With the advent of Intel’s new LGA1700, the old uSFF stalwart cooler, the Noctua NH-L9i, was made unusable to those who want the latest and greatest platform. LGA1700’s mounting hole dimensions are larger at 78mm square versus LGA115X’s 75mm square. Also of note is that the CPU heatspreader on the new platform being 1mm shorter than previous generations – meaning even if the mounting hole pattern hadn’t changed, the contact pressure of existing coolers would likely be incorrect to enable proper thermal transfer.
Noctua has just announced that they now have an LGA1700 version of the L9i available for purchase – the NH-L9i-17xx. Available in both the glorious* coffee and cream, and the all-black Chromax colour schemes, the new cooler model is available from today on Noctua’s Amazon store, with retail partners getting stock soon.
* (opinion of this article’s author)
Noctua claims the updated cooler can handle even the high end i9-12900K, with an overclock to 4.2GHz, drawing a 160w TDP, as well as a more sane i5-12600K at 4.3GHz, 125W. Likely these results were on an open bench and at full fan speed, but overall, not bad performance for what is objectively still a small CPU cooler. Throw this in a cramped SFF case as we are want to do, and your results may vary.
Also launched is a fan duct kit, the NA-FD1. Compatible with all L9i and L9A cooler variants, this EVA foam duct kit enables you to duct cool air from outside your case to the cooler fan, assuming your side panel is within 5-45mm of the cooler fan. Bringing back shades of the Intel Thermal Design Guide from the PGA478/LGA775 days, this is a solution that has merit with the ever higher TDPs we have been seeing recently. The kit comes with 2x 10mm, 1x 7mm, 1x 6mm, 1x 5mm, 1x4mm and 1x 3mm spacers. Whilst there are 4 and 3mm spacers in the kit, the mounting hardware for the spacers means the minimum thickness is 5mm.
Noctua specifically notes;
Consisting of 7 foam spacers from 10 to 3mm thickness, the NA-FD1 can be adjusted from 5mm to 45mm in 1mm increments. As such, it is ideal for bridging the gap between the 37mm high NH-L9 coolers and perforated side or top panes of cases that offer between 42 and 82mm clearance such as the popular Dan A4-SFX (48mm) or the Louqe Ghost S1 (66mm).
Read the press release below;
Noctua introduces NH-L9i low-profile CPU coolers for LGA1700 and NA-FD1 fan duct
Vienna, November 9th 2021 – Noctua today introduced new, LGA1700-specific revisions of its award-winning NH-L9i and NH-L9i chromax.black low-profile CPU coolers. The new NH-L9i-17xx and NH-L9i-17xx chromax.black are ideal for building ultra-compact HTPCs and Small Form Factor (SFF) systems using Intel’s brand new 12th generation Core processors such as the Core i9-12900K, Core i7-12700K or Core i5-12600K. The new, optional NA-FD1 fan duct makes it possible to further improve the performance of the coolers by bridging the gap between the fan and perforated case panels in order to enable the coolers to draw in fresh air from the outside.
“We’re very happy with the performance of the NH-L9i-17xx coolers on Intel’s new LGA1700 CPUs”, says Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO). “We have managed to dissipate up to around 160W on the Core i9-12900K, pushing it to over 4.2GHz, and up to 125W on the Core i5-12600K running at 4.3GHz. These are excellent results for such small coolers, making them fantastic options for highly compact Intel Z690 builds that pack a lot of processing power!”
The NH-L9i-17xx and the all-black NH-L9i-17xx chromax.black are the latest, LGA1700-specific revisions of Noctua’s award-winning NH-L9i low-profile CPU cooler. At a height of only 37mm, the NH-L9i is ideal for extremely slim cases and, due to its small footprint, it provides 100% RAM and PCIe compatibility as well as easy access to near-socket connectors even on tightly packed mini-ITX motherboards. The custom-designed SecuFirm2™ mounting system for the new LGA1700 socket makes installation a breeze and, thanks to the highly optimised NF-A9x14 92mm fan that supports fully automatic speed control via PWM, the NH-L9i-17xx runs remarkably quietly. Topped off with Noctua’s renowned NT-H1 thermal compound, the NH-L9i-17xx combines everything users have come to expect from Noctua’s larger coolers into a super-compact, premium-quality package for ITX and HTPC builds with Intel’s new 12th generation Core CPUs.
“For Small Form Factor builds, we now highly recommend the optional NA-FD1 fan duct kit, both to customers choosing the new NH-L9i-17xx models and to users of the existing NH-L9i and NH-L9a heatsinks”, explains Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO). “It’s a simple yet highly effective way of boosting the performance of these coolers in compact cases. Tech-savvy enthusiasts have been creating similar ducts with their 3D printers for quite some time, but not everyone has the capabilities to do this, so we thought it would be great to offer an affordable, flexible duct kit that doesn’t require any special equipment or skills to set up.“
The new NA-FD1 fan duct kit makes it possible to significantly improve the performance of Noctua NH-L9i and NH-L9a series CPU coolers in Small Form Factor (SFF) environments where there is a gap of 5mm or more (up to 45mm) between the cooler and a perforated top or side panel. Bridging this gap, the duct prevents the cooler from taking in hot air from the interior and enables it to draw in fresh air from the outside through the perforated panel, which can, depending on the setup, improve CPU temperatures by as much as 5°C or more. As the duct is assembled from EVA foam spacers of different thickness , it is fully modular and can be adjusted in 1mm increments from 5mm to 45mm height in order to fit various different cases and configurations. In short, the NA-FD1 is a simple yet smart, flexible, and cost-effective way of boosting the efficiency of NH-L9a and NH-L9i series coolers!
Links
NH-L9i-17xx
NH-L9i-17xx chromax.black
CPU compatibility (NCC)
NA-FD1
NA-FD1 performance: what to expect?
NA-FD1 installation video
Suggested retail prices
The manufacturer’s suggested retail prices are as follows:
NH-L9i-17xx: EUR/USD 44.90
NH-L9i-17xx chromax.black: EUR/USD 54.90
NA-FD1: EUR/USD 12.90
Availability
All the new products are available as of today via Noctua’s official Amazon stores:
Buy NH-L9i-17xx
Buy NH-L9i-17xx chromax.black
Buy NA-FD1
Other sales partners will receive stock shortly.
About Noctua
Designed in Austria, Noctua’s premium cooling components are internationally renowned for their superb quietness, exceptional performance and thoroughgoing quality. Having received more than 6000 awards and recommendations from leading hardware websites and magazines, Noctua’s fans and heatsinks are serving hundreds of thousands of satisfied customers around the globe.
