Noctua SFF Cooler Roundup: Testing Small Coolers Against Intel’s Core i9-13900K

Noctua SFF Cooling Roundup
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

For many enthusiasts, Austrian company Noctua represents the pinnacle of PC Cooling. Known for top-tier cooling designs like the NH-D15S, as well as its distinctive brown fans, Noctua has earned and maintained a loyal following since its founding in 2005. With its focus on quiet fans and capable, often high-end, coolers, the company has often landed on our list of best CPU coolers

But instead of focusing on massive metal tower coolers like the NH-P1, today we’ll be taking a look at five of Noctua’s small form factor (SFF) CPU coolers. You wouldn’t always want to pair these smaller coolers with top-end CPUs, we’ll be testing them with Intel’s Core i9-13900K to see just how much – or how little – they can handle in today’s world of thermally demanding processors.

Overview of the Coolers

As is obvious to anyone who has built a compact PC, SFF cases can have many constraints – and come in many sizes. As such, all the coolers we’re looking at here were designed for different scenarios. When building an SFF computer system, you’ll need to be aware of limitations caused by the case you’re using, the heatsinks of the motherboard you’re using, and/or the height of your RAM. As I found out during testing, what may work great in one SFF case may be fully incompatible in another.

NH-L9x65

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The NH-L9x65 is the second-smallest cooler we’ll be testing for this story. It’s similar to many other compact top-down air coolers but features a thicker heatsink and four heatpipes, instead of the standard two for coolers of this type. It stays within the Intel recommended 95x95mm footprint, which means that you’ll have full compatibility on any motherboard no matter how compact it’s components are.

NH-D9L

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

In many ways, the NH-D9L is a miniature version of Noctua’s NH-D15S. The NH-D9L operates like a standard desktop cooler, with a single fan in the middle of the cooler pushing the heat away from the reduced-size dual-tower heatsinks. It is fully RAM and PCI-e compatible with all Intel ITX motherboards, and most AMD-based motherboards.

NH-L12S

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The NH-L12S was designed for cases with height limitations, with a total height of only 70mm when the slim fan is installed underneath the heatsink fins. Its fan can be installed either underneath or below the heatsink. When the fan is installed at the top of the heatsink, it’s fully compatible with tall RAM, up to 48mm in height.

NH-L12 Ghost S1 Edition

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The NH-L12 Ghost S1 Edition is a revised version of the previous cooler, that has been revised to fit smaller spaces, specially designed for the Louqe Ghost S1 computer case. The changes include a reduced height compared to the NH-L12S; it’s only 66mm tall instead of 70mm. The length of the heatpipes has also been shortened, and they are on a narrower angle. Finally, it has a smaller 92mm fan instead of a 120mm fan on the standard NH-L12S.

NH-L9i-17XX

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The L9i-17xx is the most “basic” of the coolers we’re testing today. Its compact heatsink has only two heatpipes and a total height of just 37mm, making it ideal for the slimmest and most space-constrained environments. As such, it offers 100% RAM and PCI-e compatibility on all motherboards. We tested the Chromax black model, but if you prefer Noctua’s traditional brown and beige, the L9i-17xx is available in those colors, as well.

Testing Methodology and SFF Constraints

Modern high-end CPUs, whether Intel or AMD, are difficult to cool in intensive workloads. In the past, reaching 95C+ on a desktop CPU might have been a cause for concern – but with today’s processors, it’s considered normal operation. Similar behavior has been present in laptops for years due to cooling limitations in tight spaces. 

That said, SFF coolers aren’t designed to handle the full power of CPUs like Intel’s i9-13900K or Ryzen 7950X, and when using one the CPU will likely reach TJMax (the maximum temperature before throttling occurs) in many workloads. So if I were to apply the same standards I use for standard cooler testing to SFF coolers, most of them would simply fail. 

These compact coolers are designed to provide adequate cooling power in space-constrained environments, and as such many SFF builders prefer to use lower-power CPUs like AMD’s Ryzen 5 7600 or Intel’s i5-12400. Still, for today’s testing, we’ll be pairing them with Intel’s i9-13900K to see just how much – or little – these coolers can handle. But we’ll also be testing with different power limits, which will tell us a lot about how these coolers will perform with lower-end CPUs.

We’ll be evaluating these coolers based on their performance in 3 metrics:

1. Maximum noise levels

2. Maximum cooling performance

3. Noise normalized results with a 95W Power Limit.

These coolers will be tested in Silverstone’s SUGO 14 SFF case, which I chose for its versatility and features, including a 5.25-inch optical drive and full-size PSU support.  

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
Swipe to scroll horizontally
CPUIntel Core i9-13900KRow 0 - Cell 2
MotherboardGigabyte B660i Aorus Pro DDR4 Row 1 - Cell 2
CaseSilverstone SUGO 14 Row 2 - Cell 2
PSUSilverstone HELA 1300R PlatinumRow 3 - Cell 2

Originally I had planned to include comparison results here from Noctua’s competitors, including BeQuiet’s Shadow Rock LP and Iceberg Thermal’s IceFLOE T95. But I ran into compatibility issues which prevented this.

The B660i Aorus Pro motherboard has tall heatsinks for both the motherboard’s VRMs and for the NVMe SSD slot. As a result, the heatpipes of BeQuiet’s Shadow Rock LP were blocked by the heatsinks of the motherboard, no matter which direction I attempted to install it.

Noctua SFF Cooling Roundup

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

I also attempted to install Iceberg Thermal’s IceFLOE T95, but the mounting bars alone pushed against the DDR4 memory sticks, making it incompatible. Installing the cooler further would have pushed the RAM modules even more, a recipe for instability at best.

After encountering these issues and finding it strange that I didn’t run into similar problems with Noctua’s coolers, I reached out to a Noctua representative. He pointed out that the company works closely with motherboard manufacturers as well as Intel and AMD to ensure broad compatibility, while also noting that the expansive range of the company’s compact coolers lets builders choose the best option for their specific system.

Noctua also maintains a Compatibility Centre database that lets you check whether a given cooler is designed to work with specific CPUs, motherboards, cases, and RAM. 

Albert Thomas
Freelancer, CPU Cooling Reviewer

Albert Thomas is a contributor for Tom’s Hardware, primarily covering CPU cooling reviews.

  • Amdlova
    Wow great review :) too many noctuas in one review.
    You can test the thermalright coolers cheap as he'll
    Thanks man!
    Reply
  • edzieba
    While all the coolers we tested here were able to handle Intel’s Core i9-13900K to some degree, you’ll probably want to stick with lower-end CPUs if opting for more compact coolers. Because even if your cooler can technically move a high amount of heat away from your CPU, that heat still needs to escape from your case quickly, or it’s just going to be heating up your other components. And if your case requires one of the smallest SFF coolers, there’s a good chance its internal airflow is also likely to be limited compared to larger cases.
    With the exception of 'fashion' cases (e.g. acrylic cubes or designs intended to hide all ventilation behind cosmetic panels) an SFF case will usually fare far better than a full size case here. When you have such a tiny volume of air to vent and such small distances between component fan and external intake, case volume changes per minute can be pretty ludicrous. On top of that, intake ducting can net you some serious thermal benefits for very little by turning every component fan into a direct intake with no recirculation, effectively matching performance with an open-air test rig.
    Reply
  • Phaaze88
    Amdlova said:
    You can test the thermalright coolers cheap as he'll
    This could be Thermalright's fault more than the reviewer's, so perhaps the pitchforks and torches should be raised at them instead?
    If requested, I'm sure Noctua has no problem sending out review samples.
    As for Thermalright, I'm not sure what they're doing, but it may be connected to the lack of available reviews in english: https://www.techpowerup.com/reviewdb/CPU-Coolers/Air/Thermalright/
    Plus, if a reviewer has to purchase a sample with their own cash, they'll be less likely to do it, especially when other samples are on the way, or in their hands already.
    Reply
  • Albert.Thomas
    No pitchforks needed, folks. I do have contacts with Thermalright, I actually just finished their Phantom Spirit 120 on my Ryzen system, but there's only so much I can cram into a single review.

    I might look at SFF again in the future, but I don't want to continue to try working with the motherboard I have on hand with it's extra tall heatsinks - too many compatibility issues. If I do, I'll probably use my 7700X instead of the i9-13900K, any recommendations for AM5 mITX motherboards?
    Reply
  • Phaaze88
    Albert.Thomas said:
    No pitchforks needed, folks. I do have contacts with Thermalright, I actually just finished their Phantom Spirit 120 on my Ryzen system, but there's only so much I can cram into a single review.
    Hey, good to hear!
    Toms and TPU are 2 sites I frequent, and there would be at least one comment in the cooler reviews requesting more Thermalright, as well in Youtube comments.


    I wish they had a larger presence in the US. Their availability and support is not quite there yet.
    Only available through Amazon and Newegg now; other sites have dropped off the radar.
    Thermalright Direct 1/2/3 is the seller. That may have changed since the last time I looked through.

    If the packaging doesn't come with the bracket you need for a cpu, can you request the correct one shipped to you free of charge, or will you be directed to purchase it instead?
    Reply
  • Giroro
    For what it is, I like the NH-L9x65. But it should be priced below $30, not $60.
    Once you're in the $60+ price range, a small AIO is going to be a better choice for most people.
    Reply
  • helper800
    Albert.Thomas said:
    I might look at SFF again in the future, but I don't want to continue to try working with the motherboard I have on hand with it's extra tall heatsinks - too many compatibility issues. If I do, I'll probably use my 7700X instead of the i9-13900K, any recommendations for AM5 mITX motherboards?
    ITX boards all tend to have tall surrounding heatsinks. If I had to pick one ITX board, maybe the Gigabyte B650 Ultra. It seems like a decent board, but I don't know if you need any of the extras that come with the X670E, or the B650E boards.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    Thanks for the roundup! I know it's on the larger side, but I think it would've been nice to include the NH-C14S as it would round out their selection of down-draft coolers. Plus, the height isn't so bad, if you mount the fan underneath - only 5 mm taller than the NH-D9L!
    https://noctua.at/en/products/cpu-cooler-retail/nh-c14s
    I'm personally very interested in it.
    Reply
  • greenreaper
    Noctua has the NA-FD1 as well to provide a custom-sized duct to a mesh case intake - in my experience it was good for another 5-10 W of cooling on a 7600 in a Chopin Max case.

    They will even send you some bolt extenders if you want to put a bigger 25mm fan on the cooler with the duct (though I suspect it also has to be about as fast RPM-wise to gain any benefit).

    I put another fan outside the mesh pointing into the duct to raise the main fan RPM for another ~5 W.
    Reply
  • Amdlova
    The noctua thing is made for enthusiasts people who love to hear the butterflies. Thermalright in other hand will attract the people who wants build the first PC cheap build... (new public to the site). Easy to find a thetmaltight on sub 500 build than a noctua one grand build. (Yeah and pitchfork the thermalright (where is the new ultra 120 extreme cooper edition)
    Reply