Cooler comparison

Noctua NH-L12S vs Scythe Big Shuriken 3 Rev.B

Across the 120 processors either cooler can mount, the Scythe Big Shuriken 3 Rev.B cools better or equally on 40 of them, . The Big Shuriken 3 Rev.B is rated 10 W higher.

Reviewed by Farrukh Sufyan SarwarHow we estimate temperaturesPrices verified November 2, 2026Model v1.2 · data updated November 2, 2026

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Noctua NH-L12S

Type: Low-profile air cooler
Sustained rating: 120 W
Height: 70 mm
RAM clearance: 48 mm
Sockets in box: AM4, AM5, LGA1200, LGA1700, LGA1851
Price: $74.95

$74.95as of Nov 2, 05:59 AM UTC · In StockCheck price

Scythe Big Shuriken 3 Rev.B

Type: Low-profile air cooler
Sustained rating: 130 W
Height: 69 mm
RAM clearance: 48 mm
Sockets in box: AM4, AM5, LGA1200, LGA1700, LGA1851
Price: ~$55

~$55Check price

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

Excellent verdicts by socket

Number of processors per socket each cooler keeps in the Excellent band
Socket	CPUs	NH-L12S	Big Shuriken 3 Rev.B
AM5	25	12 / 25	12 / 25
AM4	26	13 / 26	13 / 26
LGA1851	8	0 / 8	0 / 8
LGA1700	41	3 / 41	4 / 41
LGA1200	20	2 / 20	2 / 20

Head to head on popular processors

Estimated full-load temperature and verdict for each cooler on the highest-power processors
Processor	Boost	NH-L12S	Big Shuriken 3 Rev.B
Core i7-13700K	253 W	100 °CThrottling risk	100 °CThrottling risk
Core i9-13900K	253 W	100 °CThrottling risk	100 °CThrottling risk
Core i9-14900KF	253 W	100 °CThrottling risk	100 °CThrottling risk
Core i7-11700K	251 W	100 °CThrottling risk	100 °CThrottling risk
Core Ultra 7 265K	250 W	100 °CThrottling risk	100 °CThrottling risk
Core i9-12900KS	241 W	100 °CThrottling risk	100 °CThrottling risk
Ryzen 9 9950X3D	230 W	95 °CThrottling risk	95 °CThrottling risk
Core i7-14700	224 W	100 °CThrottling risk	100 °CThrottling risk
Core i9-13900	219 W	100 °CThrottling risk	100 °CThrottling risk
Core i7-12700KF	190 W	100 °CThrottling risk	100 °CThrottling risk
Core Ultra 9 285	182 W	100 °CThrottling risk	100 °CThrottling risk
Core i5-14600KF	181 W	100 °CThrottling risk	100 °CThrottling risk
Ryzen 9 7900X3D	162 W	89 °CThrottling risk	89 °CThrottling risk
Core Ultra 5 245K	159 W	100 °CThrottling risk	100 °CThrottling risk
Core i5-13500	154 W	100 °CThrottling risk	100 °CThrottling risk
Core i5-12600KF	150 W	100 °CThrottling risk	100 °CThrottling risk