Jump to content

Noctua nh-d15 vs dark rock pro 4?

webguy
By webguy
in Cooling
 Share
Posted

Hi.  I am building a gaming and streaming pc.  I will be playing and streaming on the same pc at the same time while also capturing video for youtube videos.  I plan to have an i9 9900k with an evga 2080 ti black edition gpu with 32gb of 3200 ram of 2x16gb.  My gaming and streaming sessions will likely be 12+ hours every day.  I want air flow and temperature control to be a priority in the pc.  The case will be the cooler master h500 which is a larger mid tower.  I was pretty set on the noctua nh-d15 but recently it has been recommended by a few people to do a dark rock pro 4 instead.  I will likely be using a gigabyte aorus elite board.  The gpu will likely run pretty hot as it only has 2 fans on it.

 

Does anyone have experience with the nh-d15 or dark rock pro 4?  Do both perform the same or is one better?  Which would be more quiet?  Would an aio be a much better fit or will one of these two air coolers perform as well?  Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Both should give you pretty similar temps. The Noctua will probably be quiter because of the Noctua fans, though I have no experience with beQuiet! fans to know if this is true.

 

I have the NH-D15 on my Ryzen 5 2600x, and with a custom fan curve the fans run below 1000rpm while the CPU stays below 50C under load (spikes into mid 50s, with max in CPU intensive task up to low 60s). 

 

If you're going with the Cooler Master H500, make sure to get the H500p. The 'p' model has a mesh front panel for vastly improved airflow, Gamer's Nexus did a video on it. 

Primary PC: - https://pcpartpicker.com/list/8G3tXv (Windows 10 Home)

HTPC: - https://pcpartpicker.com/list/KdBb4n (Windows 10 Home)
Server: Dell Precision T7500 - Dual Xeon X5660's, 44GB ECC DDR3, Dell Nvidia GTX 645 (Windows Server 2019 Standard)      

*SLI Rig* - i7-920, MSI-X58 Platinum SLI, 12GB DDR3, Dual EVGA GTX 260 Core 216 in SLI - https://pcpartpicker.com/list/GHw6vW (Windows 7 Pro)

HP DC7900 - Core 2 Duo E8400, 4GB DDR2, Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT (Windows Vista)

Compaq Presario 5000 - Pentium 4 1.7Ghz, 1.7GB SDR, PowerColor Radeon 9600 Pro (Windows XP x86 Pro)
Compaq Presario 8772 - Pentium MMX 200Mhz, 48MB PC66, 6GB Quantum HDD, "8GB" HP SATA SSD adapted to IDE (Windows 98 SE)

Asus M32AD - Intel i3-4170, 8GB DDR3, 250GB Seagate 2.5" HDD (converting to SSD soon), EVGA GeForce GTS 250, OEM 350W PSU (Windows 10 Core)

*Haswell Tower* - https://pcpartpicker.com/list/3vw6vW (Windows 10 Home)

*ITX Box* - https://pcpartpicker.com/list/r36s6R (Windows 10 Education)

Dell Dimension XPS B800 - Pentium 3 800Mhz, RDRAM

In progress projects:

*Skylake Tower* - Pentium G4400, Asus H110

*Trash Can* - AMD A4-6300

*GPU Test Bench*

*Pfsense router* - Pentium G3220, Asrock H97m Pro A4, 4GB DDR3

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

NH-D15 has better max performance, but when slowed down to give similar noise levels they are pretty much equal along with the Cryorig R1 Ultimate. 

 

5 minutes ago, Eastman51 said:

If you're going with the Cooler Master H500, make sure to get the H500p. The 'p' model has a mesh front panel for vastly improved airflow, Gamer's Nexus did a video on it. 

There's a H500p with solid plastic front, then there;s just H500 and H500M. @webguy Just make sure the case has a mesh front, though I heard that they are now selling cases with both panels (1 installed 1 as a separate part)

CPU: i7-2600K 4751MHz 1.44V (software) --> 1.47V at the back of the socket Motherboard: Asrock Z77 Extreme4 (BCLK: 103.3MHz) CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 RAM: Adata XPG 2x8GB DDR3 (XMP: 2133MHz 10-11-11-30 CR2, custom: 2203MHz 10-11-10-26 CR1 tRFC:230 tREFI:14000) GPU: Asus GTX 1070 Dual (Super Jetstream vbios, +70(2025-2088MHz)/+400(8.8Gbps)) SSD: Samsung 840 Pro 256GB (main boot drive), Transcend SSD370 128GB PSU: Seasonic X-660 80+ Gold Case: Antec P110 Silent, 5 intakes 1 exhaust Monitor: AOC G2460PF 1080p 144Hz (150Hz max w/ DP, 121Hz max w/ HDMI) TN panel Keyboard: Logitech G610 Orion (Cherry MX Blue) with SteelSeries Apex M260 keycaps Mouse: BenQ Zowie FK1

 

Model: HP Omen 17 17-an110ca CPU: i7-8750H (0.125V core & cache, 50mV SA undervolt) GPU: GTX 1060 6GB Mobile (+80/+450, 1650MHz~1750MHz 0.78V~0.85V) RAM: 8+8GB DDR4-2400 18-17-17-39 2T Storage: HP EX920 1TB PCIe x4 M.2 SSD + Crucial MX500 1TB 2.5" SATA SSD, 128GB Toshiba PCIe x2 M.2 SSD (KBG30ZMV128G) gone cooking externally, 1TB Seagate 7200RPM 2.5" HDD (ST1000LM049-2GH172) left outside Monitor: 1080p 126Hz IPS G-sync

 

Desktop benching:

Cinebench R15 Single thread:168 Multi-thread: 833 

SuperPi (v1.5 from Techpowerup, PI value output) 16K: 0.100s 1M: 8.255s 32M: 7m 45.93s

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
Just now, Jurrunio said:

NH-D15 has better max performance, but when slowed down to give similar noise levels they are pretty much equal along with the Cryorig R1 Ultimate. 

 

There's a H500p with solid plastic front, then there;s just H500 and H500M. @webguy Just make sure the case has a mesh front, though I heard that they are now selling cases with both panels (1 installed 1 as a separate part)

ah, thanks for letting me know; I thought the P was the mesh model, but I guess I was wrong 

Primary PC: - https://pcpartpicker.com/list/8G3tXv (Windows 10 Home)

HTPC: - https://pcpartpicker.com/list/KdBb4n (Windows 10 Home)
Server: Dell Precision T7500 - Dual Xeon X5660's, 44GB ECC DDR3, Dell Nvidia GTX 645 (Windows Server 2019 Standard)      

*SLI Rig* - i7-920, MSI-X58 Platinum SLI, 12GB DDR3, Dual EVGA GTX 260 Core 216 in SLI - https://pcpartpicker.com/list/GHw6vW (Windows 7 Pro)

HP DC7900 - Core 2 Duo E8400, 4GB DDR2, Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT (Windows Vista)

Compaq Presario 5000 - Pentium 4 1.7Ghz, 1.7GB SDR, PowerColor Radeon 9600 Pro (Windows XP x86 Pro)
Compaq Presario 8772 - Pentium MMX 200Mhz, 48MB PC66, 6GB Quantum HDD, "8GB" HP SATA SSD adapted to IDE (Windows 98 SE)

Asus M32AD - Intel i3-4170, 8GB DDR3, 250GB Seagate 2.5" HDD (converting to SSD soon), EVGA GeForce GTS 250, OEM 350W PSU (Windows 10 Core)

*Haswell Tower* - https://pcpartpicker.com/list/3vw6vW (Windows 10 Home)

*ITX Box* - https://pcpartpicker.com/list/r36s6R (Windows 10 Education)

Dell Dimension XPS B800 - Pentium 3 800Mhz, RDRAM

In progress projects:

*Skylake Tower* - Pentium G4400, Asus H110

*Trash Can* - AMD A4-6300

*GPU Test Bench*

*Pfsense router* - Pentium G3220, Asrock H97m Pro A4, 4GB DDR3

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

NH-D15 will perform slightly better, but ultimately they are very similar. In all honesty, you should just pick whichever one you prefer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

The NH-D15 fits more ram. 

 

That is why I have a Pro 4 sitting in a box and a NH-D15 in the computer.

RIG#1 CPU: AMD, R 7 5800x3D| Motherboard: X570 AORUS Master | RAM: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32GB DDR4 3200 | GPU: EVGA FTW3 ULTRA  RTX 3090 ti | PSU: EVGA 1000 G+ | Case: Lian Li O11 Dynamic | Cooler: EK 360mm AIO | SSD#1: Corsair MP600 1TB | SSD#2: Crucial MX500 2.5" 2TB | Monitor: ASUS ROG Swift PG42UQ

 

RIG#2 CPU: Intel i9 11900k | Motherboard: Z590 AORUS Master | RAM: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32GB DDR4 3600 | GPU: EVGA FTW3 ULTRA  RTX 3090 ti | PSU: EVGA 1300 G+ | Case: Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO | Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 | SSD#1: SSD#1: Corsair MP600 1TB | SSD#2: Crucial MX300 2.5" 1TB | Monitor: LG 55" 4k C1 OLED TV

 

RIG#3 CPU: Intel i9 10900kf | Motherboard: Z490 AORUS Master | RAM: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32GB DDR4 4000 | GPU: MSI Gaming X Trio 3090 | PSU: EVGA 1000 G+ | Case: Lian Li O11 Dynamic | Cooler: EK 360mm AIO | SSD#1: Crucial P1 1TB | SSD#2: Crucial MX500 2.5" 1TB | Monitor: LG 55" 4k B9 OLED TV

 

RIG#4 CPU: Intel i9 13900k | Motherboard: AORUS Z790 Master | RAM: Corsair Dominator RGB 32GB DDR5 6200 | GPU: Zotac Amp Extreme 4090  | PSU: EVGA 1000 G+ | Case: Streacom BC1.1S | Cooler: EK 360mm AIO | SSD: Corsair MP600 1TB  | SSD#2: Crucial MX500 2.5" 1TB | Monitor: LG 55" 4k B9 OLED TV

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Thermalright Le Grand Macho RT, FTW!

 

The El Macho only use 1 fan with massive heatsink, but the benchmarked performance is at the same level, even slightly better than NH-D15 in some reviews.

 

It's cheaper than D15, the weight maybe is the lightest (1060 gr) among massive air coolers, lower height (159 mm), doesnt conflict with any RAM slots at all, and relatively shorter warranty (a long warranty on an air coolers is not too necessary tho, it's not a big deal)

 

If I must build another PC for myself, I would definitely use the El Macho all day unless the Computex 2018 Noctua's new gen of 7 heatpiped NH-D15 is already available on the market someday..

My system specs:

Spoiler

CPU: Intel Core i7-8700K, 5GHz Delidded LM || CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-C14S w/ NF-A15 & NF-A14 Chromax fans in push-pull cofiguration || Motherboard: MSI Z370i Gaming Pro Carbon AC || RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 2x8Gb 2666 || GPU: EVGA GTX 1060 6Gb FTW2+ DT || Storage: Samsung 860 Evo M.2 SATA SSD 250Gb, 2x 2.5" HDDs 1Tb & 500Gb || ODD: 9mm Slim DVD RW || PSU: Corsair SF600 80+ Platinum || Case: Cougar QBX + 1x Noctua NF-R8 front intake + 2x Noctua NF-F12 iPPC top exhaust + Cougar stock 92mm DC fan rear exhaust || Monitor: ASUS VG248QE || Keyboard: Ducky One 2 Mini Cherry MX Red || Mouse: Logitech G703 || Audio: Corsair HS70 Wireless || Other: XBox One S Controler

My build logs:

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

The DRP4 is a bit quieter and the NH-D15 performs a bit better. Go for the NH-D15 unless the other is cheaper or if you prefer the black aesthetic. 

If you ever need help with a build, read the following before posting: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/3061-build-plan-thread-recommendations-please-read-before-posting/
Also, make sure to quote a post or tag a member when replying or else they won't get a notification that you replied to them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author

Thank you everyone for the information.  I think I will go with the d15.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author
5 hours ago, StarsMars said:

This guy did a video comparing 4 beefy tower coolers. Have a listen to how they sound.

https://youtu.be/U2hum55Qufo?t=240

Thank you.  It looks like the d15 had the best rating from that video.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
5 hours ago, webguy said:

Thank you.  It looks like the d15 had the best rating from that video.

But also looks super ugly

My PC:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X Processor (4.4Ghz), MOBO: GIGABYTE X470 AORUS Gaming 7 WiFi (AMD Ryzen AM4/ X470/ Intel Wave 2 WiFi/M.2), RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 DRAM 3000MHz C15, GPU: Gigabyte nVidia GeForce GTX 1080 Windforce OC GV-N1080WF3OC-8GD Graphics Cards, STORAGE: 120GB CRUCIAL SSD, 1TB WD BLUE, COOLER: Cooler Master 212 EVO RGB Black Edition, FANS: 4 x MasterFan MF120R RGB (2 Front, 1 Back, 1 Top), 1 x Noctua NF-P12 Redux 1700 RPM(Back off Cooler), PC CASE: Cooler Master MB500 case, PSU: EVGA 750 BQ.

 

My Kids PC:

CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 955 (95watt @3.5Ghz @1.40V), MOBO: ASUS M2A-VM, RAM: Kingston 8GB (4x2GB) DDR2 800MHz, GPU: nVidia GT 710 2GB DDR3 (OC’ed Clock to 1300Mhz and Memory to 950Mhz), STORAGE: 250GB HDD, 500GB HDD, COOLER:  Cooler Master 212 EVO, PC CASE: Cooler Master Q300L , FANS: 3 x upHere RED LED Fans (2 Front, 1 Back), PSU: Generic 300 Watt PSU.

 

Console:  PS4 - vjizzle2384

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author
Just now, vjizzle2384 said:

But also looks super ugly

Haha I do not care much about how it looks.  I care more about performance and value than looks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

The Noctua 6 year warranty also extends to the fans. BeQuiet 3 years, Thermalright 1 year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
1 hour ago, Bearmann said:

The Noctua 6 year warranty also extends to the fans. BeQuiet 3 years, Thermalright 1 year.

Fan warranty omegalul

 

It's like putting warranty on a pencil

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
7 minutes ago, hello_there_123 said:

Fan warranty omegalul

 

It's like putting warranty on a pencil

Those Noctua fans are about $25-$30 each and there are two of them and they are the most likely part to fail in a heatsink.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
Just now, Bearmann said:

Those Noctua fans are about $25-$30 each and there are two of them and they are the most likely part to fail in a heatsink.

Either the fans break in <1 year due to manufacturing issues or they don't break at all until 7+ years later in which case you can just replace them. 

 

Also Noctua fans carry a brand name price tag, 1 fan works just as well, and of course they are the most likely part to fail in a heatsink; there's only 2 parts in a heatsink, the big metal chunk itself (which won't be affected by anything) and the fan. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
3 minutes ago, hello_there_123 said:

Either the fans break in <1 year due to manufacturing issues or they don't break at all until 7+ years later in which case you can just replace them. 

 

Also Noctua fans carry a brand name price tag, 1 fan works just as well, and of course they are the most likely part to fail in a heatsink; there's only 2 parts in a heatsink, the big metal chunk itself (which won't be affected by anything) and the fan. 

Oh, you will be the first to cry when that BeQuiet fan breaks at year #4! Don't worry, I'll have a hanky waiting for you ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing Cooling

×