Noctua NH-D15S Review
Category : Aircooling
Published by Marc Büchel on 29.03.16
With the NH-D15S Noctua shows its latest high-end CPU cooler. This monster comes boxed with one 140 x 150 x 25 millimeter fan and weighing a massive 1150g. Overall this leaves us rather curious how this twin-tower cooler is going to perform.
Today we are taking a look at Noctua's latest tower CPU cooler, the Noctua NH-D15S. This particular model is based on a twin-tower design. Other than that there is a nickel-plated copper base connected to the heat-sinks via six 6mm cooper-heatpipes. Fresh air comes from one 140 x 150 x 25millimeter PWM fan. With the NH-D15S, like the old version NH-D15 cooler, Noctua makes use of a sandwich construction which means that the fan is located between the two cooling tower heatsinks.
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Both the base and the heatpipes on the Noctua NH-D15S are made from nickel-plated copper. It features six heatpipes which are not in direct contact with the CPU but have been routed through a copper base. The Noctua NH-D15S features dual-tower heatsink design in order to have more surface area which in the end usually means better heat dissipation and of course higher airflow efficiency. There is one large PWM fan located in between the two large heatsinks, measuring 140 x 150 x 25 millimeter. When it comes to rotation speeds, max RPM is 1500. Both heatsinks are made out of aluminum and as you can see, it is clear that this is quite a big CPU cooler with dimensions of 150 x 160 x 135mm. The manufacturing quality is definitely on a high level and we honestly did not expect anything less from Noctua.
Specifications |
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| Model | Noctua |
| Type | Dual-tower |
| Provided Fan(s) | 1 x 140 x 150 x 25 mm PWM, 1500 rpm |
| Dimensionen | 150 x 160 x 135 mm (B x H x T) |
| Gewicht | 1150 g |
| Supported Fan(s) | 2 x 140 x 150 x 25 mm |
| Base Material | Nickel plated copper |
| Fins Material | Aluminum |
| Socket Support | AMD AM2(+), AM3(+), FM1,
FM2(+), FM3(+) (backplate required) Intel LGA 1150, 1155, 1156, 2011 |
| Thermal compound | Noctua NT-H1 3.5g Tube |
| Product Page | Noctua |
The box is made from solid cardboard and although it is only protected by a plastic shroud our sample arrived without a single dent or any damage whatsoever. One of the bundled fans have been attached in between the towers while the second one is in a very nice looking small box. The rest of the mounting components are placed in three separate small boxes. The bundle includes all installation manuals for different sockets signed by Noctua's CEO, AMD mounting kit and the Intel mounting kit, four fan clips (two already mounted), a 3.5g tube of thermal compound enough for 15 applications, one fan and of course the tower heatsink itself.
| Page 1 - Presentation / Specifications |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery |
| Page 3 - Installation & Test Setup |
| Page 4 - Absolute Performance |
| Page 5 - PWM Performance |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |
Photo Gallery
| Page 1 - Presentation / Specifications |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery |
| Page 3 - Installation & Test Setup |
| Page 4 - Absolute Performance |
| Page 5 - PWM Performance |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |
Installation
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Installation of the Noctua NH-D15 is quite simple and easy. Noctua kept everything nice and simple while the mounting procedure is explained clearly in the manuals you find in the bundle. The thermal paste is not pre-applied and comes in a 3.5g syringe and it's enough for more than 15 applications, in case you decide to clean the fans or unmount the cooler in future, there will be enough thermal paste left. The overall pressure on the CPU is good and with its 1150g it's definitely a heavy weight. The bundle includes two mounting kits, one for AMD sockets and one for Intel sockets. This cooler supports AMD AM2(+), AM3(+), FM1, FM2(+) as well as Intel LGA 1150, 1155, 1156 and 2011.
Since this is a huge twin tower cooler we can't expect compatibility with all memory modules, but since there is a nice cut-out on both sides of the heatsinks, there is plenty of space even for memory with large heatspreaders.
Test Setup |
|
| Mainboard | ASUS Z87-Deluxe (BIOS 1602) |
| CPU | Intel Core i7-4770K Stock (Turbo On / HT On) |
| Memory | ADATA XPG V2 2x4GB DDR3-2800 CL12 1.65V |
| Video | Intel HD Graphics 4600 |
| Software |
Windows 7 x64 wPrime Benchmark v2.10 CPUID HWMonitor 1.24.0 |
| PSU | Seasonic Platinum SS-660XP2 |
| Fan Controller | Lamptron FC5 V3 |
| Thermal Compound | Pre-applied |
| Page 1 - Presentation / Specifications |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery |
| Page 3 - Installation & Test Setup |
| Page 4 - Absolute Performance |
| Page 5 - PWM Performance |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |
Absolute Performance
Temperatures
| 7V | Idle | Load |
| EK Predator 240 | 32 °C | 49 °C |
| Deepcool Captain 360 | 31 °C | 50 °C |
| Fractal Design Kelvin S36 | 31 °C | 50 °C |
| Enermax Liqtech 120X | 32 °C | 50 °C |
| Raijintek Triton | 32 °C | 50 °C |
| Deepcool Maelstrom 240 | 31 °C | 51 °C |
| Corsair H75 Single Fan | 32 °C | 51 °C |
| Enermax Liqtech 240X | 32 °C | 51 °C |
| Noctua NH-D15S | 32 °C | 51 °C |
| Corsair H90 Single Fan | 33 °C | 51 °C |
| Corsair H110 Dual Fan | 33 °C | 51 °C |
| Noctua NH-D15 Dual Fan | 33 °C | 51 °C |
| Thermalright Silver Arrow IB-E | 33 °C | 51 °C |
| Noctua NH-C14S | 32 °C | 52 °C |
| NZXT Kraken X61 | 32 °C | 52 °C |
| SilverStone Tundra TD02-Lite | 32 °C | 52 °C |
| Cooler Master Nepton 240M | 33 °C | 53 °C |
| Cryorig R1 Universal | 33 °C | 53 °C |
| Fractal Design Kelvin S24 | 32 °C | 53 °C |
| Noctua NH-U12S Dual Fan | 33 °C | 53 °C |
| Noctua NH-D15 Single Fan | 34 °C | 53 °C |
| Thermalright Archon IB-E X2 | 34 °C | 53 °C |
| Raijintek Nemesis Dual Fan | 34 °C | 54 °C |
| Cooler Master Nepton 140XL Dual Fan | 35 °C | 55 °C |
| Deepcool Maelstrom 120 | 35 °C | 55 °C |
| Thermalright Silver Arrow ITX | 36 °C | 55 °C |
| Enermax ETS-T40 Black Twister | 34 °C | 56 °C |
| NZXT Kraken X41 | 34 °C | 56 °C |
| Enermax ETS-T40 White Claster | 35 °C | 56 °C |
| Raijintek Nemesis Single Fan | 35 °C | 56 °C |
| NZXT Kraken X31 | 35 °C | 56 °C |
| Cooler Master Nepton 140XL Single Fan | 36 °C | 56 °C |
| Antec Kühler H2O 1250 | 37 °C | 56 °C |
| Fractal Design Kelvin T12 | 36 °C | 57 °C |
| Noctua NH-U12S Single Fan | 34 °C | 57 °C |
| Thermalright Macho Rev.B | 36 °C | 57 °C |
| Raijintek Themis EVO | 34 °C | 57 °C |
| be quiet Pure Rock | 36 °C | 58 °C |
| Scythe Ashura | 36 °C | 58 °C |
| Antec Kühler H2O 950 | 37 °C | 59 °C |
| Raijintek Pallas | 37 °C | 59 °C |
| Cooler Master Hyper 103 | 36 °C | 60 °C |
| Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure | 36 °C | 61 °C |
| Prolimatech Lynx | 35 °C | 63 °C |
| Cooler Master Hyper 612 Ver. 2 | 37 °C | 64 °C |
| Thermolab Bada 2010 | 39 °C | 64 °C |
| Scythe IORI Scior-1000 | 39 °C | 65 °C |
| Lepa LV12 | 36 °C | 66 °C |
| Thermolab LP-53 | 38 °C | 69 °C |
| Enermax ETS-N30 | 37 °C | 73 °C |
| Thermolab ITX30 | 38 °C | 75 °C |
| Intel Stock | 39 °C | 83 °C |
To measure the cooling capacity we took temperatures in idle and load with the fans at 7 and 12 V. The idle temperature represents the lowest temperature hit by the processor package after 10 minutes in idle. The load temperature is the highest temperature hit by the processor after one pass of wPrime v2.10. The wPrime test takes 4 minutes and puts load on all 8 threads. Room temperature is at 25°C.
| 12V | Idle | Load |
| Deepcool Captain 360 | 30 °C | 48 °C |
| Fractal Design Kelvin S36 | 30 °C | 49 °C |
| EK Predator 240 | 31 °C | 49 °C |
| Raijintek Triton | 31 °C | 49 °C |
| Corsair H90 Single Fan | 32 °C | 50 °C |
| Corsair H110 Dual Fan | 32 °C | 50 °C |
| Noctua NH-D15S | 31 °C | 50 °C |
| Noctua NH-D15 Dual Fan | 32 °C | 50 °C |
| Deepcool Maelstrom 240 | 33 °C | 50 °C |
| NZXT Kraken X61 | 31 °C | 50 °C |
| Fractal Design Kelvin S24 | 31 °C | 51 °C |
| Noctua NH-C14S | 31 °C | 51 °C |
| SilverStone Tundra TD-02 Lite | 31 °C | 51 °C |
| Corsair H75 Single Fan | 32 °C | 51 °C |
| Enermax Liqtech 240X | 32 °C | 51 °C |
| Noctua NH-U12S Dual Fan | 33 °C | 51 °C |
| Cooler Master Nepton 240M | 32 °C | 52 °C |
| Cryorig R1 Universal | 32 °C | 52 °C |
| Thermalright Silver Arrow IB-E | 32 °C | 52 °C |
| Thermalright Archon IB-E X2 | 33 °C | 52 °C |
| Enermax Liqtech 120X | 31 °C | 53 °C |
| Deepcool Maelstrom 120 | 33 °C | 53 °C |
| Noctua NH-U12S Single Fan | 33 °C | 53 °C |
| Thermalright Silver Arrow ITX | 34 °C | 53 °C |
| Fractal Design Kelvin T12 | 34 °C | 54 °C |
| NZXT Kraken X41 | 33 °C | 54 °C |
| Cooler Master Nepton 140XL Dual Fan | 33 °C | 54 °C |
| Raijintek Nemesis Dual Fan | 33 °C | 54 °C |
| Raijintek Themis EVO | 33 °C | 54 °C |
| Enermax ETS-T40 White Claster | 34 °C | 54 °C |
| Noctua NH-D15 Single Fan | 33 °C | 55 °C |
| NZXT Kraken X31 | 34 °C | 55 °C |
| Prolimatech Lynx | 34 °C | 55 °C |
| Raijintek Nemesis Single Fan | 34 °C | 55 °C |
| Scythe Ashura | 34 °C | 55 °C |
| Antec Kühler H2O 1250 | 35 °C | 55 °C |
| Enermax ETS-T40 Black Twister | 35 °C | 55 °C |
| Thermalright Macho Rev.B | 34 °C | 55 °C |
| be quiet Pure Rock | 35 °C | 56 °C |
| Antec Kühler H2O 950 | 36 °C | 56 °C |
| Raijintek Pallas | 36 °C | 56 °C |
| Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure | 34 °C | 57 °C |
| Cooler Master Nepton 140XL Single Fan | 34 °C | 57 °C |
| Lepa LV12 | 35 °C | 57 °C |
| Cooler Master Hyper 103 | 36 °C | 58 °C |
| Cooler Master Hyper 612 Ver. 2 | 35 °C | 59 °C |
| Scythe IORI Scior-1000 | 37 °C | 60 °C |
| Thermolab Bada 2010 | 39 °C | 64 °C |
| Thermolab LP-53 | 37 °C | 65 °C |
| Enermax ETS-N30 | 34 °C | 68 °C |
| Thermolab ITX30 | 36 °C | 69 °C |
| Intel Stock | 35 °C | 70 °C |
Fan Speeds
| 7 Volt | 12 Volt | |
| Raijintek Nemesis Single Fan | 840 rpm | 1'180 rpm |
| Thermalright Silver Arrow IB-E | 840 rpm | 1'320 rpm |
| Enermax Liqtech 240X | 750 rpm | 1'300 rpm |
| Raijintek Nemesis Dual Fan | 780 rpm | 1'200 rpm |
| Cooler Master Hyper 612 Ver. 2 | 520 rpm | 1'260 rpm |
| Thermalright Silver Arrow ITX | 840 rpm | 1'320 rpm |
| Thermalright Archon IB-E X2 | 780 rpm | 1'380 rpm |
| Cryorig R1 Universal | 960 rpm | 1'440 rpm |
| Raijintek Pallas | 960 rpm | 1'440 rpm |
| Scythe Ashura | 600 rpm | 1'440 rpm |
| Noctua NH-U12S Dual Fan | 900 rpm | 1'500 rpm |
| Thermalright Macho Rev.B | 780 rpm | 1'320 rpm |
| Noctua NH-U12S Single Fan | 900 rpm | 1'500 rpm |
| Corsair H90 Single Fan | 960 rpm | 1'500 rpm |
| Corsair H110 Dual Fan | 960 rpm | 1'500 rpm |
| Noctua NH-C14S | 960 rpm | 1'500 rpm |
| Noctua NH-D15S | 960 rpm | 1'500 rpm |
| Raijintek Themis EVO | 960 rpm | 1'500 rpm |
| Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure | 660 rpm | 1'530 rpm |
| Fractal Design Kelvin S24 | 1'270 rpm | 1'540 rpm |
| be quiet Pure Rock | 1'000 rpm | 1'560 rpm |
| Noctua NH-D15 Dual Fan | 960 rpm | 1'560 rpm |
| Noctua NH-D15 Single Fan | 1'020 rpm | 1'560 rpm |
| Fractal Design Kelvin S36 | 1'400 rpm | 1'740 rpm |
| Prolimatech Lynx | 600 rpm | 1'740 rpm |
| Fractal Design Kelvin T12 | 420 rpm | 1'800 rpm |
| Enermax ETS-T40 Black Twister | 1'020 rpm | 1'860 rpm |
| Enermax ETS-T40 White Cluster | 1'260 rpm | 1'860 rpm |
| Lepa LV12 | 1'100 rpm | 1'850 rpm |
| NZXT Kraken X41 | 1'180rpm | 1'840 rpm |
| Thermolab Bada 2010 | 1'140 rpm | 1'980 rpm |
| Corsair H75 Single Fan | 1'200 rpm | 1'980 rpm |
| NZXT Kraken X31 | 1'200 rpm | 1'980 rpm |
| NZXT Kraken X61 | 1'180 rpm | 1'980 rpm |
| Cooler Master Nepton 140XL Dual Fan | 1'500 rpm | 1'980 rpm |
| Intel Stock | 1'260 rpm | 2'040 rpm |
| Enermax Liqtech 120X | 1'270 rpm | 2'050 rpm |
| EK Predator 240 | 1'020 rpm | 2'160 rpm |
| Thermolab LP-53 | 300 rpm | 2'180 rpm |
| Scythe IORI Scior-1000 | 280 rpm | 2'220 rpm |
| Deepcool Maelstrom 240 | 1'440 rpm | 2'220 rpm |
| Deepcool Captain 360 | 1'400 rpm | 2'240 rpm |
| Deepcool Maelstrom 120 | 1'500 rpm | 2'280 rpm |
| Cooler Master Nepton 240M | 1'140 rpm | 2'300 rpm |
| Cooler Master Nepton 140XL Single Fan | 1'560 rpm | 2'400 rpm |
| Cooler Master Hyper 103 | 1'580 rpm | 2'400 rpm |
| Antec Kühler H2O 950 | 1'620 rpm | 2'400 rpm |
| SilverStone Tundra TD02-Lite | 1'440 rpm | 2'460 rpm |
| Antec Kühler H2O 1250 | 1'620 rpm | 2'480 rpm |
| Thermolab ITX30 | 1'620 rpm | 2'580 rpm |
| Enermax ETS-N30 | 1'080 rpm | 3'080 rpm |
| Raijintek Triton | 1'140 rpm | 3'450 rpm |
Fan speeds (RPM) at 7 and 12 V.
Noise Levels
| 7 Volt | 12 Volt | |
| Cooler Master Hyper 612 Ver. 2 | 33.4 dBA | 34.9 dBA |
| be quiet Pure Rock | 33.3 dBA | 37.0 dBA |
| Enermax Liqtech 240X | 33.5 dBA | 37.0 dBA |
| Intel Stock | 33.3 dBA | 37.1 dBA |
| Noctua NH-D15 Dual Fan | 32.2 dBA | 37.4 dBA |
| Noctua NH-U12S Single Fan | 32.3 dBA | 37.4 dBA |
| Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure | 32.3 dBA | 38.4 dBA |
| Lepa LV12 | 34.6 dBA | 38.8 dBA |
| Thermolab ITX30 | 33.4 dBA | 38.9 dBA |
| Noctua NH-D15 Single Fan | 33.7 dBA | 38.9 dBA |
| Raijintek Pallas | 34.7 dBA | 39.3 dBA |
| Cooler Master Hyper 103 | 34.2 dBA | 39.5 dBA |
| Noctua NH-U12S Dual Fan | 33.4 dBA | 39.6 dBA |
| Thermolab LP-53 | 31.2 dBA | 39.7 dBA |
| Raijintek Themis EVO | 33.9 dBA | 40.1 dBA |
| Scythe IORI Scior-1000 | 32.8 dBA | 40.3 dBA |
| Thermalright Macho Rev.B | 32.5 dBA | 40.4 dBA |
| Thermolab Bada 2010 | 32.3 dBA | 40.4 dBA |
| NZXT Kraken X31 | 35.5 dBA | 40.5 dBA |
| NZXT Kraken X61 | 35.7 dBA | 40.6 dBA |
| Thermalright Archon IB-E X2 | 32.4 dBA | 40.6 dBA |
| Enermax Liqtech 120X | 33.4 dBA | 40.6 dBA |
| Prolimatech Lynx | 33.0 dBA | 40.3 dBA |
| Enermax ETS-T40 Black Twister | 33.1 dBA | 40.7 dBA |
| Enermax ETS-T40 White Claster | 33.3 dBA | 40.7 dBA |
| Scythe Ashura | 32.0 dBA | 41.0 dBA |
| Noctua NH-C14S | 32.0 dBA | 41.1 dBA |
| Noctua NH-D15S | 32.0 dBA | 41.1 dBA |
| Corsair H90 Single Fan | 34.1 dBA | 41.2 dBA |
| Thermalright Silver Arrow IB-E | 34.7 dBA | 41.2 dBA |
| Thermalright Silver Arrow ITX | 34.7 dBA | 41.2 dBA |
| Corsair H110 Dual Fan | 33.3 dBA | 41.7 dBA |
| Corsair H75 Single Fan | 34.5 dBA | 41.7 dBA |
| Enermax ETS-N30 | 34.2 dBA | 43.0 dBA |
| Raijintek Nemesis Single Fan | 35.8 dBA | 43.1 dBA |
| Cryorig R1 Universal | 36.7 dBA | 43.2 dBA |
| Deepcool Captain 360 | 36.6 dBA | 43.4 dBA |
| Raijintek Nemesis Dual Fan | 36.1 dBA | 43.6 dBA |
| Cooler Master Nepton 140XL | 34.3dBA | 43.8 dBA |
| Cooler Master Nepton 240M | 34.9 dBA | 44.5 dBA |
| Fractal Design Kelvin S24 | 37.0 dBA | 46.3 dBA |
| Fractal Design Kelvin T12 | 25.4 dBA | 46.5 dBA |
| Deepcool Maelstrom 120 | 38.2 dBA | 46.9 dBA |
| Fractal Design Kelvin S36 | 37.8 dBA | 48.7 dBA |
| NZXT Kraken X41 | 37.5 dBA | 48.8 dBA |
| Deepcool Maelstrom 240 | 39.7 dBA | 49.3 dBA |
| EK Predator 240 | 33.6 dBA | 49.6 dBA |
| Raijintek Triton | 37.0 dBA | 49.7 dBA |
| SilverStone Tundra TD02-Lite | 41.9 dBA | 53.3 dBA |
| Antec Kühler H2O 950 | 46.3 dBA | 58.2 dBA |
| Antec Kühler H2O 1250 | 47.9 dBA | 65.2 dBA |
Decibel meter (Voltcraft SL-200) has been placed 1 meter away from the cooler. Measurements are conducted in a quiet room, where there are no other noise source. 32 dBA is the lowest we can get in our room. Also here the measurements are conducted at 7 and 12 V.
| Page 1 - Presentation / Specifications |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery |
| Page 3 - Installation & Test Setup |
| Page 4 - Absolute Performance |
| Page 5 - PWM Performance |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |
PWM Performance
Temperatures
| Idle | Load | |
| Corsair H110 Dual Fan | 33 °C | 50 °C |
| EK Predator 240 | 34 °C | 50 °C |
| SilverStone Tundra TD02-Lite | 32 °C | 51 °C |
| Corsair H90 Single Fan | 33 °C | 51 °C |
| Noctua NH-C14S | 32 °C | 52 °C |
| Noctua NH-D15 Dual Fan | 32 °C | 52 °C |
| Noctua NH-D15S | 33 °C | 52° C |
| Fractal Design Kelvin S36 | 33 °C | 52 °C |
| NZXT Kraken X61 | 33 °C | 52 °C |
| Deepcool Captain 360 | 34 °C | 52 °C |
| Thermalright Silver Arrow IB-E | 33 °C | 54 °C |
| Fractal Design Kelvin S24 | 34 °C | 54 °C |
| Raijintek Nemesis Dual Fan | 33 °C | 54 °C |
| Deepcool Maelstrom 240 | 34 °C | 54 °C |
| Enermax Liqtech 120X | 34°C | 54 °C |
| Noctua NH-D15 Single Fan | 34 °C | 54 °C |
| Cryorig R1 Universal | 35 °C | 54 °C |
| Enermax Liqtech 240X | 36 °C | 54 °C |
| Cooler Master Nepton 240M | 34 °C | 55 °C |
| Noctua NH-U12S Dual Fan | 33 °C | 55 °C |
| Raijintek Nemesis Single Fan | 34 °C | 55 °C |
| Corsair H75 Single Fan | 35 °C | 55 °C |
| Raijintek Triton | 33 °C | 55 °C |
| Thermalright Archon IB-E X2 | 36 °C | 55 °C |
| Fractal Design Kelvin T12 | 35 °C | 56 °C |
| NZXT Kraken X41 | 35 °C | 56 °C |
| Raijintek Themis EVO | 35 °C | 56 °C |
| Deepcool Maelstrom 120 | 36 °C | 56 °C |
| Thermalright Silver Arrow ITX | 36 °C | 56 °C |
| Prolimatech Lynx | 34 °C | 57 °C |
| Enermax ETS-T40 White Claster | 35 °C | 57 °C |
| Thermalright Macho Rev.B | 35 °C | 57 °C |
| Antec Kühler H2O 1250 | 36 °C | 57 °C |
| NZXT Kraken X31 | 36 °C | 57 °C |
| Noctua NH-U12S Single Fan | 36 °C | 57 °C |
| Cooler Master Nepton 140XL Dual Fan | 37 °C | 57 °C |
| be quiet Pure Rock | 38 °C | 58 °C |
| Enermax ETS-T40 Black Twister | 35 °C | 58 °C |
| Scythe Ashura | 36 °C | 58 °C |
| Raijintek Pallas | 37 °C | 58 °C |
| Cooler Master Nepton 140XL Single Fan | 38 °C | 58 °C |
| Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure | 35 °C | 59 °C |
| Antec Kühler H2O 950 | 37 °C | 59 °C |
| Cooler Master Hyper 103 | 36 °C | 60 °C |
| Cooler Master Hyper 612 Ver. 2 | 36 °C | 62 °C |
| Thermolab Bada 2010 | 39 °C | 64 °C |
| Scythe IORI Scior-1000 | 42 °C | 66 °C |
| Thermolab LP-53 | 39 °C | 67 °C |
| Lepa LV12 | 37 °C | 70 °C |
| Thermolab ITX30 | 39 °C | 70 °C |
| Enermax ETS-N30 | 38 °C | 71 °C |
| Intel Stock | 39 °C | 75 °C |
At this point we plugged the fan(s) to the motherboard CPU fan header and let the motherboard take care of fan speeds. In other words the motherboard will adjust the fan speed via PWM signal according to CPU temperature. The idle temperature is the lowest temperature hit by the processor after 10 minutes in idle. The load temperature is the highest temperature hit by the processor after one pass of wPrime v2.10. The wPrime test takes 4 minutes puts load on all 8 threads. Room temperature is 25°C.
Fan Speeds
| Idle | Load | |
| Thermalright Macho Rev.B | 306 rpm | 680 rpm |
| Scythe Ashura | 436 rpm | 550 rpm |
| Noctua NH-U12S Dual Fan | 380 rpm | 687 rpm |
| Noctua NH-U12S Single Fan | 450 rpm | 740 rpm |
| Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure | 471 rpm | 770 rpm |
| EK Predator 240 | 600 rpm | 800 rpm |
| Thermalright Archon IB-E X2 | 580 rpm | 805 rpm |
| Cooler Master Hyper 612 Ver. 2 | 413 rpm | 825 rpm |
| NZXT Kraken X31 | 750 rpm | 830 rpm |
| Thermalright Silver Arrow IB-E | 637 rpm | 854 rpm |
| Noctua NH-D15 Single Fan | 466 rpm | 860 rpm |
| Scythe IORI Scior-1000 | 424 rpm | 880 rpm |
| Noctua NH-D15S | 840 rpm | 900 rpm |
| be quiet Pure Rock | 380 rpm | 920 rpm |
| Enermax Liqtech 240X (600 - 1300 rpm Preset) | 790 rpm | 950 rpm |
| Noctua NH-D15 Dual Fan | 560 rpm | 955 rpm |
| Raijintek Triton | 955 rpm | 955 rpm |
| Noctua NH-C14S | 860 rpm | 960 rpm |
| Corsair H75 Single Fan | 800 rpm | 969 rpm |
| Enermax Liqtech 120X | 580 rpm | 970 rpm |
| Thermalright Silver Arrow ITX | 490 rpm | 990 rpm |
| Cryorig R1 Universal | 800 rpm | 980 rpm |
| Corsair H90 Single Fan | 870 rpm | 1'000 rpm |
| Prolimatech Lynx | 765 rpm | 1'077 rpm |
| Deepcool Captain 360 | 710 rpm | 1'090 rpm |
| Corsair H110 Dual Fan | 950 rpm | 1'100 rpm |
| Enermax ETS-T40 Black Twister | 820 rpm | 1'110 rpm |
| Raijintek Themis EVO | 990 rpm | 1'115 rpm |
| Cooler Master Nepton 140XL Dual Fan | 740 rpm | 1'140 rpm |
| Deepcool Maelstrom 240 | 760 rpm | 1'150 rpm |
| Enermax ETS-T40 White Claster | 920 rpm | 1'170 rpm |
| Raijintek Pallas | 952 rpm | 1'170 rpm |
| Raijintek Nemesis Dual Fan | 1'120 rpm | 1'190 rpm |
| Fractal Design Kelvin T12 | 715 rpm | 1'200 rpm |
| Fractal Design Kelvin S24 | 780 rpm | 1'200 rpm |
| Fractal Design Kelvin S36 | 800 rpm | 1'210 rpm |
| NZXT Kraken X61 | 840 rpm | 1'270 rpm |
| Raijintek Nemesis Single Fan | 1'120 rpm | 1'270 rpm |
| Cooler Master Nepton 140XL Single Fan | 800 rpm | 1'280 rpm |
| NZXT Kraken X41 | 1'190 rpm | 1'320 rpm |
| Deepcool Maelstrom 120 | 790 rpm | 1'360 rpm |
| Lepa LV12 | 870 rpm | 1'400 rpm |
| Cooler Master Nepton 240M | 700 rpm | 1'430 rpm |
| Cooler Master Hyper 103 | 950 rpm | 1'465 rpm |
| Thermolab Bada 2010 | 1'250 rpm | 1'500 rpm |
| Antec Kühler H2O 950 | 1'280 rpm | 1'610 rpm |
| Intel Stock | 1'230 rpm | 1'630 rpm |
| Antec Kühler H2O 1250 | 1'390 rpm | 1'690 rpm |
| Thermolab LP-53 | 1'475 rpm | 1'672 rpm |
| SilverStone Tundra TD02-Lite | 1'650 rpm | 1'950 rpm |
| Enermax ETS-N30 | 970 rpm | 2'250 rpm |
| Thermolab ITX30 | 1'475 rpm | 2'253 rpm |
Values are in RPM, we took the lowest speed hit by the fan(s) in idle and the highest under load.
Noise Levels
| Idle | Load | |
| Noctua NH-C14S | 32.0 dBA | 32.0 dBA |
| Noctua NH-D15S | 32.0 dBA | 32.0 dBA |
| Noctua NH-U12S Single Fan | 32.0 dBA | 32.0 dBA |
| Thermalright Macho Rev.B | 32.0 dBA | 32.1 dBA |
| Noctua NH-D15 Dual Fan | 32.1 dBA | 32.3 dBA |
| Noctua NH-U12S Dual Fan | 32.0 dBA | 32.4 dBA |
| Noctua NH-D15 Single Fan | 32.1 dBA | 32.6 dBA |
| Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure | 32.0 dBA | 32.7 dBA |
| Thermalright Archon IB-E X2 | 32.5 dBA | 32.7 dBA |
| Enermax Liqtech 120X | 32.1 dBA | 32.8 dBA |
| Enermax ETS-T40 Black Twister | 32.3 dBA | 33.0 dBA |
| be quiet Pure Rock | 32.4 dBA | 33.1 dBA |
| Corsair H75 Single Fan | 32.2 dBA | 33.2 dBA |
| Enermax ETS-T40 White Claster | 33.0 dBA | 33.2 dBA |
| Thermolab LP-53 | 33.0 dBA | 33.2 dBA |
| Scythe Ashura | 32.0 dBA | 33.4 dBA |
| NZXT Kraken X61 | 34.6 dBA | 35.8 dBA |
| Cooler Master Hyper 612 Ver. 2 | 33.1 dBA | 33.5 dBA |
| Enermax Liqtech 240X Dual Fan (600 - 1300rpm Preset) | 33.2 dBA | 33.5 dBA |
| Cooler Master Hyper 103 | 32.0 dBA | 33.6 dBA |
| Prolimatech Lynx | 33.3 dBA | 33.9 dBA |
| Raijintek Nemesis Single Fan | 33.5 dBA | 34.2 dBA |
| Corsair H90 Single Fan | 33.7 dBA | 34.2 dBA |
| Thermolab Bada 2010 | 33.8 dBA | 34.2 dBA |
| EK Predator 240 | 32.9 dBA | 34.4 dBA |
| Corsair H110 Dual Fan | 33.3 dBA | 34.4 dBA |
| Intel Stock | 33.3 dBA | 34.4 dBA |
| Scythe IORI Scior-1000 | 33.2 dBA | 34.6 dBA |
| Raijintek Nemesis Dual Fan | 33.7 dBA | 34.6 dBA |
| Lepa LV12 | 34.4 dBA | 34.7 dBA |
| Thermalright Silver Arrow IB-E | 34.0 dBA | 34.8 dBA |
| NZXT Kraken X31 | 34.5 dBA | 34.9 dBA |
| Deepcool Captain 360 | 33.9 dBA | 34.6 dBA |
| Thermalright Silver Arrow ITX | 33.8 dBA | 34.6 dBA |
| Fractal Design Kelvin T12 | 36.5 dBA | 35.1 dBA |
| Fractal Design Kelvin S36 | 34.2 dBA | 35.3 dBA |
| Raijintek Themis EVO | 34.8 dBA | 35.3 dBA |
| Fractal Design Kelvin S24 | 34.7 dBA | 35.6 dBA |
| Deepcool Maelstrom 120 | 34.9 dBA | 35.7 dBA |
| Raijintek Triton | 36.2 dBA | 36.2 dBA |
| Enermax ETS-N30 | 33.8 dBA | 36.9 dBA |
| Cryorig R1 Universal | 33.5 dBA | 37.1 dBA |
| Thermolab ITX30 | 34.1 dBA | 37.6 dBA |
| NZXT Kraken X41 | 34.8 dBA | 37.9 dBA |
| Deepcool Maelstrom 240 | 36.1 dBA | 37.9 dBA |
| Cooler Master Nepton 140XL | 34.8dBA | 39.4 dBA |
| Cooler Master Nepton 240M | 33.8 dBA | 40.1 dBA |
| Raijintek Pallas | 35.9 dBA | 41.4 dBA |
| Antec Kühler H2O 950 | 41.7 dBA | 45.8 dBA |
| SilverStone Tundra TD02-Lite | 43.1 dBA | 46.2 dBA |
| Antec Kühler H2O 1250 | 43.5 dBA | 47.9 dBA |
Decibel meter (Voltcraft SL-200) has been placed 1 meter away from the cooler. Measurements are conducted in a quiet room, where there are no other noise source. 32 dBA is the lowest we can get in our room. Also here the measurements are conducted at lowest and highest fan speeds in idle and under load respectively.
| Page 1 - Presentation / Specifications |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery |
| Page 3 - Installation & Test Setup |
| Page 4 - Absolute Performance |
| PagePagina[/it] 5 - PWM Performance |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |
Conclusion
| General | + | - | |
| With the NH-D15S, Noctua has definitely created a powerful CPU cooler, which features good looks and high quality finish. The overall build quality is definitely good and on the expected high level, and for example the nickel plated finish leaves an excellent impression. Apart from that, it brings impressive cooling performance that has been combined with a decent fan, which, when set to run at 7 Volt, is inaudible. Furthermore it also supports all recent sockets. |
- Performance
- Noise levels - Quality - PWM - Mouting |
- Price - Socket compatibility | |
| Installation | + | - | |
| Mounting this cooler is easy and it can be done quickly on any socket as everything is clearly explained in the manuals. As we already mentioned, we disliked the socket compatibility that could have been a bit wider. When it comes to putting fans in place we definitely like the rubber grommets placed in the corner of the fans as well as the fact that Noctua's clips are designed in the best possible way. | - Easy and practical - Thermal compound (Tube) | - AMD FM3 and LGA 775, 1366 compatibility |
|
| Performance | + | - | |
| When it comes to cooling capacity we definitely cannot complain. The NH-D15S belongs with the most powerful aircoolers in our tests and it is even better than some AIO liquid cooling systems, under certain conditions. It is certainly what we have expected from it, since this is one rather big cooler with exceptional performance, despite the fact that memory compatibility has been reduced to certain level. | - Cooling performances | ||
| Noise Levels | + | - | |
| Regarding noise levels the Noctua NH-D15S is simply great. If the fan is driven at 7 volt it is inaudible and at 12 volt it's silent. | - Very Silent | ||
| Recommendation / Price | + | - | |
| The Noctua NH-D15S is a powerful twin tower cooler that comes with good looking finish and a price of 79.90 Euro. Therefore, it is expensive for an air cooler and with that amount of money you can actually get some AIO liquid coolers but those are not nearly good looking as the NH-D15S. It offers great performance and overall this is definitely a product worth buying if you want a very nice high-end air cooler. |
- Gaming - Overclocking |
- Price | |
| Rating | |||
| We gave the NH-D15S from Noctua 5 out of 5 stars. | |||
| Page 1 - Presentation / Specifications |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery |
| Page 3 - Installation & Test Setup |
| Page 4 - Absolute Performance |
| Page 5 - PWM Performance |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |