Noctua NH-L12S CPU Cooler Review

Admin Cooling 7107

Introduction

For our first CPU Cooler review this year we have another Noctua product. We are going to have a look at the Noctua NH-L12S, the successor to the award-winning NH-L12. The NH-L12S is a low profile cooler with a 120mm fan, up from the 92mm fan on the NH-L12, four heat pipes with Copper (base and heat-pipes), aluminium (cooling fins), and soldered joints & nickel plating. It’s aimed at the HTPC and Small Form Factor market, or even a Home Server if you need decent and quiet cooling.

The NH-L12S is supplied with Noctua’s patented SecuFirm2 mounting system too and is presented in the typical Noctua way, including the beige fans which set Noctua apart from the rest of the Cooling market.

We’ve had this for a while and retested due to the recent Intel bugs, just in case any of the issues invalidated the results and would like to thank Noctua for their understanding.

Specifications
ModelNH-L12S
Socket compatibilityIntel LGA2066, LGA2011-0 & LGA2011-3 (Square ILM), LGA1156, LGA1155, LGA1151, LGA1150
AMD AM2, AM2+, AM3, AM3+, AM4, FM1, FM2, FM2+ (backplate required)
Dimension (with fan)70 x 128 x 146mm (HxWxD)
Weight (with fan)520g
Heat pipes6mm heatpipe x 4 units
BaseCopper
RAM Height LimitRestricted (Adjustable)
FanNF-A12x15 PWM
Fan Dimension120 x 120 x 15mm
Fan Rated Speed450 - 1850 RPM (PWM-controlled)
Fan Noise Level16.8 - 23.9 dB(A)
Fan Air Flow70.8 m³/h - 94.2 m³/h
Fan Air Pressure0,9 mm - 1,53 mm H₂O
Fan MTTF> 150.000 h

The Noctua NH-L12S is a low profile CPU Cooler with a couple of fan options, including dual fans, when makes for some interesting setup options.

Noctua NH-L12S CPU Cooler Review

Package - 9
Performance - 8.5
Price - 8
Consumer Experience - 9

8.6

So, where do we stand with the Noctua NH-L12S CPU Cooler? We tend to keep a solid performer without going over the top for sound installed for all our tests until the next cooler comes along. This time it was the Cryorig H5 Universal, a good Cryorig offering. When we installed the NH-L12S and powered it on, there was a noticeable quiet in the air, it was not a perceptible sound coming from the fan unless you got up close.