Noctua NH-D15 Review: Retaking The Cooling Performance Crown

[4960X]

Built on the basis of the legendary NH-D14 and carrying on its quest for ultimate quiet cooling performance, Noctua’s flagship model NH-D15 is an elite-class dual tower cooler for the highest demands. Its expanded heatpipe layout and two premium grade NF-A15 140mm fans with PWM support for automatic speed control allow it to further improve the NH-D14’s award-winning efficiency. Topped off with the trusted, pro-grade SecuFirm2™ multi-socket mounting system, Noctua’s proven NT-H1 thermal compound and full 6 years manufacturer’s warranty, the NH-D15 forms a complete premium quality solution that represents a deluxe choice for overclockers and silent-enthusiasts alike.

 

http://www.relaxedtech.com/reviews/noctua/nh-d15/1

 

 

This review shows the NH-D15 beating the TC14PE and NH-D14 by 2 Celsius and beating the H100i with 3 Celsius difference.

 

[One Who Craves Souls]

No matter how good they are this will always be my face.

[4960X]

^ what do you mean? You don't like Noctua?

[Homicidium]

^ what do you mean? You don't like Noctua?

 

He's most likely refering to the color scheme of the fans. 

[One Who Craves Souls]

^ what do you mean? You don't like Noctua?

Oh no no, by all means I respect Noctua for the high quality/performance, it's their infamous colors what makes feel like diarrhea. 

[DavidTheWin]

What most people (in fact I've only seen TinyTomLogan at OC3D mention it so far) don't realise is that the extra width means that the D15 blocks the very top expansion slot meaning that if it's a PCIe x16 slot, the cooler actually ends up preventing you from even getting the graphics card into the slot

 

[Izaya Orihara]

What most people (in fact I've only seen TinyTomLogan at OC3D mention it so far) don't realise is that the extra width means that the D15 blocks the very top expansion slot meaning that if it's a PCIe x16 slot, the cooler actually ends up preventing you from even getting the graphics card into the slot

 

 

Great for mITX builds. 

[hawthorne]

What most people (in fact I've only seen TinyTomLogan at OC3D mention it so far) don't realise is that the extra width means that the D15 blocks the very top expansion slot meaning that if it's a PCIe x16 slot, the cooler actually ends up preventing you from even getting the graphics card into the slot

 

That is on a mATX boards, if there was a problems with it on ATX board it would have been mentioned by Luke. 

[DavidTheWin]

That is on a mATX boards, if there was a problems with it on ATX board it would have been mentioned by Luke. 

 

He chose an mATX board because they most commonly have PCIe x16 slots at the very top, most ATX boards have a PCIe x1 there if anything. It is something to bear in mind though. It's not just because it's an mATX board, it's a general problem, just more of a problem with mATX.

[4960X]

Oh no no, by all means I respect Noctua for the high quality/performance, it's their infamous colors what makes feel like diarrhea. 

Honestly, I felt the same way before but now their color scheme kinda grew on me and I like it.

[LAwLz]

What most people (in fact I've only seen TinyTomLogan at OC3D mention it so far) don't realise is that the extra width means that the D15 blocks the very top expansion slot meaning that if it's a PCIe x16 slot, the cooler actually ends up preventing you from even getting the graphics card into the slot

 

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Correct me if I am wrong, but I am pretty sure the distance between the first expansion slot and the CPu socket varies from board to board. On a small board like that mITX board it will be closer than on most ATX boards.

You have to check compatibility though.

[DavidTheWin]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I am pretty sure the distance between the first expansion slot and the CPu socket varies from board to board. On a small board like that mITX board it will be closer than on most ATX boards.

You have to check compatibility though.

 

Between size standards and socket standards it's pretty consistent, e.g. pretty much all Z87 ATX boards have the same distance between the socket and the expansion slots. Wasn't the case on some older generations, e.g. X58 boards but these days it's pretty constant. mATX only really differs from ATX below the first 4 expansion slots so it's the same case there and mITX is too different to compare. 

[Misanthrope]

What most people (in fact I've only seen TinyTomLogan at OC3D mention it so far) don't realise is that the extra width means that the D15 blocks the very top expansion slot meaning that if it's a PCIe x16 slot, the cooler actually ends up preventing you from even getting the graphics card into the slot

 

 

To quote Linus: Holy balls! How does the PBC stays together!? Even with a backplate that thing must be so heavy I would imagine a non horizontal case would rip the fucking mobo apart! So yeah at that point performance crown or not I see no reason not to go with an AIO water cooler.

[minimalist]

Has anyone run it against the Dark Rock Pro 3?  I'd like to see which one wins out of those 2.

[Fetzie]

To quote Linus: Holy balls! How does the PBC stays together!? Even with a backplate that thing must be so heavy I would imagine a non horizontal case would rip the fucking mobo apart! So yeah at that point performance crown or not I see no reason not to go with an AIO water cooler.

 

You get a 3-4mm thick stainless steel backplate and motherboards aren't exactly flimsy.

[4960X]

Has anyone run it against the Dark Rock Pro 3?  I'd like to see which one wins out of those 2.

Did you even bother looking at the review? It clearly shows in that review the Dark Rock Pro 3 falling behind the Nh-D15.

[minimalist]

Did you even bother looking at the review? It clearly shows in that review the Dark Rock Pro 3 falling behind the Nh-D15.

 

I trusted you would have made a proper posting and included important information like that.  Guess not.

[Cookie Monster]

To quote Linus: Holy balls! How does the PBC stays together!? Even with a backplate that thing must be so heavy I would imagine a non horizontal case would rip the fucking mobo apart! So yeah at that point performance crown or not I see no reason not to go with an AIO water cooler.

 

Why go for an AIO you mean?

 

AIO are more compact and can have pretty lights. They are also significantly more expensive for similar performance, less reliable and frequently louder due to pump noise and/or poor fans.

 

Unless you have a small case, eg itx, the only reason you'd want an AIO over an air cooler is if you want to pimp out your PC with gaudy lights.

[One Who Craves Souls]

Why go for an AIO you mean?

 

AIO are more compact and can have pretty lights. They are also significantly more expensive for similar performance, less reliable and frequently louder due to pump noise and/or poor fans.

 

Unless you have a small case, eg itx, the only reason you'd want an AIO over an air cooler is if you want to pimp out your PC with gaudy lights.

I thought liquid cooling was less noisy...

[bbqsauce]

Why go for an AIO you mean?

 

AIO are more compact and can have pretty lights. They are also significantly more expensive for similar performance, less reliable and frequently louder due to pump noise and/or poor fans.

 

Unless you have a small case, eg itx, the only reason you'd want an AIO over an air cooler is if you want to pimp out your PC with gaudy lights.

really?

 

really???

 

AIOs are also good for I don't know,

cases that don't support huge towers?

 

Flexibility in where you want the heat to go? E.g Out of your case instead of in it?

 

They won't always be the quietest due to the pump/fans

But high end kits are usually quiet. 240L, H105. Just to name some

 

More expensive yes, but you are pretty much paying for more than just performance. Flexibility / compatibility.

 

If you're buying high end air coolers, you'd probably slap on some better aftermarket fans as well(except if you're buying noctua)

So why not buy better fans for your AIO??

Good fans + Good AIO = Noise level equivalent to ambient most of the time.

[LAwLz]

I thought liquid cooling was less noisy...

Not all-in-one ones.

[One Who Craves Souls]

Not all-in-one ones.

Don't beat on a dead horse... a good AIO with good fans can be pretty silent. 

[SSL]

Why go for an AIO you mean?

 

AIO are more compact and can have pretty lights. They are also significantly more expensive for similar performance, less reliable and frequently louder due to pump noise and/or poor fans.

 

Unless you have a small case, eg itx, the only reason you'd want an AIO over an air cooler is if you want to pimp out your PC with gaudy lights.

 

This is extremely correct.

[ProKoN]

You guys should really watch TTL's overview.

 

he explains exactly  how the NH-D15 may interfere with your gfx card.

 

He also mentions in another video how it will not work on this board -  Gigabyte Z97 SOC Force ATX mainboard

 

has nothing to do with mobo form factor, it has to do with where the mobo manufacturer has placed the 1st x16 slot.

 

1-2C improvement, meh slight improvement or margin of error

 

the included 140mm fans are baller but I almost prefer the 120mm fan above the mem chips.

 

obviously the biggest improvement was memory compatibility, at the expensive of mainboard compatibility lol

[4960X]

I stopped running AIOs ever since my H100i leaked on me and killed my mobo and GPU. From now on, I'm all about air coolers!