Performance
The performance of the NH-D12L cooler has been tested on the gaming platform, which contains the i5-12600K CPU, Colorful CVN Z690M Gaming Frozen V20 motherboard, Acer Predator 16GB DDR4-3600 CL14 memory kit, and ASUS Strix RTX3070 graphics card.
Our comparison includes tests performed on the NH-D12L cooler and additionally ADATA XPG Levante 240 AIO cooler. The results contain the temperature in idle and under a full load but also the temperature during mixed load tests.
There are three settings: idle, which explains itself, a mixed load test, which includes a pretty long PCMark 10 Extended benchmark, and a max load CPU test with AVX/AVX2 instructions, performed by the AIDA64 stability test.
The NH-D12L can handle the i5-12600K without problems. At automatic settings, the CPU could run at its declared speed, with turbo frequency up to 4.9GHz. The temperature was a bit worse than that of the 240 AIO cooler but the performance and generated noise were comparable. The second fan didn’t help much as we could see only a 1-2°C temperature drop. In some specific conditions and a closed case, we can expect some more.
At automatic settings, we could see about 140W under load which is less than in the processor’s specification.
The same as with higher processors, we have to remember that the cooler has its limits and we shouldn’t set too high voltage. Our i5-12600K is overclocking pretty well so we could set 5.1GHz at a lowered voltage of about 1.25V. At these settings, the CPU was showing up to about 200W but the temperature raised to around 95-97°C. This is still not a bad result as the CPU wasn’t throttling and the whole test rig was still quiet. Again, the second fan wasn’t helping much – about 2-3°C.
Results in the comparison are showing maximum values, so during typical gaming, the CPU won’t run all the time at 80°+ and more often we will see around 60°C.
Depending on the environment and used PC case, we can expect different results. However, it clear is that the NH-D12L performs well and we can use it in smaller, more compact ATX cases or even those in mini ITX format.
An NH-D12L cooler is a great option for all who have limited space but still want to use a larger and higher-performance CPU cooler. Those with more space in the PC case should take a look at NH-D15/S or NH-U12A series coolers as they offer better results.
