Noctua NH-D12L Low Height Heatsink Review

There is quite a bit to talk about in this review so we will start with the basics.  The Noctua NH-D12L is designed to be a high-performance cooler using an extremely efficient 5-heatpipe dual tower design which combines one of the best 120mm fans you can buy.  The cooler features a low-height form factor at 145mm which is 13mm lower than a typical Noctua 120mm model with the intention of providing a high-quality cooling solution for many 4U enclosures and narrow PC towers.  These cases would normally be limited to a 92mm cooler which can be inadequate for most modern CPUs.

The design also features a 100% memory compatibility on systems with a dual channel memory including LGA1200/LGA1700 and AMD AM4/AM5 platforms.  I was able to install the NH-D12L on the ASUS Maximus XII Hero without issue while still having full access to install any memory module without altering the cooler. 

Those of you who are familiar with Noctua coolers will know about the excellent build quality that goes into each product.  The NH-D12L is no exception, every radiator fin is built from thick material which is mechanically stabilized to adjacent fins and each of the five available heatpipes. 

Overall, I find the NH-D12L to be an extremely good heatsink with a very innovative design.  As mentioned, the low-height design is targeted at the 4U chassis and narrow PC towers.  These systems have limited space and are typically forced to use an AIO design or go with a smaller 92mm or OEM cooler.  With the NH-D12L you can offer a better cooling solution without modification to the chassis.

Speaking of performance, when testing coolers, I often use the latest platform I have in the lab and as of this article that would have been the Core i9 13900K.  However, I have noticed that the newer Alder and Raptor Lake processors, while powerful, are not stable when it comes to testing heatsinks.  The internal temperatures cause the cores to throttle and give inaccurate expectations on cooler performance.  So, instead of downgrading to an appropriate Core i5 I decided to test on the older Core i9 10900K to better simulate an expected thermal load for this cooler and feel the results speak for themselves.

Innovative Low Height Design
Great 120mm Cooling Performance
Dual Tower Design
Excellent Performance
Noctua Mounting System

LGA 1200 and 1700 mounts easy to mix up