Noise Testing

Now noise testing is basically done twice, once with the fans cranked up to 100% and again at 50%. Depending on how good the cooling performance it is possible that the fan or fans will run even lower than 50%, but to be consistent these are the two testing points. So the NF-A9x14 PWM used in the NH-L9a-AM4 is used in three of the heatsinks tested so the results here weren’t a big shocker. It runs in the middle of the pack at 100% fan speed but is much quieter at 50%. This is because of its higher max RPM. Sadly because of the smaller heatsink size, this one is also a lot more likely to run in the 50-100% range, especially when paired with a higher end CPU. The NH-L12S, on the other hand, has a new NF-A12x15 PWM. This is the thin 120mm design that Noctua spent years getting out. So I was really curious to see how it would perform. In the end, it was similar to its smaller brother. I was hoping that 100% fan speed noise would be lower but it ended up being a little higher. Still good when compared to the competition, but that is expected with Noctua products in noise testing. The L12S, however, is a LOT more likely to run cool enough that the fan runs much lower.

noise

 

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VaporX's Avatar
VaporX replied the topic: #38539 27 Jun 2018 20:15
While this shows that both Noctua coolers work well I think an important take away is how well the Wraith and Spire coolers performed. AMD has done a great job with stock coolers and have delivered something that makes buying a third party cooler somewhat less a priority to a good gaming build.
garfi3ld's Avatar
garfi3ld replied the topic: #38540 29 Jun 2018 15:45
Oh for sure, I actually talked a lot about that in my original Ryzen ITX coolers review. None of them would really work with a tiny SFF, but if you have just a little more room they are some of the best coolers available.

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