Noctua relaunches the NH-L9a series of flat CPU coolers for AMD's latest AM5 socket. The NH-L9a-AM5 and its black version (chromax.black) are now equipped ex works with the appropriate mounting material, which previously had to be ordered as an upgrade kit. Otherwise there are no changes to the previous AM4 version.
The usual flat structure remains: the radiator is only 23 mm high. In addition, there is the 92 mm fan, which is also flat with a depth of 14 mm, making the entire cooler 37 mm high. This makes the series particularly suitable for particularly compact (ITX) systems.
Noctua NH-L9a AM5 chromax.black (Image: Noctua)The only new thing about the NH-L9a-AM5 and NH-L9a-AM5 chromax.black variants is the “SecuFirm2 mounting system for AMD AM5 (LGA1718)”, which allows the cooler to be mounted from the back of the mainboard through the holes in the stock backplate enabled.
Owners of an NH-L9a-AM4 must first purchase this from Noctua in the form of an AM5 upgrade kit, which is available free of charge on presentation of a proof of purchase. New buyers with the AM5 platform, on the other hand, can now go straight to the new edition.
For 65-watt CPUs with reserve
With the compact cooler, which weighs 465 grams including the fan, top performance is not to be expected. This is also clear from Noctua's performance rating (NSPR): With a value of 61, the NH-L9a is in the bottom places, while the large twin-tower coolers such as the NH-D15S have an NSPR of over 160.
The new Ryzen 7000 in the 65-watt version (test) called Ryzen 5 7600, Ryzen 7 7700 and Ryzen 9 7900 are easy to cool. According to Noctua, there are also power reserves, so in the manufacturer's own tests, a TDP of up to 130 watts could be managed. Ultimately, however, the cooling potential always depends on the respective case and its ventilation. If you want to operate a Ryzen 9 7950X with maximum power loss or even overclocking, you should look for a larger model.
Prices
< p class="p text-width">As much Noctua values quality and support (6-year guarantee), the prices are just as high. The NH-L9a-AM5 costs a whopping 50 euros and 60 euros for the all-black NH-L9a-AM5 chromax.black. The price level thus also corresponds to the AM4 version.
Real innovations are a long time coming
While this is just a product update, the real innovations in Noctua's portfolio are still a long way off. At the beginning of the year, the public roadmap was changed again and announced products such as a new NH-D15 or the 140mm fans were pushed back.