Noctua nh-l9a - Reviews 2024

The Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 is another of the new generation heatsinks from the leading refrigeration brand. A low-profile heatsink designed only for Ryzen's AM4 socket and geared towards ITX and HTPC sized PCs where high performance is not required. It has a super compact design with a horizontal 92mm format in which a 2500 RPM Noctua NF-A6x14 PWM fan has been installed, which gives it great performance despite how small it is.

How will it behave with a CPU as powerful as the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X? well we will see it in this analysis right away, don't go.

And before we start we will have to thank Noctua for their trust in giving us their product to carry out this analysis.

Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 technical characteristics

Unboxing

Personally I really like the Unboxing of heatsinks, the more pieces to assemble, the better and more fun.

Well, the Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 has arrived in a thick cardboard box and with a presentation in true Noctua style. The case is quite flat, although with a remarkable width and length, much more than the heatsink itself. Outside we will see a brown print of what looks like a fan on its main face, while in the rest we have abundant information on the product in various languages, as is usually the case with the brand.

The opening of the box is case type due to its wider face and that is when we find a system divided into two floors. The first consists of a polyethylene foam in the form of a mold that holds different accessories of the heatsink. And in the second we have the heatsink itself next to the backplate.

Let's see below what this box brings us:

Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 heatsink with built- in fan Noctua NF-A9x14 PWM fan Noctua NT-H1 thermal paste SecuFirm 2 mounting system with rear backplate Fan and socket fixing screws Fan extension cable Mounting instruction manual Logo adhesive metal plate Noctua

We already say that the heatsink is only compatible with AM4, so the backplate will only be valid for boards of this same socket. In this case the stock backplate is not worth us due to the heatsink fixing system.

Dissipation Block Design

Due to the simplicity of this block, we will not have too much to comment on it, but it is worth taking a good look at what Noctua has to offer.

Well we see that Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 is clearly a low profile heatsink and with a single finned main block located horizontally on the board with its respective fan on top. In addition, we see that the contact plate is installed directly on the block, and without a well-defined form factor.

The measurements offered by this heatsink without the fan installed are 114 mm wide (largest part), 92 mm deep and only 23 mm high with a weight of 390 grams. If we now add the fan we go up to a height of 37 mm and a weight of 465 grams, keeping everything else the same.

Without a doubt this heatsink is not oriented to high-power Ryzen CPUs, its natural environment will be small ITX chassis and HTPC configurations where space saving is very important due to the impossibility many times of introducing more cooling systems. forceful.

It is also for this reason that the brand recommends not to install it on processors that have a TDP of more than 95W and it does not even occur to us to overclock the CPU where it is installed, we know that they have a protection system, but better not to venture. It could be highly recommended for APU Athlon to give a quality jump in its heatsink, or in less powerful Ryzen.

We had to disassemble the fan to better see the construction of this Noctua NH-L9a-AM4, since we consider it quite interesting. It is true that it is not as clear to see as that of the NH-L12S, but here we also have heat pipes to improve performance.

Well, the system is based on a high density finned aluminum block through which two copper-built heatpipes pass. In fact, these heatpipes are glued to the contact block and make a curve to be located in the two external areas of the heatsink and thus distribute the heat over the maximum possible surface. Throughout their perimeter they are covered with a nickel bath to improve aesthetics and performance.

On the part that makes contact with the CPU, we have a copper block that is also coated with polished nickel, although it is not as polished as in other higher-performance models. Recall once again that polishing helps improve heat transfer between surfaces.

The mounting system is a variant of the SecuFirm 2 of the brand, in which four arms have been provided with separate holes to thread, directly from the rear of the plate, the blackplate to the heatsink.

As always at Noctua, the finishes of the complete block are of a high level, and all this divided into modules or elements. It is possible to separate the contact block from the finned block by simply unscrewing two lateral screws that hold it. The finish on the tips of the heat pipes is very good, as well as the good detail of covering all the edges with nickel-plated and thicker plates.

Noctua NF-A9x14 PWM fan

Since the fan has its own name, it is also important to give it your own section. In the bundle of purchase, Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 already comes with this fan pre-installed, although of course we can easily remove it just by removing the four screws from the corners.

The measures of this model are 92 x 92 x 14 mm although in the box we have four longer screws to install 92 x 92 x 25 mm fans. This model in particular, luckily has the typical white and brown colors configuration of the brand, and also a design in its 9 propellers optimized to produce less noise and greater air flow.

In all four corners on one side as well as the other, we have rubber heels that help eliminate vibrations and noise when in operation. The bearing system is based on pressurized oil (SSO2) with a life of over 150, 000 hours of use.

In terms of performance, this Noctua NF-A9x14 PWM is capable of rotating between 600 and 2500 RPM incorporating a PWM control system with a four-pin header direct to the motherboard. All this generates a maximum air flow of 57.5 m ³ / h and a maximum noise of 23.6 dB, which is not bad for being so small. It works as usual at 12 V with a consumption of 2.52 W.

Assembly process

With the assembly process we will also finish quite quickly, it is very easy to understand, although certainly not so easy or comfortable to do, you will see. In any case, remember that we will only have compatibility with AMD's PGA AM4 socket.

The first thing we will have to do is remove the backplate and the stock tabs that help fix the factory heatsinks from AMD, you know those who use that pressure lever. It is precisely necessary to remove it to place the plate that is included in the bundle.

The next thing we will have to do is clean the IHS of the processor very well to apply a new layer of thermal paste. One of the details that we like most about Noctua, is that in all its heatsinks it includes a syringe of Noctua NT-H1 compound, the best-selling and famous brand for its good performance. It is a paste based on metallic elements (gray) with non-conductive silicone that provides a conductivity of 8.9 W / mK.

Well, nothing, you must apply it as best you know, we recommend doing it well with a good drop in the central area, a fine line that runs along the IHS or in the form of an X, but with two lines that are finite, so that the compound does not spill by the sides.

With all this ready, now it's time to place the metal backplate on the back and the heatsink on the front, moving it very little to the sides so that the thermal paste expands and squeezes slightly.

The screws to take the Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 to the backplate must be placed from the back, so we will have to simultaneously hold the heatsink, plate and screwdriver to fit everything. It is very easy to get it and the heatsink falls off with all the thermal paste, so we recommend placing the heatsink, turning the base plate and resting it on the ground, making sure that the four holes are aligned with the plate dies. This will make it easier to place the screws.

That said, the heatsink will be fully mounted on the socket and smooth for us to run the computer. As always make sure to tighten the screws just enough so that the Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 is immobile. Also, don't forget to connect the fan to the “CPU-FAN” header on the board.

Test of performance

Well, now, we only have to perform the typical performance tests on this low profile heatsink Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 and see what it is capable of. The truth is that an AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is going to be something big, but so we can see it in a difficult situation and see if it is capable of keeping this CPU at bay. The test bench used will be the following:

TESTING BENCH
Processor:	AMD Ryzen 7 2700X
Base plate:	Asus Crossfire VII Hero (Wi-Fi)
Memory:	16 GB G.Skill Sniper X
Heatsink	Noctua NH-U12S SE-AM4
SSD	Adata SU750
Graphic card	Asus ROG Strix GTX 1660 Ti
Power supply	Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 11 1000W

The testing process is going to be exactly the same as other heatsinks, we will stress the CPU with Prime95 software for 48 uninterrupted hours at its stock speed. Of course we will monitor the process to keep it under control, monitoring temperatures using the HWiNFO software. From here we will get the temperature in idle state, the maximum temperature collected during the process and the average in these two days, always from the "Tdie" section, which will be the actual temperature of the CPU.

The ambient temperature has oscillated between 24 ^o C during the day and 23 ^o C at night with the help of air conditioning. Remember, put the air at 24 degrees, less is bad for the throat and we could get a good cold .

Well, we see that, despite being a fairly powerful CPU, at rest it hardly rises a few degrees with respect to the ambient temperature, which is extremely positive. On the other hand, when we already subject the equipment to a continuous stress process, the average is around 80 ^o C, which is quite high if we consider that the Ryzen are quite cool CPUs and that the ambient temperature conditions have been quite controlled and low.

The maximum peak recorded has been 85 degrees, far from the 95 that the CPU supports, but certainly considerable. That is why this heatsink is geared towards slightly less powerful CPUs, although the performance it offers is quite remarkable despite how small it is, great work as always from Noctua, yes sir.

Final words and conclusion about Noctua NH-L9a-AM4

We come to the end, and we can say that this Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 has really exceeded our expectations for performance. We did not expect such a tiny configuration and 23mm in height to give us such good performance on a Ryzen 7 CPU.

Its very low, low-profile design makes it ideal for mounting on an ITX or HTPC chassis that does not have overly powerful AMD socket AM4 processors. We say this because it is a heatsink that is not oriented towards a CPU with more than 95 W TDP and far from overclocking.

We recommend our guide to the best heatsinks on the market

The choice of this Noctua NF-A9x14 PWM fan is quite right, with 2500 RPM and 90 mm diameter, it generates a good air flow and with almost absolute silence. The fact that it is not simply black, greatly improves the final appearance of this set. Something to consider is that the assembly can be a bit complicated if we are not too skilled since we must hold several elements simultaneously, but it is not a drama either.

Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 is an exclusive heatsink for socket AM4 and lower in performance than the NH-12s and is priced at approximately 41 euros. The truth is that it is not bad for the good performance it gives us. In an Athlon or Ryzen 3 you have to go fable.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ LOW PROFILE DESIGN (37 MM HEIGHT)	- ASSEMBLY IS NOT THE MOST COMFORTABLE
+ IDEAL FOR HTPC AND ITX CHASSIS	- NOT RECOMMENDED FOR POWERFUL CPUs
+ RECOMMENDED FOR CPU WITHOUT OVERCLOCK, ESPECIALLY ATHLON AND RYZEN 3
+ HIGH-LEVEL FAN AND THERMAL COMPOUND
+ VERY SILENT