Reviews & awards

The Noctua NL-LC1-24 proves that Noctua’s entry into the liquid cooling market was never going to be about flashy RGB lighting or oversized LCD pump caps. Instead, the company focused almost entirely on engineering refinement, acoustics, and user experience — and in that regard, the cooler is extremely successful. Thermal performance throughout testing was excellent for a 240mm-class AIO. Modern Intel LGA1700 processors are not easy to cool efficiently, particularly under sustained heavy workloads, yet the NL-LC1-24 handled those conditions comfortably. The combination of the Asetek Emma V2 platform and Noctua’s NF-A12x25 G2 fans delivers cooling results that firmly place the cooler in the premium segment. It may not overpower larger 360mm or 420mm radiators, but within the 240mm category, performance is genuinely impressive. What truly separates this cooler from much of the competition, however, is acoustics. The NL-PNA1 pump noise absorber is not marketing fluff. It substantially reduces pump resonance, vibration transfer, and tonal noise that commonly plague many modern AIO coolers. Combined with the incredibly refined NF-A12x25 G2 fans, the entire acoustic profile feels smoother, quieter, and far less intrusive than most competing liquid cooling solutions. Installation quality is equally strong. Noctua’s SecuFirm2+ mounting system remains among the best available, offering excellent pressure distribution, easy installation, and outstanding compatibility around modern motherboards. The included accessories, NT-H2 thermal compound, offset mounting hardware, and bundled screwdriver all reinforce the premium ownership experience.