Thermaltake NiC L32 CPU Cooler Review – Compact Design w/ 140mm Fan

Whether you’re an overclocking enthusiast or a gamer looking for a cooler quieter solution to cooling your system, a good custom CPU cooler can be one of the most important components in your system. It can solve over-heating issues, noise issues and even make your system look cooler and more personalized.

In this report, we’ll be taking a look at the NiC L32 by Thermaltake which promises to not only solve all those issues, but do so without breaking the bank. Can this affordable, compact cooler provide sufficient cooling for even the most demanding overclocks? Let’s find out!

THERMALTAKE NIC L33 CPU COOLER OVERVIEW

One of the biggest issues users have when purchasing traditional tower coolers is RAM clearance. This is because many tower coolers feature large heat-sinks that overlap the majority of motherboard’s RAM slots, when you combine this with the fact that most enthusiast grade RAM kits include tall heat-spreaders in order to reduce heat and maximize overclocking potential. Now, you can start to see that as an enthusiast you’re going to be faced with a decision to make.

With the NiC L32, Thermaltake seeks to eliminate that tough decision and take the pain and hassle out of purchasing an after-market CPU cooler.

On the front of the box we can see a nice large image of the cooler itself along with some basic information about the cooler, most notably that it supports CPUs up to 180W.

At the back of the box we find some more detailed information including a full list of CPU socket compatibility, which includes: Intel’s LGA 2011, 1366,  1156,  1155, 1150, and 775. As well as AMD’s FM2, FM1, AM3+, AM3, AM2+ and AM2. Which should cover just about every consumer CPU released in the last 8 years or so.

Here we can see all of the necessary parts and accessories including a small tube of thermal paste. Thermaltake has done a great job of separating all of the different nuts, screws and other parts into labeled bags. We’re really happy they took the time to do this as it will save most users a lot of time during installation.

DESIGN AND BUILD QUALITY 

The NiC L32‘s heat-sink measures at 160mm tall, 150mm wide and 40mm in length and is made of a total of 50 aluminium fins, which are partly turned inward to prevent air from leaking.

It also has three 8mm nickel-plated copper heat-pipes which extend from the top of the heat-sink to its base, which features a direct-contact design for increased heat dissipation.

The included 140mm PWM fan is rated for speeds of 500 ~ 1800 RPM, with an airflow of 104.4 CFM at 38.4 dB. You can also add a second fan in a push/pull configuration.

It’s worth noting that Thermaltake’s fan mounting clips attach directly to the fan through the small holes in each corner where the fan’s screw holes are usually placed. These holes are much smaller than with standard fan screw holes and Themaltake has not included any adapters with this kit. Which means users hoping to use their own fans in place of the stock one will be out of luck.