Packaging:
Both of the
Noctua coolers come in a nice retail packaging. While many of us will purchase these items over the internet, this packaging really grabbed my attention when I opened the shipping box. The front of the box gives you a very brief view of the coolers along with a little information on their features. The back of the box gives you much more detailed information in four languages, as well as some pictures of what you can expect in the box.
Quickly realizing the above pictures are of slip-on covers, I slid the real boxes out to find they are solid black. There are no markings on any side of these boxes. Opening these boxes, doesn't reveal much either. Inside the box, is a large folded flap that will keep the coolers from moving. The NH-U12 also included a brace between the flaps.
Getting past the flaps, you can get a view of the coolers. As you can see they both fit in the boxes nicely, between folded-to-fit cardboard. The NH-U9's fins were a little bent when I first opened the box. The NH-U12 did not have this issue. It's not a big deal, as they are easily straightened out, and they did ship directly from Austria after all.
Below the coolers
Noctua has included all of the necessary accessories for the supported socket types. Each set of mounting hardware includes a motherboard support for Intel and AMD CPUs, a bag of assorted mounting screws and washers, heavy duty springs, three sets of screws (1 set of screws for each CPU type), and brackets to connect the coolers to the mounting brackets/supports. Inside the box, there is also a nice thick manual that goes over the installation on all motherboards that the coolers are designed for. In addition to the mounting hardware and the manual, Noctua has also included four strips of anti-vibration silicon for your fans and tool-less clips to mount the fans onto the cooler. There are two sets of clips, so you can attach two fans in a push-pull configuration. The design of the mounting brackets should allow Noctua to easily convert this cooler to mount on future motherboards.
