Noctua NH-L12 CPU Cooler Review

[siopao1984]

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Today there is an abundance of high performance CPU coolers, with each company supplying several solutions to the market. The vast majority of such CPU coolers however are tower coolers of significant size, making their implementation inside desktop HTPC cases and other tight configuration problematic. In this review we will examine and test a special kind of cooler; the NH-L12 by Noctua, a low profile quiet cooler developed to offer superior acoustics performance in tight spaces.Manufacturer features and specifications

Socket compatibility	Intel LGA2011, LGA1366, LGA1156, LGA1155, LGA775 AMD AM2, AM2+, AM3, AM3+, FM1 (backplate required)
Height (without fan)	66 mm
Width (without fan)	128 mm
Depth (without fan)	150 mm
Height (with fan)	93 mm
Width (with fan)	128 mm
Depth (with fan)	150 mm
Weight (without fan)	415 g
Weight (with fan)	680 g
Material	Copper (base and heat-pipes), aluminium (cooling fins), soldered joints & nickel plating
Fan compatibility	120x120x25mm & 92x92x25mm
Scope of Delivery	· 1x NF-F12 PWM premium fan · 1x NF-B9 PWM premium fan · 2x Low-Noise Adaptor (L.N.A.) · Y-Split Cable · NT-H1 high-grade thermal compound · SecuFirm2™ Mounting Kit · Mini-ITX Mounting-Kit · Noctua Metal Case-Badge
Warranty	6 Years
Fan specifications
Model	Noctua NF-F12 PWM & Noctua NF-B9 PWM
Bearing	SSO-Bearing
Max. Rotational Speed (+/- 10%)	1500 / 1600 RPM
Max. Rotational Speed with L.N.A. (+/- 10%)	1200 / 1300 RPM
Min. Rotational Speed (PWM)	300 / 300 RPM
Max. Airflow	93,4 / 64,3 m³/h
Max. Airflow with L.N.A.	74,3 / 52,6 m³/h
Max. Acoustical Noise	22,4 / 17,6 dB(A)
Max. Acoustical Noise with L.N.A.	18,6 / 13,1 dB(A)
Input Power	0,6 / 0,96 W
Voltage Range	12 V
MTBF	> 150.000 h

Read more: Noctua NH-L12 CPU Cooler Review by VR-Zone.com

[siopao1984]

Noctua supplies the NH-L12 cooler inside an elegant, professionally-looking cardboard box. The artwork on the box is minimal, with the company trying to focus on the features of the cooler itself.



Inside the box the cooler is very carefully packaged and protected by a combination of cardboard pieces and polystyrene foam rods. The bundled items are carefully packed inside a smaller box.



A rich bundle awaits those who will purchase the NH-L12. Besides the AMD and Intel mounting kits, the user will also receive a long screwdriver tool, detailed installation manuals, a tube of NT-H1 thermal compound, a metallic case sticker, fan installation screws and rubber decoupling studs, as well as two fan speed reduction adapters, a fan Y split cable and a fan extension cable. All of the extension cables and adapters are sleeved.

[siopao1984]

The NH-L12 truly is a rather short but very wide CPU cooler which will most likely cover most of the motherboard’s surface if installed on an ITX system. The cooler can be as short as 66mm, allowing it to fit inside some of the slimmest cases currently available; however, the catch is that the main 120mm fan has to be removed to reach such a low height. Noctua supplies the NH-L12 assembled, although removing the fans will be necessary for the cooler’s installation.



NF-F12, the top side 120mm fan is a medium speed fan, running at 1500RPM under normal conditions and at 1200RPM if the low noise adaptor is used. It is a very high quality fan, utilizing a novel self-stabilizing oil bearing and has rubber anti-vibration coverings on all edges. NF-B9, the bottom 92mm fan, similarly is a medium speed fan running at 1600RPM or at 1300RPM if paired with the low noise adaptor. The NF-B9 shares the same high quality bearing as the NF-F12 but not the anti-vibration coverings, leading Noctua into installing rubber silicon anti-vibration strips on the body of the cooler.



In order to keep the cooler’s height down to a bare minimum, the fins of the NH-L12 are not very tall, although they are significantly wide. The four nickel plated thick heatpipes run through the aluminum fins, transferring the heat acquired from the thin base.



In order to minimize air pressure noise, Noctua partly serrated the aluminum fins, allowing for turbulent flow with lower noise.



Due to the cooler’s design, there is no extra mechanical support between the base of the cooler and the dissipation area. Copper is a relatively soft metal and the heatpipes are in no way capable of withstanding even limited mechanical stress, therefore care needs to be taken while handling this cooler because even the slightest force can easily bend the heatpipes and physically damage the cooler.



The lower part of the cooler’s base is made out of nickel plated copper and is perfectly smooth, although not machined down to a mirror finish, while the rest of the base is made out of solid aluminum. The four heatpipes run through the tiny copper base, transferring the heat to the aluminum fins.

[siopao1984]

The installation of the NH-L12 is fairly easy, although it requires care and a significant amount of time. The socket AM3 installation is demonstrated in this review. In order for the NH-L12 to be installed onto an AMD socket, the top part of the stock retention bracket needs to be removed but not the stock backplate. After the plastic retention bracket is removed, the user needs to install the metallic retention braces supplied with the NH-L12.



Before proceeding with the installation, both cooling fans need to be removed from the cooler. Then, after a thin layer of thermal grease is applied on the CPU, the user only needs to place the cooler onto the CPU and firmly secure it in place by using the supplied screwdriver.



Although the NH-L12 is certainly short, the wide dimensions of the fins create the illusion of a monster cooler and rightfully so, since the NH-L12 is wide enough to cover almost half an ATX motherboard. This could be a problem inside very confined spaces where the NH-L12 may fit with regards to height but still be obstructed by parts of the chassis.



Being a very wide but low profile cooler, the NH-L12’s design is not without problems. As seen from the picture above, not only the installation of tall RAM modules is out of the question but the 92mm entirely blocks the two first RAM slots of our motherboard, completely negating their use.

[siopao1984]

In order to provide you with the most professional and accurate reviews, we are using the following equipment to test the performance of coolers. The system automatically calculates the Delta T temperature, which is the difference between the ambient temperature and the temperature at the top of the thermal core. We test each cooler with the included thermal grease.



Custom copper thermal core with automatic power controls
Watlow heat generation rods
PT100 temperature sensors
Lutron DW-6091 Power Analyzer
SL-5868P digital sound level meter
CompuLAB interface
MyPClab thermal interface
Custom calibration box
Custom software
More information about our testing equipment and methodology can be found in this article.




Despite being designed primarily for quiet computing, Noctua’s NH-L12 displayed remarkable resilience under heavy thermal loads. It did not break any records but we certainly find the company’s claim that “this cooler is not designed for overclocking” rather overprotective, as the NH-L12 appears to be more than capable of handling high power loads. After we removed the primary 120mm fan in order to test the ultra-low profile capabilities of the cooler however, performance took a significant hit and the quiet-mode NH-L12 dropped right at the bottom of the chart. While the performance with only the 92mm fan installed still remains superior to that of a standard stock cooler, it certainly is not nearly as satisfying as with both fans installed.

[siopao1984]

Quality (30% of the total score)

Quality wise, the Noctua NH-L12 is a very carefully designed and manufactured cooler, yet not without flaws. The main parts of the cooler are very well crafted and high quality material is being used, creating a high quality finish lacking any imperfections. The cooling fins are well machined and although they are very thin, their sharpness is very limited and should pose little to no risk when handling the cooler. Only the lack of mechanical support between the base and the cooling fins is troubling us, as the copper heatpipes are certainly not able to handle any kind of mechanical stress. There will not be any issues during normal operation but mishandling or improper transportation can easily bend them.

Quality Score 8.5/10



Performance (40% of the total score)

The Noctua NH-L12 is a low profile cooler designed to offer the best possible performance, emphasizing on acoustics, without the towering height of most high end coolers. With both fans installed, the NH-L12 performs well and can handle the competition from other, physically significantly larger products. In its ultra-low profile mode, without the 120mm installed that is, the performance of the NH-L12 drops significantly, making it an extremely quiet but also rather costly upgrade.

Performance Score 8.5/10



Aesthetics (20% of the total score)

Aesthetics are a subjective matter, yet what nobody can argue about it that the low-height, hovering design of the NH-L12 is certainly something you do not get to see every day. We know that the design alone will draw the attention of modders and other enthusiasts who like to own something different than the crowd. With a LED fan installed, the NH-L12 would create a strong lighting effect as well.

Aesthetics Score 9.0/10



Value (10% of the total score)

This cooler can be found retailing for about 45€ (60 USD / 75 SGD) at the time of this review, which is a relatively fair price considering the high quality, two fans and rich bundle. However the price tag pits the NH-L12 against many other high performance products, making competition difficult. The main selling points of the NH-L12 is the low noise operation and the low height, which low height allows it to be installed into cases tower coolers are unlikely to fit.

Value Score 8.5/10

[JoanaRheyl]

wow thanks ani.. blocking 2 slots pra sa ram is a big lost
sayang.. nindot unta ug design dah..

[akomao]

if imong gamiton na ram is slim type pyts man guro heheh