Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black, Dual-Tower CPU cooler (140mm, Black)
chromax.black design
The NH-D15 chromax.black is black from head to toe: Featuring a black coated heatsink, black fans with black anti-vibration-pads, black fan clips and black mounting parts, it’s right at home in all-black builds and easy to integrate with other colour schemes.
Massive and cool - that’s what she said? Keeps my CPU under 50C even during heavy loads. Just barely fits in my case, so make sure you’ve got the necessary clearance!
It has better cooling than most AIO, keep in mind.
Excellent cooling and extremely quite This cooler has worked wonders for my CPU when running games under load with my CPU being overclocked too 4.5Ghz the temperature never runs above 70c so certainly loads of room for overclocking. The cooler emits next to no noise with the fans on my case being louder that the actual cooler. However, when installing ensure your case is big enough because even with a standard size casing the cooler fits well and has a little room its quite tight and can make plugging in the fans above the cooler an absolute pain so ensure you plug the fans in before installing this otherwise you will spend half an hour trying to fit your hand in the gap and plug the fan in. Otherwise this thing is a beast and I would reccommend spending that little bit more for a cooler than will pretty much beat or be on par with water cooling but without all the hassle.
Great air cooler for a great price Bought this to replace a failing AIO liquid cooler on my gaming PC. Running high graphic games my i9 is only hitting around 45-50C; even when running multicore 100% tests in keeps the temperature to about 80C.
Also, I have never built a PC/replaced something like before and I was able to do it with no problems; really clear instructions
Brought my temps down 25C Great quality and quiet fan. I learned a valuable lesson that for optimal cooling the size of cooler makes a big difference. I paired this with a 12600K, replacing the much smaller NH-D9L that I installed originally and it brought my temps under load down from 100C to 75C. A little undervolting and I’m now getting 65C temps under load. A huge improvement and I had no idea that such a difference could be had by upgrading the cooler.
Really grea Huge cooler that is the business. I’ve a Cooler Master H500 mesh and it fits with just enough space. I’m only cooling a Ryzen 3600 for now but it has improved the air flow in the case and it’s AM5 compatible. At full tilt it’s definitely noticeable but consistent. All the extras that come with the cooler made the upgrade super easy, it’s easy to install and remove, very satisfied!
Powerhouse of an air coole Purchased one of these to cool a Ryzen 9 5950x as I was weary of liquid cooling, being the first time I would have used something like an AIO. The cooler is HUGE and can make installation a hassle in some scenarios. If you ever have to remove a GPU with one of these things installed, be sure to have something like a wooden chopstick to put pressure on the release latch – the gap between the bottom of the heatsink and the back of the GPU is very, very small on ATX boards.
The mounting system was easy enough, little bit of a squeeze in my PC case but it was doable. Read the included instructions and it’s relatively simple, though having someone else around might make it easier, as they could potentially hold things in place while you install them. The clips used to attach the fans to the cooler are a bit stubborn and somewhat confusing if it’s your first time using a cooler like this, but was also easy enough to figure out. I would recommend looking up a video guide to make this part easier.
Aside from that, though, it certainly holds up to the high expectations of a Noctua cooler – it was managing to keep the 5950x from overheating in most situations and only started to struggle during all core stress testing. For CPU’s that aren’t silicon infernos, this thing will do the job and do it incredibly well.
Although I did switch to a 420mm AIO for this CPU, I will absolutely be using the Noctua NHD15 in the future for just about every build that doesn’t necessitate some form of water cooling, as the performance is absolutely fantastic and, being a Noctua product, was very quiet while gaming.
Stunning performance on i9-12900k Replaced a failed MSI water cooler which always ran hot and noisey with this.
The best decision I ever made as the i9-12900k now idles at around 30 deg C and only gets to 70 deg C when bench testing.
If you have a big case and an i9-12900k buy it, you will not regret it.
This thing is a beas My home boiler is currently broke, and is stuck on, and even with this being on and 29c outside, my pc (which is also in a 15 year old case which I had to remove one fan off of this cooler and place it – with a create my own style, on the back of the tower idea) still keeps my pc running at 54-60c. I looked online thinking this maybe hot, but turns out for a 5800x and 6600xt, 90c is considered ok to run at, amd said 90c was normal…. so I was shocked to see how cool my gpu is running, considering I forced it into an old (15 year old pc case) as I loved this case to much throw away and removed a fan, and from this cooler and placed it on the back….. it keeps the temps down awesomely.
So if anything, it’s too powerful, albeit I do not see it like that as I think for longevity reasons, keeping a cool gpu is a must. So I would highly recommend anyone who does not have money to burn, but wants to make a decent upgrade, this cooler is the way to go for anything from high end 5600x’s and up. Not sure if theh work with intel, but if so, unless your running a high ene icore7, or more, this may be a bit extreme for anything lower and expensive. But I am super happy with this brand and cooler.
Hands down the best cpu coole I was a bit skeptical at first because I’ve only ever used liquid cooling systems before but boy this one is a game changer. The fans are so quiet, I can barely hear them. Temperatures are good too; sure not as good as liquid cooling systems but it’s really good for the low noise levels. Compared to this my previous cooler sounded like a jet engine. Its actually a little annoying because my desktop has no lights and I used to rely on the fan noise to tell me when it had switched off. Now I have to peek around the back to see if the fans have stopped moving so that I can switch off the main power on shutdown 😀
Installation process was super easy. The package comes with everything you could possibly ever need to install this and is very straightforward if you just follow the guide.
10/10 will install again on my next desktop computer.
One of the coolest (literally) and quietest heatsinks for CPUs under 12th gen intel I buy these for every CPU under Intel 12th gen (almost nothing can cool an overclocked 12th gen enough, because they’re so inefficient).
This is one of the best coolers on the market and outperforms water cooling on most systems. It is also one of the quietest.
You will need a thick PC case to put it in though, so check your clearances!
I’d also advise only pairing it with a GPU that has a blackplate, as the fins of this cooler will be way too close to a naked GPU back to trust if there’s any wobble during movement of the PC case.
I must admit, I am a huge “fan” of Noctua and this black model is great for those that want a stealthier system. No RGB… no signature “owl-brown / poop” colour (that they’re known for)… its gorgeous!
Superb cooling performance. Be careful about RAM compatability. I use this to cool an AMD 5900X – it does a tremendously good job.
The mounting plate is very easy to fit, and everything feels very solid.
My case is relatively small (Corsair 275R), but this just fits nicely. The tight fit does make installation a little tricky – but super happy with the finished build.
Good quality thermal paste (N1-H1) and a a fan splitter cable are also included in the box.
Overall, I’d say this is great value for the performance and rock solid build quality.
I’d definately not hesitate to look at other Noctua products in the future.
Really great and very sile Second Noctua cooler I own, and its even better than the first one. Mounted on a 5950x and it cools it adequately even when all cores running at full blast. I have a large case, and it needs it, but I think that’s the only way to make air cooling effectively work.
25 degrees C reduction over stock Intel cooler - i5-12600 What more can I say. My PC was throttling under extreme load (Prime95 – yes, I know not real, but stress nonetheless), and the temperature was spiking significantly and quickly under small bursts of load.
After installing this, the resting temp reduced by 3-5 degrees C and went from an almost instant 100 degrees under Prime95 to taking 8 mins to reach 75 degrees and staying there up to the end of my 10 minute test.
Highly recommend. Flexible fan mounting height if you have high RAM (or you get an extra big case fan if the second fan won’t go in at all (mine was fine in a Fractal Design Define 7 Compact case).
I can’t hear it, even when you ramp it up (stock case fans are significantly louder than this ever gets).
High quality Air cooler that is quie It’s a very high quality and quiet air cooler average Cpu temps when playing Games is around 40C which is good.
Only gripe I have with it is, its awkward to install I would recommend having a second person with you to hold the mount for you
Best tower cooler on the market. The NH-D15 is simply the best tower cooler on the market. Don’t look for anything else: it’s a quality product, with quality components, a quality TIM included in the box and a solid packaging and QA on the shoulders.
It’s perfect for my 5800X 3D and keeps it cool with quiet operation. Absolutely recommended!
Never Fail to Buy Noctua Cooling Products Decided to Build a new Z690 – DDR5, 12gen Build and this Noctua NH-D15 Chromax Black cooler keeps my 12700K CPU at a nice 27c at Idle and while Gaming Horizon Zero Dawn on Ultimate Quality setting, this Noctua Cooler keeps my 12700K at around 52c (winter UK)…yet to see what summer temps are n will update in july….of course i have another 4 x Noctua fans installed in this Corsair 7000D Airflow Case which helps deliver plenty of cool air to the NH-D15 chromax Black.
Best air coole Got this for 5600X that was overheating with old AC Freezer 7. Problem solved. Promotes good airflow in case. Front fan is right above RAM sticks, so I decided to mod it – I cut “V” shape to the bottom middle of fan frame using hacksaw(but leaving it still in one piece), now RAM sticks are cooled as well.. I’m keeping this cooler for life, 6 stars out of 5!
Huge compatibility lis I’ve been building a new system and was going to use my old AIO but it ended up being half empty and had partly melded with the old CPU lid. The CPU was fine but I needed a new cooler for that and one that would work in my new system. That’s where the Noctua comes in. It has such a wide range of compatibility that it worked with my 11 year old system and could be used on the AM4 system I was going to build.
I got it for that and the reputation Noctua have. I read the instructions, installed it to my old CPU and laughed. The temperatures were great but the fans are so much slower than old systems are used to I had to tell it to ignore the low speed warnings. In the new system with a Ryzen 7 5800X I threw the CPU-heavy Cinebench R23 multicore at it.
If you know about the 5800X you likely know it is notorious for being a hot-running chip. Putting it in that stress test I was expecting to hit thermal limits but the Noctua kept it at a maximum of 85.3C which is still hot but very good for what it was doing. I paid a lot for the name, the reputation and the performance but I’m very happy with it. Noctua have provided new mounting brackets in the past and likely will for the new Intel and AMD AM5 platforms. When I bought it there was nothing for the 12th-gen Intel CPUs in box though.
Cool! I’ve never fancied the idea of water cooling, for what to me are obvious reasons. Looked into air coolers and Noctua kept coming up as great products. So I bit the bullet and ordered this bad boy.
Firstly – it’s Huge! Seriously, check it’ll fit in your case and also check for Ram clearance. It’d be a right pain in the backside to take your PC apart to find it doesn’t fit. Luckily I did my research first and it fits. Just. As for my CPU, it now runs idle at around 30 degrees and under load never goes much above 60. Fantastic stuff. Not cheap but considering these coolers typically last 8+ years, I think it’s actually good value for money. Love it!
Amazing piece of ki Bought this with the additional mounting kit for my new i7-1200k and it’s an amazing piece of kit! You will need the two fans version and you will need a large case but it’s worth it! I just have one fan running with this on my case and my temps are 35 ideal and 57 under load. So I’m running only 3 fans in total! I’m silent mode it’s inaudible, in balanced it’s barely there at all and in full load it’s there but not that loud!! It’s a serious piece of kit. Be advised to place the additional mounting bracket under your mother board first before screwing in your motherboard!
Amazing coole Installed mine on a i711700k and in a corsair 5000x. Temps at idle sit around 25c and under load dont go over 50c. So happy with the temps. Use the noctua thermal paste that comes with i
Amazing coole Installed mine on a i711700k and in a corsair 5000x. Temps at idle sit around 25c and under load dont go over 50c. So happy with the temps. Use the noctua thermal paste that comes with i
Amazing cooling My Ryzen 2700 with the stock cooler went from 75 degrees under stress testing to 45 degrees with this Noctua cooler. Massive difference.
Brilliant cooler. you deffo pay for the brand name. but you still get excellent cooling. Used an nhd14 for 10years and never a bother. bought this for my new build and its exactly what you expect from noctua. quiet with exceptional cooling.
Black on Black purity, with zero sound Absolutely love this item, is absolutely gorgeous, in all black ! And even better with the magnetic covers. Easy to install and silent ! Great temps as well.
Amazing performance, just make sure it will fi Amazing cooling performance, even with my 3700X running at 100% and a GPU being stressed at the same time, the temp didn’t go above 54 C, which is well below the AIO it replaced – the Noctua mounting system also makes installation a doddle as you don’t have to fight with trying to attach the mounting system and the entire heatsink at the same time.
One thing to note though is that this cooler is pretty chunky, and you will need to make sure that your case has enough depth to fit it, and that you have capability to move components around or even change them in some circumstances – I had to move my GPU to a lower slot so the cooler can fit, and that is obviously an issue if you only have one x16 slot available, so forward planning before buying this item is strongly recommended.
Amazing performance, just make sure it will fi Amazing cooling performance, even with my 3700X running at 100% and a GPU being stressed at the same time, the temp didn’t go above 54 C, which is well below the AIO it replaced – the Noctua mounting system also makes installation a doddle as you don’t have to fight with trying to attach the mounting system and the entire heatsink at the same time.
One thing to note though is that this cooler is pretty chunky, and you will need to make sure that your case has enough depth to fit it, and that you have capability to move components around or even change them in some circumstances – I had to move my GPU to a lower slot so the cooler can fit, and that is obviously an issue if you only have one x16 slot available, so forward planning before buying this item is strongly recommended.
Wow what a difference this has made! I had to write a review in case anyone was having a similar issue to what I was, I can say this product is fantastic and has solved my overheating issues.
I was using a major brand liquid cooler on my Ryzen 5600x and my temps where around 60 degrees idle and 96 degrees under load. I tried multiple radiator placements as well as different thermal paste applications to no avail. I was happy with how my case fans where set up for cooling too (3x intake and 1x exhaust).
I took a plunge after ready the reviews and yes this fan may be a bit overkill for the 5600x but my temps have dropped significantly. On stock processor speeds (3.7ghz) temps were around 24 degrees at idle and early 40’s under load. I’ve now I’ve overclocked it to 4.3ghz and it runs early 30’s at idle and early 50’s under load, a huge difference.
The kit comes with everything you need and is easy to install. With the low noise adapters in the box this runs extremely quiet too.
Wow what a difference this has made! I had to write a review in case anyone was having a similar issue to what I was, I can say this product is fantastic and has solved my overheating issues.
I was using a major brand liquid cooler on my Ryzen 5600x and my temps where around 60 degrees idle and 96 degrees under load. I tried multiple radiator placements as well as different thermal paste applications to no avail. I was happy with how my case fans where set up for cooling too (3x intake and 1x exhaust).
I took a plunge after ready the reviews and yes this fan may be a bit overkill for the 5600x but my temps have dropped significantly. On stock processor speeds (3.7ghz) temps were around 24 degrees at idle and early 40’s under load. I’ve now I’ve overclocked it to 4.3ghz and it runs early 30’s at idle and early 50’s under load, a huge difference.
The kit comes with everything you need and is easy to install. With the low noise adapters in the box this runs extremely quiet too.
Better than my 280mm AIO I absolutely love this CPU cooler, to the point that I regret not going air cooling sooner.
The install process is really easy, even if you do it the more difficult way by having your motherboard already in the case (which I did, because this was a cooler upgrade).
The performance is better than my 280mm AIO cooler from NZXT. I would usually get 40-50 degrees on idle, now I get low 30s – mid 40s, much more reassuring.
The sound is fantastic, they run at a fast RPM then my case fans which are ‘BeQuiet’ fans, and are quieter than those fans! I actually regret getting the ‘BeQuiet’ fans, wishing that I instead got noctua fans.
Highly recommend, will never be changing my cooler unless Noctua makes one even better!
Better than my 280mm AIO I absolutely love this CPU cooler, to the point that I regret not going air cooling sooner.
The install process is really easy, even if you do it the more difficult way by having your motherboard already in the case (which I did, because this was a cooler upgrade).
The performance is better than my 280mm AIO cooler from NZXT. I would usually get 40-50 degrees on idle, now I get low 30s – mid 40s, much more reassuring.
The sound is fantastic, they run at a fast RPM then my case fans which are ‘BeQuiet’ fans, and are quieter than those fans! I actually regret getting the ‘BeQuiet’ fans, wishing that I instead got noctua fans.
Highly recommend, will never be changing my cooler unless Noctua makes one even better!
Great cooler, but advice on mounting kit is wrong Great cooler, very impressive performance. If you are using it on an LGA-1700 board, be aware that the listing states you need to buy a separate mounting kit. The fan I received (December 2021) had the updated mounting kit already included, no need for the extra item (Amazon refunded).
Great cooler, but advice on mounting kit is wrong Great cooler, very impressive performance. If you are using it on an LGA-1700 board, be aware that the listing states you need to buy a separate mounting kit. The fan I received (December 2021) had the updated mounting kit already included, no need for the extra item (Amazon refunded).
Monster Coole I purchased this for my Ryzen 9 5900x and this cooler is incredible. If you want AIO cooling but need it cheaper than this is for you. While testing with Cinebench R23 for 10 minutes on a loop the CPU maxed out at 62c. Great cooler and extremely silent.
Monster Coole I purchased this for my Ryzen 9 5900x and this cooler is incredible. If you want AIO cooling but need it cheaper than this is for you. While testing with Cinebench R23 for 10 minutes on a loop the CPU maxed out at 62c. Great cooler and extremely silent.
Why Water Cool ? Expensive yes for air cooling but this thing is big, quiet and cools better than the water cooler it is replacing at half the price, with the advantage it’s cheap to replace a fan if one fails in years time.
Did I mention it’s big, make sure you have 165mm CPU clearance to side of case for top of heat pipes and easy to fit for anybody capable of using a screwdriver (supplied) and finally black fans, thank you Noctua !
Why Water Cool ? Expensive yes for air cooling but this thing is big, quiet and cools better than the water cooler it is replacing at half the price, with the advantage it’s cheap to replace a fan if one fails in years time.
Did I mention it’s big, make sure you have 165mm CPU clearance to side of case for top of heat pipes and easy to fit for anybody capable of using a screwdriver (supplied) and finally black fans, thank you Noctua !
Can even keep an i9-12900k cool Had the non chromax version prior to this on my i7-7700k and it did the job great. Son gettting old motherboard,cpu and ram, so needed new one to go with my new setup. Would rather go for longevity (air cooling) as opposed to water cooling as with this cooler the difference is only a few degrees Celsius.
Even with an i9-12900k this keeps up no bother, despite it being a hot runner anyway.
Can even keep an i9-12900k cool Had the non chromax version prior to this on my i7-7700k and it did the job great. Son gettting old motherboard,cpu and ram, so needed new one to go with my new setup. Would rather go for longevity (air cooling) as opposed to water cooling as with this cooler the difference is only a few degrees Celsius.
Even with an i9-12900k this keeps up no bother, despite it being a hot runner anyway.
The Ultimate Coole Used on an i5 12600k. On stress test, all cores at 100%, barely getting above 47 centigrade.
Noctua is a premium product that delivers. Might cost more, and I’ve owned the D14 for 10 years which I thought could not be bested (still goes for 50 on fleabay), but this takes it to the next level. Hoping for another 10 years from this and with the free/very cheap adapter mounting kits from Noctua, no doubt this will last the same
The Ultimate Coole Used on an i5 12600k. On stress test, all cores at 100%, barely getting above 47 centigrade.
Noctua is a premium product that delivers. Might cost more, and I’ve owned the D14 for 10 years which I thought could not be bested (still goes for 50 on fleabay), but this takes it to the next level. Hoping for another 10 years from this and with the free/very cheap adapter mounting kits from Noctua, no doubt this will last the same
It’s Noctua
It’s black
The fans are silent even at higher speeds
Cons
This isn’t Noctua’s fault but I couldn’t mount my front fan due to having 2 sticks of trident gskill RAM which is quite tall and the front fan simply wouldn’t fit unless I either put a 120mm instead of 140mm or move the sticks of RAM to the last 2 slots (instead of slot 2 and 4)
It’s Noctua
It’s black
The fans are silent even at higher speeds
Cons
This isn’t Noctua’s fault but I couldn’t mount my front fan due to having 2 sticks of trident gskill RAM which is quite tall and the front fan simply wouldn’t fit unless I either put a 120mm instead of 140mm or move the sticks of RAM to the last 2 slots (instead of slot 2 and 4)
Simply fantastic. Goodbye AIOs. Bought this to replace an AIO water cooler that had a pump failure after a year. Couldn’t be happier was easy to install (my first time doing this and went smoothly) and my temps are now 20 degrees cooler than they were even when the AIO was performing at its best. It’s also quieter, can see myself every going back to liquid cooling.
Using on a Ryzen 9 and it keeps its below 70 degrees even when gaming. A+++++.
Simply fantastic. Goodbye AIOs. Bought this to replace an AIO water cooler that had a pump failure after a year. Couldn’t be happier was easy to install (my first time doing this and went smoothly) and my temps are now 20 degrees cooler than they were even when the AIO was performing at its best. It’s also quieter, can see myself every going back to liquid cooling.
Using on a Ryzen 9 and it keeps its below 70 degrees even when gaming. A+++++.
4000D airflow | Corsair Vengance RGB Pro | RTX 3060 MSI Gaming X Upgrading from stock Wraith Prism on a Ryzen 7 2700x
The cooler is pretty much silent. I have it in a 4000D airflow with Corsair Vengance RGB Pro 16gb and the RTX 3060 MSI Gaming X.
There is a thumbs width of room between the cooler and the GPU meaning it needed to be removed to insert the fans properly. Not a problem.
The RAM was too tall for the fan to be centred with the heatsink like the middle so it is raised a slight bit. Because of this, the fan touches the glass side panel and has caused the tiniest amount of pressure in the middle causing an unnoticeable bend in the glass (Which sounds bad but has no real impact on the performance or the case).
All in all the best cooler I’ve seen in person and online that is not an AIO!
Worth Every Penny!
4000D airflow | Corsair Vengance RGB Pro | RTX 3060 MSI Gaming X Upgrading from stock Wraith Prism on a Ryzen 7 2700x
The cooler is pretty much silent. I have it in a 4000D airflow with Corsair Vengance RGB Pro 16gb and the RTX 3060 MSI Gaming X.
There is a thumbs width of room between the cooler and the GPU meaning it needed to be removed to insert the fans properly. Not a problem.
The RAM was too tall for the fan to be centred with the heatsink like the middle so it is raised a slight bit. Because of this, the fan touches the glass side panel and has caused the tiniest amount of pressure in the middle causing an unnoticeable bend in the glass (Which sounds bad but has no real impact on the performance or the case).
All in all the best cooler I’ve seen in person and online that is not an AIO!
Worth Every Penny!
Actually blown away! Bought this assuming it would be an impressive cooler but noisy and big and have found that it is an amazing cooler even with only one fan installed it is not noisy at all and has cut my cpu temperatures in half.
Only downside is that it would not fit in smaller cases.
Needless to say I am blown away would definitely recommend.
Actually blown away! Bought this assuming it would be an impressive cooler but noisy and big and have found that it is an amazing cooler even with only one fan installed it is not noisy at all and has cut my cpu temperatures in half.
Only downside is that it would not fit in smaller cases.
Needless to say I am blown away would definitely recommend.
Great produc Great product at the best price.
Important precision, mine came with built in LGA1700 support so, despite what the description says, you don’t need an additional mounting plate.
Top Drawe Well made, feels like good quality and acts it too, got my 8700K no delid to 5gz easy without even trying to fine tune everything (which I will) and barely goes over 80 degrees.
Its an investment, they seem good for upgrading mounting brackets for new socket types so Im sure I will be using it for many years 5*
Top Drawe Well made, feels like good quality and acts it too, got my 8700K no delid to 5gz easy without even trying to fine tune everything (which I will) and barely goes over 80 degrees.
Its an investment, they seem good for upgrading mounting brackets for new socket types so Im sure I will be using it for many years 5*
Amazing cooling powe My 240mm AIO broke down and wasn’t giving the cooling performance it should so I decided to go back to classic Air cooling. This thing cools as well or better than the AIO ever did, and that’s with only 1 fan. My only regret is that I didn’t order the S version with the single fan, as the second one doesn’t fit in my case.
Amazing cooling powe My 240mm AIO broke down and wasn’t giving the cooling performance it should so I decided to go back to classic Air cooling. This thing cools as well or better than the AIO ever did, and that’s with only 1 fan. My only regret is that I didn’t order the S version with the single fan, as the second one doesn’t fit in my case.
Best CPU heat sink/fan I’ve ever had. I’ve had a couple of these for builds and I never have issues with heat throttling the cpu. I have idle temps at 20-25 degrees. Installation can be a little tricky at first but it’s really not a issue. Be aware that the radiator can nip you if your not careful. The included fans are the usual noctua quality. Can’t go wrong
Came with lga1700 support as on 07/11/21 super happy Came to day with lga1700 support brackets and kit as on 07/11/21 super happy so for anyone who wonders rest assured
Best CPU heat sink/fan I’ve ever had. I’ve had a couple of these for builds and I never have issues with heat throttling the cpu. I have idle temps at 20-25 degrees. Installation can be a little tricky at first but it’s really not a issue. Be aware that the radiator can nip you if your not careful. The included fans are the usual noctua quality. Can’t go wrong
It’s ok, but flawed Going from a Kraken I wanted something virtually silent, and going passive cooler with legendarily quiet Noctua fans I thought this would be the answer.
And as air coolers go, it’s among the best. It’s just not in the same league as a decent AIO.
It was a struggle to install, its bulky size meaning it both pushed against my 3090 (bending some fins) and covered my RAM, pushing slightly down.
It looked good once in, but the fans were a pain to attach too.
But the big issues were the noise and the performance. There was a notable hum coming from the fans, which is apparently a known issue, plus the performance, while decent, reminded me why I went AIO years ago.
The biggest downside of passive is the huge accumulation of warm air inside the case, and the massive cool down time after extended load.
AIO goes back down fast, passive can take minutes.
And coupled with the noise and collisions with other parts in my rig meant this came right back out again.
For what it is in its class it’s good, but has no chance against liquid cooling.
Beast CPU Coole Rare I give out 5* reviews, especially for something so expensive compared to the average price, but IMO this is worth it.
A cooler like this is a must if you have a high end CPU, as cheaper ones just won’t keep it cool and medium priced ones will struggle. A hugely underrated feature, and why I now don’t dread having to remove the cooler to reapply thermal paste, is that once fitted its really easy to remove and replace (my old Cooler Master one was a major pain). Finally (and why I think it’s still good value even at this price), I can see me using this over numerous builds, with the 6 year guarantee giving some peace of mind.
Excelle I added this cooler to my mid tower with only one fan because of lack of case space to cool my 11900K. It’s idle temperature was 27-30C. I played Far Cry 5 with maximum settings and it went nothing above 65C. Perfect product.
Excelle I added this cooler to my mid tower with only one fan because of lack of case space to cool my 11900K. It’s idle temperature was 27-30C. I played Far Cry 5 with maximum settings and it went nothing above 65C. Perfect product.
Excellent but big This is a beast of a cooler, it does a great job and is significantly better than the stock wraith I was using (but no RGB, which we all know improves gameplaying skills). Be aware that it is pretty chunky so if you have a smaller rig make sure it will fit before you buy. Otherwise I highly recommend it.
Excellent but big This is a beast of a cooler, it does a great job and is significantly better than the stock wraith I was using (but no RGB, which we all know improves gameplaying skills). Be aware that it is pretty chunky so if you have a smaller rig make sure it will fit before you buy. Otherwise I highly recommend it.
Best cooler I've used I bought this to replace a faulty Water Cooler (Kraken)
This air cooler is far quieter and cools my CPU so much better and I’m only able to currently able to use one fan on the cooler due to my PC CASE configuration.
Ensure you measure your PC to ensure it fits, but even with one fan it’s excellent.
Took me two weeks to buy this as some sellers sell quick expensively due to it being so popular and selling out, I bought this for 90 – so keep tabs before you pay over the price and then delivery too!! with some sellers.
Best cooler I've used I bought this to replace a faulty Water Cooler (Kraken)
This air cooler is far quieter and cools my CPU so much better and I’m only able to currently able to use one fan on the cooler due to my PC CASE configuration.
Ensure you measure your PC to ensure it fits, but even with one fan it’s excellent.
Took me two weeks to buy this as some sellers sell quick expensively due to it being so popular and selling out, I bought this for 90 – so keep tabs before you pay over the price and then delivery too!! with some sellers.
A worthy opponent to liquid coolers Previously, I’ve always been a fan of liquid coolers, but after my Corsair H80i died for the second time in less than a year, I wanted something more reliable.
From looking at online reviews and YouTube videos, I saw that Noctua sell a beefy air cooler. A lot of the reviewers doing bench tests suggested that the cooling is just as good as the popular liquid coolers on the market, but with the added bonus that it’s quieter.
So I decided to buy the Noctua NH-D15 Chromax.Black.
First impressions is that the NH-D15 is of exceptional build quality. Even the screwdriver provided in the kit does not appear to be of cheap steel.
Fitting the cooler is relatively straightforward. The most difficult part was actually clipping the fans on. As they are spring clips and require you to get the clip wire in between fins. Once it is fitted though, it feels solid and looks the part. As much as Noctua’s colour scheme is recognisable, I’m glad they offer the Chromax.Black edition.
Once the PC was up and running, I can safely say that I agree with the reviewers. The CPU temperatures are just as good as my old liquid cooler. I’m running an Intel i9 9900k overclocked at 5GHz. Temperatures sit around at 30c idle if the ambient temp is 20c. At 100% load, the temps ramp up to 70c max.
Build Quality = 5/5
Noise Levels = 5/5
Price = Good
Ease of installation = 4/5 – Due to fan clips. But you only fit once, so happy to put up with that
On another note: Noctua NH-D15 also comes in an S version. This has an offset to allow more room for PCIe slots & cards. It only comes with one fan, which is the central fan. In my opinion, get the NH-D15 if room for the PCIe slots isn’t a problem. Noctua’s website also has a compatibility page (with CPUs and Motherboards), so double-check on that too.
Consider removing the motherboard You will read and hear it suggested that you should just remove the whole motherboard to install this and its true, you should. The heatsink itself is super easy to install, that isn’t the issue but instead its mounting the fans.
I am not complaining about the fans themselves although I seem to have 1 dud fan sadly but instead trying to mount them securely as intended can be very difficult as they have clips that are basically thick metal wires and if you have visually looked at a heatsink you are aware they have a lot of fins and those fins can bend extremely easy so care must be taken around them. If you don’t take the motherboard out of the case, you will try to mount the fans and they will snag very easily on the early fins which makes you risk damaging the fans trying to unclip the metal and push them further down.
If you are not heavy handed then you thankfully won’t damage the heatsink fins but that doesn’t mean you will attach the fans securely and if you don’t you might not notice either but this will cause the fan/s to whine due to being off-center so if you do hear a whistle like sound that might be why.
When mounted correctly you won’t hear them at all apart from the sound of air being moved which is fantastic and at this price point they should be. I’m not complaining about the price as a CPU heatsink is both reusable and essential so well worth the investment but at this point I don’t have anything else to add you haven’t read or heard before about Noctua.
To circle back to my dud fan, its extremely minor but because the fans are so good and silent, one of my fans making a minor whinning noise is actually very noticable because without it the system runs silent. It works as intended outside of that but if the fans ramp up then the whistling gets louder. If I take it out and run a single fan then its noise free so if you run into a similar issue then know its a flaw and not working as intended.
Best CPU air cooler on the market! I purchased this a few months ago and can easily say it’s an air cooler that is an apex and cannot get rid of – the performance is fantastic; it looks beautiful and performs beautifully.
My temperature remains excellent even in the summer heat and when overclocked using CPB and PBO it can hit mid 70’s – never goes over 80 degrees celsius; when using this in the winter, it easily beats some of the top performing AIO’s (even in the summer too).
I purchased an AIO last week as wanted something new, I put it in the case and mounted it and within 2 hours I took the AIO off as the temperatures were pretty much on par and worse when idle – for reference I used an Arctic Liquid Freezer 2 360mm.
I do not like the thought of an AIO damaging thousands worth of equipment – I will be sticking with air cooling when it comes to the leaders in this area – Noctua!
My point is, I just couldn’t part with the NHD15 as it’s simply fantastic and happy with it all the time.
Pros:
– No risk of leaking.
– Aesthetically pleasing.
– Top performing.
– No RGB.
As for cons, I can’t really list any and this isn’t me being biased – I just think it is excellent and it can’t be faulted.
Choose the cooler you want, but I highly recommend the NHD15.
Cool Switched from an old aio to this. After about 5 years, my trusty aio was no longer getting the job done. I suspect the water level had dropped too much over time. So figured I’d try this.
Temps are now great. Idling around 15c above ambient for me. The mounting kit is very sturdy and overall I’m very happy that I now have a solution that is potentially reuseable for many years more.
The only downsides I can see are the sheer size of the thing making it difficult to access things like ram slots and fan headers, when fitted. And it’s potentially a lot of weight, so I’d probably remove it whilst traveling if moving house
Cool Switched from an old aio to this. After about 5 years, my trusty aio was no longer getting the job done. I suspect the water level had dropped too much over time. So figured I’d try this.
Temps are now great. Idling around 15c above ambient for me. The mounting kit is very sturdy and overall I’m very happy that I now have a solution that is potentially reuseable for many years more.
The only downsides I can see are the sheer size of the thing making it difficult to access things like ram slots and fan headers, when fitted. And it’s potentially a lot of weight, so I’d probably remove it whilst traveling if moving house
KEEP MY i9 9900K CPU COOL 52degrees, BUT.... I would give a 4.5 stars, just thinking how to place with both fans on it nicely in case as i exeding 165mm or i should change exoust orientation(where mostly noone putting them with airflow orientation to top to fit it) in appoligazed space. Put for prolonged time benchmarks i not exeeded 54 C on any of cores. Installing is easy. I will change rewiev if i find way to fix my trouble:)
KEEP MY i9 9900K CPU COOL 52degrees, BUT.... I would give a 4.5 stars, just thinking how to place with both fans on it nicely in case as i exeding 165mm or i should change exoust orientation(where mostly noone putting them with airflow orientation to top to fit it) in appoligazed space. Put for prolonged time benchmarks i not exeeded 54 C on any of cores. Installing is easy. I will change rewiev if i find way to fix my trouble:)
It's Noctua what more can you expect. After purchasing this for a 9700KF I soon realised that I couldn’t mount the first fan because it protruded out of the side of my case by around 2cm, so I mounted the fan as an intake instead.
Temps are great even with just the 1 centre fan running at stock voltage 4.9ghz all cores never exceeding 60 degrees.
Bonus is it’s sile
It's Noctua what more can you expect. After purchasing this for a 9700KF I soon realised that I couldn’t mount the first fan because it protruded out of the side of my case by around 2cm, so I mounted the fan as an intake instead.
Temps are great even with just the 1 centre fan running at stock voltage 4.9ghz all cores never exceeding 60 degrees.
Bonus is it’s sile
Perfect for powerfull CPUs I bought this as I was getting extremely high temperatures in my Intel i7-7700k (60 idle and 70-90 max load). And the temperatures after I installed it was a drastic improvement (20-25 idle and 50-65 max load). This saved my CPU and increased its previous lifespan by a longrun.
Overall I would definitely recommend this if you have the space in your PC case.
Perfect for powerfull CPUs I bought this as I was getting extremely high temperatures in my Intel i7-7700k (60 idle and 70-90 max load). And the temperatures after I installed it was a drastic improvement (20-25 idle and 50-65 max load). This saved my CPU and increased its previous lifespan by a longrun.
Overall I would definitely recommend this if you have the space in your PC case.
Best of the best - easy to fit and fantastic performance. This cooler is the best you can buy. Designed to a high level and is really easy to fit. I was worried it would be fiddly but far from it. Maybe was expecting a bit more cooling compared to my old arctic freezer esports but not a massive difference to be honest.
Best of the best - easy to fit and fantastic performance. This cooler is the best you can buy. Designed to a high level and is really easy to fit. I was worried it would be fiddly but far from it. Maybe was expecting a bit more cooling compared to my old arctic freezer esports but not a massive difference to be honest.
Best air CPU coole Always go for Noctua, best in the business when it comes to air cooling. Been using them for years, very quiet and keep the CPU very cool. It’s very large, so not suitable for smaller cases, I used mine in the Fractal Design Meshify 2, gets close to the edge. If your case is large enough, any mid to large will be fine, then don’t overthink it. Just try to get the low profile memory modules else you’ll have issues with the 2nd fan on this cooler.
Note that I also get the CPU paste with the cooler, so don’t buy any like me.
Best air CPU coole Always go for Noctua, best in the business when it comes to air cooling. Been using them for years, very quiet and keep the CPU very cool. It’s very large, so not suitable for smaller cases, I used mine in the Fractal Design Meshify 2, gets close to the edge. If your case is large enough, any mid to large will be fine, then don’t overthink it. Just try to get the low profile memory modules else you’ll have issues with the 2nd fan on this cooler.
Note that I also get the CPU paste with the cooler, so don’t buy any like me.
Big and brutal and working fine with new 12th gen i7 12700K Bought this to replace an aio that was leaking and wanted after many years to try the simple fit and forget route.
relatively easy to fit after checking on Noctura’s website that it was compatible with both MB and case.
Mounting bracket is straight forward and was painless.
Only had a couple of mm clearance between bracket and top nvme heatsink but otherwise ok.
Had to position the fans about 3cm higher rather than flush due to ram clearance but as I bought the chromax covers it looks good as they are level with them.
I had to move my 2 x top 140mm fans to the front of the case as this is such a beast but this no big hassle as these then replaced the now absent aio.
Noise levels are good especially on standard settings and to be fair although temps on idle are 2c higher at 24c it doesn’t bother me.
Did a couple of tame benchmarks and temps were no higher than before.
So to sum it up if your case and MB will accommodate this and you would rather fit and forget, give it a go.
Edit: Nov 2021
Now installed along with an i7 12700K using LGA 1700 kit supplied by Noctua and temps are good despite only running it with one fan as the second fan wouldn’t fit with the new set up.
Anyways temps at idle are 22-24c with an ambient of 18c and gaming (Cyperpunk) at 1440 maxes out on some cores at 79c but mostly around the 67-79 c mark.
Monster overkill coole This is a monster, it really filled out the case and was probably overkill for my 5800x but I love it. The mounting system is easy to use. The fans are audible when the CPU is under load but reasonably quiet at idle
Perfectio This is quality, so easy to put on even a small infant can do it and the noise level is perfect its enough of a hum so you know your computer is alive but the hum isnt enough to bother you, this is probably the best fan cooler out there to be honest. If you liked the review please look onto my profile as there are more computer parts which have been reviewed thanks all 🙂
Perfectio This is quality, so easy to put on even a small infant can do it and the noise level is perfect its enough of a hum so you know your computer is alive but the hum isnt enough to bother you, this is probably the best fan cooler out there to be honest. If you liked the review please look onto my profile as there are more computer parts which have been reviewed thanks all 🙂
Amazing performance, quality and very cheap compared to AIOs I am using the ryzen 5 5600x using stock cooler, I was getting around high 70s to low 80s when playing games like Squad or cyberpunk max settings or running cinebench multicore I would get a max of 81C. I’m now getting amazing temps for example in squad I haven’t seen any higher temps than the high 60s, when running cinebench multicore the temps goes to 61c and stays 61c for the10 mins. I believe It has the same performance as an aio however I don’t have to worry about leaks etc. The only issue with this cooler is the sheer size, its massive. Putting it in the case and with fans was a pain and my glass panel just has enough room but in the end it is an amazing cooler and would highly recommend.
Amazing performance, quality and very cheap compared to AIOs I am using the ryzen 5 5600x using stock cooler, I was getting around high 70s to low 80s when playing games like Squad or cyberpunk max settings or running cinebench multicore I would get a max of 81C. I’m now getting amazing temps for example in squad I haven’t seen any higher temps than the high 60s, when running cinebench multicore the temps goes to 61c and stays 61c for the10 mins. I believe It has the same performance as an aio however I don’t have to worry about leaks etc. The only issue with this cooler is the sheer size, its massive. Putting it in the case and with fans was a pain and my glass panel just has enough room but in the end it is an amazing cooler and would highly recommend.
Huge Looks fantastic, It’s not easy to fit as full AM4 kit not supplied, but Noctua will send one out to you for free if you fill in form on the site, because the full mounting kit isn’t there I can only install centre fan on my b550 Tomahawk Mobo, but the full AM4 kit will enable me to be able to rotate the cooler to install both fans. It does a fantastic job with the one 140mm fan, keeping my 3600xt at around 35c (idle). I think the price is good as you do get the two fans, and it is a solid unit. Matt black is awesome to, will try to keep this updated as to when the AM4 mount arrives, had an email from ups today saying its due to arrive 22nd March so 6 days from the date I emailed them. So the AM4 kit was my only gripe, if you have an intel then the whole kit is there.
Huge Looks fantastic, It’s not easy to fit as full AM4 kit not supplied, but Noctua will send one out to you for free if you fill in form on the site, because the full mounting kit isn’t there I can only install centre fan on my b550 Tomahawk Mobo, but the full AM4 kit will enable me to be able to rotate the cooler to install both fans. It does a fantastic job with the one 140mm fan, keeping my 3600xt at around 35c (idle). I think the price is good as you do get the two fans, and it is a solid unit. Matt black is awesome to, will try to keep this updated as to when the AM4 mount arrives, had an email from ups today saying its due to arrive 22nd March so 6 days from the date I emailed them. So the AM4 kit was my only gripe, if you have an intel then the whole kit is there.
Exceptional cooling Amazing product, immediately shaved 15 Celsius off my 5900x idle temp vs using a stock AMD cooler (I think a spire?) from the 2600x I upgraded from and it’s quiet, so basically everything you want from a heatsink. Only problem was that I had to play a bit of tetris getting the thing into my case because this bad boy is LARGE.
Exceptional cooling Amazing product, immediately shaved 15 Celsius off my 5900x idle temp vs using a stock AMD cooler (I think a spire?) from the 2600x I upgraded from and it’s quiet, so basically everything you want from a heatsink. Only problem was that I had to play a bit of tetris getting the thing into my case because this bad boy is LARGE.
Keeps my CPU under 50C even during heavy loads. Just barely fits in my case, so make sure you’ve got the necessary clearance!
It has better cooling than most AIO, keep in mind.
Excellent cooling and extremely quite
This cooler has worked wonders for my CPU when running games under load with my CPU being overclocked too 4.5Ghz the temperature never runs above 70c so certainly loads of room for overclocking. The cooler emits next to no noise with the fans on my case being louder that the actual cooler. However, when installing ensure your case is big enough because even with a standard size casing the cooler fits well and has a little room its quite tight and can make plugging in the fans above the cooler an absolute pain so ensure you plug the fans in before installing this otherwise you will spend half an hour trying to fit your hand in the gap and plug the fan in. Otherwise this thing is a beast and I would reccommend spending that little bit more for a cooler than will pretty much beat or be on par with water cooling but without all the hassle.
Great air cooler for a great price
Bought this to replace a failing AIO liquid cooler on my gaming PC. Running high graphic games my i9 is only hitting around 45-50C; even when running multicore 100% tests in keeps the temperature to about 80C.
Also, I have never built a PC/replaced something like before and I was able to do it with no problems; really clear instructions
Fit and Forget, But also Stealth!
Just like the Silver Model, Only Darker
Same Performance, Same Reliability, Fit and Forget!
Brought my temps down 25C
Great quality and quiet fan. I learned a valuable lesson that for optimal cooling the size of cooler makes a big difference. I paired this with a 12600K, replacing the much smaller NH-D9L that I installed originally and it brought my temps under load down from 100C to 75C. A little undervolting and I’m now getting 65C temps under load. A huge improvement and I had no idea that such a difference could be had by upgrading the cooler.
The best air cooler!
Compared with my smaller Noctua Cooler, termperatures under max CPU load went from 95C to 80C which is a huge improvement.
I couldn’t fit both fans on the cooler so attached on to the rear of the case to improve airflow.
In the pictures theres one with the old cooler (I forget the exact model but its Noctua) and with the NH-D15 for comparison!
Quite fiddly to fit; probably the hardest part of building a computer but not too difficult overall.
Extremely easy and extremely effective
Easy to set up and very effective using just one of the fans
Beast!
This is a beast of a cooler, would recommend every time!
Huge cooler that is the business. I’ve a Cooler Master H500 mesh and it fits with just enough space. I’m only cooling a Ryzen 3600 for now but it has improved the air flow in the case and it’s AM5 compatible. At full tilt it’s definitely noticeable but consistent. All the extras that come with the cooler made the upgrade super easy, it’s easy to install and remove, very satisfied!
Purchased one of these to cool a Ryzen 9 5950x as I was weary of liquid cooling, being the first time I would have used something like an AIO. The cooler is HUGE and can make installation a hassle in some scenarios. If you ever have to remove a GPU with one of these things installed, be sure to have something like a wooden chopstick to put pressure on the release latch – the gap between the bottom of the heatsink and the back of the GPU is very, very small on ATX boards.
The mounting system was easy enough, little bit of a squeeze in my PC case but it was doable. Read the included instructions and it’s relatively simple, though having someone else around might make it easier, as they could potentially hold things in place while you install them. The clips used to attach the fans to the cooler are a bit stubborn and somewhat confusing if it’s your first time using a cooler like this, but was also easy enough to figure out. I would recommend looking up a video guide to make this part easier.
Aside from that, though, it certainly holds up to the high expectations of a Noctua cooler – it was managing to keep the 5950x from overheating in most situations and only started to struggle during all core stress testing. For CPU’s that aren’t silicon infernos, this thing will do the job and do it incredibly well.
Although I did switch to a 420mm AIO for this CPU, I will absolutely be using the Noctua NHD15 in the future for just about every build that doesn’t necessitate some form of water cooling, as the performance is absolutely fantastic and, being a Noctua product, was very quiet while gaming.
Excellent cooling with low noise
Top of the range colling for those who can’t bothered to deal with the maintenance of AIO.
Quiet under heavy loads, easy to install and has fantastic cooling.
Stunning performance on i9-12900k
Replaced a failed MSI water cooler which always ran hot and noisey with this.
The best decision I ever made as the i9-12900k now idles at around 30 deg C and only gets to 70 deg C when bench testing.
If you have a big case and an i9-12900k buy it, you will not regret it.
This thing is a beas
My home boiler is currently broke, and is stuck on, and even with this being on and 29c outside, my pc (which is also in a 15 year old case which I had to remove one fan off of this cooler and place it – with a create my own style, on the back of the tower idea) still keeps my pc running at 54-60c. I looked online thinking this maybe hot, but turns out for a 5800x and 6600xt, 90c is considered ok to run at, amd said 90c was normal…. so I was shocked to see how cool my gpu is running, considering I forced it into an old (15 year old pc case) as I loved this case to much throw away and removed a fan, and from this cooler and placed it on the back….. it keeps the temps down awesomely.
So if anything, it’s too powerful, albeit I do not see it like that as I think for longevity reasons, keeping a cool gpu is a must. So I would highly recommend anyone who does not have money to burn, but wants to make a decent upgrade, this cooler is the way to go for anything from high end 5600x’s and up. Not sure if theh work with intel, but if so, unless your running a high ene icore7, or more, this may be a bit extreme for anything lower and expensive. But I am super happy with this brand and cooler.
Silent and High Performance
Silent and keeps my Ryzen 7 cool, comes with a tube of high grade thermal paste.
Be aware of RAM clearance and case size, I got lucky and my side panel only just fit on my NZXT case.
I was a bit skeptical at first because I’ve only ever used liquid cooling systems before but boy this one is a game changer. The fans are so quiet, I can barely hear them. Temperatures are good too; sure not as good as liquid cooling systems but it’s really good for the low noise levels. Compared to this my previous cooler sounded like a jet engine. Its actually a little annoying because my desktop has no lights and I used to rely on the fan noise to tell me when it had switched off. Now I have to peek around the back to see if the fans have stopped moving so that I can switch off the main power on shutdown 😀
Installation process was super easy. The package comes with everything you could possibly ever need to install this and is very straightforward if you just follow the guide.
10/10 will install again on my next desktop computer.
One of the coolest (literally) and quietest heatsinks for CPUs under 12th gen intel
I buy these for every CPU under Intel 12th gen (almost nothing can cool an overclocked 12th gen enough, because they’re so inefficient).
This is one of the best coolers on the market and outperforms water cooling on most systems. It is also one of the quietest.
You will need a thick PC case to put it in though, so check your clearances!
I’d also advise only pairing it with a GPU that has a blackplate, as the fins of this cooler will be way too close to a naked GPU back to trust if there’s any wobble during movement of the PC case.
I must admit, I am a huge “fan” of Noctua and this black model is great for those that want a stealthier system. No RGB… no signature “owl-brown / poop” colour (that they’re known for)… its gorgeous!
Superb cooling performance. Be careful about RAM compatability.
I use this to cool an AMD 5900X – it does a tremendously good job.
The mounting plate is very easy to fit, and everything feels very solid.
My case is relatively small (Corsair 275R), but this just fits nicely. The tight fit does make installation a little tricky – but super happy with the finished build.
Good quality thermal paste (N1-H1) and a a fan splitter cable are also included in the box.
Overall, I’d say this is great value for the performance and rock solid build quality.
I’d definately not hesitate to look at other Noctua products in the future.
Really great and very sile
Second Noctua cooler I own, and its even better than the first one. Mounted on a 5950x and it cools it adequately even when all cores running at full blast. I have a large case, and it needs it, but I think that’s the only way to make air cooling effectively work.
25 degrees C reduction over stock Intel cooler - i5-12600
What more can I say. My PC was throttling under extreme load (Prime95 – yes, I know not real, but stress nonetheless), and the temperature was spiking significantly and quickly under small bursts of load.
After installing this, the resting temp reduced by 3-5 degrees C and went from an almost instant 100 degrees under Prime95 to taking 8 mins to reach 75 degrees and staying there up to the end of my 10 minute test.
Highly recommend. Flexible fan mounting height if you have high RAM (or you get an extra big case fan if the second fan won’t go in at all (mine was fine in a Fractal Design Define 7 Compact case).
I can’t hear it, even when you ramp it up (stock case fans are significantly louder than this ever gets).
It’s a very high quality and quiet air cooler average Cpu temps when playing Games is around 40C which is good.
Only gripe I have with it is, its awkward to install I would recommend having a second person with you to hold the mount for you
Best tower cooler on the market.
The NH-D15 is simply the best tower cooler on the market. Don’t look for anything else: it’s a quality product, with quality components, a quality TIM included in the box and a solid packaging and QA on the shoulders.
It’s perfect for my 5800X 3D and keeps it cool with quiet operation. Absolutely recommended!
Never Fail to Buy Noctua Cooling Products
Decided to Build a new Z690 – DDR5, 12gen Build and this Noctua NH-D15 Chromax Black cooler keeps my 12700K CPU at a nice 27c at Idle and while Gaming Horizon Zero Dawn on Ultimate Quality setting, this Noctua Cooler keeps my 12700K at around 52c (winter UK)…yet to see what summer temps are n will update in july….of course i have another 4 x Noctua fans installed in this Corsair 7000D Airflow Case which helps deliver plenty of cool air to the NH-D15 chromax Black.
Great Job, Noctua on an Awesome Cooler.
Best air coole
Got this for 5600X that was overheating with old AC Freezer 7. Problem solved. Promotes good airflow in case. Front fan is right above RAM sticks, so I decided to mod it – I cut “V” shape to the bottom middle of fan frame using hacksaw(but leaving it still in one piece), now RAM sticks are cooled as well.. I’m keeping this cooler for life, 6 stars out of 5!
Huge compatibility lis
I’ve been building a new system and was going to use my old AIO but it ended up being half empty and had partly melded with the old CPU lid. The CPU was fine but I needed a new cooler for that and one that would work in my new system. That’s where the Noctua comes in. It has such a wide range of compatibility that it worked with my 11 year old system and could be used on the AM4 system I was going to build.
I got it for that and the reputation Noctua have. I read the instructions, installed it to my old CPU and laughed. The temperatures were great but the fans are so much slower than old systems are used to I had to tell it to ignore the low speed warnings. In the new system with a Ryzen 7 5800X I threw the CPU-heavy Cinebench R23 multicore at it.
If you know about the 5800X you likely know it is notorious for being a hot-running chip. Putting it in that stress test I was expecting to hit thermal limits but the Noctua kept it at a maximum of 85.3C which is still hot but very good for what it was doing. I paid a lot for the name, the reputation and the performance but I’m very happy with it. Noctua have provided new mounting brackets in the past and likely will for the new Intel and AMD AM5 platforms. When I bought it there was nothing for the 12th-gen Intel CPUs in box though.
Cool!
I’ve never fancied the idea of water cooling, for what to me are obvious reasons. Looked into air coolers and Noctua kept coming up as great products. So I bit the bullet and ordered this bad boy.
Firstly – it’s Huge! Seriously, check it’ll fit in your case and also check for Ram clearance. It’d be a right pain in the backside to take your PC apart to find it doesn’t fit. Luckily I did my research first and it fits. Just. As for my CPU, it now runs idle at around 30 degrees and under load never goes much above 60. Fantastic stuff. Not cheap but considering these coolers typically last 8+ years, I think it’s actually good value for money. Love it!
Amazing piece of ki
Bought this with the additional mounting kit for my new i7-1200k and it’s an amazing piece of kit! You will need the two fans version and you will need a large case but it’s worth it! I just have one fan running with this on my case and my temps are 35 ideal and 57 under load. So I’m running only 3 fans in total! I’m silent mode it’s inaudible, in balanced it’s barely there at all and in full load it’s there but not that loud!! It’s a serious piece of kit. Be advised to place the additional mounting bracket under your mother board first before screwing in your motherboard!
Amazing coole
Installed mine on a i711700k and in a corsair 5000x. Temps at idle sit around 25c and under load dont go over 50c. So happy with the temps. Use the noctua thermal paste that comes with i
Amazing coole
Installed mine on a i711700k and in a corsair 5000x. Temps at idle sit around 25c and under load dont go over 50c. So happy with the temps. Use the noctua thermal paste that comes with i
Amazing cooling
My Ryzen 2700 with the stock cooler went from 75 degrees under stress testing to 45 degrees with this Noctua cooler. Massive difference.
Brilliant cooler. you deffo pay for the brand name. but you still get excellent cooling.
Used an nhd14 for 10years and never a bother. bought this for my new build and its exactly what you expect from noctua. quiet with exceptional cooling.
Black on Black purity, with zero sound
Absolutely love this item, is absolutely gorgeous, in all black ! And even better with the magnetic covers. Easy to install and silent ! Great temps as well.
Amazing performance, just make sure it will fi
Amazing cooling performance, even with my 3700X running at 100% and a GPU being stressed at the same time, the temp didn’t go above 54 C, which is well below the AIO it replaced – the Noctua mounting system also makes installation a doddle as you don’t have to fight with trying to attach the mounting system and the entire heatsink at the same time.
One thing to note though is that this cooler is pretty chunky, and you will need to make sure that your case has enough depth to fit it, and that you have capability to move components around or even change them in some circumstances – I had to move my GPU to a lower slot so the cooler can fit, and that is obviously an issue if you only have one x16 slot available, so forward planning before buying this item is strongly recommended.
Amazing performance, just make sure it will fi
Amazing cooling performance, even with my 3700X running at 100% and a GPU being stressed at the same time, the temp didn’t go above 54 C, which is well below the AIO it replaced – the Noctua mounting system also makes installation a doddle as you don’t have to fight with trying to attach the mounting system and the entire heatsink at the same time.
One thing to note though is that this cooler is pretty chunky, and you will need to make sure that your case has enough depth to fit it, and that you have capability to move components around or even change them in some circumstances – I had to move my GPU to a lower slot so the cooler can fit, and that is obviously an issue if you only have one x16 slot available, so forward planning before buying this item is strongly recommended.
Wow what a difference this has made!
I had to write a review in case anyone was having a similar issue to what I was, I can say this product is fantastic and has solved my overheating issues.
I was using a major brand liquid cooler on my Ryzen 5600x and my temps where around 60 degrees idle and 96 degrees under load. I tried multiple radiator placements as well as different thermal paste applications to no avail. I was happy with how my case fans where set up for cooling too (3x intake and 1x exhaust).
I took a plunge after ready the reviews and yes this fan may be a bit overkill for the 5600x but my temps have dropped significantly. On stock processor speeds (3.7ghz) temps were around 24 degrees at idle and early 40’s under load. I’ve now I’ve overclocked it to 4.3ghz and it runs early 30’s at idle and early 50’s under load, a huge difference.
The kit comes with everything you need and is easy to install. With the low noise adapters in the box this runs extremely quiet too.
Fantastic buy!
Wow what a difference this has made!
I had to write a review in case anyone was having a similar issue to what I was, I can say this product is fantastic and has solved my overheating issues.
I was using a major brand liquid cooler on my Ryzen 5600x and my temps where around 60 degrees idle and 96 degrees under load. I tried multiple radiator placements as well as different thermal paste applications to no avail. I was happy with how my case fans where set up for cooling too (3x intake and 1x exhaust).
I took a plunge after ready the reviews and yes this fan may be a bit overkill for the 5600x but my temps have dropped significantly. On stock processor speeds (3.7ghz) temps were around 24 degrees at idle and early 40’s under load. I’ve now I’ve overclocked it to 4.3ghz and it runs early 30’s at idle and early 50’s under load, a huge difference.
The kit comes with everything you need and is easy to install. With the low noise adapters in the box this runs extremely quiet too.
Fantastic buy!
Better than my 280mm AIO
I absolutely love this CPU cooler, to the point that I regret not going air cooling sooner.
The install process is really easy, even if you do it the more difficult way by having your motherboard already in the case (which I did, because this was a cooler upgrade).
The performance is better than my 280mm AIO cooler from NZXT. I would usually get 40-50 degrees on idle, now I get low 30s – mid 40s, much more reassuring.
The sound is fantastic, they run at a fast RPM then my case fans which are ‘BeQuiet’ fans, and are quieter than those fans! I actually regret getting the ‘BeQuiet’ fans, wishing that I instead got noctua fans.
Highly recommend, will never be changing my cooler unless Noctua makes one even better!
Better than my 280mm AIO
I absolutely love this CPU cooler, to the point that I regret not going air cooling sooner.
The install process is really easy, even if you do it the more difficult way by having your motherboard already in the case (which I did, because this was a cooler upgrade).
The performance is better than my 280mm AIO cooler from NZXT. I would usually get 40-50 degrees on idle, now I get low 30s – mid 40s, much more reassuring.
The sound is fantastic, they run at a fast RPM then my case fans which are ‘BeQuiet’ fans, and are quieter than those fans! I actually regret getting the ‘BeQuiet’ fans, wishing that I instead got noctua fans.
Highly recommend, will never be changing my cooler unless Noctua makes one even better!
Great cooler, but advice on mounting kit is wrong
Great cooler, very impressive performance. If you are using it on an LGA-1700 board, be aware that the listing states you need to buy a separate mounting kit. The fan I received (December 2021) had the updated mounting kit already included, no need for the extra item (Amazon refunded).
Great cooler, but advice on mounting kit is wrong
Great cooler, very impressive performance. If you are using it on an LGA-1700 board, be aware that the listing states you need to buy a separate mounting kit. The fan I received (December 2021) had the updated mounting kit already included, no need for the extra item (Amazon refunded).
Monster Coole
I purchased this for my Ryzen 9 5900x and this cooler is incredible. If you want AIO cooling but need it cheaper than this is for you. While testing with Cinebench R23 for 10 minutes on a loop the CPU maxed out at 62c. Great cooler and extremely silent.
Monster Coole
I purchased this for my Ryzen 9 5900x and this cooler is incredible. If you want AIO cooling but need it cheaper than this is for you. While testing with Cinebench R23 for 10 minutes on a loop the CPU maxed out at 62c. Great cooler and extremely silent.
Why Water Cool ?
Expensive yes for air cooling but this thing is big, quiet and cools better than the water cooler it is replacing at half the price, with the advantage it’s cheap to replace a fan if one fails in years time.
Did I mention it’s big, make sure you have 165mm CPU clearance to side of case for top of heat pipes and easy to fit for anybody capable of using a screwdriver (supplied) and finally black fans, thank you Noctua !
Why Water Cool ?
Expensive yes for air cooling but this thing is big, quiet and cools better than the water cooler it is replacing at half the price, with the advantage it’s cheap to replace a fan if one fails in years time.
Did I mention it’s big, make sure you have 165mm CPU clearance to side of case for top of heat pipes and easy to fit for anybody capable of using a screwdriver (supplied) and finally black fans, thank you Noctua !
Can even keep an i9-12900k cool
Had the non chromax version prior to this on my i7-7700k and it did the job great. Son gettting old motherboard,cpu and ram, so needed new one to go with my new setup. Would rather go for longevity (air cooling) as opposed to water cooling as with this cooler the difference is only a few degrees Celsius.
Even with an i9-12900k this keeps up no bother, despite it being a hot runner anyway.
Can even keep an i9-12900k cool
Had the non chromax version prior to this on my i7-7700k and it did the job great. Son gettting old motherboard,cpu and ram, so needed new one to go with my new setup. Would rather go for longevity (air cooling) as opposed to water cooling as with this cooler the difference is only a few degrees Celsius.
Even with an i9-12900k this keeps up no bother, despite it being a hot runner anyway.
The Ultimate Coole
Used on an i5 12600k. On stress test, all cores at 100%, barely getting above 47 centigrade.
Noctua is a premium product that delivers. Might cost more, and I’ve owned the D14 for 10 years which I thought could not be bested (still goes for 50 on fleabay), but this takes it to the next level. Hoping for another 10 years from this and with the free/very cheap adapter mounting kits from Noctua, no doubt this will last the same
The Ultimate Coole
Used on an i5 12600k. On stress test, all cores at 100%, barely getting above 47 centigrade.
Noctua is a premium product that delivers. Might cost more, and I’ve owned the D14 for 10 years which I thought could not be bested (still goes for 50 on fleabay), but this takes it to the next level. Hoping for another 10 years from this and with the free/very cheap adapter mounting kits from Noctua, no doubt this will last the same
What a beast.. Tamed my 5800x no problem
Pros
It’s Noctua
It’s black
The fans are silent even at higher speeds
Cons
This isn’t Noctua’s fault but I couldn’t mount my front fan due to having 2 sticks of trident gskill RAM which is quite tall and the front fan simply wouldn’t fit unless I either put a 120mm instead of 140mm or move the sticks of RAM to the last 2 slots (instead of slot 2 and 4)
What a beast.. Tamed my 5800x no problem
Pros
It’s Noctua
It’s black
The fans are silent even at higher speeds
Cons
This isn’t Noctua’s fault but I couldn’t mount my front fan due to having 2 sticks of trident gskill RAM which is quite tall and the front fan simply wouldn’t fit unless I either put a 120mm instead of 140mm or move the sticks of RAM to the last 2 slots (instead of slot 2 and 4)
Simply fantastic. Goodbye AIOs.
Bought this to replace an AIO water cooler that had a pump failure after a year. Couldn’t be happier was easy to install (my first time doing this and went smoothly) and my temps are now 20 degrees cooler than they were even when the AIO was performing at its best. It’s also quieter, can see myself every going back to liquid cooling.
Using on a Ryzen 9 and it keeps its below 70 degrees even when gaming. A+++++.
Simply fantastic. Goodbye AIOs.
Bought this to replace an AIO water cooler that had a pump failure after a year. Couldn’t be happier was easy to install (my first time doing this and went smoothly) and my temps are now 20 degrees cooler than they were even when the AIO was performing at its best. It’s also quieter, can see myself every going back to liquid cooling.
Using on a Ryzen 9 and it keeps its below 70 degrees even when gaming. A+++++.
4000D airflow | Corsair Vengance RGB Pro | RTX 3060 MSI Gaming X
Upgrading from stock Wraith Prism on a Ryzen 7 2700x
The cooler is pretty much silent. I have it in a 4000D airflow with Corsair Vengance RGB Pro 16gb and the RTX 3060 MSI Gaming X.
There is a thumbs width of room between the cooler and the GPU meaning it needed to be removed to insert the fans properly. Not a problem.
The RAM was too tall for the fan to be centred with the heatsink like the middle so it is raised a slight bit. Because of this, the fan touches the glass side panel and has caused the tiniest amount of pressure in the middle causing an unnoticeable bend in the glass (Which sounds bad but has no real impact on the performance or the case).
All in all the best cooler I’ve seen in person and online that is not an AIO!
Worth Every Penny!
4000D airflow | Corsair Vengance RGB Pro | RTX 3060 MSI Gaming X
Upgrading from stock Wraith Prism on a Ryzen 7 2700x
The cooler is pretty much silent. I have it in a 4000D airflow with Corsair Vengance RGB Pro 16gb and the RTX 3060 MSI Gaming X.
There is a thumbs width of room between the cooler and the GPU meaning it needed to be removed to insert the fans properly. Not a problem.
The RAM was too tall for the fan to be centred with the heatsink like the middle so it is raised a slight bit. Because of this, the fan touches the glass side panel and has caused the tiniest amount of pressure in the middle causing an unnoticeable bend in the glass (Which sounds bad but has no real impact on the performance or the case).
All in all the best cooler I’ve seen in person and online that is not an AIO!
Worth Every Penny!
Actually blown away!
Bought this assuming it would be an impressive cooler but noisy and big and have found that it is an amazing cooler even with only one fan installed it is not noisy at all and has cut my cpu temperatures in half.
Only downside is that it would not fit in smaller cases.
Needless to say I am blown away would definitely recommend.
Cooling: 10/10
Noise: 8/10
Size: 4/10
Actually blown away!
Bought this assuming it would be an impressive cooler but noisy and big and have found that it is an amazing cooler even with only one fan installed it is not noisy at all and has cut my cpu temperatures in half.
Only downside is that it would not fit in smaller cases.
Needless to say I am blown away would definitely recommend.
Cooling: 10/10
Noise: 8/10
Size: 4/10
Great produc
Great product at the best price.
Important precision, mine came with built in LGA1700 support so, despite what the description says, you don’t need an additional mounting plate.
Top Drawe
Well made, feels like good quality and acts it too, got my 8700K no delid to 5gz easy without even trying to fine tune everything (which I will) and barely goes over 80 degrees.
Its an investment, they seem good for upgrading mounting brackets for new socket types so Im sure I will be using it for many years 5*
Top Drawe
Well made, feels like good quality and acts it too, got my 8700K no delid to 5gz easy without even trying to fine tune everything (which I will) and barely goes over 80 degrees.
Its an investment, they seem good for upgrading mounting brackets for new socket types so Im sure I will be using it for many years 5*
Amazing cooling powe
My 240mm AIO broke down and wasn’t giving the cooling performance it should so I decided to go back to classic Air cooling. This thing cools as well or better than the AIO ever did, and that’s with only 1 fan. My only regret is that I didn’t order the S version with the single fan, as the second one doesn’t fit in my case.
Amazing cooling powe
My 240mm AIO broke down and wasn’t giving the cooling performance it should so I decided to go back to classic Air cooling. This thing cools as well or better than the AIO ever did, and that’s with only 1 fan. My only regret is that I didn’t order the S version with the single fan, as the second one doesn’t fit in my case.
Best CPU heat sink/fan I’ve ever had.
I’ve had a couple of these for builds and I never have issues with heat throttling the cpu. I have idle temps at 20-25 degrees. Installation can be a little tricky at first but it’s really not a issue. Be aware that the radiator can nip you if your not careful. The included fans are the usual noctua quality. Can’t go wrong
Came with lga1700 support as on 07/11/21 super happy
Came to day with lga1700 support brackets and kit as on 07/11/21 super happy so for anyone who wonders rest assured
Best CPU heat sink/fan I’ve ever had.
I’ve had a couple of these for builds and I never have issues with heat throttling the cpu. I have idle temps at 20-25 degrees. Installation can be a little tricky at first but it’s really not a issue. Be aware that the radiator can nip you if your not careful. The included fans are the usual noctua quality. Can’t go wrong
It’s ok, but flawed
Going from a Kraken I wanted something virtually silent, and going passive cooler with legendarily quiet Noctua fans I thought this would be the answer.
And as air coolers go, it’s among the best. It’s just not in the same league as a decent AIO.
It was a struggle to install, its bulky size meaning it both pushed against my 3090 (bending some fins) and covered my RAM, pushing slightly down.
It looked good once in, but the fans were a pain to attach too.
But the big issues were the noise and the performance. There was a notable hum coming from the fans, which is apparently a known issue, plus the performance, while decent, reminded me why I went AIO years ago.
The biggest downside of passive is the huge accumulation of warm air inside the case, and the massive cool down time after extended load.
AIO goes back down fast, passive can take minutes.
And coupled with the noise and collisions with other parts in my rig meant this came right back out again.
For what it is in its class it’s good, but has no chance against liquid cooling.
Beast CPU Coole
Rare I give out 5* reviews, especially for something so expensive compared to the average price, but IMO this is worth it.
A cooler like this is a must if you have a high end CPU, as cheaper ones just won’t keep it cool and medium priced ones will struggle. A hugely underrated feature, and why I now don’t dread having to remove the cooler to reapply thermal paste, is that once fitted its really easy to remove and replace (my old Cooler Master one was a major pain). Finally (and why I think it’s still good value even at this price), I can see me using this over numerous builds, with the 6 year guarantee giving some peace of mind.
Excelle
I added this cooler to my mid tower with only one fan because of lack of case space to cool my 11900K. It’s idle temperature was 27-30C. I played Far Cry 5 with maximum settings and it went nothing above 65C. Perfect product.
Excelle
I added this cooler to my mid tower with only one fan because of lack of case space to cool my 11900K. It’s idle temperature was 27-30C. I played Far Cry 5 with maximum settings and it went nothing above 65C. Perfect product.
Excellent but big
This is a beast of a cooler, it does a great job and is significantly better than the stock wraith I was using (but no RGB, which we all know improves gameplaying skills). Be aware that it is pretty chunky so if you have a smaller rig make sure it will fit before you buy. Otherwise I highly recommend it.
Excellent but big
This is a beast of a cooler, it does a great job and is significantly better than the stock wraith I was using (but no RGB, which we all know improves gameplaying skills). Be aware that it is pretty chunky so if you have a smaller rig make sure it will fit before you buy. Otherwise I highly recommend it.
Best cooler I've used
I bought this to replace a faulty Water Cooler (Kraken)
This air cooler is far quieter and cools my CPU so much better and I’m only able to currently able to use one fan on the cooler due to my PC CASE configuration.
Ensure you measure your PC to ensure it fits, but even with one fan it’s excellent.
Took me two weeks to buy this as some sellers sell quick expensively due to it being so popular and selling out, I bought this for 90 – so keep tabs before you pay over the price and then delivery too!! with some sellers.
This seller was great.
Enjoy nice quite cooling with this fan.
Best cooler I've used
I bought this to replace a faulty Water Cooler (Kraken)
This air cooler is far quieter and cools my CPU so much better and I’m only able to currently able to use one fan on the cooler due to my PC CASE configuration.
Ensure you measure your PC to ensure it fits, but even with one fan it’s excellent.
Took me two weeks to buy this as some sellers sell quick expensively due to it being so popular and selling out, I bought this for 90 – so keep tabs before you pay over the price and then delivery too!! with some sellers.
This seller was great.
Enjoy nice quite cooling with this fan.
A worthy opponent to liquid coolers
Previously, I’ve always been a fan of liquid coolers, but after my Corsair H80i died for the second time in less than a year, I wanted something more reliable.
From looking at online reviews and YouTube videos, I saw that Noctua sell a beefy air cooler. A lot of the reviewers doing bench tests suggested that the cooling is just as good as the popular liquid coolers on the market, but with the added bonus that it’s quieter.
So I decided to buy the Noctua NH-D15 Chromax.Black.
First impressions is that the NH-D15 is of exceptional build quality. Even the screwdriver provided in the kit does not appear to be of cheap steel.
Fitting the cooler is relatively straightforward. The most difficult part was actually clipping the fans on. As they are spring clips and require you to get the clip wire in between fins. Once it is fitted though, it feels solid and looks the part. As much as Noctua’s colour scheme is recognisable, I’m glad they offer the Chromax.Black edition.
Once the PC was up and running, I can safely say that I agree with the reviewers. The CPU temperatures are just as good as my old liquid cooler. I’m running an Intel i9 9900k overclocked at 5GHz. Temperatures sit around at 30c idle if the ambient temp is 20c. At 100% load, the temps ramp up to 70c max.
Build Quality = 5/5
Noise Levels = 5/5
Price = Good
Ease of installation = 4/5 – Due to fan clips. But you only fit once, so happy to put up with that
On another note: Noctua NH-D15 also comes in an S version. This has an offset to allow more room for PCIe slots & cards. It only comes with one fan, which is the central fan. In my opinion, get the NH-D15 if room for the PCIe slots isn’t a problem. Noctua’s website also has a compatibility page (with CPUs and Motherboards), so double-check on that too.
Consider removing the motherboard
You will read and hear it suggested that you should just remove the whole motherboard to install this and its true, you should. The heatsink itself is super easy to install, that isn’t the issue but instead its mounting the fans.
I am not complaining about the fans themselves although I seem to have 1 dud fan sadly but instead trying to mount them securely as intended can be very difficult as they have clips that are basically thick metal wires and if you have visually looked at a heatsink you are aware they have a lot of fins and those fins can bend extremely easy so care must be taken around them. If you don’t take the motherboard out of the case, you will try to mount the fans and they will snag very easily on the early fins which makes you risk damaging the fans trying to unclip the metal and push them further down.
If you are not heavy handed then you thankfully won’t damage the heatsink fins but that doesn’t mean you will attach the fans securely and if you don’t you might not notice either but this will cause the fan/s to whine due to being off-center so if you do hear a whistle like sound that might be why.
When mounted correctly you won’t hear them at all apart from the sound of air being moved which is fantastic and at this price point they should be. I’m not complaining about the price as a CPU heatsink is both reusable and essential so well worth the investment but at this point I don’t have anything else to add you haven’t read or heard before about Noctua.
To circle back to my dud fan, its extremely minor but because the fans are so good and silent, one of my fans making a minor whinning noise is actually very noticable because without it the system runs silent. It works as intended outside of that but if the fans ramp up then the whistling gets louder. If I take it out and run a single fan then its noise free so if you run into a similar issue then know its a flaw and not working as intended.
Best CPU air cooler on the market!
I purchased this a few months ago and can easily say it’s an air cooler that is an apex and cannot get rid of – the performance is fantastic; it looks beautiful and performs beautifully.
My temperature remains excellent even in the summer heat and when overclocked using CPB and PBO it can hit mid 70’s – never goes over 80 degrees celsius; when using this in the winter, it easily beats some of the top performing AIO’s (even in the summer too).
I purchased an AIO last week as wanted something new, I put it in the case and mounted it and within 2 hours I took the AIO off as the temperatures were pretty much on par and worse when idle – for reference I used an Arctic Liquid Freezer 2 360mm.
I do not like the thought of an AIO damaging thousands worth of equipment – I will be sticking with air cooling when it comes to the leaders in this area – Noctua!
My point is, I just couldn’t part with the NHD15 as it’s simply fantastic and happy with it all the time.
Pros:
– No risk of leaking.
– Aesthetically pleasing.
– Top performing.
– No RGB.
As for cons, I can’t really list any and this isn’t me being biased – I just think it is excellent and it can’t be faulted.
Choose the cooler you want, but I highly recommend the NHD15.
Edit: made some corrections in spelling.
Cool
Switched from an old aio to this. After about 5 years, my trusty aio was no longer getting the job done. I suspect the water level had dropped too much over time. So figured I’d try this.
Temps are now great. Idling around 15c above ambient for me. The mounting kit is very sturdy and overall I’m very happy that I now have a solution that is potentially reuseable for many years more.
The only downsides I can see are the sheer size of the thing making it difficult to access things like ram slots and fan headers, when fitted. And it’s potentially a lot of weight, so I’d probably remove it whilst traveling if moving house
Cool
Switched from an old aio to this. After about 5 years, my trusty aio was no longer getting the job done. I suspect the water level had dropped too much over time. So figured I’d try this.
Temps are now great. Idling around 15c above ambient for me. The mounting kit is very sturdy and overall I’m very happy that I now have a solution that is potentially reuseable for many years more.
The only downsides I can see are the sheer size of the thing making it difficult to access things like ram slots and fan headers, when fitted. And it’s potentially a lot of weight, so I’d probably remove it whilst traveling if moving house
KEEP MY i9 9900K CPU COOL 52degrees, BUT....
I would give a 4.5 stars, just thinking how to place with both fans on it nicely in case as i exeding 165mm or i should change exoust orientation(where mostly noone putting them with airflow orientation to top to fit it) in appoligazed space. Put for prolonged time benchmarks i not exeeded 54 C on any of cores. Installing is easy. I will change rewiev if i find way to fix my trouble:)
KEEP MY i9 9900K CPU COOL 52degrees, BUT....
I would give a 4.5 stars, just thinking how to place with both fans on it nicely in case as i exeding 165mm or i should change exoust orientation(where mostly noone putting them with airflow orientation to top to fit it) in appoligazed space. Put for prolonged time benchmarks i not exeeded 54 C on any of cores. Installing is easy. I will change rewiev if i find way to fix my trouble:)
Beast of a cooler!
Well designed, easy to fit and gives excellent temps. Added bonus – NO RGB!!!!!!
Bit of a mixed bag.
Used with my Ryzen 3800x.
The good: this looks stylish and reduces my onload temps by about 10c.
The bad: I had to remove the front fan as it hit my RAM, my idle temps went up over 10c !
Bit of a mixed bag.
Used with my Ryzen 3800x.
The good: this looks stylish and reduces my onload temps by about 10c.
The bad: I had to remove the front fan as it hit my RAM, my idle temps went up over 10c !
It's Noctua what more can you expect.
After purchasing this for a 9700KF I soon realised that I couldn’t mount the first fan because it protruded out of the side of my case by around 2cm, so I mounted the fan as an intake instead.
Temps are great even with just the 1 centre fan running at stock voltage 4.9ghz all cores never exceeding 60 degrees.
Bonus is it’s sile
It's Noctua what more can you expect.
After purchasing this for a 9700KF I soon realised that I couldn’t mount the first fan because it protruded out of the side of my case by around 2cm, so I mounted the fan as an intake instead.
Temps are great even with just the 1 centre fan running at stock voltage 4.9ghz all cores never exceeding 60 degrees.
Bonus is it’s sile
Great fan by one of the best manufacturers of fans
Great fan by one of the best manufacturers of fans
Perfect for powerfull CPUs
I bought this as I was getting extremely high temperatures in my Intel i7-7700k (60 idle and 70-90 max load). And the temperatures after I installed it was a drastic improvement (20-25 idle and 50-65 max load). This saved my CPU and increased its previous lifespan by a longrun.
Overall I would definitely recommend this if you have the space in your PC case.
Perfect for powerfull CPUs
I bought this as I was getting extremely high temperatures in my Intel i7-7700k (60 idle and 70-90 max load). And the temperatures after I installed it was a drastic improvement (20-25 idle and 50-65 max load). This saved my CPU and increased its previous lifespan by a longrun.
Overall I would definitely recommend this if you have the space in your PC case.
Best of the best - easy to fit and fantastic performance.
This cooler is the best you can buy. Designed to a high level and is really easy to fit. I was worried it would be fiddly but far from it. Maybe was expecting a bit more cooling compared to my old arctic freezer esports but not a massive difference to be honest.
Best of the best - easy to fit and fantastic performance.
This cooler is the best you can buy. Designed to a high level and is really easy to fit. I was worried it would be fiddly but far from it. Maybe was expecting a bit more cooling compared to my old arctic freezer esports but not a massive difference to be honest.
Best air CPU coole
Always go for Noctua, best in the business when it comes to air cooling. Been using them for years, very quiet and keep the CPU very cool. It’s very large, so not suitable for smaller cases, I used mine in the Fractal Design Meshify 2, gets close to the edge. If your case is large enough, any mid to large will be fine, then don’t overthink it. Just try to get the low profile memory modules else you’ll have issues with the 2nd fan on this cooler.
Note that I also get the CPU paste with the cooler, so don’t buy any like me.
Best air CPU coole
Always go for Noctua, best in the business when it comes to air cooling. Been using them for years, very quiet and keep the CPU very cool. It’s very large, so not suitable for smaller cases, I used mine in the Fractal Design Meshify 2, gets close to the edge. If your case is large enough, any mid to large will be fine, then don’t overthink it. Just try to get the low profile memory modules else you’ll have issues with the 2nd fan on this cooler.
Note that I also get the CPU paste with the cooler, so don’t buy any like me.
Big and brutal and working fine with new 12th gen i7 12700K
Bought this to replace an aio that was leaking and wanted after many years to try the simple fit and forget route.
relatively easy to fit after checking on Noctura’s website that it was compatible with both MB and case.
Mounting bracket is straight forward and was painless.
Only had a couple of mm clearance between bracket and top nvme heatsink but otherwise ok.
Had to position the fans about 3cm higher rather than flush due to ram clearance but as I bought the chromax covers it looks good as they are level with them.
I had to move my 2 x top 140mm fans to the front of the case as this is such a beast but this no big hassle as these then replaced the now absent aio.
Noise levels are good especially on standard settings and to be fair although temps on idle are 2c higher at 24c it doesn’t bother me.
Did a couple of tame benchmarks and temps were no higher than before.
So to sum it up if your case and MB will accommodate this and you would rather fit and forget, give it a go.
Edit: Nov 2021
Now installed along with an i7 12700K using LGA 1700 kit supplied by Noctua and temps are good despite only running it with one fan as the second fan wouldn’t fit with the new set up.
Anyways temps at idle are 22-24c with an ambient of 18c and gaming (Cyperpunk) at 1440 maxes out on some cores at 79c but mostly around the 67-79 c mark.
Monster overkill coole
This is a monster, it really filled out the case and was probably overkill for my 5800x but I love it. The mounting system is easy to use. The fans are audible when the CPU is under load but reasonably quiet at idle
Perfectio
This is quality, so easy to put on even a small infant can do it and the noise level is perfect its enough of a hum so you know your computer is alive but the hum isnt enough to bother you, this is probably the best fan cooler out there to be honest. If you liked the review please look onto my profile as there are more computer parts which have been reviewed thanks all 🙂
Perfectio
This is quality, so easy to put on even a small infant can do it and the noise level is perfect its enough of a hum so you know your computer is alive but the hum isnt enough to bother you, this is probably the best fan cooler out there to be honest. If you liked the review please look onto my profile as there are more computer parts which have been reviewed thanks all 🙂
Amazing performance, quality and very cheap compared to AIOs
I am using the ryzen 5 5600x using stock cooler, I was getting around high 70s to low 80s when playing games like Squad or cyberpunk max settings or running cinebench multicore I would get a max of 81C. I’m now getting amazing temps for example in squad I haven’t seen any higher temps than the high 60s, when running cinebench multicore the temps goes to 61c and stays 61c for the10 mins. I believe It has the same performance as an aio however I don’t have to worry about leaks etc. The only issue with this cooler is the sheer size, its massive. Putting it in the case and with fans was a pain and my glass panel just has enough room but in the end it is an amazing cooler and would highly recommend.
Amazing performance, quality and very cheap compared to AIOs
I am using the ryzen 5 5600x using stock cooler, I was getting around high 70s to low 80s when playing games like Squad or cyberpunk max settings or running cinebench multicore I would get a max of 81C. I’m now getting amazing temps for example in squad I haven’t seen any higher temps than the high 60s, when running cinebench multicore the temps goes to 61c and stays 61c for the10 mins. I believe It has the same performance as an aio however I don’t have to worry about leaks etc. The only issue with this cooler is the sheer size, its massive. Putting it in the case and with fans was a pain and my glass panel just has enough room but in the end it is an amazing cooler and would highly recommend.
Huge
Looks fantastic, It’s not easy to fit as full AM4 kit not supplied, but Noctua will send one out to you for free if you fill in form on the site, because the full mounting kit isn’t there I can only install centre fan on my b550 Tomahawk Mobo, but the full AM4 kit will enable me to be able to rotate the cooler to install both fans. It does a fantastic job with the one 140mm fan, keeping my 3600xt at around 35c (idle). I think the price is good as you do get the two fans, and it is a solid unit. Matt black is awesome to, will try to keep this updated as to when the AM4 mount arrives, had an email from ups today saying its due to arrive 22nd March so 6 days from the date I emailed them. So the AM4 kit was my only gripe, if you have an intel then the whole kit is there.
Huge
Looks fantastic, It’s not easy to fit as full AM4 kit not supplied, but Noctua will send one out to you for free if you fill in form on the site, because the full mounting kit isn’t there I can only install centre fan on my b550 Tomahawk Mobo, but the full AM4 kit will enable me to be able to rotate the cooler to install both fans. It does a fantastic job with the one 140mm fan, keeping my 3600xt at around 35c (idle). I think the price is good as you do get the two fans, and it is a solid unit. Matt black is awesome to, will try to keep this updated as to when the AM4 mount arrives, had an email from ups today saying its due to arrive 22nd March so 6 days from the date I emailed them. So the AM4 kit was my only gripe, if you have an intel then the whole kit is there.
Exceptional cooling
Amazing product, immediately shaved 15 Celsius off my 5900x idle temp vs using a stock AMD cooler (I think a spire?) from the 2600x I upgraded from and it’s quiet, so basically everything you want from a heatsink. Only problem was that I had to play a bit of tetris getting the thing into my case because this bad boy is LARGE.
Exceptional cooling
Amazing product, immediately shaved 15 Celsius off my 5900x idle temp vs using a stock AMD cooler (I think a spire?) from the 2600x I upgraded from and it’s quiet, so basically everything you want from a heatsink. Only problem was that I had to play a bit of tetris getting the thing into my case because this bad boy is LARGE.