By Joel Hruska In the enthusiast CPU cooler industry, "high-end" is virtually synonymous with "girnormous six-pound monstronsity." While such heatsinks are often extremely good at their jobs, they also often require ATX towers to function properly and can be difficult to ship while mounted to the motherboard. The NH-L9i cooler is tiny by comparison, but still outperforms a standard CPU cooler.
This low-profile cooler is just 37mm tall—small enough to fit into the mini-ITX system we built from a Rosewill RS-MI-01 BK mini-ITX case. It's narrow enough to fit under even the heatsink in the tiny case we tested—it actually fits slightly better than the default Intel stock cooler on the Intel Core i7-3770K.
Noctua doesn't have the brand-recognition of Coolermaster or Thermaltake, but there are some product features that we particularly like. For starters, Noctua does its best to guarantee future socket compatibility. In many cases, the company will send you a free socket conversion kit to allow an older cooler to mount to a newer socket, with proof of motherboard purchase. This isn't always possible, but the company lists nine previous coolers that can be upgraded with a free conversion kit to support Intel's new LGA1150 socket, one Xeon conversion kit that isn't covered under the free offer but is available for purchase, and one AMD cooler that's physically incompatible.
This is a particularly useful feature when you consider that CPU TDPs haven't really changed in years. The first desktop chips with a 115W TDP came to market over ten years ago, and neither AMD nor Intel has pushed the thermal envelope much since. AMD has released a handful of CPUs with a 125W TDP and Intel has done a few 130W chips, but both companies have emphasized lower-power parts for the last five years. There's no reason a five-year-old cooler from the first Core i7 launch can't handle a modern CPU, and Noctua's upgrade policy reflects that reality.
The other reason we like Noctua's work is that the company pays attention to every last detail. Noctua's heatsinks come with color illustrations and step-by-step guides for installation on both Intel and AMD hardware. A screwdriver, thermal paste, and multiple fan headers are always included. Everything you might need to assemble the final product, including the incidentals, comes in the box.
Noctua's website actually takes note of two motherboards where the cooler may not fit if rotated in certain directions and gives information on how to properly mount the heatsink when using the GA-H77N-Wi-Fi. The company notes while the heatsink may make very slight contact with a coil close to the socket, "As the coil is protected by a plastic housing and the pressure on the housing is minimal, there is no risk of short circuits or other damage." Photo documentation is also included. This is the sort of information enthusiasts need, and it's great to see the manufacturer explaining and documenting the situation.
We tested the Noctua against an Intel stock cooler using the Gigabyte GA-H77N-WiFi and the Rosewill RS-MI-01. The power supply hangs directly over the CPU fan, with an exhaust fan pointed directly at it, thus creating a less-than optimal cooling environment. Short of stuffing the case with dust, this is a fairly worst-case scenario. We tested our Core i7-3770K at idle, at load (after looping Cinebench 3x) and after 10 minutes of running Prime 95 for peak temperatures.
At idle, with the case closed, both coolers hit 33C. That's not surprising; Intel's stock cooler is more than capable of handling the chip's minimal power output. Under load, a significant differential opened up between the two, with the stock cooler hitting 89C and the Noctua DH-9i topping out at 72'C. The gap is similar after 10 minutes in Prime 95. The Intel Core i7-3770K with a stock cooler actually hits 104'C, a hair under its automatic throttle temperature. The Noctua, in contrast, keeps the chip under 90 degrees Celsius.
Now, 90 degrees Celsius is still hot enough to make a body uncomfortable, especially if you've been an enthusiast long enough to remember when that kind of CPU temperature meant a melted socket was coming in your future. Today, these problems just aren't as big a deal as they used to be. We've discussed this with Intel on several occasions and been told that a CPU can run at 90' to 95'C for years without ill effect. Also, remember that this is a thermal stress test running in a worst-case scenario with no additional fans and using what was, until just recently, Intel's highest-end mainstream CPU.
If you need a low-profile cooler, the Noctua NH-L9i is a great one. If you have a bit more room to spare, Noctua has a full line of hardware that'll fit in a wide range of cases. This makes it our Editors' choice for CPU coolers.
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