Review: Noctua NH-D12L CPU Cooler

wow
it's surprisingly good despite the size
im going to get one perhaps
d15s served me for 7 years and it's like brand new
which means I can still get a lot of its original value back

I love noctua coolers but d15s is huuuge. this is compact and performs the same

 

when i build a rig for younger family members Noctua has been the go-to. mainly because once installed (by me) it's idiot-proof. the issue has been every "significant other" wants a SFF or all-in-one pc.
the NH-D12L can fit into small-ish cases and it's still cheaper than many aio's (with a longer lifespan).

now if they can steal a march on Be Quiet! and offer a black anodized model (as if) it would be all of that AND the bag of chips.

 

Well as always Noctua delivers ....I mean is anyone surprised anymore ?

 

nice perfomance though i wouldnt mind seeing how they hand 6-8core cpus 4core done with at this point

 

On par with the D15 and above the D15S? Weird stuff from smaller cooler. What did they change?

 

This my only complaint with the D15s, aside from knicks and cuts on my hands connecting to fan headers close to it.

D12L (with fan)
Height = 145 mm
Width = 125 mm
Depth = 113 mm
Weight = 890 g

D15s (with fan)
Height = 160 mm
Width = 150 mm
Depth = 135 mm
Weight = 1150 g

 

https://www.hwcooling.net/en/noctua-nh-d12l-a-breath-of-fresh-air-for-short-twin-tower-coolers/6/

this isn't a mistake, it's close to d15
it can handle 210W

 

Surprising it can do this with a single fan between the 2 towers.
I'd be tempted to put another fan on it to see what happens.

 

Now get rid of those horrible colours and as The Rolling Stones said i want it painted black.

 

Chromax version will probably come out 3 years from now.

 

Probably why everyone copies the Noctua mounting system these days, because it's fantastic.

 

so these hsf will work finen on current 6/8c 12/16t cpu? that are power hungry monsters

 

I dont understand why you reviewers cant calculate CPU power based on P = U x I. This way we no longer base cooling on Intel or AMD way to calculate TDP and we can choose colling based on this quite well.
It's elementary physics. Power = Volt x Amp. Ex. 12V & 10A=120W
You dont have an Amper metter?
Or you have instructions from vendors not to do it?

My i7 4790 at default speed, with a Arctic Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 (150w cooling) dont jump over 60 celsius.

 

I've got the cooler that's basically half of one of these - ideal even for a slightly OCed 6850K. Never gets over 70 at 4.2 GHz.

 

For €75 you have a Noctua NH-U14S with fan included.

 

I really start to like this cooler. Seems like you could push-pull with 3 fans if necessary.

 

Absolutely. I recently used one of these in a SFF build with 12600K. Keeps the CPU at around 74C under full load. I've even used the NH-U12S for a 5900X in the same NR200P case, with similar results.