Noctua Announces NH-L9i Low-Profile Coolers for 12th Gen Intel Core Processors

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Image: Noctua

Noctua has introduced two new NH-L9i low-profile CPU coolers for Intel’s latest socket, LGA 1700. Comprising the NH-L9i-17xx and NH-L9i-17xx chromax.black, they appear to be perfect for ultra-compact HTPCs and Small Form Factor (SFF) systems leveraging new Alder Lake processors such as the Core i9-12900K and Core i7-12700K. Both are available at Noctua’s official Amazon stores.

Image: Noctua

From Noctua:

At a height of only 37mm, the NH-L9i is ideal for extremely slim cases and, due to its small footprint, it provides 100 percent RAM and PCIe compatibility as well as easy access to near-socket connectors even on tightly packed mini-ITX motherboards. The custom-designed SecuFirm2 mounting system for the new LGA1700 socket makes installation a breeze and, thanks to the highly optimised NF-A9x14 92mm fan that supports fully automatic speed control via PWM, the NH-L9i-17xx runs remarkably quietly. Topped off with Noctua’s renowned NT-H1 thermal compound, the NH-L9i-17xx combines everything users have come to expect from Noctua’s larger coolers into a super-compact, premium-quality package for ITX and HTPC builds with Intel’s new 12th generation Core CPUs.

Retail pricing:

  • NH-L9i-17xx: EUR/USD 44.90
  • NH-L9i-17xx chromax.black: EUR/USD 54.90

“We’re very happy with the performance of the NH-L9i-17xx coolers on Intel’s new LGA1700 CPUs”, says Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO). “We have managed to dissipate up to around 160W on the Core i9-12900K, pushing it to over 4.2GHz, and up to 125W on the Core i5-12600K running at 4.3GHz. These are excellent results for such small coolers, making them fantastic options for highly compact Intel Z690 builds that pack a lot of processing power!”

Noctua additionally announced the NA-FD1 fan duct, a product that’s designed to improve the performance of NH-L9i and NH-L9a coolers in certain SFF environments.

From Noctua:

The new NA-FD1 fan duct kit makes it possible to significantly improve the performance of Noctua NH-L9i and NH-L9a series CPU coolers in Small Form Factor (SFF) environments where there is a gap of 5mm or more (up to 45mm) between the cooler and a perforated top or side panel. Bridging this gap, the duct prevents the cooler from taking in hot air from the interior and enables it to draw in fresh air from the outside through the perforated panel, which can, depending on the setup, improve CPU temperatures by as much as 5°C or more. As the duct is assembled from EVA foam spacers of different thickness , it is fully modular and can be adjusted in 1mm increments from 5mm to 45mm height in order to fit various different cases and configurations. In short, the NA-FD1 is a simple yet smart, flexible, and cost-effective way of boosting the efficiency of NH-L9a and NH-L9i series coolers!

“For Small Form Factor builds, we now highly recommend the optional NA-FD1 fan duct kit, both to customers choosing the new NH-L9i-17xx models and to users of the existing NH-L9i and NH-L9a heatsinks”, explains Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO). “It’s a simple yet highly effective way of boosting the performance of these coolers in compact cases. Tech-savvy enthusiasts have been creating similar ducts with their 3D printers for quite some time, but not everyone has the capabilities to do this, so we thought it would be great to offer an affordable, flexible duct kit that doesn’t require any special equipment or skills to set up.“

The NA-FD1 is available from Noctua’s official Amazon stores at a suggested retail price of EUR/USD 12.90.

Source: Noctua

Tsing Mui
News poster at The FPS Review.

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