Noctua has just launched its new NH-L9a-AM5 low-profile CPU cooler. Designed specifically for AMD’s latest Ryzen CPUs, these ultra-low profile coolers are only 37 mm tall and are perfect for Small Form Factor (SFF) builds. It comes available in the traditional Noctua brown and tan colors or in the newer chromax.black option. Priced at just under $45 these are exceptional coolers for the price. You can get yours now at Amazon or wherever you normally buy your Noctua products. Below is Noctua’s official press release.
Noctua presents NH-L9a-AM5 low-profile CPU coolers for AMD Ryzen processors
Vienna, January 24th 2023 – Noctua today presented the latest addition to its successful NH-L9 series of low-profile CPU coolers: At a height of only 37mm, the new NH-L9a-AM5 and NH-L9a-AM5 chromax.black are an excellent choice for quiet, ultra-compact HTPCs or Small Form Factor (SFF) systems using AMD’s latest, AM5-based Ryzen processors.
“AMD’s just-released 65W Ryzen CPUs are ideal for building small yet highly powerful systems, and our new NH-L9a-AM5 is the perfect cooler to match”, explains Roland Mossig (CEO). “It can easily cool the new 7900, 7700 and 7600 at ultra-quiet fan speeds and offers plenty of headroom if customers want to push them beyond 65W – we’ve actually been running up to 130W on the Ryzen 7950X and 7900X!”
Noctua NH-L9a-AM5
Since the original NH-L9a coolers for AM3 and AM4 have received more than 100 awards and recommendations from international hardware websites and magazines, the new AM5 revision builds on the same proven heatsink design to provide excellent low-profile cooling performance for AMD’s latest Ryzen processors.
At a height of only 37mm, the NH-L9a is ideal for extremely slim cases and, due to its small footprint, it provides 100% RAM and PCIe compatibility as well as easy access to near-socket connectors even on tightly packed mini-ITX motherboards. The custom-designed SecuFirm2™ mounting system for the AM5 socket makes installation a breeze and, thanks to the highly optimised NF-A9x14 92mm fan that supports fully automatic speed control via PWM, the NH-L9a-AM5 runs remarkably quietly. The chromax.black version with its black fan and black coated heatsink combines these assets with a sleek stealth look.
Topped off with Noctua’s renowned NT-H1 thermal compound, the NH-L9a-AM5 and NH-L9a-AM5 chromax.black combine everything users have come to expect from Noctua’s larger coolers into a super-compact, premium-quality package for ITX and HTPC builds with AMD AM5 processors.
For customers who seek to further improve the performance of the cooler, the optional NA-FD1 fan duct kit allows for bridging the gap between the cooler and perforated side panels of Small Form Factor cases. This enables the cooler to draw in fresh air from the outside through the perforated panel, which can, depending on the setup, improve CPU temperatures by as much as 5°C or more.
John started writing and reviewing PC components for Overclockers.com in 2015, but his passion for PCs dates all the way back to the early 1980s. His first personal computer was a Commodore 64 with a cassette drive. As a dedicated member of the news team, he focuses his articles on new product releases and software updates. He reviews a wide variety of PC components including chassis, storage drives, keyboards, and more. John works in technology as a C.A.D. designer for a major automotive manufacturer. His other passions in life include motorcycles, hunting, guns, and football.
Talk about an embarrassment of riches! In short order, Noctua banged out a bunch of PWM fans at the end of 2011. I thought you’d like to look at three of them and see how they perform.
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Do they actually let you rotate these? I grabbed one for my HTPC and the 2600 stock HSF works better. Realized it's because with the mobo used, the RAM was pressed right up against the heatsink, with the fins perpendicular to the sticks. This meant airflow was restricted.
The AM5 socket mounting holes are 54 mm X 90 mm, so the cooler could be rotated 180° from standard, though this may not help with clearance. Rotating the Secufirm2 mounting system 90° does not seem possible.
The Intel version can be rotated, AMD, like Blaylock said, can't because the socket is not a square.
Btw. the AMD version handles ~115W Ryzen 7000. Depends on the load, can support higher chips, but I would stick with 65W TDP as they go up to 80-90W anyway. My Ryzen 7600 can be overclocked up to 5.4GHz on all cores and passes all tests without throttling.
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