Noctua NH-L12S, Premium Low Profile CPU Cooler with Quiet 120mm PWM Fan (Brown)

Background: I needed to resurrect and cool an old AMD FX 8350 (No laughing) 125watt 8 core processor in a small case under my TV with poor airflow. M-atx board too. I needed a low height and upward firing of the heat. This fitted the bill, not the cheapest option though. Fitting: It will fit am3, am4, fm2 and most recent Intel sockets. All mounts provided and easy instructions. Fitting was a case of finding which direction to place it. One direction the heat pipes caught the 1st ram module. Turning 90 degrees solved that. (Different mounting brackets depending on which way round you place it). It mounts on the backplate you already have for your motherboard (AMD). With the fan under the heatsink, firing upward, it clears my Hyper Fury X by 2mm! Anyone with larger ram with bigger heatsinks will probably need the fan above firing down. It runs silently, literally and I haven't got the chip over 50 degrees with stress tests!! The chip runs at 4ghz, I did overclock briefly to 4.2ghz and it stayed at 50 degrees and still quiet. My tips: I didn't use the Stepdown cable, I just let the board control it. It comes with Noctua paste which I used as it appears to be better than my mx-4 by what I read. I found a long screwdriver was better than the one provided. I also turned off the low fan warning in bios as it turned too slowly on startup making my pc think it wasn't working. Summary: I'm converted! Better than expected, cooler, quieter. Quality.

I don't write reviews often but I felt this cooler was worthy of one. It arrived in good condition in very well designed packaging. There were three different instruction manuals for different socket types respectively, thermal paste was also included! Mounting system was very simple and effective, screwdriver included. Fan is very quiet even without low noise adapter, and almost silent with the adapter! Temperatures are good, with my i5 3570K @4Ghz (Boost to 4.4GHz), around 30C idle and up to ~65C under load (although this is with low noise adapter). My only gripe is that the fan mounting wires (if you choose to switch to high clearance layout) can be difficult to attach without damaging the heatsink fins. All in all a great cooler and well worth the money!

Honestly so glad I purchased this CPU cooler. It has been a night and day difference compared to my old stock cooler that came with the case. It was starting to get too noisy to bare and wasn't sufficient enough to keep my CPU cool aswell. Just on PC start up the fan would run at about 1950 RPM with an average CPU temperature of about 65°C. With this Noctua cooler, it is now much quieter, running at about 650-700 RPM on start up and it literally halfed the CPU temperature which is now running at about 32°C. Made such a clear difference and would highly recommend.

I recently picked up the Noctua NH-L12S for my compact build and overall I'm pretty impressed with this little guy. First off, it's super low profile which is exactly what I needed considering my case has limited vertical space. It fits snugly and clears my RAM without any issues. The installation was straightforward. I appreciated the mounting hardware that came with it—it felt very well thought out. The overall build quality is top-notch too. Noctua really delivers with their design aesthetic, even if the brown and beige color scheme isn’t for everyone. Now let’s talk about performance. I've been running a Ryzen 5 and during regular usage, the NH-L12S keeps temps pretty low, even under load. I've noticed it runs incredibly quietly. I mean, when I’m gaming or doing some intense work, I can hardly hear it running. The 120mm PWM fan really does its job well. But I should mention a couple of downsides. If you're expecting this cooler to handle heavy overclocks, you might want to look for something bigger or beefier. It does have its limits with maximum thermal dissipation. Also, the fan isn’t as powerful as some larger coolers, so when the summer heat kicks in, you might see some higher temps than you would with a more robust option. Overall, for a low profile cooler, I'd say the Noctua NH-L12S is a great choice for anyone looking for great performance without the noise. Just keep in mind its cooling limits if you're planning to push your CPU hard.

It is an excellent cooler; it reduced my gaming temps from 85 to 65. The only thing to bear in mind is it is a large cooler. I have an ITX-build and fitting it was challenging but I guess most would have been in the restrictive environment. It was worth it as it is very effective and silent

I am using this cooler with a 7600X in a Ghost Raw S1 case, it works great, I put in an negative undervolt using the curve optimizer on the cpu, which allows the CPU to run at around 5.3 Ghz at 95 degrees(which is the standard temp for 7000 series). I tried setting thermal limit to 85 degrees, but the CPU still hits 95 when doing video encodes. When gaming, the temperature is usually around 75 degrees. Installation on an Asus ROG strix B650E I motherboard could only be done with the heapipes on the VRM side, the good thing with this cooler is that I can orient it in any direction, and I tried it out without paste to see which way it will fit prior to pasting. Overall it fits quite well with good clearance for my corsair vengance RAM, the non RGB version. I installed the fan on the underside as I need it that way for the case. Overall I am happy with the result, it does not need a special backplate for AMD boards and the installation is super easy.

A really easy to install and effective fan for mini-ITX boards. I run if with a 7800X3D and it's terrific at keeping the temperature down, but it's a lot noisier than I expected, almost as if there's an issue with the bearings.

Excelente disipador, puede con un 14600K sin problemas. El único tema es que su compatibilidad en itx es limitada ya que las motherboards más recientes tienen heatsink de vram muy altos, para esos casos es más recomendado la versión ghost.

The Noctua NH-L12S is a top-tier low-profile CPU cooler. On my Ryzen 5 3600X it cools really well and stays nice and quiet, exactly what you want in a build where noise matters. The build quality feels solid and premium, and the fan runs smoothly without sounding loud or buzzy. Even in heavier loads, temperatures stay well-controlled and I haven’t had any thermal issues. If you need a compact cooler that still performs great without making noise, this is a fantastic choice. For me, it’s a clear win — strong cooling, very low noise, and overall just a very dependable product. Would definitely use it again.

Prodotto veramente valido, adatto per case di dimensioni medie e piccole. Il rumore della ventola non si sente nemmeno a regime massimo di funzionamento. Le temperature sono ben controllate, montato sul nuovo socket 1200 per un i7-10700K, raggiunge una temperatura massima che fluttua i 70 e gli 80 gradi mantenendo il clock dinamico del turbo boost technology. Utilizzando il processore al massimo del boost fisso a 5.1GHz, le temperature salgono oltre i 90°, in tal caso è meglio montare il modello NH-U12A o NH-U12S che sono piu' performanti. Il montaggio è semplice, ma serve un po' di manualità. La parte più complessa è il fissaggio del radiatore ai supporti, ci vuole un po' di pazienza per centrare e fissare le viti di entrambi i lati.

Easy install, very low. Will fit in a 2U 19" PC case (if they risers of the board are not too high). I used it in a Inter-Tech 2U-2504. Cools pretty good on a modern I3. Also very silent.

I’ve been using Noctua coolers and fans for years, and the NH-L12S 70mm Low Profile CPU Cooler is yet another excellent addition to my NAS build. I chose this cooler primarily for its low-profile design, which fits perfectly into my custom 3D-printed NAS case, and of course, Noctua's reputation for high-quality and quiet components. Performance: Cooling Efficiency: The NH-L12S performs just as expected - great cooling with quiet operation. For the best results, I recommend replacing the thermal paste that comes with the cooler with a PTM7950 thermal pad, as it further enhances thermal conductivity. Noise Level: The 120mm PWM fan is incredibly quiet. In fact, my hard drives are louder than this cooler. It truly lives up to Noctua’s promise of silent operation. Installation: Mounting Process: The installation was smooth, with clear, step-by-step instructions. I had no issues mounting it on my 1700 LGA socket, and it fit perfectly into the build. Clearance: There were no clearance issues with other components (like RAM, GPU, or PSU). The cooler’s ability to rotate and install in different orientations ensures flexibility in compact builds. Build Quality: Premium Design: As expected, Noctua's materials and design are top-notch. The cooler feels sturdy, and the fan quality is consistent with the brand’s reputation. Packaging: Protection During Delivery: The packaging was more than adequate to protect the cooler during shipping. Included Accessories: The cooler includes all necessary mounting brackets and installation kits for both AMD and Intel setups, making it versatile for various builds. Value for Money: For anyone looking for a reliable, quiet, and efficient cooler, the Noctua NH-L12S is a proven solution. Despite its price, the quality and performance justify the cost. Final Verdict: I highly recommend the Noctua NH-L12S for anyone building a compact system or NAS. It fits perfectly, performs efficiently, and keeps your CPU cool without making any noise. As always, Noctua delivers exceptional products that are built to last.