Noctua NH-L9i

Even though the Intel LGA115x socket based CPUs are slowly phasing out, there are lots of people out there who are still using these CPUs. On a personal level, I still have two computer that are running some of these CPUs though they are not my primary daily driver. I still own at least four separate CPUs which I purchased in the past at different stage of time for various purpose.

Since I am not a heavy gamer or overclocking maniac, I always preferred or picked air coolers. Most of my computers are custom built and I tend to lean towards smaller cases. Out of all the well known branded air coolers, Noctua seems to be the only brand that I preferred and picked over and over again. To be bluntly honest, there are some valid personal reasons as well to justify my pick.

After lots of research, back in mid 2020 I purchased the Noctua NH L9i to cool down my Intel i5-9500 CPU. I used an 8L case which had very little clearance for average air cooler. At only 37mm (roughly 1.5 inch) height with fan on top, this cooler seemed to be the best option for me at that point of time. This fan came with Noctua's award winning NT-H1 thermal compound, low noise adapter and additional screws. It took me little while to figure out the reasons behind these additional screws but when I understood, I couldn't but thank the company even though I didn't need to use them up until now.

Now, generally speaking the PWM fan that was attached to the metal frame had the dimension of 92x92x14 mm. In case, if you change your mind and want to upgrade the fan to 92x92x25mm, those additional screws would become the only way to attach the fan with the metal chassis. What a clear idea and business strategy. Let's not forget these fans are super quite compared to other air coolers that I have used on similar cases. So, big thumbs up for that.

You will find tons of video reviews of this cooler on YouTube. They came up with so many different kind of test results which I think could be useful for some to make certain decisions.

Don't get me wrong but Noctua was or is already a very popular brand among all the modern CPU Cooling product manufacturers. This Austrian company makes some of the best silent fan and CPU cooler in my opinion even though I distaste their color initial color scheme from the get go.

Note: I will not recommend to use this cooler for any CPU that has higher TDP than 65 watt. Even if you are running your CPU with Intel Turbo Boost feature on, this CPU cooler may not be the best option, unless you have very good air flow inside your case.