Review on Noctua NH-D9L: High-Performance CPU Cooler with NF-A9 92mm Fan (Brown) by Tim Toscano

I'm running a Noctua NH-D9L with an i7 8700K with no overclocking. I also have another computer with i7 8700 (not K) with stock Intel cooler and no overclocking. Both computer assemblies are almost identical, they were created around the same time, and fans are installed in both Cooler Master HAF 912 housings. Both computers are in an air-conditioned room set at a comfortable 73°. I used Core Temp 1.12.1 and all temperatures are in Fahrenheit. Both computers' processors were under heavy load for several hours, with Handbrake running for video transcoding. Transcoding uses GPU encoding, but Handbrake still uses CPU in the 40% to 100% range depending on the video source. The 8700K with Noctua ranges from 118° to 150°, with a recorded maximum of 158°. The 8700 with the stock Intel cooler runs between 130° and 180° (usually the upper limit of the range), and the maximum recorded is 212° (the maximum temperature for this processor). I tested them today because I wanted to make sure that the Noctua is way better than the stock Intel cooler. That's a big difference! By the way, this cooler was easy to install. The only small problem was screwing the cooler to the mainboard bracket. You have to be sure that you hardly pass one side and then pass the other side. If you tighten the first side even a little, you may have trouble with the threads on the other side. That was the only catch. Everything else went as expected. I had my doubts about this cooler as it is not copper. I didn't think it would be so cool. The metals used seem to have no problem with heat dissipation. The fan even seemed a bit weak when I switched it on for the first time, which bothered me, but the temperatures are impressive. I'm glad I compared the CPU temperatures today because the i7 8700 gets too hot with the stock cooler. I ordered another Noctua NH-D9L to replace the stock cooler. This CPU cooler is worth the money. UPDATE 11/02/2018 I bought another one of these coolers for my computer with an Intel i7 8700 (non-K) processor because I observed an average temperature of 180° to 185° F during video transcoding (and not tied to the processor at 100 %). This was even with a room air conditioner of 23°F. Today I installed a Noctua CPU cooler and am transcoding videos without the room air conditioner on because the room is around 75°F. The highest temperature I've seen so far was 180°F, and this processor previously peaked at 212°F with the stock cooler. The average temperature I'm currently seeing when transcoding video is between 140 depending on CPU usage and 165°F. I decided to max out the CPU with another instance of Handbrake, but without GPU encoding, and that's where I saw the 180° maximum. I saw that when the processor wasn't working at its limit with a stock cooler for a long time. I am completely satisfied with this CPU cooler. Even when I put my CPU under stress, I see temperatures 15-20° cooler.