- Review -

26.05.2022 APHNetworks.com

The Noctua NH-D12L is from the familiar D-series lineup, and it comes with many similarities as we have seen from those coolers. Starting from the top, the same Noctua design and build quality is immediately seen. This translates into a dual fin stack design with the same excellent material choices of aluminum and copper with nickel plating. The difference with the NH-D12L is primarily its shorter clearance to make it even more compatible with slimmer enclosures like 4U server rackmount cases. Not only is the heatsink reduced in height, but Noctua has also modified their successful NF-A12x25 fan into a round frame, so we have all of the excellent performance and low noise to fit in this lower profile. Thankfully, this size change has not made a difference in the installation process, as it is up to Noctua standards in ease and simplicity. In terms of performance, the Noctua NH-D12L is clearly up to standards with a strong performance despite its cutdown size. It also maintains a quiet operation while still providing enough headroom for hotter processors. Adding a second fan does help this cooler perform even better, knocking a few more degrees off the load temperatures.

"The Noctua NH-D12L offers solid cooling performance and excellent compatibility to deal with physical constraints." (Aaron Lai, APHNetworks.com)