Technology X Tomorrow's Technology Today!
In the world of PC cooling few names carry as much weight as Noctua; an Austria based cooling technology company, which specializes in high-end air coolers and fans. You may even consider them the BMW of PC cooling.
Their former flagship air cooler: the NH-D14 holds high regard with PC enthusiasts and overclockers everywhere. So naturally when they approached us to do a review of the cooler replacing that highly successful model: the Noctua NH-D15, we jumped at the opportunity!
PACKING, PRICING AND SPECIFICATIONS
The packaging features a mostly white and brown/black color scheme with a shadowy image of the cooler itself on the front. It is a very elegantly designed packaging, however we do wish they would have opted to place a more detailed view of the actual cooler on it.
We also get a look at some of the basic specifications for the cooler. The NH-D15 is based on the same award-winning design as the NH-D14, with some alterations. It features a dual-tower heat-sink with dual 140mm Noctua NF-A15 premium fans.
A quick search on Amazon we’ll give us a current pricing of $99.99, putting it in line with other premium cooling solutions.
Opening up the box we’ll find three smaller boxes on the top which hold the coolers mounting kits and accessories. Underneath we’ll find two more boxes surrounded by closed-cell foam packaging. The larger box carries the cooler itself along with the first cooler pre-installed, while the smaller box stores the second of the two 140mm fans included.
Opening up the first three boxes we’ll find both AMD and Intel installation kits compete with instructions for installing the cooler on AMD’s socket AM3/AM3+ and Intel’s LGA 115x and 2011/-3.
We’ll also find a very nice metal Noctua case badge, a pair of mounting clips for the second fan, two low-noise fan adapters and a 4-pin Y-splitter cable. As well as a tube of Noctua NT-H1 thermal compound and a long Phillips head screwdriver to help with installation, which is a very thoughtful addition.
We really appreciate all the extras Noctua throws in the box, especially at this price point. We really hope other manufacturers follow-suit, but for now we’re happy Noctua is leading the way.
Review Overview
Design
Build Quality
Performance
Noise
Price
The King!
if you're an enthusiast in the market for a high-end air cooling solution, that is not only quiet but performs at the level of some all-in-one liquid coolers, then you should look no further than the Noctua NH-D15!
Do your cooler intake temps remain at 25.2c all the time? Only 1.4c above room temperature? That is extremely low cooler intake difference from room. I get that much difference testing on a bench. Best in case cooler intake temps are 2-3c above room and that’s with modified case cooling, not an out of the box case fan setup.
Nice Review!!
I wouldn’t say all the time, but yes the difference in room and intake temps are never more than 2c apart and usually are around 1.5c.
Thanks!
Could I ask how you have your system setup?
Fans are completely stock units and layout. 2x 120mm front (intake) 1x 120mm rear (exhaust). The case itself has lots of ventilation at the top and front.