[modders-inc] Noctua NH-D15 Dual-Tower CPU Cooler review

[R0H1T]

Final Thoughts about the Noctua NH-D15

The NH-D15 may not look too drastically different from the NH-D14 but the small changes add up to a larger performance shift. The Noctua build quality is still present but the new design is sleeker and more efficient. The effective designs that Noctua has utilized on the new NH-U12S and NH-U14S such as the sloping center and focused center airflow are also used again on the NH-D15 and I couldn’t blame them because it is effective at lowering noise and temperatures.

Even installation has been improved significantly compared to the NH-D14, not just in terms of the now simpler heatsink mounting procedures but also fan clip attachment as well. The old NH-D14 (and the Phanteks TC-14PE) had to use those annoying little fan clip holders that are not only annoyingly difficult to install but also get lost easily. The new NH-D15 fan clip just attaches directly to the fan mounting hole and is so much simpler. The unified backplate for Intel mounting also simplifies installation significantly as it allows the backplate to stay in place when being installed on a motherboard already inside a case. Even on a flat surface, this ensures that you do not need an extra hand to secure the mounting bar in place. The NH-D14′s threaded bolts were somewhat held in place by the friction with the rubber on the backplate but it would not always stay in place, so this new design is a big improvement. Aside from the installation conveniences, the improved RAM compatibility is also a welcome change. Although I swore off tall RAM modules altogether, I understand that most users out there use a pair of modules or more with absurdly large tall spreaders so the good news is that the NH-D15 is tall-RAM friendly.

The improvement in terms of the performance is of course undeniable as evident in the benchmark result graphs. The differences between the top three coolers tested are very close and all are priced similarly at $99 USD so that gives users some options. Out of all the top three tested however, the Noctua NH-D15 has an advantage in terms of having a lower sound profile and a far simpler yet effective installation procedure. The NH-D15 also has the advantage of a 6-year warranty, the longest offered by any CPU cooler manufacturer. For this, the Noctua NH-D15 earns the Modders-Inc Must Have Award.

Source

 

[BonzaiDuck]

A few degrees better than the D14; neck-and-neck with a lesser AiO water-cooler.

That's about midway between "break-even" and my most optimistic expectations for the D15 cooler.

That leaves me ruminating as to what I (capital-"I") could do with it. What I can do with the D14 or the NH-U14S or anything similar suggests 10C over their benchmarks. I don't know how close it would come to a Nepton 280L AiO unit, though.

And frankly, give me an AiO cooler and I can improve those benchmarks, too.

So now, before I leave off outlay-delaying rumination and mental debate, I'll fire up my IBT "maximum" for two runs so I can listen to my Gentle Typhoon as it runs up to 3,900 RPM -- probably walking away as I mumble "It's STILL so QUI-ET!! What a bright boy I Yam I Yam. . . "

 

[4960X]

I had so much hope for the D15 and now I'm disappointed to see that it's only a few Celsius better than the D14. I'm sticking with my D14!

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I had so much hope for the D15 and now I'm disappointed to see that it's only a few Celsius better than the D14. I'm sticking with my D14!

Interesting dilemma, ain' it?

The Noctua engineer told me that you'd never get full cooling performance from Noctua fans because their customer base was fanatic about silence. Sometime in January or February, I'm convinced I had evidence -- should've screen-captured the HWMonitor data -- that swapping the two Noctua fans for one Akasa fan netted me about 5C degrees improvement.

The rest of it was ducting and the AP-30 for case-exhaust ducted to the D14, which I made to "shut up!" near it's top-end RPM.

So here's the question and food for thought. "For the 3 or 4C improvement shown in this early review and bench-test with an OC'd 4770K (I think that was it), will the improvements that I already brought to the D14 be constant when applied to the D15? Will they be less? Or will they be greater?"

Maybe I should continue to defer paying for firsthand knowledge until we see some more reviews. Thing is -- it's a different cooler-design, even for the double-tower approach. It's a different heatsink base. And there's the recent observation of their tech-rep.

 

[DigDog]

(Nepton 280L AiO unit)
And frankly, give me an AiO cooler and I can improve those benchmarks, too.

i would gladly trade my nepton for your dh14

 

[BonzaiDuck]

i would gladly trade my nepton for your dh14

Glad you drew my attention to that. I thought the "blue" data just 'wasn't available'. Or -- maybe it was. But that seems .. . puzzling. It's a G--D--- Cooler -- not a different processor, so I assume the explanation is "absence of the same test." So that leaves the green bars. And -- yeah -- if it's the Nepton 140XL, I can trump that by 5C -- likely.

But for me, the question is the one I asked. If I put the Akasa fan between the towers and cut myself another duct-box with Spire acoustic foam to mate up with the AP-30, what do I get with the D15? I want to see some more reviews -- that's what I want!

 

[Maximilian]

I had so much hope for the D15 and now I'm disappointed to see that it's only a few Celsius better than the D14. I'm sticking with my D14!

Its pretty much what I expected. Its a hunk of metal with heatpipes, theres only so much you can do to improve on that, its already huge.

Still impressed with it though! Some products don't beat their successor *cough* bulldozer *cough* so its nice to see the D15 winning vs the D14 and also the phanteks!

 

[DigDog]

well, next month im getting my two noctua fans, and i'll remount the nepton (the big one, 280L). i'll let you know if it stay in or if it goes in the bin.

 

[R0H1T]

well, next month im getting my two noctua fans, and i'll remount the nepton (the big one, 280L). i'll let you know if it stay in or if it goes in the bin.

A major thing to consider, in case you're looking at the D15, is that the bundled fans with this cooler push more air than the retail ones.

 

[nitromullet]

Its pretty much what I expected. Its a hunk of metal with heatpipes, theres only so much you can do to improve on that, its already huge.

Still impressed with it though! Some products don't beat their successor *cough* bulldozer *cough* so its nice to see the D15 winning vs the D14 and also the phanteks!

That's a pretty generous assessment of the D15 over the Phanteks... Its lead is 0.2C for the two OC load tests and it trails by 0.4C stock load test.

While I think it makes sense from a consumer standpoint to bench the coolers with their included fans, it would nice to see a benchmark run with the same fans on each cooler so we could get an idea of how well the coolers themselves perform with respect to each other.