- Review -

14.02.2018 PCTechReviews.com.au

It’s easy to compare coolers based on their thermal performance alone but low profile coolers like the L9a (AMD) and L9i (Intel) from Noctua are designed to address the space constraint as the priority. The design team at Noctua met the brief with the NH-L9i years ago and has again delivered with the NH-L9a-AM4 for Ryzen processors. There is always a compromise when miniaturising a build to ITX, we compromise on PCIe slots, hard drive bays, an optical drive and perhaps limit our graphics card choices. The CPU cooler is no different – luckily for us, Noctua has reduced the acoustic and thermal cost of selecting an air cooler not much bigger than a high-end water block. For those who need the lowest profile Ryzen cooler they can get and don’t want something that screams like a banshee, just buy this.

"Low profile coolers like the L9a (AMD) and L9i (Intel) from Noctua are designed to address the space constraint as the priority. The design team at Noctua met the brief with the NH-L9i years ago and has again delivered with the NH-L9a-AM4 for Ryzen processors." (Phil Carroll, PCTechReviews.com.au)