Noctua NL-LC1-36 AIO Review: A Masterclass in Liquid Cooling

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Usman Sheikh

As a Senior Hardware Reviewer at Tech4Gamers with over a decade of hands-on experience, I dive deep into benchmarking GPUs, CPU coolers, and motherboards, pushing hardware to its limits. Passionate about overclocking and fine-tuning performance.

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Better late than never, Noctua has finally launched its new family of all-in-one liquid-cooler series. For years, PC builders and enthusiasts have debated whether the undisputed king of PC hardware cooling would ever step into the market of all-in-one liquid coolers; in response, Noctua has launched its first iteration of closed-loop liquid coolers. It is not just the standard all-in-one liquid cooler in the market that you would normally see. Noctua has absolutely engineered its liquid cooler lineup to meet its notoriously strict standards, which include reliability, performance, and noise-performance efficiency they have known for! Well, standard and cheap all-in-one liquid coolers that are already available in the market can also cool your CPU down, but Noctua has made it much better.

They have sent us the NL-LC1-36 AIO, which is a closed-loop 360mm liquid cooler equipped with a trio of Noctua’s flagship NF-A12x25 G2 120mm fans, which we have reviewed earlier, and these are the best fans in the market you could ask for. At the heart, Noctua is using the Asetek premium-grade Emma V2 pump platform as the foundation and custom-engineered the block by utilising a three-layer acoustic soundproof structure with a physical switch for the different pump-speed modes.

In this review, we will deep dive into the pump design and much more.

Let’s talk about the specifications:

What Makes Noctua NL-LC1-36 AIO Different?

Just like their fans, Noctua has outdone itself with its brand-new liquid-cooler lineup. Noctua has completely re-engineered the acoustic profile and functionality from the ground up, instead of taking a generic AIO and simply swapping in its famous brown fans. Noctua engineered a custom acoustic soundproofing structure around the pump. It uses the high-end Asetek Emma V2 (G8 V2) platform for the block, which ensures improved water flow rate and is considered more stable than the traditional designs you might find on the standard liquid coolers. Not to forget, the NL-LC1-36 uses the NF-A12x25 G2 120mm flagship fans that we reviewed earlier, and they are arguably the best fans on the market in terms of acoustic and thermal efficiency.

What About The Availability & Pricing?

Noctua AIO CPU Liquid Coolers officially launched on June 16, 2026, and are currently available worldwide through major PC hardware stores. NOCTUA offers three all-in-one liquid coolers in various form factors and sizes.

Another thing to add here is that Noctua also sells an optional NL-ACF1 80mm auxiliary fan for €19.90, which can be installed magnetically onto the pump block in place of the metal face plate, allowing cooling of the motherboard VRMs, M2 SSDs, or the Memory. The cooler comes with an official 6-year manufacturer’s warranty.

Packaging 

The NL-LC1-36 arrives in a large box that embraces the brand’s classic brown aesthetic. On the front of the box, you will see the render of the cooler with its three signature brown fans. The back of the box is extremely detailed, offering you a deep-dive look at the cooler’s engineering, mainly highlighting the pump design and its features.

Lifting the lid reveals a very organised interior within a moulded and eco-friendly cardboard tray. The radiator, tubes and the pump lock are secured in a plastic bag. The secondary boxes are also very clearly labelled and detailed.

Amazing attention to detail here: on the accessory box, the top cover is printed with a visual inventory of everything inside, clearly mapping out the AMD and Intel brackets and the general accessories such as thermal paste and a Torx T20 screwdriver. The separate box houses the three NF-A12x25 G2 fans; similar to the accessory box, it also features a detailed diagram and the details.

Accessories

You get a lot of accessories with the NL-LC1-36, which is nice; it covers all the multi-platform mounting brackets, colour-coded standoffs/spacers and thumb-screws, extension cables, thermal paste, cleaning wipes, thermal paste guard and a screwdriver is also included. Each bag is clearly labelled so you can’t go wrong here.

Close Look At The Radiator and Assembly

Out of the box, you don’t get the fans attached or any accessory or cosmetic metal badge installed on a cooler; it’s just a standard and plain out-of-the-box experience. It would have been nice if the fans were already installed, as many brands have been following the pattern, as this saves the extra packaging and users’ time, but Noctua has kept their premium fans separate.

The main body is an aluminium-constructed finish; it’s a standard-sized radiator which measures 399.5 x 120 x 30 mm. The thickness is also 27 mm, which is industry standard. Noctua hasn’t done much on the radiator side, such as expanding the thickness, which could have resulted in more fins per inch and so better water flow if you pair the Noctua fans. The thickness would increase to 59mm.

However, the FPI (Fins per inch) of this radiator is 21-20 and the water channels are 12 in total.

The braided tubes connect directly into the radiator’s top-end tank via straight, non-articulating fittings. The outer face of the radiator on the side rail features a subtle “Asetek x Noctua” co-branding logo.

Pump Design / Housing

Taking a look at the CPU block head now, the exterior utilises a matte black soft plastic shroud detailed with vertical edges and the structural side cutouts can be observed as well. This is a unique design of the pump; traditionally, you might not see such cutouts on the standard blocks, as they’re either solid round or squared in shape. However, the material which is used on the block could also help with sound dampening.

Under the hood, Noctua employs the Asetek Emma V2 Generation 8 pump, engineered for high performance and low noise. Its three-phase motor with a 12-pole architecture and ceramic sleeve and shaft bearing delivers improved flow rate and noise efficiency compared to earlier Asetek pump designs. To further reduce pump noise, Noctua has incorporated a three-layer sound-proofing foam structure, enhancing the overall quiet operation of the cooling system.

Noctua has provided the cosmetic Metal Face Plate, which sits on the top of the block. The tubes, made from EPDM rubber and wrapped in a nylon textile braided sleeve, are connected via round rotary fittings. As for the length, the tube measures 410 mm, which is standard in the industry.

If you take a look at the sides of the block, you will see two fully integrated spring-loaded screws on each, pre-fixed into the assembly, which allows the block to mount on the brackets easily using the Torx T20 drive on the brackets.

The back of the pump features an integrated physical switch allowing users to select between three pump profiles. Moving the switch to the very right activates quiet mode, which restricts the speed to a maximum of 2100 RPM, helping users feel assured of low-noise operation. The balanced mode in the middle limits the speed to 2600 RPM at up to 30°C liquid temperature. Moving the switch to the very left enables manual mode, unlocking a maximum speed of 3400 RPM regardless of liquid temperature.

At the bottom of the block, you will find the copper, which is constructed from 99.95% high purity copper, and the cold plate measures at 55.5 x 55.5 mm with an array of micro-skived fins to maximize heat transfer. The pump is 4-pin PWM controlled.

VRM Fan (Optional Accessory)

NL-ACF1 Cooling Fan

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Noctua has also sent us the NL-ACF1, which is an optional auxiliary fan that is not included in the box; you have to purchase this fan separately for $20. It is designed to cool the motherboard components surrounding the CPU socket. We will also demonstrate its performance to see if it makes any difference to the VRM heatsinks and the DRAM modules near the CPU socket.

However, it utilises an 80mm impeller based on the NF-A8 design, which is a fan, and set within the custom-engineered frame; as per Noctua, this frame design is made to leverage the Coandă effect, which is a fluid dynamic phenomenon in which the air tends to follow the curve of a nearby surface rather than travelling in a straight line. This design would effectively draw the air straight down to the motherboard VRM heatsinks and other components surrounding the CPU socket.

This fan can be directly attached to the surface of the block using the magnetic mounting system; the underside of the fan houses the four small rectangular magnets. The fan comes with the NA-YC1 splitter cable and NA-STM1 Magnet and tape set for attaching the NL-LC1 faceplate to other surfaces.

Fans

We have tested NF-A12x25 G2 when it was launched, and these are the best fans we have ever tested on the bench in terms of performance and noise efficiency, thanks to Noctua’s engineering.

Main Highlight: NF-A12x25 G2 PWM

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The reason why these fans are literally top-tier is because of a combination of their build quality and highly refined aerodynamic engineering. We will not go into the details much, as you can read our full in-depth review. Still, we might give you the TLDR.

Well, These fans features the 0.5mm tip clearance which is crucial to maintain the static-pressure to prevent the air-leaks, also it uses the Sterrox LCP material, and the Aerodynamic impeller, and it’s acoustic frame design which can smooth out the airflow to reduce the noise and uses the SSO2 bearing, which is technically an improved fluid dynamic bearing exclusively engineered by Noctua with a mean-time to failure rating of over 150,000 hours.

Installation (AMD)

We’re using the AMD platform, so our installation steps will only be provided for that.

Prepare the socket

The first step is to remove the AMD stock retention brackets that come preinstalled on the motherboard. Place the grey spacers in the mounting holes around the socket. Now, place the AMD mounting bars (NM-AMB15) on the spacers and fasten the bracket with the four SecuFirm2+ Torx T20 screws using the provided NM-SD1 magnetic Torx screwdriver.

For AMD it is advised and highly recommended to use the offset mounting position at -7mm (highlighted on the bracket) to center the pump block over the Ryzen Core Complex Die (CCD) Hotspot. Make sure you apply fresh thermal paste on the CPU; we are using ID-Cooling X45.

Remove the plastic protective film from the AIO’s copper cold plate. Place the pump over the CPU so that the two spring loaded screws align with the placements on the mounting bars and tighten the screws, keep alternating between them meaning a few turns on one, and then few turns on the another until both secures, this will ensure perfectly even mounting pressure across the CPU.

Finished Looks

Finished Setup

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Testing Methodology

CPU Configuration:

• We evaluate the cooler’s performance using three different benchmark methods. Noise-normalized testing is performed at 40dB(A) at the 105W TDP and 170W TDP (Stock) of the Ryzen 9 9950X. We then test the cooler’s performance at the maximum PWM speeds for both TDP configurations. After that, we unlock the power limits of the CPU to see how much cooler it can dissipate the heat in terms of watts at the maximum PWM Speeds.

Controlled Environment:

• We have eliminated the influence of ambient temperatures in our data, and all results are presented as deltas over the ambient conditions. The tests were done in a controlled environment with a room temperature of 25°C.

Preparing System:

• The Coolers are tested in realistic conditions. We don’t use the open bench system; instead, we have installed the cooler in our HYTE Y70 case, mounted at the top. We ensure the airflow is adequate in the case and that the case fans are running at the fixed PWM speeds.
• We are using ID-Cooling X45 thermal paste for all coolers.

Software:

• We have ensured that no other software is running on the computer that could influence the CPU load.
• We’ll be using the Cinebench R23 Loop for 20 minutes after the warm-up test has been completed. Each test has a 10-minute cool-down time.

Test Setup

Here is our test setup!

Test – NL-ACF1 Cooling Fan (Is it Effective?)

Before we jump to the CPU thermal numbers, we want to test the VRM fan (NL-ACF1) to see whether it’s actually worth it and whether you should spend the extra 20 bucks. We’ll be using our Thermal Imaging Camera by Goyojo, and the results are captured at a standardised 0.2 m test distance and 0.95 emissivity. Also, these results were obtained during 20 minutes of Cinebench R23 at 200W of heat load for each Fan Off and Fan On Test.

Rear VRM Heatsink

The rear I/O VRM heatsink sees an 8-degree improvement.

Top VRM Heatsink

This is massive; the top VRM array benefits the most from the fan’s directed airflow, dropping by nearly 12 degrees.

DRAM Modules

The ambient temperatures across the memory slots dropped by 7.7 degrees, which is also a decent improvement. If you’re tuning the memory, pushing DIMM voltages, or tweaking the memory timings, the lower temperatures would actually help you stabilize the memory.

Test – Noise Normalized 40 dB(A)

Results at the fixed noise level of 40dB(A).

Note: The Nocturnal NL-LC1-36 has been manually adjusted to its maximum pump speed profile, reaching a maximum speed of 3,400 RPM, as all-in-one coolers are tested at their maximum possible pump speed in our standardized testing methodology.

140W Heat Load

200W Heat Load

Test – Maximum Speed

Results at the Maximum PWM Speed.

140W Heat Load

200W Heat Load

Noise and RPM Readings

Let’s take a look at the Noise and RPM Readings. We conducted tests across four different PWM range levels.

25-50% PWM

75-100% PWM

Should You Buy It?

Buy It If

✅ You Demand The Absolute Best in Noise-Normalized Thermal Performance: Thanks to its robust pump design, which incorporates the Asetek Emma V2 Gen 8, Noctua’s 3-layer soundproofing, and the flagship NF-A12x25 G2 fans, it delivers exceptional performance while maintaining an excellent performance-to-noise ratio.

✅ You Prefer a Stealthy, Industrial Look With Zero RGB Lighting: The Noctua NL-LC1-36 strictly adheres to a function-over-aesthetics philosophy, rejecting the trend of RGB lighting and LCD screens in favor of a raw, stealthy design.

✅ You Want a Durability, Long Term Cooling Investment: The NL-LC1-36 could outlast multiple CPU generations and platforms, thanks to the SSO2 bearing’s exceptional endurance in Noctua’s latest G2 fans, the cooler’s robust build quality, and a strong six-year warranty.

Don’t Buy It If

❌ The Noctua Tax: The steep $250 MSRP makes it a tough sell for mid-range systems. It’s one of the most expensive AIOs on the market, and at almost half the price, you can get around 90% of the performance from other coolers on the market.

❌ If You Can’t Compromise on Aesthetics: If you want a pump block with an integrated, customizable LCD screen, temperature sensors, or RGB lighting to match your system’s theme, then you can skip this cooler.

Final Thoughts

Cooling Performance And Noise

The Noctua NL-LC1-36 secures the top position in our charts with an average delta of 44 degrees at a 200W heat load, surpassing other brands like Lian-Li, Astra, DeepCool, and ID-Cooling, and beating the second-best cooler by 1.8 degrees at full fan speed.

To make this even more interesting, let’s talk about its noise-normalized performance at 40 dB(A). At the identical 200W heat load, Noctua takes the lead by an impressive 4 degrees, demonstrating why this cooler is unbeatable when it comes to noise-to-performance efficiency.

The cooler produced 46 dB(A) at full RPM, which is excellent. In our charts, we did not see any other cooler from the competing brands come close to Noctua in terms of noise efficiency.

Build Quality / Design

When it comes to build quality and design, Noctua has consistently impressed me throughout my years of reviewing its products. The NL-LC1-36 continues that trend, prioritizing industrial durability and acoustics over aesthetics. It’s a clear masterclass in material selection and engineering.

Talking about the block, which is the main highlight of this cooler, beneath the matte-black outer shroud lies the NL-PNA1 (that’s what Noctua calls it). Well, it’s a pump-noise absorber that utilizes a complex three-layer foam structure and a dense tuned-mass damper. We tested the cooler at both manual speed and its maximum speed of 3,400 RPM, and we could barely hear anything from the pump.

In addition, Noctua has equipped it with its flagship fan, the NF-A12x25 G2, which is arguably one of the best-quality fans in terms of build quality and efficiency. While the aesthetics may not appeal to every DIY builder, the NL-LC1-36 makes up for it with phenomenal build quality, excellent acoustics, and a design focused purely on performance.

The VRM fan, the NL-ACF1, is also highly effective, resulting in up to 12 degrees lower temperatures. Considering the cooler’s MSRP, I believe it should have been included with the cooler. The radiator and tubing are fairly industry-standard, and we had no issues with either.

We removed and reinstalled the block more than twice to inspect the contact, and Noctua’s SecuFirm2+ mounting system worked exceptionally well throughout the process..

Value

The cooler has an MSRP of $249.99, which is a lot and might sting a lot of PC builders bypassing the traditional budget-to-performance entirely; even some of the high-end coolers would cost shy of just $200. Its value proposition does not lie in the cheapest cost per degree at all.

However, this cooler is for those who want the absolute best, with zero compromise engineering, acoustic dominance, and long-lasting durability backed by a 6-year warranty and a 150,000-hour lifespan. At this moment, this cooler feels like a long-term investment capable of outlasting multiple CPU upgrades.

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Usman Sheikh

Senior Hardware Reviewer at Tech4Gamers with over a decade of experience in the tech industry. My journey began in 2014 as a senior administrator for Pakistan’s largest gaming community forum. I specialize in testing and reviewing components like graphics cards, CPU coolers, and motherboards, while also sharing insights on overclocking and system optimization.