Introduction

From the Noctua website:

Designed in Austria, Noctua's premium cooling components are internationally renowned for their superb quietness, exceptional performance and thoroughgoing quality. Having received more than 1000 awards and recommendations from leading hardware websites and magazines, Noctua's fans and heatsinks are chosen by more than a hundred thousand satisfied customers around the globe.

Noctua is a company every PC enthusiast will recognize. If not for the name on the box, then by the color of their fans. Noctua is easy to spot and impossible to forget, having forged their reputation with impressive cooling, exceptional build quality, and low noise levels.

Such coolers as the NH-D14 and NH-C14 have made Noctua a premiere CPU cooler manufacturer. Their low-noise fans have gained a following in the enthusiast community for providing exceptional airflow whilst being nearly silent. That said, the colors of Noctua's fans may not be for everyone.

Today, I will put Noctua's reputation to the test once more as I take a look at the Noctua NH-L12, a small low-profile CPU cooler. Different from its far larger siblings, its small size will certainly impact cooling performance, but by how much and is it quiet? Let's find out.