Noctua NH-D15 Review

Noctua NH-D15 Review

Introduction

Having resolved to write the introduction to this review before the results of the testing were known we now find ourselves sitting typing and genuinely wondering whether the refinements Noctua have made to the all conquering NH-D14 will be sufficient to lift the new “Elite Class” NH-D15 above pretty much any other air cooler on the planet.  It’s certainly been a long time coming as Noctua CEO Roland Mossig explains  

“In the end, it took us more than three years of continuous development, countless thermal simulations and over hundred samples to come up with a substantial improvement in efficiency. Staying true to our policy of not releasing anything we’re not 100% satisfied with, we had to accept some delays in order to squeeze out the last few percent of performance, but now we’re proud to finally release the NH-D15 as a worthy successor to the venerable D14.”

We think it fairly safe to say then that Noctua themselves at least are certain that the new D15 has what it takes to relieve the D14 of its crown.  To give us a bit more of an idea about how it plans to do this, let’s take a look at the Technical Specifications.

 

Technical Specification

Intel 1156, 1155, 1150, 2011
AMD AM2, AM2+, AM3, AM3+, FM1, FM2, FM2+
Dimensions Without  fans 165x150x135mm (HxWxD) 
Dimensions With fans 165x450x161
Weight Without fans 1000g
Weight with fans 1320g
Material Copper base and heat pipes, Aluminium cooling fins, Soldered joints and Nickel plating
Fans 2xNoctua NF-A15 PWM
Max rotational speed 150RPM
Max rotational Speed with LNA 1200 RPM
Max. Airflow 140,2 m³/h
Max. Airflow with L.N.A. 115,5 m³/h
Max. Acoustical Noise 24,6 dB(A)
Max. Acoustical Noise with L.N.A. 19,2 dB(A)