Noctua NH-L12S review

pcgamer.com:

The Noctua NH-L12S is an impressive thing. Four heatpipes, a heatsink and a slender fan are all that is required to keep a modern processor running cool. Sure, it's a little sticky with high-end 14th Gen processors—few air coolers are capable enough for those—but it's ample cooling for a modern small form factor PC. And that's exactly what I've built.

The NH-L12S is a known quantity—it's been available for years now. Yet it remains a solid pick for a mini gaming PC in 2025. If it ain't broke…

I've rolled out two test systems for this cooler: one, fitted with an Intel Core i7 14700K; and the other, an AMD Ryzen 7 9700X. The former is our usual test bed for cooler reviews—there are no case fans to help the cooler out and the chip requires sufficient cooling for its high power draw up to 253 W. This is too big of an ask for a plucky low-profile cooler—though prepare to be mildly impressed later in this review—hence why I grabbed the 9700X off the shelf for my mini PC build. This AMD chip runs at a mere 65 W TDP, which is fantastic for small form factor.

The cooler itself is made up of nickel-plated copper heat pipes and plate connected to an aluminium heatsink. As I mentioned, there are four heatpipes, which all run the full length of the plate and through the heatsink.

Dimensions: 70 x 128 x 146 mm
RAM clearance: 48 mm (with fan mounted on top), 35 mm (with fan mounted inside)
Motherboard clearance: 66 mm (centre of plate to heatpipes)
Fan: 1x Noctua NF-A12x15 PWM
Max fan RPM: 1,850 (1,400 with included low-noise adapter)
Price: $65/£64

This cooler comes with a single fan, one Noctua NF-A12x15 PWM. This is the width and height as regular case fans and can get up to 1850 RPM, except it's slightly thinner than most. This allows it to be set-up in one of two ways: on top of the heatsink or sandwiched between the plate and heatsink. The former is the better option, as it leaves 48 mm of clearance for system RAM, while the latter offers only 35 mm.

First off, installation.