Review on 🌙 Noctua NH-L9x65: The Ultimate Premium Low-Profile CPU Cooler (65mm, Brown) by David May

I have a 2U workstation that I'm working on for a friend. I put an i7-4790 in the case (instead of a 4th gen quad-core i3). The standard cooler when testing the Intel processor could not prevent heating to 100 * C even with the case open. Was replaced by this cooler. Keep in mind that there isn't much room for a tall CPU cooler in a 2U case. The 65mm height was pretty close to the top of the case so airflow might be limited, but let's be honest if you want good airflow and a powerful processor, a 2U case isn't the answer. But in this case (no pun intended) 2U is needed for its small height and rack mount for a studio setup. Cooler did not disappoint. We reached 92C which is very hot but it took 5-10 minutes to get there. The cooler did its best, but it's a small cooler and case, but it achieved what I wanted - NEVER reached 100*C in 2 hours of testing, and it did. Installation was easy and seems damn sturdy. It has a back plate that you have to remove from the motherboard to attach it if your case doesn't have a hole under the motherboard for this purpose (I don't mind, I had to remove the motherboard). Fastening material goes even further. Finally, the heatsink itself is installed and secured to the heatsink with 2 screws. The scope of delivery includes a screwdriver for fixing the heat sink (you have to insert the screwdriver between the fan blades) and thermal paste. I ended up using a high performance cooler master paste (preferences and early test results showed CM paste worked better). The default fan position is set to blow air down towards the radiator, but again they designed this so you don't have to remove the fan (unless you want to). I would definitely recommend it for any small case as a replacement for a standard cooler, but I would hesitate to recommend this cooler for a performance based CPU/build. I would recommend this cooler for a powerful i5 or i7 processor and I think i3 won't need it (my opinion). I would buy this CPU cooler again to put it in a small case.