Introduction
After many years of good service, Noctua has finally updated its legendary NH-D14 cooler.The new model is called the NH-D15, and as you might have thought, it is now indeed a little bigger. Rather than having a fin stack that's 140 mm wide, it is now 150 mm wide. Also, the heat pipes have been distributed differently, which should have the heat spread across the fin stack more evenly.
Noctua's NH-D15 has an expanded layout and dual NF-A15 fans.
Packaging & Contents
The packaging of the NH-D15 is very familiar indeed, following very similar design themes to products we've seen in the past from Noctua. The box itself is fairly compact and features an attractive white and brown livery.
All sides of the box are covered in information about the cooler, including lists of features and more detailed specifications.There aren't any large images of the cooler on the box, though which is surprising. The box feels very good quality and should help to protect the cooler from damage during transit.
Very secure inner packing totally surrounding the heatsink.
The included accessories are supplied in separate boxes inside the packaging, based on the platform they apply to.There are separate boxes for Intel and AMD mounting kits, as well as common accessories that will be used on both platforms.
Shown below are the mounting kits for Intel LGA-2011, LGA-115x.
Shown below are the mounting kits for AMD AMx and FMx.The AMD installation is as simple as attaching the brackets to the stock backplate of any motherboard.
It includes some extras like fan speed adapters and a handy long Philips head screwdriver is included in case you don't happen to have one with you.
Extra mounting clips are included for installing the second fan in a push/pull setup.
Also included is a tube of NT-H1, my personal heatsink paste of choice because it is long lasting and easy to apply.
A Closer Look
As compared to conventional single tower heatinks, the NH-D15's fine-tuned six heatpipe dual tower design provides more surface area, better heat-distribution and superior airflow efficiency in dual fan mode.
Noctua constructed the NH-D15 CPU cooler from both copper and aluminum to maximize the cooling potential of the unit by taking advantage of the unique cooling-related properties of those materials. Copper is very good at absorbing heat, while aluminum is very good at dispersing heat to a different medium.
The copper-based CPU base plate and heat pipes absorb the heat while spreading it along the pipe length. The aluminum radiators then transfer the heat from the heat pipes to the air flowing through tem.
To protect the copper from unnecessary harm (such as accidental scratches, oxidation, or corrosion), Noctua chose to nickel-plate the copper surfaces. The nickel-plate is thin enough to minimize adverse effects to the copper's heat absorption capabilities while adding a more durable finish to the cooler.
The faces of the radiators have been serrated most likely to increase air turbulence as the air passes through the radiator fins to aid in heat dissipation.
All embedded heat pipes are capped at both termination points to seal against leakage and ensure that the heat pipe medium remains under pressure for optimal heat transfer from the base plate to the radiator fins.The heat pipes are soldered in place to maintain stability and ensure optimal copper to aluminum interfacing.
Measuring 165 x 150 x 135 mm (H x W x D).
Compared to the NH-D14, the NH-D15's fin-stack has been widened from 140 to 150 mm and its heatpipes are now spaced further apart, which allows for a more uniform heat distribution over a larger surface area and thus contributes to the NH-D15's superior efficiency.
Seen from the side, the NH-D15 cooler's twin radiators are each approximately double in depth of a standard fan with a seam along the mid-point in-line with the heat pipe pass-through point.
The heat pipes form the structural U-shape of the cooler, providing both structural integrity and dual heat dissipation paths to the unit.The interfacing between the heat pipes and aluminum fins is cleanly done with no solder or manufacturing residue apparent.
Noctua designed the radiator towers in the typical rectangular shape, with grooves along the outside walls for the fan mounts .
The NH-D15's base plate is a large nickel-plated copper construct consisting of an upper and lower plate. The plates sandwich the six heat pipes and are held together with four screws along each of the outer edges of the bottom plate.
The CPU contact point in the base plate has been ground and polished to an almost-mirror finish to ensure optimal mating with the CPU surface.
Notice that the base plate has a built-in hold down plate for mating the cooler to the CPU mounting bracket. The hold down screws are held in place with locking washers and have been hollowed out to accept the screws integrated into the CPU mounting bracket.
Effective dissipation requires higher pressure fans(2XNF-A15 in our case)to keep the air flow viable through the entire width of the dual radiator structure.Noctua's Stepped Inlet Design is an advanced aerodynamic design measure first introduced with the NF-F12 fan. By adding turbulence to the fan's influx, the Stepped Inlet Design facilitates the transition from laminar to turbulent flow. This measure has an effect similar to the dimple structure of a golf ball in so far as it leads to better flow attachment to the frame, which allows the impeller to suck in more air and hence improves overall airflow efficiency.In addition to these aerodynamic benefits, the Stepped Inlet Design also reduces tonal intake noises caused by laminar inflow due to it being transformed to turbulent flow, which produces a more broadband noise profile. This way, the Stepped Inlet Design helps to refine the fan's acoustic qualities by letting it blend into the background noise more easily and making it more agreeable to the human ear.
Boundary layer separation from the suction side of the fan blades leads to increased vortex noise and lower airflow efficiency. In order to suppress this phenomenon, the Noctua's A-Series impellers feature suction side Flow Acceleration Channels. These channels alter the flow distribution on the suction side of the blades and speed up the airflow at the crucial outer blade regions. As flow separation is more likely to occur when the speed of the fluid relative to the fan blade is low, the increase in speed achieved through the Flow Acceleration Channels leads to significantly reduced flow separation, which permits lower vortex noise and higher airflow efficiency.In order to guarantee the highest possible degree of manufacturing precision, minimum tolerance and excellent long-term stability, Noctua's newest 120mm and 140mm models sport a CNC milled bearing shell made entirely from brass.
The NF-A15 premium fans supplied with the NH-D15 support PWM for convenient automatic speed control through the mainboard.In addition, the maximum fan speed can be reduced from 1500 to 1200 rpm using the supplied Low-Noise Adaptor for even quieter operation.Integrated Anti-Vibration Pads made from extra-soft silicone minimise the transmission of minute vibrations while maintaining full compatibility with all standard screws and other mounting systems.The self-stabilising oil-pressure bearing (SSO-Bearing) system has always been at the heart of Noctua's award-winning premium fans. Silent enthusiasts and industry clients alike swear by its proven, time-tested quality. SSO combines the proven concept of oil-based hydrodynamic bearings with an additional magnet that supports the self-stabilisation of the rotor axis. Due to the axis being stabilised by the magnetic field, Noctua's SSO Bearing achieves higher precision and better longevity than conventional ball-, sleeve- or hydrodynamic bearings.SSO2 is the further optimised second generation of SSO. Made possible by the use of metal bearing shells and new injection moulding techniques, the magnet is now placed closer to the rotor axis and thus exerts higher magnetic force to it. This results in even better stabilisation, precision and durability.
Noctua's AAO (Advanced Acoustic Optimisation) frames feature integrated anti-vibration pads as well as Noctua's proprietary Stepped Inlet Design and Inner Surface Microstructures, both of which further refine the fan's performance/noise efficiency.Inner Surface Microstructures are an advanced aerodynamic design measure first introduced with Noctua's NF-F12 fan. Miniature dents at the inside of the fan frame create a turbulent boundary layer when the fan blades pass by. With the tips of the fan blades ploughing through this boundary layer, flow separation from the suction side of the blades is significantly reduced. As suction side flow separation is a major source of axial fan blade passing noise and leads to considerable losses in airflow and pressure efficiency, the use of Inner Surface Microstructures allows for lower noise emission and better performance at the same time. Reducing undesired turbulences caused by suction side flow separation, Inner Surface Microstructures help Noctua?s latest fans to keep pushing the boundaries in performance to noise efficiency.
Installation Process
Noctua thoughtfully supplies different installation guides for AMD and Intel installation to prevent confusion.These are located in the boxes dedicated to each mounting kit.I will be documenting the installation procedure on an Intel Socket 1155 motherboard.Installing the D15 is a straightforward process and requires minimal effort compared to some coolers which I've tested previously. As with all large CPU heat sinks, the D15 requires a a backplate in order to spread the pressure over the motherboard rather than confining it to four, small points causing serious PCB damage.
Once the backplate is placed into its position, it's time to secure the backplate with the rest of the heat sink by completing the rest of the mounting system. Therefore, it's time to flip over the motherboard, and install the rest of the components near the socket. It starts off with the placement of four plastic spacers which the two brackets sit on top of.
The brackets are secured in place by a thumb screw on either side. They can be tightened with a screw driver if you wish but I don't think that it is necessary and tightening them with your fingers will suffice. Once both sides are complete, it's time to move on to the final stage and mount the rest of the cooler by screwing it into the two brackets.
In order to mount the cooler, you need to remove the centre fan which is done by unclipping it from the heat sink. Once you've done that, it's time to put your thermal paste on to your CPU and then it's time to mount the cooler.To mount the cooler you can either use a screw driver of choice,provided that it is long enough to reach the screws, or use the supplied screw driver that Noctua gives you. I never opt to use the one provided by Noctua as I find it far quicker and far more efficient to use my own longer and easier to grip screw driver. Nevertheless, it's a nice inclusion and just one of the ways that demonstrate how Noctua, with their attention to detail have become a class leader in the cooling industry today.To hold the cooler firmly mated to the CPU surface, Noctua integrated two hold down screws into the cooler's base plate. These screws have tension springs attached and are held in place with locking steel c-washers. The insides of the screws are hollow so that they act as nuts for the embedded screws in the CPU mounting bracket.
Installed - Memory Clearance
Thanks to its recessed lower fins, the NH-D15 provides 64mm clearance for tall memory heatsinks in single fan mode, making it compatible with most high end RAM modules on the market.
As you can see from the image , tall RAM modules are not going to be suitable if you plan to use the NH-D15 with two fans on it. In all honensty, Low profile RAM is most definitely the only way to go unless you mount the fan on the other side of the heatsink rendering the cooler less effective.
Test System & Methology
Test System:
Processor: Intel Core i7 3570k-4.5GHz (1.35v)
Motherboard:Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H
Memory: 16GB Mushkin
Graphics Card: Sapphire HD 6970
Power Supply: Antec HCG 750W
Boot Drive: Ocz Vector
Storage Drive: 3TB Seagate Barracuda
Boot Drive: Ocz Vector
Chassis:dimastech Bench Table Easy V2.5
Software:
CPUID HW Monitor 1.23
CPUID CPU-Z 1.65
Prime95 v27.1
I am testing the performance as follows:
Ambient temperatures are kept at 23C throughout my tests.
The CPU Fan is set to 100% to eliminate inconsistencies as a result of PWM control.
Idle temperatures are obtained after booting the PC and idling on the desktop for 30 minutes.
Load temperatures are obtained after running Prime95′s Small FTTs test for 15 minutes.
To measure noise levels i disable the two front in-take fans, rear exhaust and GPU fan.
On the following pages you'll have the opportunity to read what Noctua NH-D15 is capable of.
Results - Performance
I was really surprised that the Noctua could keep such a low temperature, but I ran the test three times and reapplied TIM every time looking for what I did wrong, but I couldn't find anything odd. As for the load temperatures, all I can say is I have a huge smile on my face still.
The NH-D15 was 0.3 delta cooler at stock(load) conditions and 0.2 delta cooler under oc(load) from my former champion(Air-Coolers) Thermalright Silver Arrow IB-E Extreme.
Results - Noise Level
How's that for little to no noise? At low rpm there was a bit more noise detected than a single 140mm produced in previous tests. At full rpm, I measured little extra noise, so it is either the same or less as far as the sound level testing went.
Also if you see the difference(in terms of noise level) between NH-D15 and Silver Arrow IB-E Extreme i am pretty sure you will be impressed.
Conclusion
First ,the cons to the NH-D15. This isn't going to be a cooler you can just stick on any board with any component. You will have to do some research. This isn't just an issue with the NH-D15, any large cooler like this will have this issue, but it is one to pay attention to.The NH-D15 is bigger and heavier than its predecessor, though. With both fans installed on the NH-D15 the cooler weighs in at a whopping 1.32kg so some may shy away from it just based on the weight, let alone its overall size, but there are those that will jump on this and not think twice about it.The good thing is that SecuFirm 2 mounting hardware is more than enough to support the 1320 plus grams of aluminum and copper.Then you have the issue with tall RAM modules when the second fan is installed.The only other con I can think of is a con that I have had from the first day I used a Noctua product: the fan color. I really like the performance, but I'm not digging the color. That being said, I still use them, but I would still love to see a black version.
Anyway you look at it, all designs have trade-offs. All-in-one water cooling solutions are not quiet but effective yet lack any sort of upgrade path or customisation. Smaller air coolers do not have the capacity for high overclocks on quad-core processors that we are all gravitating towards. Noctua chose the route of sheer size and did a great job with the final product.I remember in the early days of the release of the D14 many felt the difference in size of the fans would be the downfall of the cooler.Wrong.The difference in size has been a big plus in the way of excellent cooling performance and the cooling of surface components of the motherboard.Noctua set out to improve on their previous design and they did, and it was a noticeable improvement.Built on the basis of the NH-D14 and carrying on its quest for ultimate quiet cooling performance, the NH-D15 is an elite-class dual tower cooler for the highest demands.I really like the NF-A15 PWM fans. They move more air and still operate at 41dBA(together) at full speed.The NH-D15 is available now for EUR 89.90. That's a heck of a lot to pay for an air cooler, but Noctua gear tends to be beautifully made, and six-year warranty coverage is provided. Noctua has also been good about supplying users with free retention hardware when new sockets are released.Noctua did what they set out to do: made a new cooler that performed better and was just as quiet. If you can shoe horn it in your case, it's well worth the money.The Noctua NH-D15 CPU cooler is a monster cooler with monster cooling capacity. When heat is the enemy, it won't curl its tail and run away.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by testman78
. Yes Noctua still make really good air-coolers but most here seem still transfixed with Water Cooling Systems.
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