Noctua NH-L12 & NH-U9B SE2 CPU Coolers Review
Introduction
When you think of premium performance air-cooling solutions, Noctua usually comes to mind for a variety of reasons. Noctua has gained a lot of respect in the enthusiasts market for making some of the most advanced and well engineered CPU coolers on the market. They have have become one of the most popular companies in the cooling market and have been constantly releasing top notch products one after another. Noctua has been getting a lot of positive attention for their superb fans and exceptional coolers and the color scheme is the reason why people recognize Noctua products when they see one.
Noctua offers a six year warranty on their products and has possibly the best customer service out there and I can certainly vouch for that. They have always sent me replacements for fans and mounting kits free of charge and that was long before I became a reviewer. Noctua sets the perfect example of what a customer service should be like.
The Noctua NH-L12 is a low profile heatsink designed to fit into small factor systems and HTPCs. The heatsink comes with the NF-F12 PWM fan which is a 120mm fan that sits on top and a 92mm NF-B9 PWM fan that sits underneath the fins. By having one fan at the top and another one at the bottom, this forms a push/pull configuration that moves air through the fins and onto the motherboard. It comes at a super low profile of only 93mm tall and if necessary, the height can be lowered even more by removing the top fan which will bring it down to 66mm.
The NH-L12 is designed to replace stock cooling that comes with Intel CPUs and should theoretically eliminate overheating issues that you might have with the stock heatsink. The NH-L12 comes with a strict set of TDP guidelines and according to Noctua's website, it should be used with care on CPUs with more than 95W TDP.
To find out if the NH-L12 is recommended for your CPU, head over to Noctua's website for their TDP guidelines.
The other product that we will be taking a look at is the NH-U9B SE2 and this is basically a scaled down version of the NH-U12P SE2. The NH-U9B SE2 uses the same exact heatsink as the original NH-U9B but the only difference is that the original heatsink used only one NF-B9 PWM (92mm) fan while the newer model uses two NF-B9 PWM fans. Another difference is that the original heatsink did not support the new Intel CPU sockets while the NH-U9B SE2 adds support for LGA1156/1155/1150 as well as LGA1366 via the latest SecuFirm2 mounting system.
The Noctua NH-U9B SE2 is a compact CPU cooler aimed at the mATX and HTPC users who want the performance of a tower heatsink in a compact form. It has four dual heatpipes and comes with dual fans that will help keep the CPU temperatures in check inside mATX chassis and HTPCs. Both CPU coolers come with Noctua's SecuFirm 2 mounting kit that makes installation a breeze.
Technical Specifications
| Heatsink Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacture: | Noctua |
| Model: | NH-L12 |
| Socket Support: | Intel LGA2011 (Square ILM), LGA1366 LGA1156, LGA1155, LGA1150, LGA775 AMD AM2, AM2+, AM3, AM3+, FM1, FM2, FM2+ (backplate required) |
| Material: | Copper (base and heat-pipes) Aluminium (cooling fins) Soldered joints & nickel plating |
| Fan Compatibility: | 120x120x25mm & 92x92x25mm |
| Heatsink: | Dimensions: 66 mm x 128 mm x 150 mm (w/o Fan) Heatpipes: 4pcs Weight: 415 g (w/o Fan) 680 g (w/ Fan) |
| Scope of Delivery: | 1x NF-F12 PWM premium fan 1x NF-B9 PWM premium fan 2x Low-Noise Adaptor (L.N.A.) Y-Split Cable NT-H1 high-grade thermal compound SecuFirm2™ Mounting Kit Mini-ITX Mounting-Kit Noctua Metal Case-Badge |
| Warranty: | 6 Years |
| Fan Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Model: | Noctua NF-F12 PWM & Noctua NF-B9 PWM |
| Bearing: | SSO |
| Max. Rotational Speed (+/- 10%): | 1500 / 1600 RPM |
| Max. Rotational Speed with L.N.A. (+/- 10%): | 1200 / 1300 RPM |
| Min. Rotational Speed (PWM, +/-20%): | 300 / 300 RPM |
| Max. Airflow: | 93,4 / 64,3 m³/h |
| Max. Airflow with L.N.A: | 74,3 / 52,6 m³/h |
| Max. Acoustical Noise: | 22,4 / 17,6 dB(A) |
| Max. Acoustical Noise with L.N.A: | 18,6 / 13,1 dB(A) |
| Input Power: | 0,6 / 0,96 W |
| Voltage Range: | 12 V |
| MTBF: | > 150.000 h |
| Heatsink Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacture: | Noctua |
| Model: | NH-U9B SE2 |
| Socket Support: | Intel LGA1366, LGA1156, LGA1155, LGA1150 LGA775, LGA2011 on request, Asus X-socket™ AMD AM2, AM2+, AM3, AM3+, FM1, FM2 (backplate required) |
| Material: | Copper (base and heat-pipes) aluminium (cooling fins) soldered joints & nickel plating |
| Fan Compatibility: | 2x 92x92x25mm |
| Heatsink: | Dimensions: 125 mm x 95 mm x 71 mm (w/o Fan) Heatpipes: 6pcs Weight: 460 g (w/o Fan) 550/640* g (w/ Fan) |
| Scope of Delivery: | 2x NF-B9 premium fan 2x Ultra-Low-Noise Adaptor (U.L.N.A.) 2x Low-Noise Adaptor (L.N.A.) Y-Split Cable NT-H1 high-grade thermal compound SecuFirm2™ Mounting Kits |
| Warranty: | 6 Years |
| Fan Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Model: | Noctua NF-B9 |
| Bearing: | SSO |
| Max. Rotational Speed (+/- 10%): | 1600 RPM |
| Max. Rotational Speed with L.N.A. (+/- 10%): | 1300 RPM |
| Max. Rotational Speed with U.L.N.A. (+/- 10%): | 1000 RPM |
| Max. Airflow: | 64,3 m³/h |
| Max. Airflow with L.N.A: | 52,6 m³/h |
| Max. Airflow with U.L.N.A: | 41,1 m³/h |
| Max. Acoustical Noise: | 17,6 dB(A) |
| Max. Acoustical Noise with L.N.A: | 13,1 dB(A) |
| Max. Acoustical Noise with U.L.N.A: | 7,9** dB(A) |
| Input Power: | 1,32 W |
| Voltage Range: | 12 V |
| MTBF: | > 150.000 h |
Packaging & Accessories
The packaging of both the NH-L12 and the NH-U9B SE2 feels top notch and very sturdy. Just as you would expect with any Noctua product, the components inside are well packaged and everything feels well secured inside the box. The front of the NH-L12 box lists some of the features such as 120/92mm dual fan design, Extra-Low profile in 92mm single-fan mode, PWM support and low-noise-adaptors, SecuFirm2 mounting system, Mini-ITX mounting without backplate and Noctua NH-H1 high-end thermal compound. The NH-U9B SE2 box lists some of its unique features such as U-Type Design, 2x NF-B9 Premium Fan, SecuFirm 2 Mounting, NT-H1 Thermal Compound and Special Edition Premium Kit.
When opening up the package for the NH-L12, you are presented with sturdy cardboard boxes that securely hold the cooler in place and all included accessories that come with the cooler. Inside you will find Noctua's NT-H1 thermal compound, two Low-Noise-Adapters, a dual head fan adapter, a fan extension cable, four mounting screws, four screws, Noctua metal case badge and a manual. Noctua has always done a fantastic job on their packaging and the packaging of the NH-L12 is no exception.
Here we can see how the NH-L12 is constructed and that is with a copper base, heatpipes, aluminium fins, soldered joints and nickel plating. The dimension for the NH-L12 come in at 150 mm x 128 mm x 66 mm (L x W x H) for the heatsink which makes it perfect for mini-ITX cases. The cooler weighs 415 g without the fans and 680 g with both fans installed. The NH-L12 has four 6 mm heatpipes while Intel's stock cooler has none. Not only that but Intel's stock cooler is cheaply made and makes loud noises. Noctua engineers everything for quietness and puts a lot of R&D into their products, more on that on the next page.
The packaging of the NH-U9B SE2 is also top notch. The accessories included in the box are excellent. Noctua has included two NF-B9 premium fans, two Ultra-Low-Noise Adaptor (U.L.N.A.), two Low-Noise Adaptor (L.N.A.), Y-Split Cable, NT-H1 high-grade thermal compound, and SecuFirm2 Mounting Kits. The two U.L.N.A and L.N.A adapters can be used to reduce fan speed for ultimate quietness.
Moving on to the design of the NH-U9B SE2, we can see that this thing is quite small compared to most tower coolers that come with 120 mm fans. The NH-U9B SE2 weighs only 460 grams without any fans and 640 grams with both 92 mm fans installed. As you can see from the picture, this cooler uses four 6 mm copper heatpipes and they have been soldered to the base plate and to the aluminium fins as well. The copper base plate measures 4.5mm thick and has a nickel-plated finish. The cooler has 36 aluminium fins and each measures 0.5 mm thick and are approximately spaced 1.70 mm from the next.
Fan Design
Something that many people probably don't know that I personally like about Noctua is that everything from fan design to bearing design is done in house. And this means that a lot of testing and R&D goes through when making a Noctua fan. Most manufactures simply use a stock model fan from an OEM and just slightly tweak the RPM levels and call it a day.
Noctua puts a lot of R&D into their fan designs and it totally shows in the build quality of their fans. Typical fans don't last a long time; most fans come with a MTBF of 50,000 to 100,000 hours and most of them stop working before they even hit the limit; some even start to make high pitch noises.All the fans that Noctua designs come with a MTBF of more than 150,000 hours so they essentially pay for themselves in the future since you don't have to keep buying new fans if they stop working.
The NH-L12 comes with two different fans, the NF-F12 PWM and Noctua NF-B9 PWM fan while the NH-U9B SE2 comes with just two NF-B9 PWM fans. The NF-F12 PWM fan spins at a maximum 1500 RPM, or 1200 RPM with the L.N.A and can even drop as low as 300 RPM. It uses Noctua's second generation SSO2 bearing with metal bearing shell and Noctua's custom designed PWM IC for fully automatic PWM speeds. The metal bearing shell is made from CNC milled brass that delivers long term stability and durability.
The NF-B9 PWM fan on the other hand uses Noctua's first generation SSO bearing which lacks some of the features that the SSO2 bearing has. This fan spins at a maximum 1600 RPM, or 1300 RPM if you use the L.N.A. Similarly like the NF-F12 PWM fan, this fan can also drop all the way down to 300 RPM.
Both fans use Noctua's VCN (Vortex-Control Notch) at the trailing edge of each blade and that makes the flows along the suction and pressure side to mix more smoothly. This allows for less turbulence and velocity loss, which leads to increased efficiency as well as a significant reduction in noise emission.
Test Setup & Methodology
| Test Setup | |
|---|---|
| Processor: | Intel i7 3770K @ 4.6GHz 1.30v |
| Motherboard: | Asus Sabertooth Z77 |
| RAM: | Kingston HyperX 8GB @ 1866 MHz |
| Graphics Card: | EVGA GTX 680 |
| Storage: | Samsung 840 Pro 256GB |
| Power Supply: | Antec Earth Watts 650W |
| Case: | Antec Nine Hundred |
| OS: | Windows 7 64Bit |
| Thermal Compound: | Noctua NT-H1 |
| Heatsinks: | Noctua NH-U9B SE2 Noctua NH-L12 Noctua NH-L9i Noctua NH-D14 Noctua NH-U14S Noctua NH-U12S Noctua NH-C12P SE14 Noctua NH-C14 Corsair H60 Corsair H55 Cooler Master Hyper 212+ Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO Scythe Mugen 3B Phanteks PHTC12DX NZXT Respire T20 NZXT Respire T40 |
Installing both the NH-L12 and the NH-U9B SE2 was relatively easy thanks to the SecuFirm2 mounting system that Noctua has greatly designed. The whole assembly took less than 5 minutes and even if you are someone with no knowledge whatsoever, you will still be able to install these coolers with little to no effort thanks to SecuFirm2.
SecuFirm 2 isn't compatible with Intel's 775 and 1366 sockets so you will need to contact Noctua so they can send you the necessary
equipment free of charge. Noctua also promises to provide upgrade kits for future sockets free of charge which is also very nice!
Since I'm using low profile RAM modules, I didn't have any problems with either cooler hanging over the RAM slots. If you are using RAM with tall heatsinks then you might need to do some calculations before purchasing the NH-L12.
In my opinion, there's very little reason to purchasing RAM with tall heatsinks because RAM does not produce enough heat that you would need to dissipate it and there's no performance boost to having the tall heatsinks. I know some people like them for looks but you have to decide if you're one of those people. If you need help figuring out the RAM compatibility with the NH-L12 then head over to Noctua's website NH-L12 RAM Compatibility.
These two CPU coolers are engineered for similar purposes but we will be testing them differently from each other. We will be testing the NH-U9B SE2 with our regular system setup and that is with the 3770K overclocked to 4.6Ghz with using around 1.30 volts. This will be a good way to test this cooler because we all know that Ivy Bridge runs super hot once overclocked and it really puts a lot of stress into any modern CPU cooler that's out there. The NH-L12 on the other hand will be tested against the Intel stock cooler with no overclocking. We will run the CPU at default settings and see how well the NH-L12 does against Intel's stock cooler.
All of the testing is done with an ambient temperature of ~19C. RealTemp will be used to monitor the temperature of the CPU and Prime95 (Large FFTs) will be used to deliver the full load to the CPU for 20 minutes. After each testing, we let the temperature inside the case to stabilize for 10 minutes to ensure that the temperature inside the case is back to normal. This is something that many reviewers take for granted when testing CPU coolers and believe it or not, it makes a world of difference.
Idle temperatures will be measured after leaving the computer idle for 20 minutes. CPU-Z will be used to verify the CPU speed and the voltage being used in Windows 7. Also, the coolers are tested with the default settings (Turbo, C1E etc) enabled in the BIOS.
We will measure the noise levels for both in idle and load using a dBA meter and point it at the computer at a distance of ~50 CM. It's always difficult to measure noise levels because there are always noises in the background which can affect it so the results may not be 100% precise but it should give you a clear indication of the noise levels for the cooler.
We will rank each CPU cooler that we have in our lab from highest to lowest by the amount of fin count they have, number of heatpipes and their fin thickness. Fin count is very important because it determines thermal conductivity, fin thickness determines thermal capacitance and the number of heatpipes determines efficiency of heat transfer. We will also rank them by fan speed, fan size and Airflow. Fan speed and fan size help determine the thermal transfer and noise level of the fan. The Airflow of the fan is measured in CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute) and the higher the CFM value, the more air the fan is moving but also the higher the dB.
One thing that I have to say before the test is that I'm using 1.30 volts for the overclock but you clearly don't need 1.30 volts to get the 3770K stable at 4.6Ghz but I'm doing this to stress test the cooler to its limits. You can easily get it stable with using ~1.25 volts and you will probably get much better temperatures than I did so keep that in mind.
Fin Count, Fin Thickness & Heatpipes
The above chart shows all the CPU coolers that we have in our lab sorted from highest to lowest by the amount of fin count each cooler has.
The NH-C14 holds the crown with the most amount of fins while the NH-L12 comes in second place with 60 fins and the NH-U9B SE2 last place with 36 fins.
In the chart below we have sorted each CPU cooler from highest to lowest by the fin thickness in millimetres.
According to our measurements, both the Noctua NH-U9B SE2 and NH-L12 have the same fin thickness which is roughly 0.5 mm.
These coolers have to compensate for being small with having thicker fins than most average coolers so they don't overheat. The Corsair H60 and H55 come in last place with the least fin thickness.
In our next chart we have sorted each CPU cooler from highest to lowest by the number of heatpipes they have.
Both the Noctua NH-U9B SE2 and NH-L12 have four heatpipes. The NH-L9i is last place with only two heatpipes and that's because that cooler is specifically designed for mini-ITX cases or HTPCs and cannot be used with CPUs with more than 65W TDP.
Fan Speed, Fan Size & Airflow
In the chart above we have sorted all the CPU coolers from highest to lowest by their fan speed.
From all the coolers that we have in our lab, the Noctua NH-L9i sits at the top with the highest fan speed.
Some of the CPU coolers have two different sizes of fans that spin at different speeds.
For example the NH-L12 has a 120 mm fan that spins at 1500 RPM and a 92 mm fan that spins at 1600 RPM. This chart should give you an idea of the different fan speeds that come with each cooler.
In the chart below we have sorted each CPU cooler from highest to lowest by the fan size in millimetres.
This chart is pretty self-explanatory but it should give you an idea of the different fan sizes that come with each cooler.
In the chart below we have sorted each CPU cooler from highest to lowest by the maximum amount of airflow they move in CFM without using the L.N.A/U.L.N.A adapters.
Looking at the Noctua NH-L12, we can see that the 120 mm fan that comes with the cooler moves ~55 CFM airflow and the 92 mm fan moves ~38 CFM. The NH-U9B SE2 on the other hand has two small 92 mm fans that move 38 CFM airflow.
Thermal & Noise Level Results
Looking at the chart above, we can see that the NH-U9B SE2 is struggling to keep the idle temperatures nice and low. The majority of the coolers use 120mm/140mm fans while the NH-U9B SE2 uses two 92mm fans. It also uses Noctua's first generation SSO bearing fan technology which is much older compared to the SSO2 bearing that's used on some of the other coolers. With that being said, the NH-U14S in push/pull config still holds the crown for the lowest idle temperature.
Looking at the full load temperatures, the NH-U9B SE2 is reaching temperatures in the mid 90s which is obviously not good.
You have to keep in mind that the NH-U9B SE2 is a compact cooler that's designed to fit into small enclosures while still providing push/pull fan setup so we weren't really expecting it to perform on par with the rest of the coolers. With that being said, we were still impressed that it performed similarly to the Cooler Master Hyper 212+ that's using a 120mm fan.
Now let's look at the noise levels for both idle and load.
Like with any Noctua cooler, the NH-U9B SE2 is whisper quiet in idle mode and you can hardly hear the fans spinning. Anything below ~45 dBA is considered to be silent and the NH-U9B SE2 stays well below that.
Even under full load the NH-U9B SE2 still manages to stay below 40 dBA which is very impressive!
With the NH-U9B SE2 out of the way, let's now focus a little bit on the NH-L12.
The Intel stock cooler got obliterated by both the NH-L9i and the NH-L12. The NH-L12 kept the load temperature all the way down to 64c while Intel's stock cooler was going through the roof with temperatures all the way to 94c and almost reaching 100c. This just goes to show that the Intel stock cooler is sheer garbage and should be run over by a tank!
Conclusion
People recognize Noctua products when they see one because of the color scheme that they use on their fans and that's what makes Noctua unique from different manufactures. Noctua has gained a lot of positive recognition in the cooling market because of their exceptional CPU coolers and amazing fans. Noctua has an outstanding customer service that is hard to beat and many people would agree with this. The only negative that some people might have with Noctua's products in general is the color scheme which might not be a problem for some of you but for modders it could be a deal breaker.
The Noctua NH-U9B SE2 performed relatively well and even though it did not hold the performance crown in our bench tests, it wasn't designed to handle the 3770K at 4.6Ghz in the first place. The NH-U9B SE2 is a compact cooler that it is obviously not aimed at extreme overclockers but instead at users who are into small form factor systems. The NH-L12 on the other hand took us by storm and it showed Intel's stock cooler who's the boss. It completely destroyed the Intel stock cooler both in idle and under load so Noctua gets a big thumbs up for designing another amazing low profile cooler.
Pros:
+ Superb Performance
+ Excellent Build Quality
+ Extremely Quiet Fans
+ Super Easy installation thanks to the SecuFirm 2
+ Top-Notch Packaging and Accessories
+ Great For SFF and HTPCs
+ Four Heatpipe Design
+ 6 Year Warranty/MTBF 150,000 Hours
+ Amazing thermal compound (NT-H1)
Cons:
- Pricey
- Might Interfere With RAM Modules
- Limited 95W TDP (NH-L12)
Overall, both the NH-U9B SE2 and the NH-L12 come packed with whisper quiet fans and come loaded with a ton of useful accessories. SecuFirm2 makes the installation process so easy that it's not even funny. The NT-H1 thermal compound that Noctua includes is also top notch. The TIM is much heavier and thicker than Artic Silver 5 but it is still easy to spread around. Noctua is not only great at making CPU coolers and fans but also thermal compounds which not many people are aware of. The customer service is a bonus if you ask me because if the fans ever stop working, Noctua will send you new ones free of charge!
The NH-U9B SE2 and NH-L12 retail on Newegg for $52.99 and $69.99 respectively which might be a little bit expensive for some people, especially the NH-L12.
The Noctua NH-L12 is able to handle pretty much all processors just fine if they are running at stock settings but you have to remember that it should be used with care on CPUs with more than 95W TDP.
The NH-L12 is the best low-profile CPU cooler that we have come across and we strongly recommend it if you are in need of a small and super quiet cooler.
You also saw that the NH-L12 stomped all over Intel's stock cooler and put it in its place.
With all that being said, we are proud to give the NH-L12 our Gold Award and the NH-U9B SE2 our Highly Recommended Award.
NH-L12
Final Score 9.6
NH-U9B SE2
Final Score 8.8
