NHD15 fans

Coopermar · June 10, 2020

I recently upgraded my CPU cooler for my 9900k from the 212 evo to the nhd15 chromax. I didn't realize the fans were as tall as they are, and that my motherboard's rear IO is so tall. Therefore, I am forced to mount my nhd15 vertically. Everything I have read says that this is a horrible idea. Therefore, I am looking for solutions to my problem. It appears that the fans are around 2-4mm too tall to fit on either side (ram/RearIO being the problem). Here are my ideas:

Get 120mm noctua fans. I could get two NF-A12x25 PWM and put them on either side of the nhd15. This would allow enough clearance on either side for them to fit in my case.

OR

I could try to shave down the fan(only 1 because the fan in the middle causes no issues) so that it fits in my case.

OR

I could just leave my side panel open. I would prefer not to do this, and would be a last case scenario.

OR

I could return the NHD15 and get an x63. Similar performance from what I've seen, but louder and more points of failure.

What would you suggest?

Protegit · June 10, 2020

Im running my NH-D15 with one fan only because the second fan is blocked by RAM. The second fan doesnt make THAT much difference for you to worry about. If you do worry about it that much then you can get an NF-A12x25 and just slap it above RAM. Dont put it on the rear IO side because that will cause a lot of air turbulence and noise.