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NH-L9i-17xx chromax.black

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The new version is NH-L9i-17xx chromax.black. A small competent cooler that keeps the noise level down and takes up incredibly little space. We've got it through the door, where it comes with LGA1700 mounting, and needs a CPU 12900K that is perhaps a little too large.

Before we go ahead and take a closer look at the NH-L9i-17xx chromax.black from Noctua, I have listed the specifications that I found on Noctua's website.

The technical specifications:

• Intel Socket: 1700
• Heat Pipes: Direct Touch
• Material: Copper, aluminum fins, soldered joints, nickel plating
• Fan Size: 1 x 95mm
• Fan Speed: 600 – 2500 rpm / Low noise adapter 600-1800 rpm
• Noise Level: 23.6 dBA / Low noise adapter 14.8 dBa
• Airflow: 57.5 m3/h / Low noise adapter 40.8 m3/h
• Size & Weight
• Length: 95 mm /w fan
• Width: 95 mm /w fan
• Height: 37 mm /w fan
• Weight: 430g/w fan

Around NH-L9i-17xx chromax.black

Noctua has always been a matter of compromise with appearance (Unless you were into the very special brownish colors), to get good performance and low noise level. With their new Chromax.black series, they have started to update their old coolers to create a more neutral look, but where the good properties we know are still kept. The NH-L9i-17xx chromax.black is no exception here as it is made for LGA1700 and brings with it the very neutral design which will be more palatable to customers.

In addition to the NH-L9i-17xx chromax.black, I also received the NA-FD1, which is a fan duct kit, to be able to create a direct connection with the side of the cabinet, which also makes the air that circulates around the cabinet not get directly impact on the CPU as it normally would. In the box for the NH-L9i-17xx chromax.black, we have, in addition to the cooler, cooling paste, mounting screws and a low noise adapter. Remember the adapter makes it will run slower in RPM, which can result in more heat.

An NF-A9x14 PWM 95mm fan is already installed from the start. Which does not need to be disassembled to mount the cooler on the motherboard. The cooler has a height of 37mm, which makes it ideal for smaller builds, such as HTPC, small form factor where space may be limited. Due to the small size, it also means that it will not go over the RAM slot or PCIe on, for example, an ITX motherboard.

Since it is made very compact, it also means that the heatpipes we normally see are hidden and almost integrated into the heatsinks. They have been soldered together to create the best connection, and ensure that the combination between copper and aluminum maintains the connection even after several years of use.

Assembly

Since the NH-L9i-17xx chromax.black only has to deal with one socket, they have been able to make some special screws that fit LGA1700. Therefore, nothing else needs to be used other than the 4 screws to be able to mount the cooler directly on the motherboard.

The Test – Use and Performance

List on test system

Test system

• MSI MEG Z690 Unify
• Intel I7 12900K
• Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti
• 32 GB HyperX Fury DDR5 5200 MHz CL36
• Samsung 970 EVO 500 GB SSD

Test software

• Cinebench (Benchmark)
• HWinfo64 (Monitoring)

Procedure

The test is set up so that we first warm up the system with Cinebench for 5 minutes. Then run it further for 10 minutes where we measure the average temperature in HWiNFO64. We then finally subtract the room temperature at the given time and land on a delta temperature to give as neutral a picture as possible. The fans are set to run at full speed, so that you get a picture of the maximum cooling performance with the load we are now giving it. It should give a real picture of how much you can stress on the different coolers, and whether they can take more or less than what we give it.

**After following up a bit on the I9 12900K and heat generation, I have chosen to turn off Hyper-Threading, to give the cooler the opportunity to show what it can do, rather than pushing the CPU to its maximum. All tests in the future will run like this.

The measurements:

Room temperature: ~ 27 degrees
Fan speed: ~ 2500 RPM

CPU WATT: ~ 145W

As always, we start by looking at the idle temperature. The NH-L9i-17xx chromax.black has a slightly high temperature here, but it is also undoubtedly working overtime right from the start. NH-L9i-17xx chromax.black has a delta temperature of 11 degrees.

If we put pressure on the machine, it didn't take long before it hit its max. Where the CPU could only provide 145W, and they hit 100 degrees. Which gave a delta temperature of 73 degrees.

Noise level

Our noise measurements were made with a UNI-T UT353 dB meter. The measurements were made in a "real world" setup and therefore not in a sound chamber. External influences have of course been tried to be reduced as much as possible, but as I said, this has not been done in a sound chamber. Our measurements must therefore most of all be taken as a general indicator and not a scientific measurement. They primarily serve as a basis for comparison across tested products, which are always tested under as comparable conditions as possible.

Price

I was able to find the NH-L9i-17xx chromax.black for a price of 60$. Which ranks nicely in the field when it comes to price. If you also want the NA-FD1 Fan duck kit, it can be found at a price of 12$.

If you want to find more information about the NH-L9i-17xx chromax.black from Noctua, you can click on the banner above.

Conclusion

The time has come for the end of the test of the NH-L9i-17xx chromax.black from Noctua. It was not surprising that the performance itself flopped a bit when we pair it with a CPU that normally requires a minimum of 360mm AIO, and a 95mm air cooler, to try to keep it running. Still, it gave a really good insight into the cooler's potential, because of course it doesn't have to be paired with an Intel I9 CPU, but you probably have to have a LAN setup, or just a smaller setup where it has to be paired with an I5 or I3, then it be perfect. In the combination with fan duct, in a small build, it will work very well.

By not being able to mount it on different sockets, it also makes mounting even easier, and is on par with a standard cooler, where very little can go wrong, as long as you remember to put cooling paste on.

Personally, I'm a big fan of Noctua's chromax.black series, and the neutral and good Noctua performance that comes with them. Although the cooler was pushed to its maximum, and probably more. Then it was almost silent during the entire test.

If you are going to build a computer with LGA1700, where space is limited, then the NH-L9i-17xx chromax.black from Noctua is a candidate you should take a look at. Because here you will undoubtedly not have to worry about whether it can now also be there.

The price is also edible, and is at a level where most people can participate.

In the end, it gets a score of 8 out of 10, along with Great product for NH-L9i-17xx chromax.black from Noctua. For the purpose which is the intention of Noctua it is a Great product and they have really hit the spot with this cooler. It should not fight in the heavyweight class, but for the smaller ones, where space and noise are more important than how many FPS can be squeezed out of this CPU, the NH-L9i-17xx chromax.black has created a place for itself.

Pros

• Easy to install
• Neutral design
• Incredibly silent, even under pressure
• Does not fill anything
• Price

Cons

• It should not be paired with a hardcore gaming/workstation setup

Score: 8 + Great Product