Noctua NH-D15 G2

[Sunny and 75]

Between the Phanteks T30 fans and the heatsinks made by Thermalright and Scythe, Noctua needs to either engineer better products to justify their prices or lower their prices.

It's like paying tax on the brand itself, like luxury goods you know.

That's why I've said:

But Expensive indeed, so Highly Recommended for (IDK, TBH) CPU Cooler collectors!

Do NOT get me wrong @crazyeyesreaper, I'm NOT criticizing you in any way, shape or form. You've always done an amazing job reviewing coolers and your conclusions have helped me tremendously over the years, it has to be said.

My quarrel is with the product's pricing, that's all.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

It's like paying tax on the brand itself, like luxury goods you know.

That's why I've said:


Do NOT get me wrong @crazyeyesreaper, I'm NOT criticizing you in any way, shape or form. You've always done an amazing job reviewing coolers and your conclusions have helped me tremendously over the years, it has to be said.

My quarrel is with the product's pricing, that's all.

Agreed that's why the But Expensive. The rattle gate or fan noise issues were not present on my sample performance was great hands down but it's just too expensive. It is the same issue with LCD mounted AIOs way too expensive for a gimmick when other solid offerings are available that provide near the same performance at 1/3 the cost. There are many out there that want the best of the best I understand that.

I love the sound of a V8 engine and the new Corvette is pretty sick but at nearly $69k to start vs a Model 3 Performance at $42k if I just want to have some fun launching and pinning my ass to the seat id take the Model 3. Half the price same 0-60 adrenaline-fueled fun ride.

For some people money is no object and they just don't care but they don't want leaking issue that might happen with an AIO and don't want the maintenance of a custom loop in which case D15 G2 it is. Its a very small subset of the market but it does exist. Same as I don't understand why people buy case fans at $30 a pop but they do.....

Similar argument can be made for say the 4090 vs 4080 10% relative performance gap but its 30-50% more expensive. That 10% to 20% relative difference isn't enough to magically make an unplayable game fully playable when pushing everything to the limit.


Then again maybe I am out of touch I still rock the system in my system specs lol

 

[Sunny and 75]

Then again maybe I am out of touch I still rock the system in my system specs lol

Not at all, you're ON point here, absolutely.

Similar argument can be made for say the 4090 vs 4080 10% relative performance gap but its 30-50% more expensive. That 10% to 20% relative difference isn't enough to magically make an unplayable game fully playable when pushing everything to the limit.

It has always been like this (the high-end segment).

 

[Nashtbg]

Hi guys!

I love the discussion here. I'm interested in your opinions.
I'm about to build a new PC, and the number one, most important thing for me is Silence. Price is not relevant to a degree.

Would you say this Noctua would be a great fit for me?

I currently have Bequiet Pure loop 280 AIO, and I am VERY disappointed with the noise level (with a 5800). Especially when playing games, in load.

Thanks!

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

Hi guys!

I love the discussion here. I'm interested in your opinions.
I'm about to build a new PC, and the number one, most important thing for me is Silence. Price is not relevant to a degree.

Would you say this Noctua would be a great fit for me?

I currently have Bequiet Pure loop 280 AIO, and I am VERY disappointed with the noise level (with a 5800). Especially when playing games, in load.

Thanks!

Look at the charts find the cooler that handles the highest heatload in the 45 dBA test that fits your case. (considering distance 45 dBA test would be closer to 38-40 dBA at a more reasonable distance with case side panel on. With the extra performance on tap just set a custom fan profile and your done.

 

[Onasi]

@Nashtbg
I’ll echo @crazyeyesreaper here - look for any decent dual tower, no need to overspend on Noctua. At all. Thermalright, ID Cooling, Scythe - whatever is available where you are and is priced decently. If you want silence above all - just buy the most overkill thing you can (a PS120, most likely, since I refuse to validate Noctuas pricing) and yeah, set a relaxed curve (or, if your BIOS has an option, sometimes a Silent PWM preset is actually decent enough). If you really, really don’t care about the price - sure, go Noctua.
Note that the 5800X (which I assume you meant) is known to be somewhat hard to cool and REALLY bursty with its boost, which is why your AIO is probably not doing so well. If you want even more silence - mess around with Curve Optimizer to reign the CPU asking for more voltage that it might need and that should drop the temps and, as such, fan speed on the cooler.

 

[chrcoluk]

It's the only one company thus far that almost begged me not to buy one or their new coolers and just ask - free or charge - for a new mounting bracket. That's a company I want to support. I don't know if their fans will last for 10 years but they'll last twice as long as everyone else's so there is that.

A very good point, they do stand out in this respect, many other companies want their products to become obsolete so you buy a newer SKU from them.

They gave me a LGA1700 mounting kit free of charge.

I just made a video demonstrating this:

If I remember right has it not been proven that a second fan doesnt help much anyway, maybe 1-2C only?

But yeah given the standards Noctua set themselves, and the price, return that thing for replacement or refund.

 

[Sunny and 75]

just set a custom fan profile and your done.

This^

set a relaxed curve (or, if your BIOS has an option, sometimes a Silent PWM preset is actually decent enough).

This^

If you really, really don’t care about the price - sure, go Noctua.

Two really(s) are not nearly enough. Add another one, please

I currently have Bequiet Pure loop 280 AIO, and I am VERY disappointed with the noise level (with a 5800). Especially when playing games, in load.

Could be a thermal paste issue.

 

[ARF]

Could be a thermal paste issue.

Could be a troll first post. Gaming is a very light load, the temperatures should stay VERY low, and with this super quiet AIO, it's impossible to have high noise levels.
Unless some extremely unlikely event of a manufacturing defect in the pump...

 

[Nashtbg]

Look at the charts find the cooler that handles the highest heatload in the 45 dBA test that fits your case. (considering distance 45 dBA test would be closer to 38-40 dBA at a more reasonable distance with case side panel on. With the extra performance on tap just set a custom fan profile and your done.

Thanks for taking the time and opinion! Much appreciated.

@Nashtbg
I’ll echo @crazyeyesreaper here - look for any decent dual tower, no need to overspend on Noctua. At all. Thermalright, ID Cooling, Scythe - whatever is available where you are and is priced decently. If you want silence above all - just buy the most overkill thing you can (a PS120, most likely, since I refuse to validate Noctuas pricing) and yeah, set a relaxed curve (or, if your BIOS has an option, sometimes a Silent PWM preset is actually decent enough). If you really, really don’t care about the price - sure, go Noctua.
Note that the 5800X (which I assume you meant) is known to be somewhat hard to cool and REALLY bursty with its boost, which is why your AIO is probably not doing so well. If you want even more silence - mess around with Curve Optimizer to reign the CPU asking for more voltage that it might need and that should drop the temps and, as such, fan speed on the cooler.

Thanks, I'm in the US. I already tried to play a bit with PWM but it didn't change anything. I was super frustrated. Maybe you're right and it's about the 5800X. I'm planning to switch to a 7800X3D or a 9XXX next month. I don't mind buying an air cooler or an AIOas long as it's silent ^^

Could be a troll first post. Gaming is a very light load, the temperatures should stay VERY low, and with this super quiet AIO, it's impossible to have high noise levels.
Unless some extremely unlikely event of a manufacturing defect in the pump...

I'd love a bit more positivity

High noise is relative to anyone hearing the sound. It's high enough for me. Basically, the fans start at high speed when I start playing Diablo 4. I live in a quiet street and I play mostly at night when everyone is sleeping. I want my PC to be dead-silent as much as possible (like someone could sleep at night 3 feet away without being disturbed).

Thanks again for all the input/answers!

 

[Onasi]

I'm planning to switch to a 7800X3D or a 9XXX next month. I don't mind buying an air cooler or an AIOas long as it's silent ^^

Well, can’t say that the 7800X3D would be any easier on the cooling. Don’t usually quote myself, but similar-ish question popped up in another thread:

Zen CPUs are well known for being fairly hard to cool. Note that it doesn’t mean “they run hot”, no, they are efficient chips and X3D specifically in most workloads will be very low wattage (and, as such, produce comparatively little heat). But the high thermal density due to a small compute die, that die being off-center, aggressive boost behavior, thick IHS for AM4 cooler compatibility and, for X3D, added cache on top leads to temperatures that might be higher than you’d think, but absolutely normal for those chips. Don’t think in terms of “how low can I go”, those times are behind us. Think “can I plop down a cooler, set it to auto PWM to not care and always be comfortably below the thermal throttle”. If the answer is yes - you are fine and shouldn’t concern yourself. And a PS120 on a 7800X3D will absolutely be fine.

 

[Nashtbg]

Well, can’t say that the 7800X3D would be any easier on the cooling. Don’t usually quote myself, but similar-ish question popped up in another thread:

Thanks! that's helpful

 

[Sunny and 75]

Thanks again for all the input/answers!

No problem.

 

[ShrekOC]

The takeaway is you can't go wrong with the Phantom Spirit.

 

[Nashtbg]

The takeaway is you can't go wrong with the Phantom Spirit.

Thanks. When I look at the chart, the Phantom Spirit is good but seems louder than the Noctua.

I know myself and when everything is installed I will not have the will to change again

Question is: if $ is not in the equation or the least important part and silence is the most important part, should I go Noctua? PS? Or even something else?

 

[ShrekOC]

Thanks. When I look at the chart, the Phantom Spirit is good but seems louder than the Noctua.

I know myself and when everything is installed I will not have the will to change again

Question is: if $ is not in the equation or the least important part and silence is the most important part, should I go Noctua? PS? Or even something else?

You probably don't want the EVO version. The standard version of the Phantom Spirit has fans with a lower max speed and seems to perform about the same.

https://www.amazon.com/Thermalright-Phantom-TL-C12B-Cooling-Heatsink/dp/B0C4JH24WW

 

[Thierry]

Noctua prices match performance = cooling + silence and quality.
I bought the NH-D15S chromax black 109.90 euros and I have no regrets. Cooling a 14900K perfectly with a Grizzly KryoSheet and leaves several cm between the graphics card, a Noctua 4080 perfect for working or gaming, and the CPU cooler.
I hope Noctua will make an S version of the NH-D15 G2.
Thanks for the Noctua NH-D15 G2 review.

 

[EmmanuelMar]

The Noctua in lga 1700 scales in dissipation up to 320 W, this is equivalent to many water cooling systems and in socket am5 it scales up to 240 W, with the advantage that there is no liquid, no pump, no duct that can lose liquid. Other cooling By air the same thing will happen in lga 1700 as it is larger the dissipation will be greater than in am5 which is smaller.

The difference between the Noctua and the competition is its total quality and the noise and its type of noise plus the support for new sockets and taking advantage of this heatsink in the future. From the noise to 45 db where it is not the same to hear a loud blow as being behind the afterburner outlet of the fighter (thermaltake), the amount of life of the fans 220,000 h without counting the evolution of deterioration where the noctua blades are a derivative of the keylar used in bulletproof vests, you are not going to let your noctua It breaks along the shaft and the blade scratches the entire side of the fan.

Noctua fans are diamond and titanium class

The fans come with a quick anchoring system without the need for screws throughout their range and with protections to avoid noise due to vibration between fans or transfer to the chassis or box.

they give you 6 years warranty

 

[Sunny and 75]

if $ is not in the equation or the least important part and silence is the most important part, should I go Noctua? PS? Or even something else?

Noctua, based on this TPU's review.

 

[maxfly]

Thanks. When I look at the chart, the Phantom Spirit is good but seems louder than the Noctua.

I know myself and when everything is installed I will not have the will to change again

Question is: if $ is not in the equation or the least important part and silence is the most important part, should I go Noctua? PS? Or even something else?

Something else.

If money is no option and silence is absolutely imperative. It's time to get your feet wet. Even if it's only one of the simple, upgradable, Alphacool Eisbaer AIOs you can/will achieve total silence much easier than with any heatsink.

If your capable of changing the average heatsink your more than able to set up the above mentioned AIO correctly.

KOI Alphacool Eisbaer 360 CPU - Black

AIO CPU water cooling Alphacool Eisbaer with 360 mm radiator - suitable for all Intel and AMD processor sockets. Extremely powerful and silent!

shop.alphacool.com

 

[BoggledBeagle]

The Noctua in lga 1700 scales in dissipation up to 320 W, this is equivalent to many water cooling systems and in socket am5 it scales up to 240 W, with the advantage that there is no liquid, no pump, no duct that can lose liquid. Other cooling By air the same thing will happen in lga 1700 as it is larger the dissipation will be greater than in am5 which is smaller.

The difference between the Noctua and the competition is its total quality and the noise and its type of noise plus the support for new sockets and taking advantage of this heatsink in the future. From the noise to 45 db where it is not the same to hear a loud blow as being behind the afterburner outlet of the fighter (thermaltake), the amount of life of the fans 220,000 h without counting the evolution of deterioration where the noctua blades are a derivative of the keylar used in bulletproof vests, you are not going to let your noctua It breaks along the shaft and the blade scratches the entire side of the fan.

Noctua fans are diamond and titanium class

The fans come with a quick anchoring system without the need for screws throughout their range and with protections to avoid noise due to vibration between fans or transfer to the chassis or box.

they give you 6 years warranty

Wow, nice promotional piece! You pushed so hard that you broke into the comedy piece territory as well...

BTW does "total quality" include buzzing fins?

 

[ShrekOC]

I'm not a fan of the hype either

 

[EmmanuelMar]

It's not about advertising, it's about the fact that in air there is nothing better than the noctua in terms of performance, now you say that my liquid can also lower the tdp of the cpu in the bios and make it quieter.....that's the same It is applied in an air heatsink, the difference is the type of maintenance you have in air or liquid and if you oversized the tdp of your air or water dissipation, the higher the dissipation, the quieter it will be, if you put a 65w tdp cpu and put it Dissipation of 300 W, whether air or water, will be very quiet because the fans are at minimum. If, on the other hand, you put a 65W air/water heatsink, it will work at 100% ventilation and will be noisy.

 

[sLowEnd]

Question is: if $ is not in the equation or the least important part and silence is the most important part, should I go Noctua? PS? Or even something else?

You can buy Noctua fans to put onto a Thermalright cooler, and it'll still be cheaper than the NH-D15 G2

 

[Sunny and 75]

You can buy Noctua fans to put onto a Thermalright cooler, and it'll still be cheaper than the NH-D15 G2

WOW