This outdated traditional remains to be king of air coolers

The Noctua NH-D15 feels prefer it has been round for the reason that very first PC and we’re solely simply getting round to reviewing the favored CPU cooler. Air coolers such because the NH-D15 are nice for PC builds the place a liquid all-in-one would both be too costly, the radiator too giant, or it is merely not required for what the system will likely be used for. Air coolers are often extra reasonably priced but are nonetheless in a position to tame even the extra power-hungry processors from AMD and Intel. Noctua is without doubt one of the massive manufacturers within the air cooling house and the corporate’s NH-D15 is a severe cooler for expelling warmth.

We have used the Noctua NH-D15 prior to now and have lately taken it for a spin for the needs of this evaluate. We have now at all times discovered the NH-D15 to be simple to put in on each Intel and AMD programs. It is also wonderful at cooling the chips, as long as you are not utilizing an Intel Core i9 or AMD Ryzen 9 CPU. Overclocking is feasible with lower-end chips, although mileage could fluctuate relying on what number of case followers are at hand and the way a lot air could be pushed by way of the chassis. It is a bit of dear in comparison with different air coolers however it’s properly definitely worth the asking value when you’re after the most effective.

Noctua didn’t provide XDA with a pattern of this evaluate nor did the corporate have any enter into what was printed.

Value, availability, and specs

The Noctua NH-D15 could also be the most effective air coolers for processors, however it’s not terribly costly, at the least when in comparison with AIO liquid coolers. The MSRP for the NH-D15 is $110, however we have discovered it on sale all year long for much less when you’re fortunate. The CPU cooler has been accessible for at the least a decade, which is a testomony to Noctua’s engineering that this explicit model remains to be related with the CPUs of as we speak. We’ll dive into a number of the specs of the Noctua NH-D15, however that is one hefty CPU cooler and even our personal media would not do its dimension justice.

Contained in the packaging are three containers. One accommodates the second fan, one other the equipment, and the third the primary cooler with the opposite fan already put in. The field of goodies embody the mandatory brackets and screws for attaching the NH-D15 to most AMD or Intel motherboards. There are helpful quick-start manuals and an extended Allen key. Noctua additionally ships a Y fan splitter for the 2 blowers in addition to two in-line resistors to decrease the pace of the spinning blades for quieter operation. It is price noting that slowing down the pace of the NH-D15 will influence the cooling efficiency.

For Intel, the NH-D15 will work with sockets between LGA1700 and LGA2011-3. For AMD, each AM4 and AM5 sockets are supported, permitting this cooler for use on nearly any accessible motherboard. A most peak of 160mm means cautious consideration must be taken when choosing out a PC case. Not all circumstances will assist such a tall CPU cooler. Noctua backs its CPU cooler with a full six-year restricted guarantee for added peace of thoughts.

Design and options

It is beautiful … in its personal manner

The Noctua NH-D15 is a dual-tower heatsink air cooler with a complete of six warmth pipes. Noctua tried to enhance reminiscence compatibility and clearance by slicing out a number of the decrease fins on both aspect, however it’s nonetheless potential to come across points with bigger package designs. Your entire assemble is well-designed and constructed with little or no when it comes to apparent deviances or flaws in manufacturing. The bottom plate of the heatsink tower is made from nickel-plated copper. Every thing has a metallic styling with no paint utilized.

It is after we get to the 2 included followers can we see Noctua branding entrance and heart. The 2 140mm NF-A15 followers have the Noctua beige and brown we have both come to like or hate from the corporate. They’ve an SSO bearing and are able to spinning at speeds as much as 1500 RPM. The aforementioned in-line resistor cables are able to decreasing this pace to 1200 RPM, which in flip reduces the extent of noise emitted. Noctua makes a number of the finest followers in the marketplace and it is easy to identify design parts such because the blade ridges to enhance airflow and efficiency.

No thermal paste is pre-applied on the manufacturing facility, however Noctua does embody a small tube of its personal NT-H1 thermal paste that ought to turn out to be useful if it is advisable to reinstall the cooler sooner or later. One of many two followers is already put in between the 2 towers and the second could be rapidly hooked up to both aspect utilizing the included clips. Not like different CPU coolers, Noctua consists of its personal backplate that must be used with each Intel and AMD programs. Putting in the Noctua NH-D15 is an easy course of and takes a couple of moments.

Simply remember to test the utmost peak clearance for a CPU cooler inside your PC case as that is one giant beast.

Cooling efficiency

That is one highly effective CPU cooler

To place the Noctua NH-D15 to the take a look at, we tried utilizing it with an Intel Core i9-13900K and AMD Ryzen 9 7950X to see how far we might push this air cooler. It’s extremely highly effective with a excessive thermal capability however even the NH-D15 struggled to stop each the Intel Core i9 and AMD Ryzen 9 from thermal throttling when pushed arduous. It wasn’t horrible and working video games was completely wonderful, however this does imply you are dropping out on using the processor as designed by the chipmakers. For the very best tier of CPUs, we might at all times advocate one of the best AIO liquid cooler.

We determined to run an Intel Core i7-13700K with the identical NH-D15 and noticed constructive outcomes with out touching any settings within the BIOS to undervolt or restrict the processor’s boosting capabilities. Taking into consideration this CPU cooler was initially launched in 2014, it performs remarkably properly with the most recent AMD and Intel processors, as long as you retain your expectations in test. Even with such a beefy air cooler hooked up to the Core i7-13700K, we managed to surpass 90C when working Cinebench however didn’t see any severe thermal throttling, which is exactly what we need to see with desktop CPUs.

The Core i7-13700K was comfortably working at 35C idle and 74C on common when enjoying a wide range of PC video games. This cooler is nice for gaming however we might advocate in opposition to putting in one inside a system that is for use for content material creation. The Noctua NH-D15 is rated at round 220W for optimum TDP, however the cooler will wrestle with processors that draw this a lot energy. An AMD Ryzen 9 7950X or Intel Core i9-13900K at full load will likely be an excessive amount of for the Noctua NH-D15 to deal with, even at inventory settings.

The candy spot for this CPU cooler is AMD Ryzen 5 and Intel Core i5, which additionally leaves some room for overclocking.

The processors run properly, however thermal throttling will happen, which reduces the quantity of efficiency accessible by way of decrease clock speeds. It is pointless spending a number of tons of on a flagship processor solely to not be capable of absolutely use it. Overclocking is out of the query altogether and we’d advise in opposition to doing so with an AMD Ryzen 7 or Intel Core i7 chip. The candy spot for this CPU cooler is AMD Ryzen 5 and Intel Core i5, which additionally leaves some room for overclocking. An AMD Ryzen 5 7600 ran at simply 57C for gaming and hit 84C when pushed arduous in stress testing.

Must you purchase the Noctua NH-D15?

You should purchase the Noctua NH-D15 if:

• You do not plan on overclocking your CPU.
• You do not want to use an Intel Core i9 or AMD Ryzen 9 CPU.
• You’ve got enough clearance contained in the PC case.

You should not purchase the Noctua NH-D15 if:

• You’ve got a 175W TDP (or greater) CPU.
• You’ve got a compact PC case or bigger RAM modules.
• You intend on configuring some overclocking values.

The Noctua NH-D15 is without doubt one of the finest air coolers cash should purchase proper now. It might have been round for a very good few years, however that is a testomony to how good it’s at dealing with trendy processors. Whether or not you are constructing a PC with AMD or Intel, the Noctua NH-D15 will possible be appropriate with the socket. We would not advocate pairing one with an AMD Ryzen 9 or Intel Core i9 processor, however something under these product stacks could be excellent with the NH-D15. That is additionally an awesome prick for individuals who do not plan on overclocking their system.

The Noctua NH-D15 is without doubt one of the finest air coolers cash should purchase proper now.

To have the ability to deal with such a TDP score, Noctua needed to make the NH-D15 massive and the peak of 160mm could restrict what PC circumstances can be utilized. Taller RAM modules may additionally have a difficulty with clearance (or lack thereof) when put in alongside the NH-D15. Having such a big floor space permits the cooler and its two large followers to radiate and exhaust warmth away from the CPU. For PC circumstances or system builds the place an AIO liquid cooler can’t be used or just would not make sense, an air cooler such because the Noctua NH-D15 is without doubt one of the finest CPU coolers to purchase.