Noctua Presents NH-D12L chromax.black CPU Cooler

[btarunr]

Noctua today expanded its chromax.black line with an all-black version of the award-winning low-height 120 mm CPU cooler NH-D12L: Staying true to the successful formula of the original model, the new chromax.black version with its black fans and black coated heatsink combines the same signature quiet cooling performance with a sleek stealth look.

"The NH-D12L has become a popular choice for compact, high performance builds in cases like the Lian Li O11 Dynamic or the DAN C4-SFX ", says Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO). "With the new chromax.black version, we're now giving customers the option to leverage the NH-D12L's renowned quiet cooling performance in all-black systems."



The NH-D12L chromax.black is an all-black version of Noctua's NH-D12L low-height 120 mm class CPU cooler that has been conceived to combine outstanding quiet cooling performance with superior case compatibility. The new chromax.black version is identical to the award-winning regular model except for the colour: Featuring a black coated heatsink, a black fan with black anti-vibration-pads, black fan clips and black mounting parts, it is literally black from head to toe. Thanks to thoroughgoing optimisations of the coating material and process, the chromax.black model provides the same, renowned quiet cooling performance as its regular, non-coated counterpart.

At a height of only 145 mm (13 mm lower than Noctua's regular 120 mm models), NH-D12L chromax.black 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. Thanks to its single-fan configuration and asymmetrical fin stacks, the NH-D12L provides 100% RAM compatibility on AMD AM5/AM4 and Intel LGA1851/1700/1200 by staying clear of the memory slots.

Topped off with the renowned SecuFirm2 mounting system, Noctua's award-winning NT-H1 thermal compound and a 6-year manufacturer's warranty, the NH-D12L chromax.black is the perfect choice for applications that require serious cooling performance but cannot fit the larger NH-U12A.

For more information, visit the product page.

Suggested retail price
The manufacturer's suggested retail price is EUR 109.90 / USD 99.90.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[GerKNG]

110€...
laughs in Phantom Spirit, Peerless Assassin, Assassin King, Burst Assassin and Frost Commander.

 

[ZoneDymo]

110€...
laughs in Phantom Spirit, Peerless Assassin, Assassin King, Burst Assassin and Frost Commander.

Might be better bang for buck options and I will always champion those, but Noctua is more of a premium brand.

 

[Onasi]

Might be better bang for buck options and I will always champion those, but Noctua is more of a premium brand.

That’s cool and all, but it’s not even about bang for the buck in this case. There is literally nothing that Noctua does with its coolers anymore that can make the price make sense. Unless, I guess, you’re really stoked about getting new mounting brackets for free, but even that is small comfort.

 

[aktpu]

Noctua kind of makes sense to me. I've bought two Noctua coolers since 2011. Both are still in active use and for older one I've got 4 different retention kits from Noctua free of charge and 2 spare fan clips. All of that would had been extra cost on Thermalright or whatever, if you even can get new retention kits to cheapo brands

 

[Fungi]

There is something to be said for the long support of Noctua products leading to less garbage.

 

[GerKNG]

Noctua kind of makes sense to me. I've bought two Noctua coolers since 2011. Both are still in active use and for older one I've got 4 different retention kits from Noctua free of charge and 2 spare fan clips. All of that would had been extra cost on Thermalright or whatever, if you even can get new retention kits to cheapo brands

thermalright has free kits for new sockets as well.

 

[Onasi]

thermalright has free kits for new sockets as well.

Yeah, I honestly have no idea where is the perception of TR as a “cheapo” brand comes. I remember since all the way in late 00-s they were seen by enthusiast community as absolute peak cooling brand and later were usually compared to Noctua only. Then for some reason they kinda fell out of the limelight for a bit (though they continued making good products) and now that the tech press picked them up again and, surprise, they still do well, people somehow seem to think that they are some new-ish upstart no-name brand good only for value for money. Like… no. It’s f**king Thermalright. They are in this game longer than most and with better track record than… pretty much everyone sans Noctua.

I swear I feel like I am going insane sometimes.

 

[The Terrible Puddle]

Well it does include an expensive, top of the line, fan.

Isn't it regarded that Noctua is the bleeding edge of its segment? They spend all the RnD dollars and then others copy them?

 

[aktpu]

thermalright has free kits for new sockets as well.

Last time I tried getting new kit (AM5) for old cooler from them I was directed to contact page so I could *buy* a new kit. Time before that they were willing to give it "for free" but with shipping fees which were nigher than buying the retention kit locally. So not exactly free

I remember since all the way in late 00-s they were seen by enthusiast community as absolute peak cooling brand and later were usually compared to Noctua only.

Maybe because they disappeared for couple of years almost completely (at least from Europe) and you could only get the coolers from aliexpress and such places

 

[Nater]

Wonder if this will fit in my kids HP Omen 30L (5800X). I just changed the 92mm rear exhaust and 120MM AiO fan to Noctua's. Made a world of difference in the sound, not so much the cooling.

And the best part of buying Noctua is you don't have to change the fans as soon as you install whatever it is. God there's some loud m'fer's out there.

 

[King Mustard]

Is that not a lot of weight to be hanging off of a vertical motherboard?

 

[TheDeeGee]

Is that not a lot of weight to be hanging off of a vertical motherboard?

No, all big coolers like this have a backplate behind the motherboard these days.

 

[Noyand]

110€...
laughs in Phantom Spirit, Peerless Assassin, Assassin King, Burst Assassin and Frost Commander.

All of those cooler are taller than the NH-D12L. It's a niche, but that cooler is popular in SFF land (Although, Noctua is also selling a fair amount of niche accessories. )

 

[TheDeeGee]

That’s cool and all, but it’s not even about bang for the buck in this case. There is literally nothing that Noctua does with its coolers anymore that can make the price make sense. Unless, I guess, you’re really stoked about getting new mounting brackets for free, but even that is small comfort.

Just let people buy what they want, a Ferrari makes no sense either with a 120 km/h speed limit.

I will forever buy Noctua fans and coolers.

 

[Dr. Dro]

That’s cool and all, but it’s not even about bang for the buck in this case. There is literally nothing that Noctua does with its coolers anymore that can make the price make sense. Unless, I guess, you’re really stoked about getting new mounting brackets for free, but even that is small comfort.

I decided to give Noctua a try with my cooling replacement here (as I was having issues with my previous setup), and it's incredibly high quality. It really struck me how thoughtful was the assembly process, the generous amount of accessories included and how well manufactured the heatsink was. That won me over hard. My next build will likely have their next-gen NH-D16 that's coming up.

 

[TheDeeGee]

Well it does include an expensive, top of the line, fan.

Isn't it regarded that Noctua is the bleeding edge of its segment? They spend all the RnD dollars and then others copy them?

They have very high standards indeed, it's why the new 140mm is taking so long.

 

[Onasi]

I decided to give Noctua a try with my cooling replacement here (as I was having issues with my previous setup), and it's incredibly high quality. It really struck me how thoughtful was the assembly process, the generous amount of accessories included and how well manufactured the heatsink was. That won me over hard. My next build will likely have their next-gen NH-D16 that's coming up.

They are premium in feel, no doubt. I do find the new TR mounting system actually easier to work with than current SecuFirm though. And their Intel contact frame is top tier for those running Team Blue. It’s really much of muchness in the end, I like Noctua fans for the case cooling the best and use some now and have another 4 ready to install whenever I stop being lazy and decide to rebuild the system. Probably on a GPU upgrade, whenever that happens. But for CPU cooling I genuinely can’t unironically recommend Noctua today. They are by no means bad, they are excellent, but the price just doesn’t justify itself.

 

[kapone32]

The best thing about Noctua are how good their fans are. Those Brown ones on the DH15 are some of the quietest fans I have ever not heard.

 

[gffermari]

I like it.
Adding a second fan, it may perform better than a U12A, while being shorter at height.

 

[dgianstefani]

People look at the price tag and are shocked.

However, you need to consider the R&D that goes into these things. They were the first/one of the first to market with Sterrox Liquid Crystal Polymer blades, and the NF-A12x25 was untouchable for at least a year, even beating 140 mm competing fans. The black versions of the heatsinks do not negatively affect cooling performance, unlike simple black painted versions of other coolers. The fans last many years without bearing failures. The mounting system is excellent. The build quality is almost perfect. etc. The list goes on.

What you pay is often what you get. You may have similar temperatures with a cheaper cooler, but there's more to life than choosing the cheapest hardware that technically fits your needs.

E.g the much smaller U12A cooler almost matching the much larger 140 mm D15.

Even the new 120 mm fans that are competing with the NF-A12x25 (released six years ago), are almost all 28-30 mm thick fans, whereas the Noctua is a 120x25mm, for perfect compatibility.

 

[GerKNG]

Last time I tried getting new kit (AM5) for old cooler from them I was directed to contact page so I could *buy* a new kit. Time before that they were willing to give it "for free" but with shipping fees which were nigher than buying the retention kit locally. So not exactly free

i wrote a simple mail (i have a new LGA 1700 MB and no kit to install my cooler)
they asked for proof of purchase (Board and Cooler), replied with "give us you address" and i got a kit after 3-4 Days for free.

 

[kapone32]

People look at the price tag and are shocked.

However, you need to consider the R&D that goes into these things. They were the first/one of the first to market with Sterrox Liquid Crystal Polymer blades, and the NF-A12x25 was untouchable for at least a year, even beating 140 mm competing fans. The black versions of the heatsinks do not negatively affect cooling performance, unlike simple black painted versions of other coolers. The fans last many years without bearing failures. The mounting system is excellent. The build quality is almost perfect. etc. The list goes on.

What you pay is often what you get. You may have similar temperatures with a cheaper cooler, but there's more to life than choosing the cheapest hardware that technically fits your needs.

E.g the much smaller U12A cooler almost matching the much larger 140 mm D15.

Even the new 120 mm fans that are competing with the NF-A12x25 (released six years ago), are almost all 28-30 mm thick fans, whereas the Noctua is a 120x25mm, for perfect compatibility.

R&D? really. Are Chromax fans new? The fact remains that the Peerless Assassin is cheaper that even the U12A and better in performance. At $99 Us this falls in line with the rest of Noctua's line up. The only issue for Noctua (And everyone else) is that the awareness of Thermalright is growing in the community. The Peerless Assassin is $60 CAD all day long and would a knowledgeable user pay double for the Noctua variant?

As I said before the thing that sets Noctua apart is how quiet their fans are but it does not necessarily warrant spending double to get the name in your PC. You may not like them but AIOs rule the roost anyway. The mitigating factor now is that the stupid Asetek restriction has expired. I fully expect Noctua to release an AIO in the coming years that using their fans will be exemplary for performance to noise.

 

[The Terrible Puddle]

They have very high standards indeed, it's why the new 140mm is taking so long.

One year later and we'll have a 5mm thicker Phanteks clone that outperforms and a cheap Thermaltake clone.

R&D? really. Are Chromax fans new? The fact remains that the Peerless Assassin is cheaper that even the U12A and better in performance. At $99 Us this falls in line with the rest of Noctua's line up. The only issue for Noctua (And everyone else) is that the awareness of Thermalright is growing in the community. The Peerless Assassin is $60 CAD all day long and would a knowledgeable user pay double for the Noctua variant?

As I said before the thing that sets Noctua apart is how quiet their fans are but it does not necessarily warrant spending double to get the name in your PC. You may not like them but AIOs rule the roost anyway. The mitigating factor now is that the stupid Asetek restriction has expired. I fully expect Noctua to release an AIO in the coming years that using their fans will be exemplary for performance to noise.

The Peerless Assassin is a much bigger cooler that blocks the ram. The U12A doesn't. Just saying there are nuances to this.

 

[kapone32]

One year later and we'll have a 5mm thicker Phanteks clone that outperforms and a cheap Thermaltake clone.


The Peerless Assassin is a much bigger cooler that blocks the ram. The U12A doesn't. Just saying there are nuances to this.

Of course that is true. Most of the best Air coolers are super huge.