Noctua is Back: NH-D15 Gen2 & 8 Years of Fan Development
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Date: 2023-05-30
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Comments and reviews: 15
Diner50
Look at the fan blades! Incredible. It is insane really. But I do question why go Noctua when there is allot of decent 120/140mm on the market nowadays. Even got Fractal Torrent 180mm now since the case and fans are just epic. Performance or whatever. 180mm can turn slow and just look cool compared to 140mm case fans.
Got the D14 and D15. Got multiple 140mm case fans too. The thing is that by the looks of things AM5 and whatever Intel is going to release is just not interesting to care about a D16. If there is going to be a point in going Noctua it got to be due to server grade stuff. Workhorse systems.
And really the rest of the cooling market is so good today and AMD/Intel awful enough that getting a cheaper cooler and tuning for power saving is the way to go. Even D15 is decent enough to cool the Ryzen 7950x at full power. And you better off turning ECO mode on anyways making it really pointless to go out and buy a D16. Sad times.
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Look at the fan blades! Incredible. It is insane really. But I do question why go Noctua when there is allot of decent 120/140mm on the market nowadays. Even got Fractal Torrent 180mm now since the case and fans are just epic. Performance or whatever. 180mm can turn slow and just look cool compared to 140mm case fans.
Got the D14 and D15. Got multiple 140mm case fans too. The thing is that by the looks of things AM5 and whatever Intel is going to release is just not interesting to care about a D16. If there is going to be a point in going Noctua it got to be due to server grade stuff. Workhorse systems.
And really the rest of the cooling market is so good today and AMD/Intel awful enough that getting a cheaper cooler and tuning for power saving is the way to go. Even D15 is decent enough to cool the Ryzen 7950x at full power. And you better off turning ECO mode on anyways making it really pointless to go out and buy a D16. Sad times.
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itech
I use the old NH-D15 for like 7 or 8 years now, zero problems since they day i installed it in my setup (works on top of quite dated but still good i7 6800k). Cleaned my setup couple times and it works just as silent and cools just as good as it used to the day i bought it.
My only problem with the product was during installation, radiator had alot of really sharp edges where you can easily cut your hands and installing it in my Define R5 case (which isn't a small case either) was quite a challenge even with a second person helping me - i cut my hands abit trying to install fans on radiator but after i managed to install, had no problems through the years. Highly recommend their products.
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I use the old NH-D15 for like 7 or 8 years now, zero problems since they day i installed it in my setup (works on top of quite dated but still good i7 6800k). Cleaned my setup couple times and it works just as silent and cools just as good as it used to the day i bought it.
My only problem with the product was during installation, radiator had alot of really sharp edges where you can easily cut your hands and installing it in my Define R5 case (which isn't a small case either) was quite a challenge even with a second person helping me - i cut my hands abit trying to install fans on radiator but after i managed to install, had no problems through the years. Highly recommend their products.
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Jason
Hi guys. I wanted to appologize for my negativity. Yes Nvidia comes out with amazing products. I just have a problem with amazing groups like your company having to waist your time on people ( companies) that the last thing on there mind is the customers who make it so they have a job. My company( Heavy Equipment repair and services) in Alaska. Never treated our customers the way that these bigger companies treat us. The people who really matter for sales.
Keep up the amazing work. Your company is exactly what we as customers need. I am so thankful for all the ins and outs on all products people are looking to buy. Thank You for putting all the time you guys put in to help us all.
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Hi guys. I wanted to appologize for my negativity. Yes Nvidia comes out with amazing products. I just have a problem with amazing groups like your company having to waist your time on people ( companies) that the last thing on there mind is the customers who make it so they have a job. My company( Heavy Equipment repair and services) in Alaska. Never treated our customers the way that these bigger companies treat us. The people who really matter for sales.
Keep up the amazing work. Your company is exactly what we as customers need. I am so thankful for all the ins and outs on all products people are looking to buy. Thank You for putting all the time you guys put in to help us all.
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Ke
I will definitely replace my NH-D15 with the next gen NH-D15, but only once it comes out in black. I hate that we always get a year or two of brown fans, even though they have already figured out how to paint the new material.
NH-D15 is still incredible though considering it's almost a decade old yet a lot of coolers/fans still struggle to match it in terms of both cooling, noise levels and especially sound signature.
Cooling and dB is one thing, but i've tried dozens of fans over the past few years and the only ones that match the Noctua sound signature are the Thoughfan T12, which makes sense consdering they are just straight copies.
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I will definitely replace my NH-D15 with the next gen NH-D15, but only once it comes out in black. I hate that we always get a year or two of brown fans, even though they have already figured out how to paint the new material.
NH-D15 is still incredible though considering it's almost a decade old yet a lot of coolers/fans still struggle to match it in terms of both cooling, noise levels and especially sound signature.
Cooling and dB is one thing, but i've tried dozens of fans over the past few years and the only ones that match the Noctua sound signature are the Thoughfan T12, which makes sense consdering they are just straight copies.
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Dil
I distinctly remember in LTT's screwdriver video, Linus mentioned a conversation he had with someone high up at Noctua and said something along the lines of you must have the best engineers, right? They basically told him no. They have good engineers, but they give them the time and resources they need to do their best work. So much of R&D is half-baked due to arbitrary deadlines and heavy budget constraints, so I'm looking forward to their new products. They have no interest in releasing products that aren't ready for primetime and it's a refreshing attitude compared to the usual rat race.
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I distinctly remember in LTT's screwdriver video, Linus mentioned a conversation he had with someone high up at Noctua and said something along the lines of you must have the best engineers, right? They basically told him no. They have good engineers, but they give them the time and resources they need to do their best work. So much of R&D is half-baked due to arbitrary deadlines and heavy budget constraints, so I'm looking forward to their new products. They have no interest in releasing products that aren't ready for primetime and it's a refreshing attitude compared to the usual rat race.
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pumelo1
I have standard aluminium 4 heatpipe 12 years old AMD cooler modded with 20 years old best Arctic cooling case-fan with only 2000rpm and i have no problem with any used AMD processors, now is this Ryzen 5500 on boost clock and temperature still low 50 celsius And on 20 years old case without special fans only one rear fan The elders remember the shape of these propellers.
I'm an old guard 50+ who knows what he's doing and doesn't waste money unnecessarily. In those 20 years, it was enough to lubricate the bearings twice with a mixture of wax and oil.
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I have standard aluminium 4 heatpipe 12 years old AMD cooler modded with 20 years old best Arctic cooling case-fan with only 2000rpm and i have no problem with any used AMD processors, now is this Ryzen 5500 on boost clock and temperature still low 50 celsius And on 20 years old case without special fans only one rear fan The elders remember the shape of these propellers.
I'm an old guard 50+ who knows what he's doing and doesn't waste money unnecessarily. In those 20 years, it was enough to lubricate the bearings twice with a mixture of wax and oil.
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Tigrisshark
Hm, so is Noctuas new slogan Perfection ? Or was that the other austrian polymer company? I'm confused.
But joking aside, I'd love to hear if the 8 years were just due to design or if evolution in manufacturing methods/materials played a part as well. While I respect their dedication to building the best product from an engineering perspective, I wouldn't want to be in meetings between them and marketing/sales :D
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Hm, so is Noctuas new slogan Perfection ? Or was that the other austrian polymer company? I'm confused.
But joking aside, I'd love to hear if the 8 years were just due to design or if evolution in manufacturing methods/materials played a part as well. While I respect their dedication to building the best product from an engineering perspective, I wouldn't want to be in meetings between them and marketing/sales :D
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devilmikey00
I imagine most companies don't have good enough products that they can sit around for 8 years getting it JUUUUUUST right like noctua. Only really in the last couple years you've seen them lose the throne on air coolers and people still gush about their fans. The only thing I fear is hearing about all the LCP stuff is, holy cow these are going to cost an arm and a leg. Noctua stuff already came at hefty premium.
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I imagine most companies don't have good enough products that they can sit around for 8 years getting it JUUUUUUST right like noctua. Only really in the last couple years you've seen them lose the throne on air coolers and people still gush about their fans. The only thing I fear is hearing about all the LCP stuff is, holy cow these are going to cost an arm and a leg. Noctua stuff already came at hefty premium.
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SLACkra
I like noctua, but I got a 2nd hand noctua cooler for my 5800x3d. I've had to reseat it once and there was fundamentally no way to get the heat sink off the cpu without pulling the cpu out with it. The mounting prevents you from rotating the heatsink to get it loose. Quite the design oversight. Why sell an am4 mounting kit that risks damaging the cpu if you need to remove the heat sink?
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I like noctua, but I got a 2nd hand noctua cooler for my 5800x3d. I've had to reseat it once and there was fundamentally no way to get the heat sink off the cpu without pulling the cpu out with it. The mounting prevents you from rotating the heatsink to get it loose. Quite the design oversight. Why sell an am4 mounting kit that risks damaging the cpu if you need to remove the heat sink?
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curmudgeon
Their mtbf, cooling performance and noise levels set the bar high. Some people think they are ugly. 'The tan and brown doesn't go with my rgb' Whatever. I won't use any other air cpu cooler since I switched a few years back. Used a few of their case fans too. Yes they are more expensive but if you rely on your computer its a cry once situation.
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Their mtbf, cooling performance and noise levels set the bar high. Some people think they are ugly. 'The tan and brown doesn't go with my rgb' Whatever. I won't use any other air cpu cooler since I switched a few years back. Used a few of their case fans too. Yes they are more expensive but if you rely on your computer its a cry once situation.
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Andres
i mean 7 Years, that is fair, and im good, as noctua is cooler and fan life is like 10 :D so all good, you buy one set, use it untill you upgrade to another noctua :D
i have D15 now and 4 noctua chrome fans, i mean ill replace them when they die. in the onden days you replaced them when you wanted quieter fans :D not that is not the issue
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i mean 7 Years, that is fair, and im good, as noctua is cooler and fan life is like 10 :D so all good, you buy one set, use it untill you upgrade to another noctua :D
i have D15 now and 4 noctua chrome fans, i mean ill replace them when they die. in the onden days you replaced them when you wanted quieter fans :D not that is not the issue
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Alistair
It does seem like it must be especially difficult to design a 140mm PWM fan with good performance and low noise. I've gone through several and the last one I bought makes a lot more noise than the 120mm fan which I ended up putting back in. It's odd to be excited over a fan but I'm ready to see how their new gen 140mm PWM fan performs.
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It does seem like it must be especially difficult to design a 140mm PWM fan with good performance and low noise. I've gone through several and the last one I bought makes a lot more noise than the 120mm fan which I ended up putting back in. It's odd to be excited over a fan but I'm ready to see how their new gen 140mm PWM fan performs.
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Lothar
Moved from Noctua to Bequiet for my Intel 12900k. Big mistake. The mechanical install of the BeQuite fan was insanely painful because you couldn t reach the screws . A simple cutout for the screwdriver would have solved it. This are details that make Noctua stand out of competition. It is still the easiest on the market.
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Moved from Noctua to Bequiet for my Intel 12900k. Big mistake. The mechanical install of the BeQuite fan was insanely painful because you couldn t reach the screws . A simple cutout for the screwdriver would have solved it. This are details that make Noctua stand out of competition. It is still the easiest on the market.
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Shendue
Noctua products are one of the few cases where you can actually believe the hype. Back in the days, I switched from an AIO to a huge ass Noctua cooler that I bought expecting to use it as a momentary solution before buying another AIO, and holy heck. My temps dropped drastically. They know their stuff.
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Noctua products are one of the few cases where you can actually believe the hype. Back in the days, I switched from an AIO to a huge ass Noctua cooler that I bought expecting to use it as a momentary solution before buying another AIO, and holy heck. My temps dropped drastically. They know their stuff.
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Morgan
Steve you rock!
I love that you don't just focus on cpu's and graphics cards, but cover topics down to fan blades.
This video was top notch and really enjoyed seeing the devlopment cycle they took to get where they did from 2015 to now (blade shape/number of blades/material change).
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Steve you rock!
I love that you don't just focus on cpu's and graphics cards, but cover topics down to fan blades.
This video was top notch and really enjoyed seeing the devlopment cycle they took to get where they did from 2015 to now (blade shape/number of blades/material change).
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