Noctua NH-D15, NH-U12S, NH-L9x65 version AM4 |Specs | Price

Hi all !

We are back at Noctua today after a little while without any real news with an update of some flagship models for the very latest socket from AMD, the AM4! Three models are available, the NH-D15, NH-U12S and NH-L9x65. Of course, as usual, the brand sends the AM4 compatible kit free of charge to owners of a cooler purchased before the socket was released, as long as it is compatible, you can find the list here and here.
The price does not change compared to the “classic” versions, namely 44.90 € for the NH-L9x65, 59.90 € for the NH-U12S and 89.90 € for the NH-D15, let’s see what that gives on an AMD processor!

In terms of characteristics there is nothing that changes compared to classic models, the NH-D15 is still as monstrous with its 1.32 kg for 16.5 x 15 x 16.1 cm and equipped with 6 heat pipes and 2 fans, the NH- U12S is more compact with 755 g for 15.8 x 12.5 x 7.1 cm with its 12 cm fan and the NH-L9x65 is of course suitable for boxes that do not have much space with 413 g for 6.5 x 9.5 x 9.5 cm.
Noctua has therefore decided to cover all the scenarios a bit in order to allow all future buyers to have a cooler for their case, regardless of the size of the latter.
I would not dwell on the unboxing as well as the presentation of the models because it has already been done for these 3 models, you can see it all here for the NH-D15, here for the NH-U12S and here for the NH -L9x65.

In order to adapt to the AM4 socket, Noctua has therefore adapted its fixing system, nothing very complicated to set up but I will show you how it works in general!

First of all, the first thing to do is to unscrew the 4 screws and remove the 2 pieces of plastic to make room for the Noctua fixing system.

We then take the 4 plastic supports that we place on the 4 holes available around the processor.

Then just place the 2 metal plates and screw them, the plates can change according to the desired orientation of the cooler or the model, everything is however marked on the manual (which it is good to read ladies and gentlemen 😀).

The test platform

The Noctua coolers have been tested on the configuration below:

• Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 1700X
• Motherboard: Asus Prime X370 Pro
• Memory: Crucial Ballistix tactical DDR4 2 x 8 Go 2666 MHz
• Hard disk: Crucial MX300 750 Go
• Graphic card: Sapphire Toxic 5850
• Food: Seasonic X650

The coolers will be tested once with the processor at its original frequency and once overclocked to 3.8 Ghz powered by a voltage of 1.32V, this will allow to see how they behave with a big increase in heat release. Of course considering the small size of the NH-L9x65 it will not be tested with the overclocked processor, it is not made for that anyway 😉

Temperatures – Stock

As we can see the NH-D15 and NH-U12S have really no trouble keeping the temperatures of the R7 1700X very correct, the NH-D15 manages to drop to 53 ° when the fans are in 12V against 56.5 ° in PWM and 61 ° in 5V, very good results. The NH-U12S meanwhile is logically less good because of its small size but holds the road perfectly with 60 ° in 12V for 65 ° in PWM, in 5V on the other hand the temperature rises to 71.5 °, it does not matter in itself but we can still see that with a single fan running at low speed, you should not ask for too much 🙂
The NH-L9x65 with its small size manages to keep the processor at 75 °, which is clearly not as good as its big brothers but in a small case it will do just fine.

Noise nuisance – Stock

Attention : Part to be taken with a grain of salt, unfortunately not having access to adequate equipment and using an android application to take the readings the measurements below are only indicative! The readings were taken 15cm from the cooler. The ambient sound level recorded is 31 dB.

When the fans of the NH-D15 and NH-U12S are at 5V it will not be easy to distinguish them from the ambient noise level in the room, namely 31 dB, as usual Noctua fans are excellent. Once powered by PWM the NH-D15 arrives at 37 dB which is quite good and will certainly be less noisy than the graphics card or even the fans of the box, same observation for the NH-U12S and its 36 dB, as of usual Noctua provides very good fans.
Once in 12V on the other hand and logically the sound level increases, arriving at 45 dB for the NH-D15 and 41 dB for the NH-U12S, unless you really want to have the maximum performance it is clearly better leave in PWM.
The small fan of the NH-L9x65 on the other hand runs quickly and with its 46 dB it is clearly noisy, nothing too surprising however given the small size of the radiator.

Temperatures – Overclocking

Once overclocked the processor gives off much more heat, not surprisingly when we talk about a processor equipped with 8 cores. The NH-D15 does not seem to have much of a problem, 62 ° in PWM for 60.5 ° in 12V and 69.5 ° in 5V, so it is perfectly suited to a generous overclocking, logical via the size of the beast. !
The NH-U12S and its smaller size also do well, with 73.5 ° in PWM and 66.5 ° in 12V. In 5V on the other hand the test could not be finished, the fan turns too slowly and the heatsink cannot contain this heat release, nothing very surprising, ventilation is needed at this level 😉
The NH-L9x65 of course is not made for that and cannot contain the onslaught of the overclocked R7 1700X.

Noise nuisance – Overclocking

The sound level of the fans set to 5V and 12V does not of course change so there is not much to say about it. When they are managed in PWM on the other hand the sound level necessarily increases compared to what can be observed on the processor at its original frequency. 38 dB for the NH-D15 and NH-U12S, it remains really very discreet and should not pose the slightest problem unless you are very picky about the general noise level of the machine but once again at this level the card graphics will most certainly be noisier.

Here we are at the end of this presentation, what to say about the Noctua AM4?
The 3 coolers presented today are nothing new but Noctua has decided to make them directly compatible with the new AMD processors. In the end we always have a build quality and a flawless finish and the fans are excellent.
If you are looking for a cooler that will have the maximum performance then the NH-D15 is for you, if you have the space to fit it on the motherboard and in the case. The NH-U12S meanwhile allows it to be installed in many more different configurations with a size much smaller than its big brother, the performance is of course less good but largely sufficient to keep a processor cool.
Finally, the NH-L9x65 is definitely suitable for boxes that have very little space, it will be sufficient for a processor at the original frequencies but if you plan to overclock it will be necessary to move towards a more imposing model.
Offered at € 89.90, € 59.90 and € 44.90 respectively for the NH-D15, NH-U12S and NH-L9x65, Noctua’s AM4 coolers are as usual expensive, but that’s the price to pay for quality 🙂

A big thank you to Jakob from Noctua who allowed me to do this test.

Where to find the Noctua AM4?

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