Page 4 - Conclusion
Did the NH-L9i-17xx have enough attitude up against powerful CPUs and hold its own against big coolers in our worst-case load tests? Considering this is an ultra-compact 95mm by 95mm cooler that is only 37mm tall with fan and weighs 430g, and I tested it on an Intel Core i7-12700K CPU using Prime95, its cooling performance was more than reasonable based on our test results. Sure, the processor was throttled at such an intense load, but what do you expect when you pair one of the smallest coolers with a 12-core, 20-thread processor? If you plan to build a small form factor PC and need a low-profile cooler, the NH-L9i-17xx should be able to keep up with a less powerful CPU. Even if you plan to use a Core i7-12700K, I doubt there are many day-to-day loads that will realistically push it this far. As always, the latest Noctua cooler has great build quality with excellent material choices of nickel-plated copper and aluminum in the appropriate areas. The company further throws in a 6-year warranty should anything go wrong. The stock NF-A9x14 HS-PWM fan is very reasonably quiet when not stressed, but you will be able to hear it under load. One area of improvement is to include the NT-H2 thermal paste rather than the NT-H1. It is not the NT-H1 is bad, but the NT-H2 is just better. For about $45 at press time, the NH-L9i-17xx is an affordable low-profile CPU cooler. If you prefer a stealthy matte black finish rather than the traditional Noctua color scheme, remember the chromax.black version is also available for an extra $10.
Noctua provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH Networks Review Focus Summary:
8/10 means Definitely a very good product with drawbacks that are not likely going to matter to the end user.
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks, but should be considered before purchasing.
-- Final APH Networks Numeric Rating is 7.5/10
Please note that the APH Networks Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other publications.
The Noctua NH-L9i-17xx is a low-profile CPU cooler that can fit anywhere and cool more than what its size suggests.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware; Installation
3. Test Results
4. Conclusion
