Review: Noctua NH-D15S processor cooler

I wonder how they would sell any other coolers than this one. According to HH's test, it's cooling practically just as good as the D15, yet it's more quiet... I like silent / quiet cooling very much, but I don't really see any sense in buying anything else than a D15S now, pretty much making their top products obsolete... this is somewhat odd I'd say.

 

^ There is always little variation in tests caused by different amount of TIM used. HH would have to remove and mount each cooler like 3 times and redo all measurements to get some variability.

There is another thing in play. Different CPUs are kept cooler by different coolers. It has to do with chip size, placement under heat pipes and heat distribution.

But this cooler looks very good. It looks smaller than it is on 1st glimpse. And it is bit bigger than my well aging D14. And getting noise down even a bit is still improvement.

I like how they dealt with space for memories. But does it allow for 90° turned installation?

 

Nice review HH thank you

Best cooler I have owned DH15 dual fan silent and cool prefer it to my old H100i

 

Of course you're right fox, but if I test the same cooler on the same CPU, even average it out with multiple turns of TIM applying differently, it shows that the D15S is better than the D15... and it's 10€ cheaper here too.

So if you can take a cheaper product, with pretty much the same performance, and a fan less to make it even more quiet, why should I take the D15 then?


Does the D15 allow turned installation, and the D15S maybe not? But why would you want the D15S turned if it is built for better compatability and spacing? Please help me figure this out

 

D15S allows turned installation, it's specified in the manual.

I installed this cooler in an Antec 300 one, I can't be more happier with efficiency and noise (well ok with a 2500k at 4.2ghz, offset, max 1.3V).

 

Thing is, that D14 requires low profile memories for both directional installations. At least on my board and it is not small one.

D15S has cut off space to accommodate taller memory heatsinks. In one direction. And MB used in review has memory slots farther away from CPU socket than mine.

But in sum, it is more compatible than D14 anyway

 

I have this cooler with 3x NF-A15 fans... just because i can
Main selling point of the D15S is the asymmetrical design so that it doesn't block the first PCIe slot like the D15 does imho.
You even get extra fan clips in the package if you want to use more fans with the D15S. You could also look at NF-F12 fan(s) to mount on the D15S if you want extra performance while still maintaining full RAM compatibility.

 

I was going to get D15, but i think ill get this one instead! Looks good, thanks for the reviews HH!

 

They need to stop releasing newer coolers it making me regret buy my D-14 before I bought the CPU and Mobo lol

 

You will get better cooling only using two fans on the outside of the cooler, blowing towards the middle of the cooler.

This is how I have had my NH-D14 setup for a few years now.

After extensive testing, the only way I have found to drop a couple more degrees with this style cooler is to set up a ductwork with a fan sucking the warm air from in between the towers... but that wasn't worth it because it took up to much additional space in my case.

 

so you would say having the 2 fan that came with the D-14 blowing air on to and out the back is best/?

 

Nice review but i never ever bother myself with these kind of cooling solutions again. I got a nice AIO water cooling. Much better and less hassle life since then
This is my past regular cooler: http://www.thermalright.com/html/products/cpu_cooler/silverArrow_sb-e.html It was nice and cool but it is nowhere to my water cooler.http://www.coolermaster.com/cooling/cpu-liquid-cooler/nepton-240m/

 

I bought it with my new i7 6700K, i had NH-U12P SE on the i7 920 so i can't compare it with something relevant, but it's quiet and i can overclock stable to 4.9GHz with it.

 

Does anyone have any experience using this cooler on a Temjin TJ08-e case? I know the cooler height limitation of that case is right at 165mm, same as the specified height of the D15s. I'd loooooove to use this cooler in that case, but on paper it sounds like it would be touching the side panel of the case if it would fit at all. Anyone have any luck with this combo?