Cooling [SFFn] Quick Look: Noctua 's NH-L12S and NH-L9a-AM4, Ryzen and Noctua Collide

confusis

John Morrison. Founder and Team Leader of SFF.N
Original poster
SFF Network
SFF Workshop
SFFn Staff
Jun 19, 2015
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7,057
sff.network
Sometimes, it is iterative improvement that really makes the difference - no flash in the pan concepts, just solid, tested performance. It is with this that Noctua recently released two 'new' coolers - the NH-L9a-AM4 and the NH-L12s. These monikers may seem somewhat familiar, which is no surprise, as these are the aforementioned iterative improvements over the previous generation.

AMD's Ryzen platform has caused a significant sea change in the world of personal computers, with many manufacturers releasing adapter kits for their existing products. Noctua has gone one better and released a trifecta of AM4 specific coolers (albeit variants of their existing products). Today we are looking at the smallest of the bunch, the NH-L9a-AM4.

Read more here.
 

Aki

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Aug 9, 2016
100
97
Thanks for the review. How is the fit of the l12s on the gigabyte board. Does it overhang the ram or could you potentially mount a thicker fan instead of the thin one?
 

owliwar

Master of Cramming
Lazer3D
Apr 7, 2017
586
1,082
smal typo on the R5 1700x
35c and 20c delta? thats really impressive
I almost got an l9i for my intel rig but it was double the price of the cooler I ended up buying. I guess it wasnt a very smart choice.
but damm thats nice :)
 
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confusis

John Morrison. Founder and Team Leader of SFF.N
Original poster
SFF Network
SFF Workshop
SFFn Staff
Jun 19, 2015
4,129
7,057
sff.network
Thanks for the review. How is the fit of the l12s on the gigabyte board. Does it overhang the ram or could you potentially mount a thicker fan instead of the thin one?

You're stuck with the slim fan if you want to use the bottom fan mount on the L12S on the Gigabyte board - It overhangs the RAM in one orientation and the WiFi card in the other.
 
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Aki

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Aug 9, 2016
100
97
You're stuck with the slim fan if you want to use the bottom fan mount on the L12S on the Gigabyte board - It overhangs the RAM in one orientation and the WiFi card in the other.

Awww, damn. Thanks anyway. At least I don't need to think about it anymore.