A Closer Look
The first that strikes you about this cooler is just how small it is. Well, more accurately, thin. Standing at just 37mm tall, this is clearly primarily designed for mini-ITX systems. Albeit, it should be noted that we see no reason at all why this couldn’t be a suitable option for practically any type of build!
With its sleek chromax.black design, it certainly looks a bit different than the unusual remit seen (or expected) from Noctua products. No traces of beige, cream or brown can be found here! It is, however, a style that it carries and bloody well too!
There is, of course, a few little aesthetic touches and chief among these is the Noctua logo which has been embossed into the side of the radiator. It’s a small, but nice touch that adds to the overall design.
RAM compatibility is no issue either as the cooler should sit nicely over the processor without coming anywhere close to your memory. Well, not close enough to cause any problems at least! So far, this is looking very good indeed. Let’s take a closer look at some of the individual aspects of it!
Contact Plate
The contact plate for the Noctua NH-L9i is amazingly smooth and shiny which should, all going well, provide some excellent heat transference. With its generous size also, this should provide excellent coverage whether you’re using an AMD or Intel CPU platform.
Radiator
With an integrated fan design, it’s honestly more than a bit difficult to get a good look at the radiator. Well, perhaps more specifically, a good photograph of it. As you can see below, however, the radiator has been incorporated with the mounting system to ensure it is as large as possible while remaining within the remits of its low-profile design.
Fan
With a slim 120mm fan, this provides excellent coverage for the radiator. Being a Noctua own design as well, this should (all going well) result in some nice temperature control while keeping noise levels to an acceptable (if not great) level!
Overall
Overall, this looks like a truly excellent design from Noctua and, with the added bonus of its sleek chromax.black design, will undoubtedly solve one of Noctua’s biggest criticisms. Namely, that their usual coloring choices haven’t been for all tastes.
Looking good, however, is only one aspect of this review. Let’s get this fitted to our system, see how easy that is, and then crack on with the testing!
