Noctua NH-L12 Low Profile CPU Cooler Review

Nocuta were founded in 2005 and back in 2006 we received our first samples from them, the NH-U9 and NH-U12. Somewhat surprisingly for a company which could be considered as a startup at that point those initial products were excellent offering low noise and high performance, two features that everyone looks for in coolers.

Over time Noctua further enhanced their product catalogue, tweaking the design of their coolers and finding a style which was both unique and attractive, something well demonstrated by the excellent NH-C14 which we reviewed back in June last year.

Recently Noctua expanded their product line further with the introduction of the NH-L12 which is designed for use in HTPC environments where space is at a premium. Today we have the NH-L12 on our test bench to find out if this dual fan, low profile cooler lives up to Noctuas high standard.

Packaging and Bundle


Noctua use a box with familiar styling for their latest cooler and on the front give us some decent information on the product features along with an arty image of the heatpipe design. Inside we find the cooler pre-assembled and protected on all sides with cardboard. A separate box sits on top holding the bundled items.


Bundled with the cooler we get installation brackets and items for socket 775, 1155, 1156, 1366 and 2011 as well as AM2/3/FM1. Also included are short manuals for AMD/Intel, extra fan wires, screwdriver and some NT-H1 thermal paste along with a case badge. One point worth noting is that separate screws are provided for use on mini-ITX boards that do not allow the use of a backplate.