Tuesday, April 5th 2022
Noctua Presents NH-D12L Low-height 120mm Dual Tower CPU Cooler
Noctua today presented the all-new NH-D12L low-height dual tower CPU cooler and the corresponding NF-A12x25r round-frame 120 mm fan. At a height of only 145 mm (13 mm lower than Noctua's regular 120 mm models), it fits many 4U enclosures as well as narrower tower cases that have been previously limited to solutions with 92 mm fans. At the same time, its five heatpipe dual-tower design and state-of-the-art NF-A12x25r 120 mm fan allow it to achieve a level of efficiency that surpasses many full-height 120 mm models.
"So far, all our 120 mm class coolers were 158 mm high, but as of recent, more and more PC cases only support up to 150 or even 145 mm - this is where the NH-D12L steps in", explains Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO). "Simply lowering one of our existing models wasn't an option because a standard square 120 mm fan would cause lots of issues with motherboard heatsinks or shrouds. That's why we came up with this novel dual tower design and a round-frame version of the NF-A12x25 fan that can be installed at a very low position between the two towers - a winning combination that provides impressive results for this height class."
While Noctua's regular 120 mm CPU coolers stand 158 mm tall, the NH-D12L measures only 145 mm. This allows it to fit not only a wide range of 4U rackmount server cases and many tower-style enclosures that are not wide enough for 158 mm units, but also some larger Small Form Factor (SFF) and Mini-ITX chassis. Despite its reduced height, the NH-D12L easily outperforms 92 mm coolers. It can even surpass renowned 120 mm units such as the NH-U12S and often comes close to Noctua's award-winning 120 mm flagship model NH-U12A.
Due to its asymmetric design, the NH-D12L does not overhang the RAM slots on Intel LGA1700/LGA1200/LGA115x and AMD AM4/AM5 based motherboards, which ensures easy access to the modules and 100% compatibility with DIMMs that feature tall heat-spreaders or RGB lighting.
Introduced in 2018, Noctua's NF-A12x25 is widely considered to be the best 120x25mm fan on the market. The round-frame variant used on the NH-D12L provides the same renowned quiet cooling performance yet makes it possible to reduce overall cooler height without risking compatibility issues with tall motherboard heatsinks or shrouds. The NH-D12L also ships with an extra pair of fan clips that can be used to install a second of these NF-A12x25r PWM fans either on the front or on the rear fin stack. However, it must be noted that the second fan will usually sit on top of either the RAM or I/O panel and thereby increase the total height beyond 145 mm.
Topped off with Noctua's award-winning NT-H1 thermal compound, a 6-year manufacturer's warranty and the renowned SecuFirm2 multi-socket mounting system that already supports Intel's latest LGA1700 socket as well as AMD's upcoming AM5 platform, the NH-D12L is the perfect choice for applications that require serious cooling performance but cannot fit the larger NH-U12A.
Suggested retail prices: The manufacturer's suggested retail prices are as follows:
"So far, all our 120 mm class coolers were 158 mm high, but as of recent, more and more PC cases only support up to 150 or even 145 mm - this is where the NH-D12L steps in", explains Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO). "Simply lowering one of our existing models wasn't an option because a standard square 120 mm fan would cause lots of issues with motherboard heatsinks or shrouds. That's why we came up with this novel dual tower design and a round-frame version of the NF-A12x25 fan that can be installed at a very low position between the two towers - a winning combination that provides impressive results for this height class."
Due to its asymmetric design, the NH-D12L does not overhang the RAM slots on Intel LGA1700/LGA1200/LGA115x and AMD AM4/AM5 based motherboards, which ensures easy access to the modules and 100% compatibility with DIMMs that feature tall heat-spreaders or RGB lighting.
Introduced in 2018, Noctua's NF-A12x25 is widely considered to be the best 120x25mm fan on the market. The round-frame variant used on the NH-D12L provides the same renowned quiet cooling performance yet makes it possible to reduce overall cooler height without risking compatibility issues with tall motherboard heatsinks or shrouds. The NH-D12L also ships with an extra pair of fan clips that can be used to install a second of these NF-A12x25r PWM fans either on the front or on the rear fin stack. However, it must be noted that the second fan will usually sit on top of either the RAM or I/O panel and thereby increase the total height beyond 145 mm.
Topped off with Noctua's award-winning NT-H1 thermal compound, a 6-year manufacturer's warranty and the renowned SecuFirm2 multi-socket mounting system that already supports Intel's latest LGA1700 socket as well as AMD's upcoming AM5 platform, the NH-D12L is the perfect choice for applications that require serious cooling performance but cannot fit the larger NH-U12A.
Suggested retail prices: The manufacturer's suggested retail prices are as follows:
- NH-D12L: EUR/USD 89.90
- NF-A12x25r PWM: EUR/USD 29.90
53 Comments on Noctua Presents NH-D12L Low-height 120mm Dual Tower CPU Cooler
Pricing is a little higher than I'd hoped, only a $10 reduction from the D-15 and you get two fans and way more heatsink for that.
I love Noctua, but the way they’ve been skimping on good designs (looking at redux) gives me real pause. In that case you're at least looking at color schemes, but charging $10 less (NH-U12) for one less heat pipe and fewer accessories screams “I’m too bourgeois for you,” as does the 011 in the press release.
Profit > design :( They could do a lot better with market segmentation if they were willing to demonetize the “prestige” brown and vanilla, just a little.
Side-note: I’m becoming convinced that aRGB versions of products underperform their non aRGB counterparts due to additional electronics in the fan hub, but maybe I’m an idiot, and appreciating that some aRGB fans display colors around the frame and not the fan blades (which would presumably improve performance, if you decrease the distance between bald and frames for the extra electronics).
At 90€ though you're probably better off with the NH-U12a unless the height is a real issue.
Still sending out ht-h1
My personal favorite to :cool:
This might work well with my HTPC : )
It's a blight on the industry, IMO and the sooner the fad dies off, the happier I'll be.
I know some people like pretty lights but it adds cost, has a marginal but non-zero performance penalty, comes with shit-tastic software, per-vendor proprietary connectors, and ugly pointless cable spaghetti everywhere.
I'm quite happy to say that I think it's stupid shit for children and you don't have to agree with me, nor I you.
D15 is a 7 pipe cooler this one is just a 5 pipe.
I paid less for a d15 from amazon warehouse a couple months ago gave it a second life so says amazon :laugh:
Box was just a little dinged up coolers wasn't used.
This looks kind of neat for what it is - a huge dual tower for cases that can't fit a huge dual tower. It'll defiknitely be interesting to see how it performs, both against the size-be-damned competition as well as alternatives with similar dimensions. Pretty expensive though, but that's typical Noctua.