Review on Noctua NH-L9i, High-Performance Low-Profile CPU Cooler for Intel LGA115x (Brown) by Len Cooper

Three years later, a friend's HP 570-p026 (i5-7400) computer had a black and blue screen warning of a failed CPU fan. Being a Noctua fan and having the NH-D15S to cool my i9-9900K, I decided to order this low profile cooler to replace my broken stock fans. As you can see from the attached photos, the NH-L9i is larger and has more fins than a cheap standard fan and heatsink, resulting in more efficient cooling and quieter operation. Its i5-7400 idle temperature is just 25C and the processor runs at least 10C cooler while playing the same game. Buying Noctua fans is one of those rare win-win moments in life. The following is our *unique* experience with stock cooler replacement: HP clearly doesn't want users to service their PC as the stock CPU cooler backplate/bracket is glued on (and many obstacles to installing GTX 1660 and 430 -W power supplies occur). After taking the time to carefully dislodge the bracket and literally free myself from the HP glue trap, all I had to do was clean the CPU, reapply the INCLUDED HEATPASTE, and reinstall the cooler.