INTRODUCTION

   Ever since i started building my own PC's back in the late 90's I’ve always used either large midi towers or full/super towers. The reasoning behind this has always been very simple, i just needed plenty of space for the largest hardware components available and also to easy install/remove them. On top of that i always wanted optimal airflow levels something which was easily achieved with the addition of extra fans so that too was important. Still, there's no denying that space is not something all people have in abundance (as a matter of fact i didn't either back then) so it's no surprise that many choose to build compact mATX and mITX systems. Interior space being an issue however for both mATX and mITX PC cases usually means limited room for a CPU cooler and that's exactly what Noctua is addressing with their latest NH-D12L model.

   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.

   The brand new Noctua NH-D12L may be just 145mm tall but it follows the typical U-type dual-tower (sandwich) design and so it's made out of two aluminum heatsinks connected by a total of five, 6mm all-copper nickel plated heatpipes (soldered with the main body of the heatsink for optimal performance). Each of the two heatsinks sports a total of 38 aluminum fins (76 fins in total, all closed on both sides) and as for the base it's made out of copper and is also nickel plated. As for fan Noctua this time over has used one of their round frame NF-A12x25r models which can spin up to 2000RPM to produce 60.1CFM of airflow with just 22.6dBA of noise. Needless to say, the NH-D12L can be paired with a 2nd fan in push & pull configuration (a second NF-A12x25r model was used in this review) and in terms of warranty Noctua covers the NH-D12L with a 6-year limited one.