Noctua NH-L9i Review

Introduction

In this review, we will have a look at one of the smallest coolers out there. At only 37mm, Noctuas NH-U9I can actually end up being smaller than your ram!

What's in the Box?

Unboxing the NH-U9i resembles every other experience we ever had with a Noctua Cooler.

Inside the usual Noctua-styled box we will find everything neatly packaged up and organized, ready to be used.

Once every object is unboxed, we will find the following items:

• Noctua NH-U9i
• Thermal Paste
• Installation Screws
• Low Noise Adapter

Down below we added a summarized spec sheet:

Compatibility

The compatibility portion of an NH-U9i is both simple and complicated at the same time.

Due to the U9 series being screwed directly into the Motherboard, the mountings on the base need to correspond to the socket's cooler holes.

Therefore, Noctua decided to separate each socket support into its own model.

The model in question for this review is the U9i, with i standing for Intel (1200/115x), whereas the U9i-17xx is meant for Intel LGA 1700, and U9A meant for AMD AM4 Sockets.

Individual Components

Fan

The Fan used on the U9i is Noctua's own in-house made little NF-A9x14 High Speed. While spinning at around 2500RPM, it is capable of pushing around 33CFM at 1.64mm/H2O.

Due to our decision on the Chromax.Black subversion, the Fan comes in the iconic all-black finish with rather clean looking and simple design aspects.

Heatsink

The little 23mm high all- matt-black colored heatsink that hides underneath the little NF-A9x14 HS is meant to spread the heat all over itself, ready to be dissipated.

Surprisingly, Noctua even managed to squeeze two heat pipes into the little heatsink.

Appearance

As it often is with these types of SFF coolers, Noctua's NH-U9i consists of solely a 92mm fan and the little heatsink hidden underneath it.

Due to this, the only thing you will ever be able to see is the tiny fan.

Thankfully, and due to the Chromax.Black sub-version, we have a beautifully looking mini fan that is peaking out of our system.

Although the heatsink can also be described as good-looking, the last time you'll see it is during installation. Therefore the 'design' section kind of ends at the fan.

Benchmark

In order to benchmark the Noctua NH-U9i, we needed to create an SFF specific benchmark as our usual 3900x was just too hot to be handled by coolers this size.

By using a 10700k at 1.2v 4700-AC, we benchmarked the U9i in both full blast and noise-to-performance.

While letting the mini Noctua fan spin at 100% of its speed, the NH-U9i managed to keep the 10700k  61°C above ambient, a surprisingly good result considering the height of the cooler.

After noise normalizing the results, the U9i stayed at exactly the same spot, a bit behind the Scythe Shuriken 2, and significantly in front of the Alpenföhn Black Ridge.

Overall, the NH-U9i's benchmark results were surprisingly good. Although it did not top our benchmark list, it did manage to compete with the 2cm bigger Scythe Shuriken 2, which in the SFF world is quite the difference.

Conclusion

Considering its size, the NH-U9i was able to deliver surprising performance. 
Of course, it was utterly outperformed by Scythe's Shuriken 2, but considering that the U9i is more than 2cm smaller, we were shocked that those two coolers are even competing with each other.

From a quality and design standpoint, it is absolutely a Noctua cooler, pitch-black Noctua Chromax.Black design and outstanding quality allow you to repurpose the heatsink as a hammer once you're done with it.

But the most important aspect of the U9i is its ridiculous size. At only 37mm in height, it is one of the smallest coolers we've seen so far, and due to the fact that at 92mm fan width and length, absolutely nothing, not Ram nor VRM heatsink, will ever come into contact with this cooler.

Therefore, although Scythe's Shuriken 2 is already highly compatible, it is still higher than a "Gamerly"- stick of ram.  The U9I on the other hand... will always be compatible and physically unable to cause any problems whatsoever.

Comparing the Shuriken and the U9i's performances, the recommendation for both coolers is pretty obvious.

If you are limited enough so that a Shuriken 2 will not fit, the U9i is the perfect man for the job. If there's enough place to scram a Shuriken 2 in, it will definitely be the better option.

So to conclude this review, Noctua's NH-U9i is a perfect example of an ultra SFF cooler, and if nothing bigger can be installed inside your case, it will be a perfect contestant for the job.