We built a Mini ITX system for a display at RESPAWN LAN in March this year and used the U9S in the staging process and then switched to the D9L for the final build. Either cooler would have been fine but it was an aesthetic choice in the end and I liked the look of the D9L a little better for the build.
We tested the Thermaltake Core V1 mini ITX chassis a little while ago and noted that it couldn’t take a 120mm cooler because of a height restriction. This left us with the options of low profile flat coolers that can impede RAM modules, the stock cooler that is noisy and less effective or water cooling. We tried to fit a Cooler Master Nepton 120XL in the Core V1 but the hoses were too rigid (so as to not kink) and it wasn’t going to fit. I had some tall XPG DDR3 modules from ADATA that I wanted to use and the NH-D9L fit the bill perfectly. I installed it in a few minutes and then overclocked the i5-4670K to 4.4@1.28v for a concept build and it ran like a dream without making any noise over the ambient room noise or the mechanical hard drive. The thing to remember is that you still need fresh air and unobstructed airflow for the best results. We kept the cabling neat in the Core V1 build and the NH-D9L seemed to be in a very happy place with optimal operating conditions.
