Noctua Rolls Out A Pair of Low-Profile AM4 Coolers

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Noctua has updated a pair of low-profile coolers to make them compatible with AMD’s AM4 socket.

The Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 was originally spotted at the company’s Computex booth earlier this year. With an overall height of just 37mm, this highly compact, low-profile cooler is designed specifically for small form factor and HTPC systems equipped with an AM4 socket processor. The company boasts 100% RAM and PCI-E compatibility on mini-ITX motherboards.

Although still considered a low-profile heatsink, the NH-L12S is much taller than the NH-L9a-AM4, standing at 70mm. Noctua has basically taken the original NH-L12, replaced the lower fan with a NF-A12x15 and removed the top fan entirely. This shaves 23mm off the height of the cooler without sacrificing much in the way of cooling performance. The included fan clips not only support the included slimline 15mm-thick fan but also much larger standard 120 x 25mm fans as well.

Both coolers feature a nickel-plated copper base and heatpipes bonded to an array of aluminum fins. Noctua ships these coolers with a low-noise adapter (LNA) for near silent fan operation. The company warns that, although these coolers offer "first-rate performance in their class," they are not suitable for overclocking and are only recommended for CPUs/APUs with up to 95W TDP.

These coolers are currently shipping and will be available soon. The NH-L9a-AM4 has a $40 price tag; the NH-L12S will set you back an additional $9.