Low-profile and low noise. Will the
temperatures be likewise?
The low-profile CPU cooler market is an
important one, especially given that it's now possible to build tiny mini-ITX
computers that don't sacrifice performance for their size. Often, such small
coolers are designed merely as cheap replacements for noisy and ineffective
reference coolers, but Noctua has taken a different approach with the NH-L12.
Its price tag, upwards of £40, makes it more expensive than many giant tower
air coolers, and thus geared towards the performance market.
Noctua
NH-L12
The cooler features a copper baseplate and
four copper heat pipes, but these have been nickel-plated for a nicer finish.
The heat pipes transfer heat into the aluminium fin stack, which looks much
like a traditional tower cooler has been bent to the side, which gives it its
low-profile shape.
The airflow that cools the apparatus is
provided by two of Noctua's own fans, a 120mm NF-12 and a 92mm NF-B9. They're
both PWM-controlled and arranged in a push-pull configuration such that cool
air also finds its way onto your RAM and motherboard's power circuity. A
Low-Noise Adaptor (LNA) cable is provided for each fan, reducing their
individual maximum RPMs and thus lowering their noise output. You'll also find
the required mounting bits and bobs and a generous helping of Noctua's NT-H1
thermal paste.
The
cooler features a copper baseplate and four copper heat pipes, but these have
been nickel-plated for a nicer finish.
You can install the NH-L12 with both fans
or with just the 92mm fan in extra-low profile mode. In the former, the
cooler's height is 93mm, and in the latter it's just 66mm, meaning it will fit
tidily into many mini-ITX cases. Either way, you'll need to temporarily remove
the 120mm fan to access the baseplate screws used to mount the cooler. The installation
process itself is simple and secure, with a particular highlight being the
ability to install the cooler in any rotation, so as to fit it around any
awkward, protruding RAM modules or heatsinks your motherboard may throw at you.
Although Noctua advises against using the
NH-L12 in an overclocked system, it is able to tame an LGA1155 Intel Core
i7-2600K processor overclocked to 4.1GHz to almost the same level as some tower
coolers in the £30-£40 price range, which is an excellent result. That said, AMD
chips or LGA2011 chips - which run much hotter,as a matter of course - are
likely to provide a serious problem for this cooler when overclocked.
You
can install the NH-L12 with both fans or with just the 92mm fan in extra-low
profile mode. In the former, the cooler's height is 93mm, and in the latter
it's just 66mm, meaning it will fit tidily into many mini-ITX cases
Even with both fans installed without the
LNA cables, the cooler is very quiet. Lowering the fan speed with the supplied
cables and using the cooler in its single fan mode naturally has the effect of
reducing its cooling effectiveness, but its noise quickly comes close to
silent, and the cooler is still able to provide adequate cooling in whichever
mode it's run in.
As air coolers go, the price to performance
ratio of the NH-L12 is not too favourable, and if you have the space for a
large cooler, cheaper ones that cool more effectively are easily available. The
advantage of the Noctua cooler, however, is its size - though It may be a
little expensive. However, with two fans, a very versatile mounting system and
decent performance, it would make the perfect companion to a small but high-end
LGA1155 based rig, though users with less efficient chips will want to be
careful about overclocking them too much.
As
air coolers go, the price to performance ratio of the NH-L12 is not too
favourable, and if you have the space for a large cooler, cheaper ones that
cool more effectively are easily available.
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Details
·
Price: $67
·
Manufacturer: Noctua
·
Website: www.noctua.at
·
Required Spec: Intel sockets: LGA2011,
LGA1155, LGA1156, LGA1366, LGA775; AMD sockets: AM3+, AM3, AM2+, AM2, FM2,
FM1; 66mm CPU cooler clearance
Ratings
·
Quality: 8/10
·
Value: 7.10
·
Overall: 8/10
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