A single NF-A9 fan, a PWM fan, is supplied mounted. There is a spare set of sprung clips for another 92mm fan if needed.
Eight heat pipes take the heat away from the base.
The base is very polished, but it can always be taken further if required. If you rub thermal paste into the contact plate before mounting, this will fill a good number of scratches or imperfections that may cause performance issues.
Test Set Up
We tested the Noctua NH-D9L for sound and cooling performance using an i7 LGA2011 set up. We tested two configurations, stock with turbo and over clock with turbo.
- Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1
- Processor: Intel i7-5820K
- Motherboard: Asus Rampage V Extreme Motherboard
- Graphics: PNY XLR8 GeForce GTX 770
- Memory: 16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 2666Mhz
- Drives: 2 x 128GB SSDs OS RAID 0 (SanDisk SSD SATA III 128GB)
- PSU: Corsair HX1000i
- Chassis: MicroCool Banchetto 101 Chassis
Software used for load tests and temperature capture;
- HWiNFO64
- AIDA64 Extreme
We ran the AIDA64 Extreme stability test in 30 minute batches and recorded the results. We used the Core Max result as there was typically a variance across the cores of a couple of degrees. We only selected the cache, FPU and CPU tests, so no other component would generate impacting heat during the tests.
Fitting
Installing the Noctua NH-D9L wasn’t hard at all. You need to remove the central fan and use the supplied screwdriver but due to the small foot print, it doesn’t have access issues and it doesn’t clash with the surrounding motherboard and memory. We can’t really say much more about it, it was trouble free.
Next, more set up, and results.
Noctua NH-D9L CPU Cooler Review
Package - 9.2
Performance - 9
Price - 9
Consumer Experience - 9.5
9.2
It is not supposed to be a competitor to the be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 3 but it does a fine job none the less. If you want big block CPU cooler performance in your small chassis, this maybe for you. From a consumer experience point of view, there isn't anything bad about this cooler, and there is a lot good about it.
