It’s been a hot minute since Noctua launched its NL-LC1 series of AIO coolers. These liquid cooling units mark the Austrian brand’s first foray into designed and building its first full-on AIO coolers, especially given how adamant it was in the past about entering said market.
In this review, I’ll be reviewing two AIO models from the series: the smaller 240mm, and the larger 360mm.
What Am I Looking At?
Announced back in June this year, the Noctua NL-LC1 series comes in three flavours or sizes, if you will. There’s the 240mm, 360mm, and the 420mm. In this review, I’ll be taking a look at the 240mm and 360mm.
On a quick sidebar: the NL-LC1 series can probably best be described as the final output of a prototype that Noctua first showed off during Computex 2024; it wasn’t strictly an AIO per se, and at the time, it was using a heat dissipation principle known as two-phase thermosiphon. In layman’s terms, it basically vapourised the liquid from the CPU block and pushed the vapourised liquid through the radiator, which in turn was cooled by the fans (Noctua, of course) attached to it.
Fast forward to today, and the design of the NL-LC1 Series has obviously changed. To regurgitate the official fluff, these AIOs now comprise Asetek’s renowned, premium-grade Emma V2 platform, which has established itself as a gold standard for both thermal efficiency and long-term dependability. What makes the NL-LC1 coolers unique is Noctua’s custom-engineered NL-PNA1 pump noise absorber: Leveraging a three-layer acoustic soundproofing structure and the tuned-mass damper effect, the NL-PNA1 reduces both air-borne noise and structure-borne vibrations, which can yield significant improvements in pump acoustics.
One thing to note is that, unlike most other AIO brands like Arctic, the fans do not come pre-installed and that some assembly is required. Oh, and the cover of the CPU pump is detachable and replaceable with a mini fan.
What’s Good About It?
Considering this is Noctua’s actual first set of AIO coolers, I am happy to say that the brand has done a pretty bang-up job. Out of the box, and as it is with Noctua fans, all the fans running at full speed generate less than 60 decibels (dB) on my microphone, around 52dB, to be precise.
For context, 30dB is the sound level of a whisper if you were standing between five to six feet away from someone’s ear or as Richard Hammond once said: like custard rustling inside a cupboard. That’s how quiet it is.
Temperature of the CPU – we tested both the 240mm and 360mm on a 9950X – at full load ranged between 72°C and 79°C, with the room temperature being in a controlled environment. When idling, both register 29°C at the lowest point.
What’s The Catch?
Because of its pedigree, pricing for the Noctua NL-LC1 Series AIO leans into the Lian Li and TRYX realm of pricing. Just the 240mm model alone retails for RM799 in Malaysia, while the 360mm SKU will set you back RM1,355. There’s also the 420mm, which will cost you an eye-watering RM1,799.
The NL-LC1 Series also do not have zero-RPM technology implemented, although to be fair, this sort of tech would be of more benefit to GPUs, and not CPUs. Of course, there is also Noctua’s iconic tan brown colour scheme of its fans, which absolutely contrasts (read: stands out like a sore thumb) against the jet-black radiator.
Should I Buy It?
Absolutely. The NL-LC1 Series is, in my findings, worth the consideration. Given its pedigree and the brand’s long-standing history of whisper-quiet fans and sensible design, you honestly can’t go wrong with it.
I guess the downsides here are the pretty premium starting asking price, the contrasting colours between the tan brown fans, and the lack of RGB, but in all honesty and on a personal level, I’m the sort of gamer that wants my PC to perform efficiently, not look like a disco ball. Sure, you can have both these days, but I would still prioritise gaming and productivity over the trappings of bright neon-coloured lights.
Photography by John Law.
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