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What makes the Noctua NH-D15 good?

Strivous
By Strivous
in Cooling
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Posted

Hello all,

I was just looking at performance charts for air coolers. And I noticed that the Noctua NH-D15 topped almost all of them in terms of lowest temps.

 

I'm curious, does the NH-D15 achieve these results because of Noctua's 'legendary' fans that are included, or is it perhaps the heat sink itself? Or maybe both?

 

Personally speaking from what I've researched, there's nothing special about Noctua's heatsinks (or maybe I'm missing something), especially when compared to companies such as Cooler Master (MasterAir Maker 8 3DVC, V8 GTS HVC, etc) but they have really good fans.

 

Can anyone shed some light on this?

I'm thinking about picking up a NH-D15 but I'm not sure if it's the heat sink itself or the fans (this could save a lot of money).

 

I like the charted performance but God this thing is ugly lol.

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Well, the heatsink itself is pretty damn big, and it has plenty of heatpipes. And the fans are quite large, and can push a fair amount of air.

 

Best thing about it, is it's quiet operation whilst maintaining great cooling performance.

Shot through the heart and you're to blame, 30fps and i'll pirate your game - Bon Jovi

Take me down to the console city where the games are blurry and the frames are thirty - Guns N' Roses

Arguing with religious people is like explaining to your mother that online games can't be paused...

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Noctua heatsinks aren't special. Their fans are very good though.

Performance results from both the heatsink design of heatpipes + fins, and fans. 

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.

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1 hour ago, AlexTheRose said:

Would I get better performance than a Noctua NH-D15 by putting one of those Noctua fans on a really good passive heatsink like the Zalman FX70?

I was wondering the same. But in the case that the fans on a MasterAir Maker 8 were replaced with Noctua NF-A15 Fans.
Specialized heatsink (3DVC) + Specialized fans. Not to mention the overall greater aesthetic of the MasterAir...

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2 hours ago, AlexTheRose said:

Sorry for butting in, but I figured I’d ask here:

Would I get better performance than a Noctua NH-D15 by putting one of those Noctua fans on a really good passive heatsink like the Zalman FX70?

The NH-D15 is better. http://chlodzenie.net/reviews/zalman-fx70-pasywna-kolczatka/9/

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.

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