Thursday, June 1st 2017
Noctua Shows off a Super-Compact Low-profile Socket AM4 CPU Cooler
In addition to its socket TR3/SP3 Threadripper-ready CPU cooler prototypes, Noctua showed off this prototype of a super compact socket AM4 CPU cooler, the NH-L9. Ideal for SFF builds, the cooler sits just 37 mm tall, and features a dense aluminium fin-stack which propagates along the plane of the motherboard, to which heat drawn from the base is fed by nickel-plated copper heat pipes. The heatsink is ventilated by an included NF-A9x14 PWM 92 mm fan.
3 Comments on Noctua Shows off a Super-Compact Low-profile Socket AM4 CPU Cooler
Even though I initially bought a Cryorig C7 for said case, lots of people have reported turbulence with said combo, hence leading to increased noise output. Replacing the C7's stock fan with Noctua's NF-A9x14 is supposedly (at least partly) solving the problem without sacrificing cooling performance. Interesting fact: the NF-A9x14 that ships with the NF-L9i goes up to 2.500 rpm, whereas the NF-A9x14 that is sold seperately is only rated for up to 2.200 rpm.
Thanks to its lower height, Noctua's NH-L9i doesn't have said problem, but also doesn't cool as well as the C7. I expect this NH-L9 to be identical to the NH-L9i (i probably standing for intel), apart from supporting the AM4 socket. I'll probably end up buying this cooler, comparing the C7 vs the NU-L9 vs the C7 with the NH-L9's NF-A9x14 fan.