Noctua NH-D15

[crazyeyesreaper]

With the NH-D15, Noctua once again takes their place, leading our charts. This cooler offers unprecedented cooling performance that makes all-in-one liquid coolers seem weak, especially considering that it does so while remaining whisper quiet.

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[TheDeeGee]

Not sure why the price is a Con...

It competes with closed loops, you don't have leaking issues and it's quieter. Not to mention 6 years warranty.

I think it's well priced for what you get in return.

 

[Scrizz]

Not sure why the price is a Con...

It competes with closed loops, you don't have leaking issues and it's quieter. Not to mention 6 years warranty.

I think it's well priced for what you get in return.

and you don't have to worry about pump failures.

 

[KashunatoR]

I don't understand why Noctua Nh-D14 has not been tested in this review. Many users like myself would want if it is worth it to replace the old flagship cooler with th new flagship cooler, so this review isn't really helpful as it leaves me in the dark.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

I don't understand why Noctua Nh-D14 has not been tested in this review. Many users like myself would want if it is worth it to replace the old flagship cooler with th new flagship cooler, so this review isn't really helpful as it leaves me in the dark.

Would you like to provide one? I can only test with what I have on hand. Considering I replaced the reviewer who originally reviewed the NH-D14 I dont have one. Nor am I gonna go buy one just to add to the review charts.

But a simple google search would tell you the Phanteks PH-TC14PE = or BEATS the NH-D14 and the NH-D15 beats the Phanteks PH-TC14PE thus you have your answer granted in a round about way.


As for the price being a con it applies to the MSRP, R1 Universal is cheaper has better memory compatibility equal build quality similar performance etc.

The fact is its a $99 air cooler that is great regardless the price is steep compared to some of the competition and what they offer for the price. Granted this was at the time of review, Newegg has the NH-D15 listed for less which is great for now. Making it a better buy now compared to when I wrote the review.

 

[techy1]

damn this one is so huge... that board must be mITX.... I think one can use this cooler as reference in "Yo mama" jokes

 

[MakeDeluxe]

I've been thinking: could you run this beast with 3 fans? Would it even benefit anything?

 

[TheDeeGee]

I've been thinking: could you run this beast with 3 fans? Would it even benefit anything?

You can, but i believe it doesn't make a difference up from 2 Fans.

 

[avatar_raq]

I second what MakeDeluxe said; I would love to see the benchmarks run with 3 fans on this beast. Great review btw.

 

[douglatins]

So the Phanteks is better? This image is weird.

 

[Fuzzy112]

It does not block the first PCI-e slot on my Gigabyte G1 Sniper M5, using my GPU on it

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

So the Phanteks is better? This image is weird.

Graph Error thanks for the heads up

 

[alwayssts]

I've been thinking: could you run this beast with 3 fans? Would it even benefit anything?

While I can't tell you it is 100% the case in this instance, generally (meaning every other one I've seen reviewed) their designs don't benefit much from the second fan on the single finstack units...there is a saturation point of the sink that is more-or-less crossed with one strong fan or two very quiet/slow fans. I can't imagine it is much different in this case, but I suppose it is possible.

The beast is impressive I suppose, but for the size/cooling ratio, and ability to at least see/get to at least some of the motherboard, I imagine us C14/D14 users aren't exactly envious. The moral here is once you have one, you're pretty much set...Noctua will (unless something has changed) even send you a mounting bracket every time there is a new socket.

Overkill for an air cooler, yes. Expensive, yes. Quiet, yes. Worth it? Debatable. Premium? Definitely.

Thanks for the review.

 

[TheDeeGee]

It does not block the first PCI-e slot on my Gigabyte G1 Sniper M5, using my GPU on it

Ye it depends on the Motherboard layout.

I just love that compatibility list on Noctuas Site.

 

[Fuzzy112]

Ye it depends on the Motherboard layout.

I just love that compatibility list on Noctuas Site.

Haha that list claims it blocks the first slot.

 

[Steve-007UK]

Thanks for the review, Nice to see how it compares to other coolers and i can get an idea of how well it does vs the NH-D14 i have

 

[Kursah]

Nice review. I am impressed that it's little half-ways brother the U12S is only a few degrees warmer under OC loads. Makes me wonder how close my U14S comes which did compete with the larger D14.

Keep up the nice work!

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

Thanks yea the coolers only tend to really separate themselves when under higher loads aka Sandy-bridge-E / Ivy Bridge-E were better test platforms.

When it comes to these low wattage chips the big heavy weight coolers just make sure to keep things cool AND quiet. Thats the only major factor. Using Ivy-E for a personal system tho i would take the D15 or U14S over the U12S any day.

 

[msamelis]

I purchased the NH-D15 about a month ago. I managed to mount it even with the Corsair Vengeance RAM but I had to install the fans on pull/pull. The fans came extremely close to my motherboard's heatsinks and it barely fit my Silverstone FT02 case as well, but it did fit. It performs well on this volcano-for-a-CPU my 3770k has turned out so far.

I had another problem; one of two male screws which are attached on the brackets which attach on the motherboard, was not threaded correctly and the female screw attached on the heatsink itself would not just firmly attach. I guess I was unlucky but I actually managed to install the cooler after all but it just doesn't feel alright - although the temps and whatnot are fine. Noctua will send me a new mounting system according to what they told me via e-mail - thank God.

P.S. Excuse my English, it's not my native language

 

[SmokingCrop]

I wonder what the performance would be like if you changed the fans to the new industrial noctua ones.

 

[msamelis]

I wonder what the performance would be like if you changed the fans to the new industrial noctua ones.

The industrial NF-F12 spins at ~2000 RPM while the "normal" NF-F12 spins at 1500 RPM max, which means the performance would be enhanced but so would the noise too. According to Noctua, they have a ~8db difference, which is significant really.

 

[R0H1T]

The industrial NF-F12 spins at ~2000 RPM while the "normal" NF-F12 spins at 1500 RPM max, which means the performance would be enhanced but so would the noise too. According to Noctua, they have a ~8db difference, which is significant really.

Well the industrial f12 also runs @ 3000RPM & is fairly loud with 43.5 dB of noise ~ Specifications

The A15 bundled with the D15 however isn't available as an industrial part ~ industrialPPC

 

[redeye]

"spring loading screws to hold the HSF to the motherboard"
So, That is how they solved the problem i had with my noctua L12... great heatsink, love the accessories, and it has a "swiss engineering" feel to it.
BUT, because the HSF bolts were not spring loaded, the HSF felt loose, I had to add 1 mm washers to the top of bolts.
while it was a pain to remove the split ring than holds the bolt to the HSF, it is a great idea because i was able to keep the washer in-place (above the HSF hold down bar) and so that you can not lose the bolts.

 

[adulaamin]

Do you guys think this would fit in an ASUS Maximus VII Gene with the first PCIe slot populated by a 780ti? It's the highest end air cooler I can avail of here. I'm currently using an NH-U12S and it just won't cut it temp-wise when overclocking. I'm also trying to avoid using an AIO.

 

[RealNeil]

The moral here is once you have one, you're pretty much set...Noctua will (unless something has changed) even send you a mounting bracket every time there is a new socket.

Overkill for an air cooler, yes. Expensive, yes. Quiet, yes. Worth it? Debatable. Premium? Definitely.

Agreed, they still do send new mounts when they come out. And I think that it's worth it, unless you already have something that works good.

The review was a good read.