# Noctua NL-LC1-36

- Source: https://stierproducts.com/products/noctua-nl-lc1-36
- Category board: https://stierproducts.com/categories/cpu-coolers
- Placement: #4 of 24 in CPU Coolers, A tier
- Brand: Noctua
- LP on this board: 648
- Last researched: 2026-09-10T07:28:35.817Z
- Method: https://stierproducts.com/methodology
- Dataset: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22062813 - every board at once, one dated snapshot per release, same licence, prices and photographs left out
- Reuse: Text, rankings, tier assignments, LP values and verdicts are free to quote and reuse with attribution to stierproducts and a link to the source URL (CC BY 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Product photographs are not covered: they belong to their respective owners and are reproduced to illustrate the product being reviewed. Do not redistribute them under this licence.

## Verdict

Early specialist reviews call it superior to the NH-D15 and better than all competition in quiet mode, but it is brand new and the priciest cooler here, so consensus has not yet crowned it.

## For

- Vastly superior performance to the NH-D15
- High performance with minimal noise
- Better than all of the competition in quiet mode
- Noctua's first AIO with a strong review wave
- Ranked #2 in Fox Picks' AIO roundup

## Against

- The most expensive cooler in its class

## Evidence

Consolidated from 32 cited sources across 27 outlets

| Outlet | Said by | Stance | Link | Link status |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| KitGuru | - | C | https://www.kitguru.net/components/cooling/james-dawson/noctua-nl-lc1-360-360mm-aio-cpu-cooler-review/ | fetched and confirmed |
| The NL-LC1-36 is exactly what you'd expect... | - | B | https://www.facebook.com/TechPowerUp/posts/the-nl-lc1-36-is-exactly-what-youd-expect-from-noctuas-first-all-in-one-liquid-c/1600861785374618/ | fetched and confirmed |
| Enos Tech | enostech.com | B | https://www.enostech.com/noctua-nl-lc1-liquid-cpu-coolers-launched/ | fetched and confirmed |
| Tech Times | Kyle Belmonte | B | https://www.techtimes.com/articles/317757/20260604/noctua-nl-lc1-aio-cooler-ships-june-16-asetek-pump-proprietary-noise-absorber.htm | fetched and confirmed |
| Overclockers | overclockers.com | C | https://www.overclockers.com/forums/threads/noctua-nl-lc1-aio-review.809079/ | fetched and confirmed |
| guru3D Forums | Hilbert Hagedoorn | B | https://forums.guru3d.com/threads/noctua-nl-lc1-36-liquid-cooler-review.460748/ | fetched and confirmed |
| r/hardware | u/Nekrosmas | C | https://www.reddit.com/r/hardware/comments/1u78ebe/techpowerup_noctua_nllc136_aio_review/ | fetched and confirmed |
| Club386 | - | B | https://www.club386.com/noctua-nl-lc1-review/ | fetched and confirmed |
| PC Guide | Sebastian Kozlowski | B | https://www.pcguide.com/cooling/noctua-nl-lc1-36-review/ | fetched and confirmed |
| PC Perspective | pcper.com | B | https://pcper.com/2026/08/the-noctua-nl-lc1-36-leverages-asetek-to-create-a-superior-aio-cooler/ | fetched and confirmed |
| ESSEDI Hardware | ESSEDI Hardware | C | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCtfURNvXsA | fetched and confirmed |
| Bartosz Szwedkowicz | Bartosz Szwedkowicz | B | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nkZ3jUZr_Y | fetched and confirmed |
| Tweaktown | tweaktown.com | B | https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/11564/noctua-nl-lc1-36-liquid-cpu-cooler/index.html | fetched and confirmed |
| Techpowerup | techpowerup.com | C | https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/noctua-nl-lc1-36-aio.349374/ | fetched and confirmed |
| Club386 | Ben Hardwidge | B | https://www.club386.com/best-cpu-cooler/ | fetched and confirmed |
| Hardware Canucks | Hardware Canucks | B | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OACfk1qNlCY | fetched and confirmed |
| Mr Matt Lee | Mr Matt Lee | B | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6Kfpao_PFI | fetched and confirmed |
| Funny Daily Clips | Funny Daily Clips | B | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4NWebmg89Q | fetched and confirmed |
| 潮玩客 | 潮玩客 | C | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhbmqQEjUKo | fetched and confirmed |
| Mr Matt Lee | swimnclimb | B | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6Kfpao_PFI#comments | fetched and confirmed |
| DanKamYouKnow | DanKamYouKnow | B | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwwCoarlLB8#comments | fetched and confirmed |
| Mr Matt Lee | Silent-1983 | C | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxjwhkwhPAw#comments | fetched and confirmed |
| Mr Matt Lee | Mr Matt Lee | B | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxjwhkwhPAw | fetched and confirmed |
| Hardware Canucks | carlinux123 | C | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvWswaq2f7Q&vl=en#comments | fetched and confirmed |
| LevelUP Gaming & Tech | LevelUP Gaming & Tech | B | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYnbCD7C2L0 | fetched and confirmed |
| Kr00tman Tech! | Kr00tman Tech! | B | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovCD90fOeQw | fetched and confirmed |
| igor´sLAB | Enrico Steinert | B | https://www.igorslab.de/en/noctua-nl-lc1-36-test-aio/3/ | fetched and confirmed |
| www.guru3d.com | Hilbert Hagedoorn | S | https://www.guru3d.com/review/noctua-nllc136-liquid-cooler-review/page-10/ | fetched and confirmed |
| PC Games Hardware | pcgameshardware.de | B | https://www.pcgameshardware.de/Kompaktwasserkuehlung-Hardware-267963/Specials/Noctua-NL-LC1-Review-High-End-All-in-One-Coolers-in-240mm-and-360mm-Sizes-1545459/ | fetched and confirmed |
| KitGuruTech | KitGuruTech | B | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M77gOLXoQ0 | fetched and confirmed |
| Gadget Joe | Gadget Joe | B | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLw8AEDWfrc | fetched and confirmed |
| CdrInfo.com | cdrinfo.com | B | https://www.cdrinfo.com/d7/content/noctua-nl-lc1-36 | fetched and confirmed |

## Nearest alternatives on this board

| Rank | Product | Tier | Page |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 | S | https://stierproducts.com/products/arctic-liquid-freezer-iii-pro-360 |
| 2 | Noctua NH-D15 G2 | S | https://stierproducts.com/products/noctua-nh-d15-g2 |
| 3 | Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE | A | https://stierproducts.com/products/thermalright-phantom-spirit-120-se |
| 5 | Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE | B | https://stierproducts.com/products/thermalright-peerless-assassin-120-se |
| 6 | Lian Li Galahad II Trinity Performance 360 | B | https://stierproducts.com/products/lian-li-galahad-ii-trinity-performance-360 |
| 7 | Thermalright Grand Vision 360 | B | https://stierproducts.com/products/thermalright-grand-vision-360 |
| 8 | Arctic Freezer 36 | B | https://stierproducts.com/products/arctic-freezer-36 |
| 9 | ID-COOLING FX360 PRO | C | https://stierproducts.com/products/id-cooling-fx360-pro |
| 23 | NZXT Kraken Elite 360 | F | https://stierproducts.com/products/nzxt-kraken-elite-360-rgb |
| 24 | Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition | F | https://stierproducts.com/products/cooler-master-hyper-212-black |

The full board is at https://stierproducts.com/categories/cpu-coolers.

## What this tier means

- A: Excellent. Strongly recommended, beaten only by the very best.

## How to read this

- Each category is researched in four independent runs, one per lens (expert consensus, value, reliability, community pulse). Every run ranks a board of candidates that deliberately includes products buyers cross-shop but should avoid. Placements score on a ranked ladder (LP), and tiers are derived from LP, so no tier is ever assigned by hand.
- LP is this product's points on its own category ladder. It is comparable within a category and not across categories.
- Link status reports what our pre-publication link check found when it fetched the cited URL. It says nothing about the quality of the review.
- A citation with no usable link is listed rather than dropped, and is excluded from the counted total above.

## Image

https://stspimgdevmfyk46r5vwkay.blob.core.windows.net/images/products/noctua-nl-lc1-36.webp

Product photographs are not covered: they belong to their respective owners and are reproduced to illustrate the product being reviewed. Do not redistribute them under this licence.