Review NOKTUA NH-L12S

Nhtua NH-L12S is an impressive thing. Four heat, toasty and slender fan is all required for a contemporary processor to work frigid. Sure, it is a bit sticky with high-class processors of the 14th generation-generation-air sets are enough for them-but it is a vast cooling for a contemporary computer with a diminutive form. And that’s what I built.

NH-L12S is a known amount-it has been available for years. However, it remains a solid choice for mini games in 2025. If that didn’t break …

I introduced two test systems for this radiator: one, equipped with Intel Core i7 14700K; And the second, AMD Ryzen 7 9700X. This is the first to be our ordinary test bed for cooler reviews – he does not have cases fans to support the radiator, and the chip requires sufficient cooling to get high power up to 253 W. This is too vast ASS for broken low -profile cooler – although get ready for a little impression later In this review – hence why I caught 9700x from the shelf for my mini computer. This AMD system works on only 65 in TDP, which is fantastic for a diminutive form.

The radiator itself consists of nickel of copper heat pipes and a plate connected to aluminum heat. As I mentioned, there are four coasts that all run through the entire length of the plate and through the radiat.

This radiator is equipped with a single fan, one NF-A12X15 PWM. It is a width and height as ordinary fans and can get up to 1850 rpm, except that it is slightly thinner than most. This allows you to configure in one of two ways: on a regular basis or sandwich between the plate and the tax. The first one is a better option because it leaves 48 mm clearance for the RAM system, and the second offers only 35 mm.

First, installation. It was relatively elementary on the open bench Intel. Athlete contains a metal rear plate in a box that matches the series of Intel sockets, including the latest, LGA1851 and the one I exploit, LGA1700. After attaching the legs, they protrude through the motherboard, where I can attach vast spacers, brackets and screws. It is a touch to get attached immediately, and then attach yourself demanding, but nothing could cope. For friends, this is largely the same assembly method, used in many air coolers.

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With a little thermal paste (more like a poop), the frigid store then sits at the top of the bracket and has a pair of spun screws to support even apply voltage to the processor distribution (IHS).

All that was left is connecting the fan to the processor fan header with a 21.5 cm long PWM cable. There is also a low rustling adapter contained in a box, measuring an additional 10.5 cm, which knocks the fan to 1400 rpm. You should not exploit an adapter because the fan is not particularly raucous, but there is a personal preference here.

Let’s talk about performance. Given its diminutive statute, the frigid store fought well with 14,700 thousand. The chip reached a maximum temperature of 92 ° C when conducting a test of extreme conditions of steel 3DMark benchmark and only 86 ° C in the Exodus Exodus Edition edition. This is not so great due to the standards of most of the liquid or larger air cooler, but the fact that it was not a thermal chip was impressed.

After crossing 14700k to its borders in X264 or Cinebench R23, however, NH-L12 begins to collapse. The chip hit 100 ° C in both comparative tests, engaging the thermal throttle, which means a lack of adequate cooling restricted to computer performance. It’s not great.

Although, as I mentioned earlier, this is not a combination of a processor/radiator that I would recommend. I would not pair them if our cooling tests did not require it. In the case of a more realistic test, I combined NH-L12 with Ryzen 7 9700X and stuck it into the Terra fractal chassis. It’s more of his natural habitat.

I had to reverse the assembly of the fan in this matter. It is effortless to do, although it leaves me less space for RAM and meant that my radiator contacted the edge of the IO motherboard. The motherboard is Asus Rog Strix X870-I Gaming Wi-Fi. It’s a bit disturbing. The cooler packs up to just 70 mm high, including a fan attached between the plate and heat, which is impressive, and offers a clearance of about 35 mm. This is enough space for low-profile sticks for fancy ram.

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Word of warning: I decided on XLR8 Gaming 32 GB DDR5-6200 Sticks inside my test computer. These are, thanks to my measurements with a set of iFixit clamps with a height of 34.87 mm. This is for the required 35 mm, although there was some contact between the frigid and closest DIMM, even in the second nest away from the processor. Both finally sat nicely, although with a little pressure exerted to the side of one darkening.

NH-L12 dealt with fantastically 9700x. It reached the maximum temperature of only 76 ° C during the game and 79 ° C with more intense loads, such as handbrakes and Cinebench R24. It is both a compliment for the compact cooler at the NOKTua, which operated only with a moderate amount of more air flow from an additional 1x 120 mm fan installed in Terra, as well as the processing of 9,000 AMD series.

Even with an additional fan on the spot in the Terra fractal, and the housing was sitting on my desk within hearing, NH-L12 is not very raucous.

The ingredients of diminutive design tend to illegal vast cenas, what you want-A NH-L12 has a high price, considering its position. It will reduce you $ 65/64 £. If you want a low-cost air cooler, we have other budget recommendations of the air radiator. Similarly, NOKTUA creates a higher variant called NH-L12SX77, which has two additional silent heat for greater cooling potential, although it encounters greater problems with compatibility with many mini-ITX cases due to its height 77 mm (NH-L12S is is is is is only 70 mm).

However, there is something that can be said about this compact radiator even in the featherlight of other units. Firefall lean line between the cooling potential and size. This is a great match to one of the latest AMD processors – at least in the lower powers – and, as proven in tests, you don’t really need much more than it offers.