INTRODUCTION

   Space is not something we all have in abundance either in our homes or offices so it's no wonder that many consumers tend to prefer micro-ATX and mini-ITX cases for their new systems over mid and full towers (such cases are actually doing considerably well in terms of sales). HTPCs however have never really been my thing, even almost a decade ago when i got to test some cool looking cases (not to mention expensive) with integrated LCD screens on them that still wasn't quite enough to change my mind. Still many friends of mine are into HTPCs so whenever i have the chance to test something from that segment of the market i take it and so today I’ll be testing the latest NH-L9i Chromax.Black Low-Profile CPU Cooler by our friends over at Noctua.

   Designed in Austria, Noctua’s premium cooling components are internationally renowned for their superb quietness, exceptional performance and thoroughgoing quality. Having received more than 6000 awards and recommendations from leading hardware websites and magazines, Noctua’s fans and heatsinks are serving hundreds of thousands of satisfied customers around the globe.

   Like all previous Chromax.Black CPU coolers the NH-L9i Chromax.Black is basically a re-release of the award winning NH-L9i low-profile model by Noctua released back in late 2012 (review here), but instead of silver (nickel for the heatsink) and brown (for the fan) this is all-black. So once again we have almost the same 23mm tall aluminum & copper body (54 aluminum fins / 56 with the front and rear ones - design has changed slightly however between models) which Noctua has paired with the same 14mm thick NF-A9x14 PWM 92mm fan (2500RPM/33.8CFM/23.6dBA). This combination results in a very compact zero-interference (with mainboard components and RAM) model that stands just 37mm tall. The NH-L9i Chromax.Black is also covered by a 6 year limited warranty.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The NH-L9i Chromax.Black gets shipped inside a black box that has a product picture at the front right beneath the product name and company logo.

The product specifications are printed on the right side of the box while a few words about the original NH-L9i are printed on the left side of the box.

At the rear of the box we find yet another product picture and quick descriptions of the main features.

Noctua has placed the entire bundle inside a formed piece of black foam.

Along with the NH-L9i Chromax.Black you're also getting a low-noise fan adapter (L.N.A.), NT-H1 thermal paste tube, Noctua metal case badge, installation instructions for LGA 115X Intel systems and all the necessary mounting hardware to install the cooler on Intel LGA 1150/1151/1155/1156 mainboards (AMD AM4 mainboards are also supported with the optional NM-AM4-L9aL9i bracket).

THE NH-L9I CHROMAX.BLACK

Measuring 37mm in height, 95mm in width and 95mm in depth the 380g heavy NH-L9i Chromax Black is not only lighter compared to the original L9i but it's front/rear fins also look different.

As usual the company logo is engraved on the front fin.

Taking a look from the side we can clearly see the 54 aluminum fins (56 with the far left/right ones) and again a slight difference in design.

The NF-A9x14 HS-PWM 92mm fan used can hit speeds of up to 2500RPM to produce up to 33.8CFM of airflow with just 23.6dBA of noise.

From the above picture you can clearly see all of the fins.

Only the copper base is nickel plated and features a mirror-like finish.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   As we have stated in the past the Intel I7-3770k system is not located in our lab and so it's obviously not our primary choice when testing CPU Coolers. Still since HTPC/SFF models shouldn’t be used with our overclocked Core I7-3930k we have decided to take this path whenever one such model lands at our doorstep. As always our first concern is ambient temperatures so once again we keep the room temperature to around 21-23 degrees (not really hard but unfortunately not 100% accurate as in our lab) and as always to successfully record the load temperatures we use the latest OCCT application (for around 6-10 minutes) to push the processor to its limits so we can record its temperatures. After that is done, we wait for about 10-20 minutes for the CPU to cool down and record the idle temperatures. This is done to allow time for the thermal conductive material to achieve the optimal performance level. Same procedure was then repeated with the Passmark BurnIn Test as a failsafe just in case the OCCT results were off. As many of you have pointed out time and again this procedure takes a lot more time than the usual peltier/thermometer tests but this way not only can we deliver real world results based on real CPUs but we can also triple check the results using a variety of programs. Last but not least the temperatures are recorded using both the latest versions of AIDA64 and RealTemp while the noise level tests are performed using a high precision ExTech HD600 Decibel Meter placed about 10-15cm above the CPU Cooler.

TEST RESULTS

CONCLUSION

   Even though the original NH-L9i CPU Cooler by Noctua didn’t blow me us with its cooling efficiency it’s compact size, low profile, very good build quality and relatively good noise levels did make up for that, partially at least. 8 years later the new NH-L9i Chromax.Black doesn’t only look a lot better compared to its predecessor but its build quality is set at even higher levels and also produced better cooling efficiency (alas small) something which I honestly didn’t expect. Noise levels seem to also be improved slightly but that could just be due to the variable RPM of each model (the usual +-10% we see in terms of RPM).

   Currently the NH-L9i Chromax.Black Low-Profile CPU Cooler by Noctua retails for USD49.95 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 49Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) a price tag which is set roughly 20% over the “regular” NH-L9i model. At the end of the day it’s clear that the NH-L9i Chromax.Black improves on many aspects of its predecessor and even though it’s cooling efficiency is not quite the best out there (still good for the size) it scores very high on everything else which is why it certainly deserves our Golden Award.

PROS

- Excellent Build Quality
- All Black Model
- Low Profile (37mm)
- Zero Interference (RAM)
- Noise Levels
- 6 Year Warranty

CONS

- Cooling Efficiency Levels (Overall)