In order to test the CPU cooler we used the following configuration:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
• Thermal compound: bequiet! DC1
• Case: bequiet! Silent Base 802
• Case fans: 2x140 bequiet! Silent Wings 3 High-Speed RPM speed controllable via SmartFan BIOS + Asus Xpert4 software
• CPU Fan: Stock 2x120mm Noctua
• Motherboard: Asus X570 E-Gaming with 4403 BIOS
• Memory: 2x16GB G.skill Trident Z RGB CL14 @ 3200MHz CL14 (XMP Profile) @ 1.35V
• PSU: be quiet! Straight Power 11 650Watt
• HDD: Crucial MX500 SSD
• VGA: Asus 1060 6GB Dual
• Ambient room temperature ~ 25 Celsius (with AC climate control) - Environment Temperature measurements: Precision Gold N09AQ Envirometer Meter
• Sound measurements at 1m distance: miniDSP UMIK-1 microphone with calibration file and latest REW software
• Operating system: Windows 10 x64 with all the latest updates installed
• Software: AIDA64 / HWInfo / OCCT Enterprise Edition (Latest builds)

Before each run we left the CPU cooler cooled down and we reset the HWiNFO values to be accurate. Before starting our tests, we set the CPU fans speeds at "Smart Mode" with the Asus Xpert4 software. The case fans were also set at SmartFan mode with the option for Auto Fan Stop at low loads down to 0% for the two front fans and auto for the back case fan. The CPU fans were detected from them Asus motherboard and gave us the following fan curve

Bios settings:

• Ai Overclock Tuner: D.O.C.P -> XMP DDR-3200 CL14
• BCLK Frequency: 100MHz
• FCLK Frequency: 1600MHz
• CPU core ratio: Auto
• TPU: Keep Current Setting
• Performance Bias: Auto
• VDDCR CPU Voltage: 1.100V
• VDDCD SOC Voltage: 0.900V
• DRAM Voltage: 1.350V (XMP)
• Precision Boost Overdrive: Auto
• Rest BIOS options: Auto

For further evaluation, we also used OCCT Enterprise Edition with a 30min run and we noted all temperatures as were noted from the software. For maximum temperature we used the following settings:

• Data Set: Small
• Mode: Extreme
• Load Type: Steady

Noctua promises high performance from the NH-D12L and we tend to agree with that claim. At Vcore 1.10V, the AMD Ryzen 5600X never exceed the 60 Celsius, in fact it was very close to the NH-U12A with a much beefier and taller cooler block. Adding a second NF-12X25R fan, may improve the performance, but not so much, around ~ 1 Celsius from our testing.

Placing the miniDSP UMIK-1 microphone around 1m from the closed case, we got good noise levels, in any case we didn't exceeded 46db (including the three fans from the case).

Overclocking

Bios settings:

• Ai Overclock Tuner: D.O.C.P -> XMP DDR-3200 CL14
• BCLK Frequency: 100MHz
• FCLK Frequency: 1600MHz
• CPU core ratio: 45Χ
• TPU: Keep Current Setting
• Performance Bias: Auto
• VDDCR CPU Voltage: 1.180V
• VDDCD SOC Voltage: 0.900V
• DRAM Voltage: 1.350V (XMP)
• Precision Boost Overdrive: Auto
• Rest BIOS options: Auto

Lastly, we wanted to see how this CPU cooler will handle even higher temperature loads, so we set CPU multiplier to 45X and set CPU Vcore at 1.18V. At this test, the Noctua NH-D12L showed good performance but cannot compete with bigger CPU blocks, like the Noctua NH-U12A or Dark Rock Pro 4. Again adding a second fan, didn't showed significant cooling performance difference, indicating that the block reached its max performance status. Very good performance from such a small CPU cooler.