CONCLUSION

   Having reviewed pretty much every single CPU cooler released by Noctua to date (at least for the consumer market) means that I know all too well that their products deliver on 3 things, cooling efficiency, build quality and noise levels. Now the NH-D12L may not be their highest performance model but it’s meant to deliver almost excellent cooling efficiency to compact mATX and mITX systems (even some rackmounts) and well, it does just that. Of course, even with a height of just 145mm the NH-D12L might still be too tall for some cases so I do recommend double checking before you finalize your purchase. Performance and size aside the NH-D12L delivers very good noise level results, even with two NF-A12x25r fans in push and pull configuration. Just like with every other Noctua CPU cooler mounting the NH-D12L onto your motherboard is very easy, attach the two brackets according to the socket, remove the NF-A12x25r fan from the cooler and then tight the screws onto the two brackets, that’s it.

   Noctua CPU coolers have long since been considered by the entire PC community as top notch so the NH-D12L’s retail price of USD89.95 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 99.90Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) is nothing out of the ordinary (the 2^nd NF-A12x25r fan will set you back an extra USD29.95/32.9Euros). For that you’re not only getting near excellent cooling efficiency but also superb build quality, low noise levels and a CPU cooler small enough to fit in mATX and mITX cases so the Golden Award is well deserved.

PROS

- Excellent Build Quality
- Compact (145mm / Zero Clearance Issues)
- Near Excellent Cooling Efficiency (Especially For Its Size)
- Dual Fan Solution
- Noise Levels
- Easy Installation
- 6 Year Limited Warranty

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- 145mm Tall (Might Still Be Too Tall For Some Cases)