Review: Noctua NH-L12

Final Thoughts and Rating

Noctua has used its expertise to create a low-profile cooler that's able to offer good cooling performance in tight spaces while keeping suitably quiet.

Squeezing a heatsink, four heatpipes and two high-quality fans into a package that measures only 93mm tall is no small feat, but Noctua's clever design works well and the end result is a cooler that's compact and able to offer a 15 per cent improvement in performance when compared to a reference Intel heatsink.

A worthwhile step up? Perhaps, but there are a few question marks. First and foremost is the £47 price tag, which seems a hefty amount for a relatively-small cooler that isn't designed for use on overclocked chips, and then there's the issue of compatibility. While the cooler will fit into most slim chassis, it's also likely to obstruct the motherboard's memory slots in certain orientations; it's short, but it's also quite wide.

These small provisos aside, the NH-L12 is, all things considered, a well-rounded solution that should be shortlisted by anyone working with a small-form-factor chassis or a slim HTPC enclosure. If a traditional tower cooler isn't an option, Noctua's build quality, excellent mounting system, quiet-running fans and class-leading six-year warranty make this one of the more attractive low-profile coolers on the market.

The Good

Will fit in many small-form-factor chassis
Comprehensive bundle
Easy to install
Keeps quiet in use
First-rate build quality

The Bad

Form factor limits performance
Expensive for a compact solution
Ugly beige-and-brown fans

HEXUS Rating

Noctua NH-L12

HEXUS Awards

Noctua NH-L12

HEXUS Where2Buy

The Noctua NH-L12 CPU cooler is available to purchase from Scan Computers.

HEXUS Right2Reply

At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.