Noctua NH-D15S CPU Cooler Review

Introduction

Noctua is one of the leading cooling manufacturers in the world. Time and time again they’ve proven that they can deliver the highest quality products, with class leading and award winning cooling and acoustic performance. Of course, more often than not, this premium performance and quality come with an equally premium price tag, but as the saying goes “you get what you pay for.”

Today, we’ll be taking a look at one of their flagship coolers, the Noctua NH-D15S. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because it’s the latest variant of their ever popular NH-D15. The key difference here, however, is that the “S” variant is designed to be extremely compatible, allowing fantastic support for motherboards with large VRM cooling, larger RAM modules and more, without sacrificing performance.

“Tailored to provide superior RAM and PCIe compatibility, the NH-D15S is an asymmetrical single fan version of Noctua’s award-winning flagship model, the NH-D15. Thanks to its asymmetrical design, the NH-D15S clears the top PCIe slot on most µATX and ATX motherboards. At the same time, the single fan setup and recessed lower fins guarantee 100% RAM compatibility with memory modules of up to 65mm height. Users who have sufficient room can also upgrade the cooler with either a 120mm or round 140mm fan on the front fin stack for further improved performance in dual fan mode. Topped off with the trusted, pro-grade SecuFirm2™ multi-socket mounting system, Noctua’s proven NT-H1 thermal compound and full 6 years manufacturer’s warranty, the NH-D15S forms a complete premium quality solution that combines dual tower efficiency with excellent compatibility and flexible upgrade options.”

Let’s take a quick look at the product video from Noctua for a closer look at some of the cool features on offer.

Equipped with support for all major socket types, as well as the ability to mount 120 or 140mm fans, an included low-noise adaptor, the award-winning NT-H1 thermal paste and more, it’s certainly ticking all the right boxes. The cooler also comes with a fantastic 6-year warranty, so Noctua clearly has confidence in the build quality.

The packaging is typical Noctua, nicely laid out and plenty of technical information on the sides.

The cooler is very well protected with some durable card and thick foam around all major components.

There’s a small component box separate from the cooler too, which contains everything you need to get it installed.

A good size tube of thermal paste, additional fan clips, AMD and Intel kits, a universal backplate and even a special screw driver!

A Closer Look

The cooler certainly looks impressive, with two huge cooling towers that are going to do a great job of shifting heat from the CPU.

As you can see, the left and right sides of the cooler are symmetrical, with two large cutaways on the bottom that will help prevent any conflicts with your ram modules. This means we can have a mostly thicker cooling tower to allow for better heat dissipation, while not having to sacrifice larger RAM modules.

The build quality is superb throughout, with a flawless finish from every angle. There’s a set of grooves on each side of each tower, allowing you to mount the fan on either side of either tower. Since there are extra fan clips included, you could easily run this cooler with three fans although I suspect that one will be more than enough for most.

The heat pipes pass right through each tower and come out a little at the top. There’s a small Noctua logo stamped on, giving some subtle branding that doesn’t spoil the overall aesthetics.

The contact plate is huge, and polished to a mirror finish to ensure a clean contact with your CPU of choice.

Every millimeter of the contact plate is taken up by all six extra thick heat pipes, with pass through both sides of the block and through both towers for optimal cooling performance.

Installation

Noctua coolers have some of the best mounting kits in the business, as they’re very durable and usually very easy to install. Just pop the universal backplate on the back of the motherboard, which takes literally a second.

Add the four plastic spacers.

Place the Intel or AMD brackets on the top, then tighten then into place with the included thumbscrews.

The cooling tower then screws down onto the bracket; the whole process takes just two or three minutes.

The fan clips in easily enough too, and once that’s done, you’re ready to rock. In this orientation, the cooler prevents any conflicts with the first PCI slot, which could be vital dependant on your motherboards configuration.

This way around, you get absolutely amazing ram clearance, so you really get a lot of choice on how you set up the cooler and the rest of your system.

As you can see, that huge cutaway on the left and right sides is going to reap big benefits for those with tall RAM modules.

Test System and Methodology

We always use the same test system and tests with CPU coolers that we compare against each other. The full specifications of our test system are as follows:

Test system:

• ASUS P8Z77-V, LGA 1155 socket, Z77 chipset
• Intel Core i5 3570K with Gelid GC Extreme under the IHS
• 16GB Kingston 1866Mhz DDR3
• 128GB Kingston HyperX SSD
• Antec High Current Gamer 620W
• Cooler Master Test Bench v1.0

We’d like to say a big thank you to ASUS, Antec, Kingston, Cooler Master and Intel for providing components that makes this testing possible.

Testing Methodology:

• We always use Gelid GC Extreme thermal paste to make sure testing reveals the efficiency of the tested coolers not the efficiency of the bundled thermal paste.
• Prime 95 is run for 10 minutes and then the average maximum temperatures as recorded by CPUID HWMonitor are noted
• The average temperature across the four cores is taken on our quad-core processor
• Fans are mostly left to operate at default PWM profile speeds and with maximum fan speed for reference.If PWM functions are not supported then fixed fan speeds are used and sometimes a low noise adapter if appropriate/provided. If fixed fan speeds or low noise adapters are used it will be clearly pointed out either on the graphs or in the write-up.
• All default result entries on graphs are for PWM performance unless otherwise specified. A variety of fan speed results are done for a particular product review and then removed from the graphs in future reviews of other products to avoid clutter. If you would like to see more fan speed results for a particular product please check its individual review.
• For watercooling tests all pumps have been operated at 12 volts directly from the power supply
• Delta temperatures are always used (Observed temperature minus ambient temperature) and we keep the ambient at 22 (+/- 1) degrees for all testing . Delta temperatures should correct for any marginal ambient differences between 21-23 degrees.
• Acoustic measurements are taken 10cm horizontally away from the CPU cooler with the VGA fan disabled, hard drive in idle and power supply isolated. These are taken at desktop idle and Prime95 load.
• The cooling performance tests are run at stock 3.4GHz (with Intel Turbo up to 3.8GHz) and overclocked 4.5GHz (1.35v) settings. Voltages are fixed to prevent inaccuracy between comparisons.
• All other coolers in the graphs have been tested under identical settings so are fully comparable.
• Each test is repeated 3 times with 3 remounts for consistency of results
• There is approximately a 1 degree celsius margin of error in our temperature recording software CPUID HW Monitor
• There is approximately a 1.5dBA margin of error with our Benetech GM1351 decibel meter

Software Used

• CPUID HWMonitor
• Prime 95

In all these graphs we may have a few “reference” results of particular products that do not fit within that category for comparative purposes.

Performance

Noctua is one of the best air cooling manufacturers in the world and that immediately shows in our stock clocks benchmarks, with some of the best results we’ve seen from any air cooler on the market. Low idle temperatures and amazingly low load temperatures that best many other products with ease; the numbers speak for themselves.

When overclocked, we’re obviously putting a lot of strain on the cooler, but it still puts up some impressive figures, beating out many other air coolers and performing well enough that I’d be comfortable running this overclock and cooler full time.

Another staggeringly good result here, with virtually silent performance from the cooler, although I wouldn’t have expected anything else from a Noctua fan, as you can see, they dominate the charts for super quiet performance.

Even when we put on the overclocks, the cooler still delivered some of the best results we’ve ever seen. You have to get so close that the fan blades are hitting your ears before you’re going to hear this thing, a truly stunning result overall.

Final Thoughts

Price

All this high-end build quality and performance obviously isn’t going to come cheap. The Noctua NH-D15S can be found at most major retailers, and Overclockers UK have it in stock for £65.99 + shipping, which readers in the US can pick it up from Amazon for $80. Keep in mind that it also comes with a fantastic 6 year warranty, further adding to the value for money.

Overview

Once again, Noctua has absolutely blown us away with their latest cooler. Delivering class-leading performance, this cooler ticks all the right boxes for anyone building a system. Not only is it one of the quietest coolers we’ve ever tested, it managed to stay quiet even when we dialed in some hefty overclocks, meaning your gaming system or workstation should stay whisper quiet, even when you’re putting the heat on your CPU.

Cooling performance is amazing in all our testing, and while it does run a little warmer than the Noctua NH-D15, that was to be expected given the switch from two fans to one fan, which is a move to increase compatibility more than anything. However, despite the halved number of fans, the performance is still extremely competitive and that just shows how much of the performance comes from the build quality and cooling tower design of this unit, not just the fans. The D15 model is superior and we highly recommend that if you want a Noctua cooler, that’s the one you invest in, but there’s a clear market for the D15S that we appreciate Noctua providing a product for.

If you’re running an X99 system, with large ram modules on both sides of the CPU socket, the added cutaways of this model will allow you to maximize compatibility with your hardware. This does come at the cost of losing the first PCI slot, at least on most motherboards, but turn the cooler 90 degrees and you gain that slot back, albeit at the cost of having to use standard profile RAM; at least you have that option.

Pros

• Exceptional cooling performance
• Extended compatibility vs the standard D15 model
• Virtually silent fan – even when running an overclocked CPU
• Easy to install
• Stylish design
• Class leading build quality
• 6 year warranty

Cons

• None

Neutral

• The price is quite high, but given the performance on offer, it’s still great value for money

“Noctua has once again proved that you really do get what you pay for. The Noctua NH-D15S may be priced in line with many large water coolers, but it can still keep up with them in terms of performance and it outperforms almost everything on the market in terms of acoustics and compatibility. One of the best coolers money can buy.”

Noctua NH-D15S CPU Cooler Review

Thank you Noctua for providing us with this sample.