The initial skepticism about the NT-H2 subsided very quickly. We have exposed this thermal paste to various tests and it gives excellent results across the whole spectrum of them. The original NT-H1, which Noctua will continue to offer as a cheaper option, served well as a reference point for comparison. The new NT-H2 already belongs to the high-end as it should. See for yourselves in a detailed review.
Rating
The unit price of the NT-H2 is significantly higher than that of the NT-H1. It is difficult to say whether intentionally, in any case, it is obvious that, in the case of top products, the price goes up rapidly and profitability ratios are not so thought of. And it’s a fact that the NT-H2 is a top product.
Noctua NH-T2 is 1 – 3 ° C ahead of its cheaper sister for less demanding folks (but with less power hungry processors). In conditions of extreme overclocking, it would be even more, we are, however, always more interested in everyday life, and there the differences are in the range of three degrees Celsius. After looking into an older thermal pastes test it is interesting to see how much the NT-H1 lost to Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut at a given load of 225 W (on Ci7-5930K) – the only more serious competition of NT-H2 (if we do not count Phobya HeGrease Extreme, which is almost unavailable today). The Thermal Grizzly paste is leading by 1 °C under such conditions compared to the NT-H1. And especially now that the NT-H2 (as opposed to NT-H1) is in the lead by 1.2 °C at TR@225 W.
However, we definitely do not want to declare winners or losers based on such an indirect comparison. But there is a high presumption that Noctua NT-H2 is a better paste than TG Kryonaut. Also because a larger difference (than TGK) compared to NT-H1 is achieved by NT-H2 at lower end temperatures (at similar consumption). Of course, comparing the situation on a modular Threadripper against Haswell-E is not the most ideal, but so far it is the only clue until the two pastes are pitted against each other under identical conditions. However, we are going further than is necessary for now.
In any case, the effectiveness of the new NT-H2 is significantly higher than that of the NT-H1 which has always been close to the best. For each case, we also compared the NT-H1 pastes, to find out whether the modification of the tube sticker is the only thing that has changed. This seems to be the case, because the results and the consistency are the same. Thus, it is demonstrable that a better-performing NT-H2 really belongs to the elite. And it costs less per unit volume than the Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut. Although you get a Noctua paste in a less luxurious tube, the content is number one priority here. Noctua, on the other hand, has a more suitable box for long-term storage (TG uses resealable plastic bags as packaging).
| Noctua NT-H2 |
| + top effectiveness |
| + temperatures can be lower by 1 – 3 ° C (depending on CPU/GPU consumption) |
| + does not get torn during any type of application |
| + cheaper than Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut |
| + practical package box for storing |
| + small and larger packages available, both with/without NA-SCW1 |
| - just an ordinary "cheap" tube with a stiff cap |
English translation and edit by Lukáš Terényi
