Test – Noctua D9L – Conseil Config : Specs | CPU | Hashrate | Review | Config

Hi all!

After the test of the Noctua NH-U9S we continue with the tests of the new small coolers at Noctua with the NH-D9L this time! The D9L version is the little brother of the NH-D15 but in a 9cm version, and as much to say that the difference in size is .. size! You take an NH-D15 and reduce it 3 times, and presto you get an NH-D9L. We are therefore in the presence of a “dual tower” cooler but which is designed for small spaces, including mini-ITX boxes, if it is in the line of its big brothers (NH-D14 and D15) it should be very performing for his size, let’s see what he has in his stomach!

The box takes all the colors and the layout of the brand, everything remains sober and you are not attacked by a surplus of marketing, only the main characteristics and a small message saying that the cooler is 100% compatible with 3U boxes (server format). The equipped fan is an NF-A9 PWM (tested here).

On the sides there is a listing of the different strengths of the cooler as well as the technical characteristics namely the dimensions, the maximum RPMs of the fans, the sound level, the weight etc. There will be everything you need here, not surprises!

Once the box is open we will of course find the Noctua tab, a very rigid box containing the bundle, with a listing of all the accessories present as usual!

Under the accessories compartment there is a box, this box is made of 2 cardboard molds, and sandwiched another box containing the precious NH-D9L! Suffice to say that the beast is very well packaged as usual at Noctua and that it will be necessary to go there to damage it during transport

Here is the beast! The first thing that strikes you is the small size of the NH-D9L, it has 4 heat pipes compared to the NH-U9S which has 5. The build quality is of course and as usual at Noctua simply perfect, nothing is wrong. protrudes, the fins are not twisted, everything exudes quality. A little tour of the owner is in order!

Since the fan is placed in the center the 2 faces are identical, namely 35 aluminum fins welded to the 4 heat pipes. The quality of manufacture is, as usual, simply excellent, nothing to say about it.

In profile and as I just said the fan is sandwiched between the 2 towers, the fan protrudes in height, and yet it is only a 9.2cm fan here which suggests the size of the machine in the hands!

Below we find the usual finish at Noctua with the name of the brand engraved on each tower, nothing out of the ordinary here!

The finish is once again excellent, the surface in contact with the processor has a mirror effect with arcuate grooves, like all the other coolers of the brand.

The bundle consists of:

• 1 vented Noctua NH-D9L
• 1 tube of thermal paste
• 1 kit de fixation Intel
• 1 kit de fixation AMD
• 1 LNA adapter
• 1 Phillips screwdriver
• 2 clips for an additional fan (not supplied)
• 1 Noctua metal sticker
• The different manuals

As usual with Noctua the bundle is really very well supplied, nothing will be missing to connect the NH-D9L, thermal paste, clips for another fan, an LNA adapter for a more controlled noise and even the eternal Noctua metal sticker. There is really nothing to say the bundle does not suffer from any defect.

As we can see the Noctua NH-D9L is compatible with all the sockets on the market (exit socket 775 however, it has had its day!) Whether it is Intel or AMD, its dimensions are really very contained with only 11 cm high for 9.5 cm wide and 9.5 cm deep with the fan installed, it will therefore be very suitable in small cases and servers in 3U format. The weight is rather important for a cooler of this size with 531g fan included but 88g lighter compared to the NH-U9S. Despite its small size, Noctua did not hesitate to install 4 nickel-plated copper heat pipes in its youngest, which suggests very good performance. It is of course possible to install a second fan there in order to have better cooling (which I would do during the tests).
The fan is therefore an NF-A9 PWM (tested here) which runs at a maximum speed of 2000 RPM and 1550 RPM with the LNA adapter, the MTBF of the fan is 150,000 hours so there will normally be no worry about the lifetime, as usual with Noctua.
The price is 49.90 € (5 € less than the NH-U9S), in general when we think of Noctua we think of high-end and high price, that does not change here! The 6-year warranty and the excellent Noctua after-sales service are still there.

The assembly does not change from other Noctua products and turns out to be as usual very simple and fast, let’s go!
To start, you have to put the back plate under the motherboard, being careful to put it in the right direction:

Then put the black plastic spacers like this:

Once done, all you have to do is put the 2 fixing plates:

Then you have to screw them, and once made to pose a grain of rice of thermal paste, like this:

Then nothing could be simpler, you have to put the radiator (without the fan) on the processor and screw at both ends!

Once screwed, simply put the fan back in place and you’re done!

PCIe and memory compatibility

As usual the big fear when buying a cooler is compatibility with the motherboard, by that I mean the memory as well as the PCIe port which can be stuck to the socket. Let’s see what this gives for the first PCIe port first:

No problem there, there is enough space not to have to worry about a possible incompatibility with the first PCIe port. Now let’s remember:

There again no problem, the Corsair Vengeance installed is doing wonderfully and absolutely does not touch the cooler, even installed in the closest slot.

The test platform

The Noctua NH-D9L has been tested on the configuration below:

• Processor: Intel Core i7 875K @ 3,2 Ghz
• Motherboard: Asus P7P55D
• Memory: Kingston HyperX 4 x 2 Go 1600Mhz
• Hard disk: WD Raptor 150 Go
• Graphic card: Sapphire Toxic 5850
• Food: Seasonic X650

The test protocol

The core i7 875K has been slightly overclocked to 3.2Ghz. The temperatures under load are an average of all the cores for 3 tests of 30 minutes on OCCT, the temperatures at rest were taken after 15mins on the desk (still an average of the 4 cores). All the tests will be done with a 5V, 12V and PWM fan managed by the motherboard then with a second fan.

The cooler has been tested against:

• be quiet! Pure Rock (tested here)
• be quiet! Dark Rock 3 (tested here)
• be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 3 (tested here)
• Noctua NH-U9S (tested here)
• Noctua NH-U12S (tested here)
• Noctua NH-U14S (tested here)
• Noctua NH-D15 (tested here)
• Scythe Mugen 4 PCGH (tested here)
• Thermalright HR01 + 1 Nexus real silent 120 fan (tested here)

The temperatures

As we can see the Noctua NH-D9L is quite capable of cooling the slightly overclocked Core i7 875K in very good conditions, only the configuration with 1 single fan in 5V shows signs of weakness with 73 °, even if this remains largely within the specifications of Intel. In 12V and in PWM whether with 1 or 2 fans the temperatures are really excellent with 54 ° (2 fans), 59 ° (1 fan) in 12V and 58 ° (2 fans), 61 ° (1 fan) in PWM . There is no doubt that the little D9L is really quite capable despite its small size.
We can also note that the temperatures are very similar to the Noctua NH-U9S even if they are very slightly better with the latter.

Noise pollution

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

Once again I am surprised by the noise pollution of the NH-D9L, they are really very good in 5V (inaudible) and in PWM with 39dB, in 12V on the other hand the NH-D9L (just like the NH-U9S, the fans being identical the results are identical) is clearly heard and it will be good practice to lower the speed of rotation if one seeks to make a minimum silent PC. In 5V the fans do not suffer from any parasitic noise, you have to stick your ear to hear a very slight noise, in 12V as I said they are not silent but the noise remains very neutral because there is still no extraneous noise, only the sound of the air flow.
The best understood remains the PWM mode which will be quiet at rest and rather pleasant under load, with 39dB it will not break the ears and will most certainly be drowned out by the noise of the graphics card if of course the PC is equipped with it.

Here we are at the end of this test, what about the NH-D9L from Noctua?
Brother of the excellent NH-U9S but with a 3U server compatibility the NH-D9L offers a simply excellent build quality, the bundle is as usual very supplied, the assembly is very simple thanks to the secufirm2 system and memory compatibility as well as the first PCIe port is total! On the performance side it is almost on par with the NH-U9S and given its size is doing really well, whether with 1 or 2 fans. The noise pollution is very good except if the fan is supplied with 12V, the PWM mode will remain the best choice.

Available at a price of 49.90 € including VAT, the Noctua NH-D9L is an excellent choice when mounting a mini-ITX PC configuration, a very small HTPC or even a 3U server that is silent, due to its very good performance for its size.

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

Where to find the Noctua NH-D9L?

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