo with a ruler, and id say that its about 15cm, if that and from what I can see from the dimensions of the Noctua it doesnt look like it will fit (although I dont see my case to be that small?).
I have also been looking at the Tuniq Tower, which looks very snazzy, but ive read that its much louder, and Id liek something thats the same as, or quieter than the stock intel HSF. I also dont really like the idea of the PCI backplate, however, would the intel speed-step control the fan speed with the Tuniq tower if it was setup correctly? or is that just wishfull thinking. The tuniq tower is also about £10 cheaper at £35 from OCuk or the Tuniq Tower 120-LFB is on This week only for £29. Im not bothered about the LED's, apart from this is there any difference between the LFB and the non LFB version?

Im really stumped as to which cooler to go for. Just a few weeks ago I had been yearning for a Freezer 7 pro for aobut 6 months after continuous praise from several sources including Custom PC mag, but have since read that they cool poorly for overclocking.

Please help me out, need some advice!

Thanks very much in advance
Wills

[KalC]

I found the Arctic cooler a tad loud for my liking anyway. I would recommend the Scythe Ninja, but then again im not too familiar with your case so unsure whether it would actually fit or not! Great cooler though

[TooNice]

HSF make no noise, it's the fans that does. If you are concerned about noise though, it's best to go for a cooler that perform well when used with quiet (slower) fans. The Noctua is taller than the Ninja (158cm vs 150cm), so if the Ninja doesn't fit, chances are, the Noctua won't fit either. I just had a quick look at some reviews, and I don't think that I would pick the Noctua over the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme (which would work out about the same price depending on the fan you pick to go with it - but is also the tallest of the lot), or the tried and tested Scythe Ninja. The Tuniq is an example of a HSF that perform well (taller and better than the Ninja) if you don't mind faster/noisier fans, but not as well when faced with lower airflow. I've not heard the Freezer being described as 'bad', it's just not meant to compete with coolers 2-3 times it's cost though.